Striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius Pall.) occurrences In Russia and adjacent countries according to published data

Study Extent

The map “The Striped field mouse distribution in the USSR” (Karaseva et al. 1992) was taken as the basis of the created resource. The map was created by analyzing own authors' materials (40 years expeditionary works, about 20,000 Striped field mice were captured), literature data, collections of zoological museums in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk and Kiev, materials from sanitary and epidemiological stations and verbal communication. 1453 occurrences from that map are included in the described Dataset. We added to the occurrences list the materials from 3 publications on the distribution of Striped field mouse in the Caucasus and Ciscaucasia: Tembotov 1972 - 61 occurrences; Khe 2002 - 52 occurrences; Okulova et al. 2005 - 5 occurrences. The Dataset also includes information about occurrence in Arkhangelskaya oblast' (Emel'yanova et al. 2003 - 1 occurrence) and from publications related to Striped field mouse invasions during the 1991-2015: Bolshakov et al. 2015 - 2 occurrences, Kartavtseva et al. 2011 - 1 occurrence,Oparin, Oparina, 2006 - 1 occurrence, Pavlenko et al. 2007 - 13 occurrences, Pereverzeva et al. 2016 - 4 occurrences. In addition, we have included in Dataset the own research results (10 occurrences of Striped field mouse from locations that were not noted in the above publications). Thus, Dataset contains 1603 occurrences that covers the territory of the USSR within its borders at the beginning of 1991. The earliest observations used in our Dataset and mentioned in the main literature refer to 1936, the latest - 2020.

Sampling

In the original publications, the materials on the Striped field mouse occurrences were presented mainly in the raster drawings. We found digital coordinates of the localities using GIS programs (see Step Description). Our data are the results of rodent trapping and determining coordinates using GPS or yandex maps (https://yandex.com/maps).

Quality Control

The main part of data set is compiled from literature data. The Striped field mouse reliably differs from other mice of the Russian fauna by patterned fur. The correct identification of this species by zoologists is beyond doubt. The digital coordinates of the localities mapped in published figures, we obtained using GIS programs. Their subsequent visualization corresponds to the published maps.

Method steps

1. The resource "Striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius Pall.) occurrences in Russia and adjacent countries" is based on the primary cadastral reference map of Striped field mouse finds in the USSR, created under the leadership of E.V. Karaseva. Each occurrence of the striped field mouse in the primary material had its own individual number with information on the location, timing of collection of the material, its volume, habitat and abundance of the species, and the data source. Information was collected both from the localities where the field mouse was found, and from the nearest regions where the Striped field mouse was not found. All occurrences were mapped at a scale of 1: 10,000,000 (handwritten map). This map was published at a scale of 1: 38,000,000 (Karaseva et al. 1992), but the information accompanying each of the occurrences has been lost.
2. Our further steps concerned a handwritten map (1: 10,000,000), a published map with localities (Karaseva et al., 1992) and a map; where the regions where the Striped field mouse appeared in the second half of the 20th century were identified (Tikhonova et al., 1992).
3. The occurrences coordinates were read from a handwritten map (1: 10,000,000) by georeferencing and projecting a raster map in QGIS. Coordinate accuracy - 10 km. Of all the places where the striped field mouse was indicated in handwritten map, only 1 was excluded - in the lower reaches of the Podkamennaya Tunguska, because according to the oral communication of the zoologist B.I. Sheftel, who worked in this region for a long time, has never been found here.
4. Our steps with other sources of information used to create this resource (other 9 publications - see "Bibliographic Citations") was performed in a similar way. We have added 10 occurrences that are the result of our own research. Field mice were captured by Gero's traps. Locality coordinates were determined either using GPS or using Yandex maps.

The only 1 species [Kingdom — Animalia; Phylum — Chordata; Class — Mammalia; Order — Rodentia; Family — Muridae; Genera — Apodemus; Speciues — Apodemus agrarius].

1. Apodemus agrarius (Pallas, 1771)
   common name: Striped field mouse rank: species

he Dataset includes the main Striped field mouse occurrences in Russia and adjacent countries within the borders of the former USSR (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan). The northernmost (Arkhangelskaya Oblast - 64.80689° N), the easternmost (Magadanskaya Oblast' 150.93245° E) and the westernmost (Kaliningradskaya Oblast’ 20.86987° E) occurrences of this Dataset are in Russia. The southernmost Russian occurrence of the Striped field mouse is in Dagestan (41.88047° N). However, the southernmost occurrence of this Dataset is in Azerbaijan (39.12263° N). The described Dataset covers most part of the Striped field mouse distribution range. There is the range disjunction between Baikal Lake and southeastern part of Transbaikalia. There are isolated populations of Striped field mouse in the Arkhangelskaya Oblast', in the middle Ob region (Tomskaya Oblast'), at the mouth of the Amur River (Khabarovskiy Kray) and in the Magadanskaya Oblast'.