Animals of the steppe. What animals live in the steppe zone? Animals living in the steppe What animals live in the steppe list

V. V. Dokuchaev noted that along the entire length of the black earth zone, stretching for thousands of miles, not only the same vegetation, but also the same animals are common.

From the western shores of France through all of Eurasia and to eastern shores North America, throughout the steppe towel of the northern hemisphere, wrote Dokuchaev, “we meet unity and complete agreement between the climate, the mineral kingdom, soils, groundwater and the animal and plant kingdoms” (1949. p. 357).

If we characterize the fauna of the steppes as a whole by biomass, then the largest share belongs to invertebrates - oligochaetes and roundworms, individual families of beetles (beetles, weevils, nutcrackers, dark beetles, barbels, etc.), lepidoptera (scoops, moths, moths), orthoptera (locusts, grasshoppers), cicadas, bedbugs, etc. (Mordkovich, 1982),

Of the vertebrate animals, herbivorous ungulates and numerous rodents are most characteristic of the steppes. To this it should be added that the animal population of the steppe zone is characterized by extreme inconstancy. species diversity, numbers and total biomass. Some steppe animals are characterized seasonal migrations, at which they can leave the steppe zone for a while, others actively live only a few summer months, others multiply intensively in. steppes only in favorable years for them. How animals react to sudden fluctuations environmental factors in the steppe and the imbalance of steppe ecosystems.

In the steppes of Eurasia, according to A.N. Formozov (1981), 92 species of mammals now live. This number does not include those that have long been exterminated. wild tour, flat bison, tarpan. Part of the mammals living in the steppes (32 species) are endemic to this zone.

high endemism steppe fauna mammals is due to the peculiarities of the steppe landscape, to which animals are forced to carefully adapt. The most important distinctive feature steppe zone is the openness of the landscape, forcing "peaceful" animals to jointly observe the danger. Therefore, there are many herd and colonial animals in the steppe. Communication in the colony is usually carried out with the help of sound signals (warning and calling calls of a ground squirrel, marmot, haystack). “Silent” gregarious species with cryptic (masking) coloration, according to A.N. Formozov, have bright color signal spots that are hidden at the moment of rest or rest of the animal and suddenly “flare up” when alarmed or movement begins.

Herding - main feature life of steppe ungulates. It facilitates the protection of weak members of the herd from large predators. Herds of 50-100, and sometimes 1000 heads were typical for tarpans and kulans. The first of them completely disappeared, the second left the steppe zone. Of the wild ungulates that roam the Kalmyk, Kazakh and South Ural steppes to this day, only saigas have survived. The number of their herds reaches 10 thousand heads.

The openness of the steppe landscape and the presence of a large number of fast and dangerous predators(wolves) caused the development in herd animals of such a quality as high speed movement. Saigas develop a running speed of up to 80 km/h, gazelles - 60-65, kulans - 60-70. A herd of saigas moves 100-150 km per day. Along with speed, steppe ungulates also need to have great endurance. They are obliged to do this by long transitions, and by rapid weather changes in the steppe, forcing them to remain without food for a long time.

Due to the fact that the protective role of the steppe vegetation is small, many inhabitants of the steppe not only acquired a masking (to match the color of the soil) color, but also adapted to life in the underground layer, that is, in holes. According to A.N. Formozov (1981), the life of 72 out of 92 species of Eurasian steppe animals is associated with burrows. Digging underground work- one of the main occupations of the steppe mammals.

Nora is a place where animals escape from the summer heat and winter cold, store and protect food supplies from enemies, where offspring are bred and raised. In a hole, wall animals hide from their enemies. isolated from outside world a hole with passages clogged with earth plugs has a relatively constant temperature and humidity. This allows animals to live here without going out into the world for a long time.

Striking constructive variety of holes. Pretty simple burrow big jerboa- an inclined corridor with one back door, almost reaching the surface of the soil. The underground house of the steppe pika is already a multi-storey labyrinth, which, among other things, serves to confuse those who pursue it and in the hole of affection or dressing. Marmot and the largest of the ground squirrels, when digging burrows, throw out mounds of soil in the form of butanes, and the burrows themselves have a multi-purpose purpose.

Burrowing rodents to have good review, specially choose places with sparse herbage, where they settle in large colonies. Seeing danger, they rush to hide in a hole. However adapted for digging heavy body, short limbs, make the animals very clumsy on the surface of the soil. Therefore, when leaving the hole, ground squirrels and marmots carefully and for a long time inspect the area, stretching to height and crouching on their hind legs. Stand "column" - the most important landscape feature of the steppe animals. It is inherent not only in rodents, but also in such predators as a ferret, weasel.

Coloniality gives burrowing steppe rodents additional advantages in orientation. At high density the population of marmots, which is often 20-30 individuals per 1 ha, the burrows are close to each other and are connected by a network of trodden paths along which the animals can move with high speed. Grazing marmots always keep their neighbors in sight and instantly react to their signal. Such a signaling system is very effective: it is almost impossible for both predators and humans to approach grazing marmots unnoticed.

In well-arranged, comfortable burrows, rodents and some steppe predators spend most life. And such in the highest degree mammals adapted to underground life, like the mole voles, the Altai zokor and the completely blind giant mole rat, do not leave their holes at all.

Marmots and similar animals outside the norm spend only a few hours feeding. In burrows, 7-8 months of annual winter hibernation, night and day rest pass. Burrows save steppe animals not only from cold and bad weather, but also from heat. On hot days, young ground squirrels and marmots regularly jump into the hole to cool off. Nineteen species of steppe mammals flow into hibernation. Sleeping animals in winter form wintering groups. Gathering in warm companies, clinging to each other, they economically spend the energy resources accumulated over the summer in the subcutaneous fat layer, which they need. enough for a long and cold steppe winter.

Of the 72 burrowing steppe animals of Eurasia, 53 are active throughout the year, 50 of them are forced to prepare food for the winter. Many of them store hay by cutting and drying plants at the beginning of summer, at the time of their greatest fodder value. They store hay in holes, or in voids under stones, or in the form of small stacks in the open. It is estimated, for example, that each steppe pika puts stacks of hay and dried twigs with a total weight of up to 3 kg. Each individual has up to 20 kg of hay. Stacks are set by yellow and small pika, steppe pied, thick gerbil, rocky vole, Mongolian pika store hay in shelters. Successful hay harvesting, its storage during summer, autumn and winter in open stacks is possible only in the dry climate of the South Russian, Kazakhstani and Central Asian steppes.

Some steppe herbivorous rodents have adapted well to using the underground parts of plants as food sources. This was facilitated by the fact that among the plants of the steppe there are widely represented species with a powerful root system, bulbs, rhizomes or tubers, which provide perennials with the opportunity to survive unfavorable seasons and develop quickly in spring.

The underground parts of many steppe plants are of higher nutritional value than their green parts. Bulb and rhizomes retain throughout the year a large number of water. The already mentioned animals use this abundant food: the mole voles, the Altai zokor and the giant mole rat. Where these mammals live, thousands of heaps of earth are scattered on the surface of the steppe, but no passages are visible at all. Having finished ejection, the animals tightly clog the passage with an earthen plug, carefully isolating the network of their underground labyrinths from the outside world.

In no other natural zone of the Earth has the animal world been so subject to extermination and change by man as in the steppes of Eurasia and the prairies of North America. Before the advent of man, millions of herbivores, tarpans, saigas, deer, aurochs, plain bison in the open expanses of the Old World and bison in North America grazed in the steppe. It is estimated, for example, that the number of saigas in the steppes of Eurasia was at least 10 million, gazelles - 5 million heads. There were tens of millions of wild horses and aurochs. AT North American Prairies 250-300 years ago, about 75 million bison and 40 million pronghorn antelopes grazed.

Cattle breeding, and then agriculture brought wild ungulates out of the steppe. Their extermination and displacement in the steppes of Eurasia lasted for 2-3 millennia and was completed by late XIX centuries. In North America, the campaign to liberate the steppe landscapes from hoofed natives took no more than 150 years. Between 1730 and 1830, American settlers killed 40 million bison. Another half century passed, and by the end of 1888, a miserable herd of 26 individuals remained from the 75 millionth livestock. The same thing happened with the pronghorn antelope, which disappeared from the Great Plains of the United States by 1922.

Intensive economic development of the steppes and direct extermination affected not only large mammals, but also predators, rodents, and wild steppe animals. Nevertheless, the animal population continues to play an important role in shaping the modern appearance of the steppe landscapes. Wild ungulates have been replaced by herds of many millions of domestic animals. And total weight of modern livestock in the prairies of North America and in the steppes of Eurasia is approximately equal to the former mass of wild ungulates. It should be noted that some steppe mammals have successfully adapted to life in conditions of plowing and overgrazing, others have limited their ranges to virgin steppes, and still others are on the verge of extinction.

The question of influence economic activity man on the nature of the steppes and their animal world has long attracted the attention of naturalists. A special place in these studies belongs to N. A. Severtsov (1950), who examined in detail the features of the influence of virgin lands plowing on steppe mammals and birds. Comparing environmental conditions arable land and virgin steppe areas, Severtsov came to the conclusion that the effect of land cultivation on steppe animals is mainly destructive. According to Severtsov, more than half of the steppe vertebrates do not withstand the new conditions associated with agriculture. Among them, he names such "large steppe diggers" as marmot, spotted ground squirrel, mole rat, perevyak.

Following Severtsov, M. N. Bogdanov (1871) comprehensively investigated the question of the influence of economic activity on the appearance of landscapes and the composition of the fauna. It was one of the first truly biogeographic studies. Bogdanov distinguished the influence of pastoral nomads, wandering hunters and settled farmers on the landscapes of the Volga steppes. The main conclusion of the work of M. N. Bogdanov is the assertion that the agricultural development of the territory inevitably causes the retreat of forests and the advancement steppe forms from south to north.

Basic research on change over the last century natural conditions and fauna of the steppes of the USSR were carried out by A.N. Formbzov (1981), and in historical times - by S.V. Kirilov (1983). The main result of the conducted research is the conclusion that in the animal world of the steppes great importance acquired species that have adapted to life in the fields and other lands created by man.

The population of species that needed virgin steppes for their existence was rapidly decreasing, and in many old agricultural areas of the steppe such species are no longer found. It is no coincidence that therefore some native inhabitants of the zones have disappeared, and the list of species of mammals, birds and insects of the steppe included in the Red Book is quite large. Of the inhabitants of the steppe zone, 10 species of mammals, 19 - birds, 54 - insects are listed in the Red Book of the USSR (1984).

At the same time, an obvious discrepancy between the possibilities for the existence of a number of steppe animals and their modern small numbers has been established. With proper environmental management and with the existing structure of land, the number of such steppe natives as marmot, bustard, little bustard, lapwing, gray partridge, demoiselle crane, steppe eagle can be significantly increased. Most of them are economically valuable animals. Therefore, the security rational use and concern for the reproduction of the steppe fauna are of great economic importance.

Report " Animal world steppes" will tell you what animals live in the steppe.

Message about the animals of the steppe

The steppe is a large, flat area with hills that are covered with grassy vegetation. Only near the reservoirs you can see shrubs or small trees.

The vast steppe spaces, unfortunately, do not have a variety of fauna.

AT steppe zone inhabited by 90 species of mammals, birds and a bunch of insects. Indeed, in the conditions of the steppe, namely, sparse vegetation, arid climate, small reservoirs, cold winters and a vast territory, it is very difficult to hide from enemies and get food for yourself. Therefore, the animals living here are strong and hardy, and can also go without water and food for a long time.

They live in the steppes kulans, saigas and gazelles who, being afraid of wolves, gather in large herds. This makes it easier for them to repel predators. The speed during the run they develop up to 150 km per hour.

Live in underground burrows ground squirrels, badgers, marmots, hamsters, jerboas and foxes. There they escape the unbearable heat in summer and the cold in winter. In burrows they store food and raise their young. The inhabitants of the holes have learned long time do without water, using succulent vegetation.

And here stoats, ferrets and wolves burrows do not dig. Militancy allows them to occupy other people's homes, driving out their rightful owners.

Among the omnivorous animals in the steppes, a large number birds, reptiles and hedgehogs. They feed on berries and insects.

A separate place belongs to reptiles. Most common in the steppe snake and steppe viper.

Steppe eagles, long-legged buzzards, buzzards, falcons and kestrels, lapwings and larks conquer the airspace of the steppes. Herons and partridges live in such few reservoirs and near them.

The animal world is more diverse in the steppes of America. Here in the open spaces you can meet anteaters, armadillos, jaguars, ostriches.

In Ukraine, the largest and most popular is the steppe protected area"Askania-Nova". Many animals and vegetation on its territory are on the verge of extinction or are listed in the Red Book. In addition, the reserve is one of the 7 natural wonders Sveta.

We hope that the above information about animals of the steppe has helped you. And you can leave your story about animals of the steppes through the comment form.

Steppes are endless plains covered with herbaceous plants.

The steppe zone is characterized by an almost complete absence of trees, dense grass cover and increased soil fertility.

Steppes of Russia - location and description of the natural zone

The steppe zone is located a little south of the zone forests, but the transition from zone to zone stretches for several kilometers.

The territory of the steppe zone is located on the territories of the East European Plain, Western Siberia, and is also included in the geographical regions of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov.

Plants of the steppe zone

As soon as spring comes, the steppe is covered with a colorful carpet. These are early flowering flowering plants: tulips, forget-me-nots, poppies. As a rule, they have a short growing season and bloom only a few days a year.

The steppe zone is characterized by conditional "forbs", when up to eighty plant species grow on one square meter of land.

Many steppe plants have hairs, spines (thistles) on their leaves, or secrete essential oil(wormwood) to protect against excessive evaporation. Therefore, steppe grasses smell strongly.

Shrubs are typical for the northern steppe: almonds, steppe cherries, and for the southern steppe - cereals: oats, feather grass.

Animals living in the steppes

Animals of the steppe zone are distinguished by their ability to run: these are steppe hares, whose hind legs are much longer than those of their forest brothers, and ungulate animals such as saiga, bison, antelope, roe deer and even some birds, such as bustards.

The most common inhabitants of the steppe are rodents: marmots, ground squirrels, field mice. Many are endemic species, that is, they do not occur in any of the other zones.

Gopher at the hole

Due to the abundance of rodents, the entire underground section of the steppe is pitted with burrows, which save not only from bad weather, but also from attacks by predators. Burrows are also characteristic of some birds: hoopoes, wheatears, but most of the birds that live here nest right on the ground.

It often happens that other people's burrows are occupied by other animals. For example, wolves capture the dwellings of foxes and badgers, ferrets and ermines inhabit the burrows of large rodents, and minnows, lizards, and some species of snakes live in the burrows of small ones.

Ecological problems of the steppe zone

In ancient times, the steppes occupied gigantic territories, but now they are almost completely plowed up. Fertile steppe soils are occupied by agricultural crops, while the natural vegetation of the steppes is almost non-existent.

The predecessors of domestic animals have long disappeared: the bull tour, tarpan horses, which can now only be seen in the photo.

Many species of steppe animals are under the threat of extinction, their names are listed in the Red Book, for example, bustard, saiga, ground squirrels, bison, antelopes and so on.

Human economic activity continues, and every day new species of animals are under threat. Some of them can be found only in nature reserves and reserves.

Climate features

The steppes are located in the subtropical and temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres, it is studied in grades 3-4 of elementary school.

The steppe zone includes the classic characteristics temperate zone: summer here is warm, dry, hot winds often blow, called dry winds.

At the end of summer, dry grass and dust make the steppe look gray. Heavy rains are rare, after which the water quickly evaporates, not having time to saturate the soil.

Winter stops life in the steppe: the vast expanses of the steppes are covered with a thick layer of snow, piercing winds blow.

Steppe Zone Power Scheme

Insects feed on steppe grasses: grasshopper, praying mantis, bees. The life of animals and birds directly depends on their quantity.

Rodents and insectivorous birds are eaten by carnivores, such as the steppe eagle., which is the top of the steppe food chain, as well as predatory animals: badgers, hedgehogs, martens.

The soil of the steppes and their properties

The main difference of the steppe from other natural zones is the increased fertility of the soil.

The humus layer here can reach 50 cm or more, while in the neighboring forest zone its thickness is only about 15 cm.

Steppe reserves of Russia

In Russia, 28 reserves have been created with a steppe or mixed-steppe zone, which are under special protection.

Among them are a reserve in Khakassia or the Taiga Museum of Nature, in which such rare animals as deer, musk deer, American mink and so on live.

Przewalski's horse in the Orenburg Reserve

Also Orenburg nature reserve, the territory of which is 47,000 hectares. There are endangered designations of plants, for example, burnet, valerian, celandine, as well as 98 species of Red Book animals and birds.

Human activity in the steppe

Due to the fertility of the soil, the steppe is used by man for growing different cultures, mainly drought-resistant plants: sunflower, cereals, corn, millet, various gourds. The unplowed area is given over to pastures.

Finally, some interesting facts:

1. Steppe zones are found on the map of all the continents of the world, except for Antarctica.
2. There are practically no trees in the steppe due to the lack of moisture necessary for their vital activity.
3. Only in the steppe zone grows tumbleweed - a spherical shrub that is carried by the wind over long distances and scatters its seeds at this time.
4. The South American Plain in America also includes the steppes, which are called differently - prairies.

Conclusion

The steppe is unique natural area, well unique species endangered plants and animals that need our enhanced protection. Looking at the boundless steppe with its vast expanses, you understand that this territory with its incalculable wealth must be preserved for future generations.

It would seem that the steppe is not well adapted for life, because during the day the temperature here reaches forty degrees. But in fact, its flora and fauna are very rich. Animals of the steppe are diverse and numerous; they tolerate all unfavorable conditions well. climatic conditions its habitat.

Natural conditions of the steppe

This area is characterized large amplitude temperatures - on a hot summer day it reaches forty degrees of heat, and in winter, in severe frosts, it can drop to minus forty! The most favorable time of the year here is spring, when the whole steppe turns into a huge flower garden. An unforgettable sight! But by the middle of summer, drought begins, the soil is covered with cracks, the cause of which is hot dry winds. The area becomes scorched and deserted. Nevertheless, the animals of the steppes of Russia at all times of the year amaze with their diversity - after all, there are more than three hundred species of them!

Diversity of the animal world

In the vast expanses of the steppe you can hardly meet unique representatives fauna. The fauna of the steppes is most often represented by various rodents: ground squirrels, marmots, mice, pikas, mole rats. Of the larger animals, corso foxes and antelopes live here. Of the birds - the steppe eagle, long-legged buzzard, harrier, bustard, little bustard, demoiselle crane, larks, red duck. Of the reptiles, one can distinguish the four-banded and yellow-bellied snakes, the wingless saga and the praying mantis; from arachnids - tarantula, scorpion and phalanx. In addition to these animals, steppe animals are also represented by traveling species that come here from other zones. For example, various steppe frogs (garlic, lake and moor) and toads.

Ungulates

These animals can rightly be called the masters of the steppe - because they move faster than all the local inhabitants, which helps them escape from enemies. Unfortunately, out of the variety of representatives of ungulates in the steppes of Russia, only the saiga antelope is found.

The birds that live in the steppe are mostly predators. The most numerous of them are kestrel, steppe eagle, little bustard. The largest feathered representative is the vulture, whose wingspan reaches three meters, and the most common is the kestrel. It can eat small rodents, insects and even lizards.

Adaptations for life in the steppe

There are not so many animals living exclusively in the steppe zone. Diversity of species of the inhabitants of the steppes of Eurasia, the prairies of North America and the pampas South America is determined by both climatic factors and the degree of development of territories.

In conditions temperate climate steppe animals are most widely represented by small rodents, predators are found: corsac, wild wolf; the herbivorous native of the steppes is the saiga.

Video: Dog hunting for the steppe wolf in Kazakhstan (do not watch for the faint of heart). It may be more cruel, for example, to shoot at wolves from a jeep, here the wolf has little chance of surviving at all.

In the prairies of North America, bison, pronghorns, coyotes are preserved, and prairie dogs are the most numerous species rodents. The pampas of South America are rich in exotic animals. Anteaters, armadillos, capybaras live here, maned wolves, jaguars, Nandu ostrich, termites.

This is a small animal with reddish-gray fur and three dark stripes on the back and sides, the body length of which, together with the tail, does not exceed 9 cm. It feeds mainly on plant seeds and insects.

Korsak - steppe variety of fox, is a predator. The length of the animal is from 65 to 100 cm, the fur is gray-yellow, thick, lighter on the chest, stomach and muzzle. Its diet consists of rodents and insects.

The saiga antelope is a herbivorous artiodactyl animal resembling a sheep with high thin legs. The males have horns. The maximum body length is 130 cm. Antelopes feed on grasses and are herd animals.

In order to get to know this species of animals better, we suggest watching a movie. Animals on the Lens: Saigas (1982)

Among the inhabitants of the prairies, the bison (a ruminant of a powerful physique) is the most colorful: its height reaches 3 meters, its weight can reach (in large males) 1 ton. Bison live in herds, have a good sense of smell, their body is covered with thick hair. The number of this species is steadily declining.

The prairie dog is native to the prairies. This small omnivorous animal has a reddish-gray fur color traditional for the steppe zone, leads night image life, somewhat reminiscent of a groundhog.

Below is a video about prairie animals. Prairie History (2006). This is the story of two very different prairie dwellers: a huge buffalo and a prairie dog, America's most underrated animal.

Very numerous, living in colonies, the inhabitants of the pampas are termites. They build entire "castles" - termite mounds, feed on dead plants. These insects serve as a food base for many animals.

The armadillo and anteater are mammals that eat both insects (including termites) and plants. They surprise researchers with their peculiar appearance.