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Phytogeographical regions of Mongolia (modified after Yunatov 1950). Refer to " Study area " subsection for numbering of these regions. White dots represent major cities, black dots the sampling points of our study. Dark green represents mountain taiga forest, light green – forest steppe, yellowish green – steppe, yellow – semidesert , tawny – desert ecosystems.
Source publication
Information on the biogeographical composition and spatial distribution patterns of ant assemblages in Mongolia is relatively scarce. In this study we investigated species richness, spatial distribution and biogeographical composition of the Mongolian ant fauna and recorded a total of 71 species belonging to 17 genera and three subfamilies. Genus a...
Citations
... Together with these species, the total number of ant species from Mongolia has increased up to 75. Bayartogtokh et al. (2014) performed an analysis on biogeographical composition and spatial distribution patterns of ant assemblages in Mongolia. These authors found that a major part of the Mongolian ant fauna is associated with the mountain taiga and forest-steppe ecosystems, while a few species occur in the arid steppe, semidesert and desert ecosystems. ...
... These authors found that a major part of the Mongolian ant fauna is associated with the mountain taiga and forest-steppe ecosystems, while a few species occur in the arid steppe, semidesert and desert ecosystems. In Mongolia, due to the high habitat heterogeneity, species diversity of ants in various areas may differ as a consequence of small microclimatic factors that can determine whether a species is present or absent within a location (Pfeiffer et al., 2003); thus, small-scale patterns of habitat distribution are important for ant life in Mongolia, especially in arid regions (Bayartogtokh et al., 2014). ...
Currently, seven species of Camponotus are known from Mongolia, with three belonging to the subgenus Camponotus and two belonging to each of the subgenera Myrmentoma and Tanaemyrmex. Two species, Camponotus (Myrmentoma) lameerei and C. (M.) quadrinotatus, are herein recorded as new to the Mongolian ant fauna. These species belong to the C. fallax group. The specimens of C. quadrinotatus from Mongolia well agreed with the Japanese specimens examined in structure, sculpture and pilosity, but had paler color pattern than in the latter. An identification key to the workers of the genus Camponotus known from Mongolia is provided. Currently, a total of 75 ant species are known from Mongolia.
... Formica kozlovi Dlussky, 1965 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is a species of the Serviformica group (earlier defined as the subgenus Serviformica Forel, 1913) that inhabits a relatively wide range of habitats in Mongolia and the mountains of southern Siberia [1][2][3][4][5]. In terms of its morphology, F. kozlovi is very close to the polar ant, Formica gagatoides Ruzsky, 1904, which was long thought to exclusively inhabit the northern part of the Palaearctic [6]. ...
... The color reflects the source of the data: pink-data of Antmaps [12]; yellow-data of the authors, white-literature data. The numbers inside the figures indicate the region given in the literature: 1-the East European Plain (Komi Republic, Russia [19]); 2-4-Ural mountains (2-Perm Region, Russia [17]; 3-Sverdlovsk Region, Russia [6,19]; and 4-Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia [19]); 5-Altai Mountains (Altai Republic, Russia [1]); 6-Kuznetsk Alatau (Kemerovo Region, Russia [20]); 7-9-Middle Siberia (7-Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Russia [8]; 8-Podkamennaya Tunguska River, Irkutsk Region, Russia [8]; 9-central Yakutia, Saha Republic, Russia [6,8]); 10-north-eastern Yakutia (Saha Republic, Russia [6,8]); 11-14-the Russian Far East (11-Kolyma River [10], 12-Magadan, Magadan Region, Russia; 13-Sakhalin island [21]; 14-Southern Sikhote-Alin Ridge, Primorye Territory, Russia [9]); 15-Baikal Region (the Republic of Buryatia, Russia [2]);16-25-Mongolia (16-Khovd, 17-Depression of Great Lakes, 18-Gobi Altai, 19-Khangai, 20-Khuvsgul, 21-Central Mongolia, 22-Trans-Altai Gobi, 23-Ulaanbaatar, 24-Khentii, 25-Eastern Mongolia) [3][4][5]; and 26-China (Nayan Shan Ridge) [5,6]. ...
... The color reflects the source of the data: pink-data of Antmaps [12]; yellow-data of the authors, white-literature data. The numbers inside the figures indicate the region given in the literature: 1-the East European Plain (Komi Republic, Russia [19]); 2-4-Ural mountains (2-Perm Region, Russia [17]; 3-Sverdlovsk Region, Russia [6,19]; and 4-Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia [19]); 5-Altai Mountains (Altai Republic, Russia [1]); 6-Kuznetsk Alatau (Kemerovo Region, Russia [20]); 7-9-Middle Siberia (7-Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Russia [8]; 8-Podkamennaya Tunguska River, Irkutsk Region, Russia [8]; 9-central Yakutia, Saha Republic, Russia [6,8]); 10-northeastern Yakutia (Saha Republic, Russia [6,8]); 11-14-the Russian Far East (11-Kolyma River [10], 12-Magadan, Magadan Region, Russia; 13-Sakhalin island [21]; 14-Southern Sikhote-Alin Ridge, Primorye Territory, Russia [9]); 15-Baikal Region (the Republic of Buryatia, Russia [2]); 16-25-Mongolia (16-Khovd, 17-Depression of Great Lakes, 18-Gobi Altai, 19-Khangai, 20-Khuvsgul, 21-Central Mongolia, 22-Trans-Altai Gobi, 23-Ulaanbaatar, 24-Khentii, 25-Eastern Mongolia) [3][4][5]; and 26-China (Nayan Shan Ridge) [5,6]. ...
Ants of the genus Formica play an important role in biogenesis by participating in various processes, including the formation of complex trophic networks. The role of ants in an ecosystem depends on their species and geographic population, which can be difficult to identify. Formica gagatoides with a wide range and F. kozlovi are among some examples. The question is whether the Siberian populations of F. kozlovi really belong to this species or are local populations of F. gagatoides. Based on the materials collected in Russia (Murmansk Region, the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Altai, Far East), a morphological analysis (key diagnostic features) and molecular genetic analysis (COI, ITS1, D2 28S) were carried out. In all localities, there were individuals with pure (gagatoides, kozlovi) and mixed (gagatoides/kozlovi) morphotypes, with the exception of the Magadan Region, where the kozlovi morphotype was absent. According to the phylogenetic trees, F. gagatoides formed separate geographical branches, with the Siberian F. kozlovi being close and clearly conspecific to the Asian branch of F. gagatoides. A relatively high COI divergence, along with some differences in the ITS1 sequences, between the Asian and European F. gagatoides raises the question about the conspecificity of the Asian and European branches of this species.
... The steppes are also rich in invertebrates: ants (Formicinae) play a major role in the soil fauna (Bayartogtokh et al., 2014), while grasshoppers (Orthoptera), moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) are abundant in many places. Invertebrate herbivores are in direct competition with grazers and can be used as bioindicators for overgrazing (Enkthur et al., 2016). ...
... The territory of this country is marked by diverse land with six natural vegetation zones from the north to the south: high mountain zone, taiga forest zone, mountain forest-steppe zone, steppe zone, desert steppe zone, and Gobi Desert zone [9]. In addition, a large variety of the continental climates in Mongolia result in rich biodiversity in each of the zones [10]. Many of the plants in this region have been known to possess chemical constituents that benefit humans, domestic livestock, and the surrounding ecosystem. ...
Mongolian nomadic people possess traditional knowledge of wild plants that grow in their areas of habitation. Many of these are forage plants in nature and are consumed by livestock. However, these plants are known to have medicinal and/or toxic properties. To establish a scientific understanding of the plants, and in turn, offer sound knowledge on their applications and effective use, it is essential to collect data pertaining to the chemical constituents of each plant. Therefore, the first objective of this study was to identify and determine the structural constituents of the forage plants that were available to our research group. Furthermore, in an attempt to demonstrate the biological activities of the isolated chemical compounds, we focused on solving some of the social issues affecting Mongolian communities, including protozoan diseases affecting livestock, vectors of infectious diseases, and the general health of humans and their livestock. The results of the chemical constituents derived from Mongolian medicinal plants and their biological activities that were studied in the recent decade are also described herein.
Graphic abstract
... The country has a large variety of geographic features including high mountains in the west, forests in the north, deserts in the south and plain steppes in the central and eastern regions, with various environmental and geographic formations. Insect biogeographic studies have been done only for a few groups of terrestrial insects of Mongolia (Namkhaidorj 1974;Myagmarsuren 1979Myagmarsuren , 1996Bielawski 1984;Puntsagdulam 1994;Bayartogtokh et al. 2014;Buyanjargal et al. 2016). There are no reports of biogeographic studies of aquatic insects, particularly aquatic Coleoptera undertaken in Mongolia. ...
The bio-geographical composition and spatial distribution patterns of dytiscid assemblages in Mongolia are relatively unexplored. In this study, we compiled a list of 99 dytiscid species belonging to 20 genera and five subfamilies recorded in Mongolia and investigated species richness, spatial distribution and bio-geographical composition of the Mongolian dytiscid fauna. This study encompasses the information of currently recorded species and their geographic localities in Mongolia based on our own data and literature sources. We examined how dytiscid species richness was related to sub-basins of surface water network, as well as to geographical elevations within Mongolia. The majority of the Mongolian dytiscid fauna was associated with the sub-basins belonging to Arctic Ocean (80 species, 80.8%) and Central Asian Inland (60 species, 60.6%) basins. Only a few species of dytiscids belonged to the remaining river basins. Species richness of dytiscids and a total area of sub-basins were not correlated, but species composition of dytiscids differed significantly among the sub-basins.
We observed that most of the species (77 species or 77.8% of total fauna) were recorded in a wide range of elevations and mid-altitudes (1000–2000 m a.s.l.) and showed the greatest diversity of dytiscids. Regarding the bio-geographical composition, species with wide geographical distributions (27.3% of dytiscids), were Palearctic species, while species of Arctic origin (21.2%) together with Boreal elements (16.2%) comprised a large proportion of the dytiscid fauna in Mongolia.
... Mongolia is home to a rich insect fauna (Bayartogtokh et al., 2016). Ants (Formicinae) are abundant everywhere and important as predators and eco-engineers (Bayartogtokh et al., 2014;Pfeiffer et al., 2003). Darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) are exceptional rich in species and well adapted to the dry climate; their radiation is strongly shaped by the steep climate gradient that provides a north-south zonation for this thermophilic taxon (Paknia et al., 2013). ...
Mongolian grasslands and arid rangelands cover 80% of the country’s area at an estimated 1.2 million km2. They are still
relatively intact, with largely natural environmental conditions and natural structure, and the country has declared >17% of
its territory as conservation area. The region has an extremely continental climate with absolute temperatures fluctuating
between −50 �C and +45 �C, and <350 mm rainfall per year. Botanically, Mongolia is located at the intersection between
three different subkingdoms (i.e., the Boreal, Tethyan, and East Asian subkingdoms) of the Holarctic realm. Nomadic herders
use these pastures since the Bronze Age and livestock grazing has been the dominant human impact in Mongolian grasslands
until now, with the national herd comprising >65 Mio. animals in 2018. Overgrazing has become a major problem in parts
of the steppe ecosystem, impacting fauna and flora and leading to a higher vulnerability of herds to mass mortality in harsh
winters. Global warming is another major global change impact in Mongolia.
... The steppes are also rich in invertebrates: ants (Formicinae) play a major role in the soil fauna (Bayartogtokh et al., 2014), while grasshoppers (Orthoptera), moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) are abundant in many places. Invertebrate herbivores are in direct competition with grazers and can be used as bioindicators for overgrazing (Enkthur et al., 2016). ...
Mongolia, China and neighboring Russia comprise the largest almost continuous
grassland regions of the world. Our chapter highlights the unique biodiversity of the
region as well as the human use of its biological richness and the threats to the ecosystem.
... Линия ошибок показывает стандартное отклонение ±1. Yamane, Aibek, 2012; Bayartogtokh et al., 2014] except of Pfeiffer et al. [2003], who studied the ant community structure along an ecological gradient from steppe to desert in Mongolia. e present study is the first intensive survey to compare the ant community among different vegetation types and to clarify the effect of livestock grazing on ant communities in the same area. ...
We examined for the first time the effects of livestock grazing on ant species richness, structure of ant communities and nesting density in three different habitat types and natural and grazed conditions in the Bogdkhan Mountains region, North-Central Mongolia. Twenty one species of ants were recorded in the studied area. The most species rich genera were Formica with 8 species (38.1%) and Myrmica with 4 species (19%) when all the habitat types are combined. Overall, we collected 19 species (90.5%) from forest steppe, 18 species (85.7%) from steppe, and 12 species (57.1%) from meadow. Based on occurrence data, the most common species were Formica candida, Myrmica kasczenkoi and Myrmica pisarskii. The number of ant species in each habitat depends on the grazing condition (F = 6.3837, P = 0.0217), and interaction between grazing condition and habitats (F = 6.6647, P = 0.0073). The frequency occurrence of ants in all habitat types depends only on habitat conditions (F = 4.4556, P = 0.0499) and not on any effects of habitats (F = 4.4207, P = 0.6632) and interaction between grazing condition and habitats (F = 0.9008, P = 0.4248). In total, we counted 1173 ant nests in 23 transects. The largest number of nests (957, or 81.5%) belonged to Formica candida, followed by Myrmica kasczenkoi (46 nests, 3.9%). The lowest number of nests (1, or 0.08%) belonged to Formica exsecta, Formica sanguinea and Leptothorax acervorum, followed by Formica uralensis and Myrmica forcipata (2, or 0.15%). Among the six habitats, the lowest density of nests was in the grazed forest steppe (0.15 nests/m2) and the highest in the natural meadow (1.17 nests/m2). The natural (0.41 nests/m2) and grazed (0.59 nest/m2) steppes had similar nest densities. Statistically, there was no difference in the nest density between all habitat types (F = 6.68, P = 0.5237).
