Abstract

Background: The article presents the results of a comprehensive study of the impact of industrial pollution on narrow-headed vole (Stenocranius gregalis Pall., 1779) in steppe ecosystems of Pavlodar Pre-Irtysh. Studies were conducted in different zones of industrial pollution, including impact, buffer and background zones near the aluminum production of Pavlodar city, as well as in the control area. Various ecological parameters including population size, its age and sex structure, morphological and cranial characteristics of animals, as well as fluorine content in bone tissue were evaluated. Results: The results showed that aluminum production emissions have a significant effect on reducing the population size, morphological and cranial parameters of narrow-headed vole. It was found that fluorine accumulation near emission sources reaches the highest values and decreases with distance from the plants. Conclusions: The obtained data confirm that the narrow-headed vole is a reliable bioindicator of industrial pollution, which makes this species a model species for ecological monitoring of anthropogenic impact on steppe ecosystems.