Some ways to wildlife research in a megalopolis (on the example of the city of Nizhny Novgorod)

Abstract

The paper is aimed to characterize the abundance of wildlife species listed in the Red Data Books of Russia and the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast on the territory of the city of Nizhny Novgorod, a megalopolis located in the geographical center of European Russia, to identify particular areas as habitats of rare species, to justify the need for protection of these areas. The analysis was based on the results of the authors’ surveys, published data, stock information (since the end of the XIX century), facts collected by the methods of citizen science. We have been developed the database containing 938 units of information about the registrations of 119 rare wildlife species in the city and identified 37 areas as the most important habitats of rare wildlife species, the human transformation of which should be avoided or requires special attention to the conservation of rare wildlife species and their habitats. We have proposed the matrix to estimate the degree of protection of urban habitats of rare wildlife species. Today, the habitats of a third of rare species are not protected by law. If all 37 identified natural areas are adopted as protected, more than 82% of rare urban species will be provided with territorial protection in full or at a high level.