Although the European hamster is probably the fastest-declining Eurasian mammal, its IUCN RedList status is still Least Concern. In addition to the huge distribution area, this categorization is based on the assumptions (1) that the decline affects only Western Europe, where (2) modern agriculture has led to (3) an increase in the mortality of the species. Since mortality-reducing protection measures in Western Europe have been unable to stop the decline, we reviewed the literature from 1765 to the present and reappraised the situation. We found support for none of these assumptions. The species has also vanished from more than 75% of its range in Central and Eastern Europe. In 48 of 85 Russian, Belarussian, Ukrainian and Moldovan provinces, its relative occurrence has decreased. It is now rare in 42 provinces and extinct in 8. Mortality has not increased, but the reproduction rate has shrunk since 1954 throughout the distribution area. Today the reproduction rate is only 23% of that between 1914 and 1935. Taking into account the mortality of this prey species, 1 female today raises only 0.5 females for next year's reproduction. The extrapolation of the literature data points to an extinction of the species between 2020 and 2038. We strongly recommend (1) changing the status of the European hamster on the IUCN Red List from Least Concern at least to Vulnerable or even Endangered and (2) supporting scientific research on the reproduction of European hamsters as a protection measure. Global threats such as climate change, light pollution or (in the past) fur trapping are more likely to be the ultimate reason for the decline of this species than modern agriculture.
The Common hamster (Cricetus cricetus) is one of the most endangered mammals in Western and Central Europe. Its genetic diversity in Russia and Kazakhstan was investigated for the first time. The analysis of sequences of an mtDNA control region and cytochrome b gene revealed at least three phylogenetic lineages. Most of the species range (approximately 3 million km2), including central Russia, Crimea, the Ural region, and northern Kazakhstan), is inhabited by a single, well-supported phylogroup, E0. Phylogroup E1, previously reported from southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, was first described from Russia (Bryansk Province). E0 and E1 are sister lineages but both are monophyletic and separated by considerable genetic distance. Hamsters inhabiting Ciscaucasia represent a separate, distant phylogenetic lineage, named “Caucasus”. It is sister to the North phylogroup from Western Europe and the contemporary phylogeography for this species is discussed considering new data. These data enabled us to develop a new hypothesis to propose that in the Late Pleistocene, the continuous range of the Common hamster in the northern Mediterranean extended from the central and southern parts of modern France to the Caucasus; however, its distribution was subsequently interrupted, likely because of climate change.
Following the expansion of agriculture in the Neolithic period, the common hamster has spread throughout Europe, and occurred abundantly until the recent past. However, in the last 45 years, populations declined markedly, partly attributable to urbanization and to major changes in agricultural practices. As a result, the species has been considered endangered at international levels as well as in most European countries. At the same time, the species has established populations in large Central and Eastern-European cities such as Vienna (Austria), Simferopol (Ukraine) and Nalchik (Russia), where it inhabits green spaces such as parks, gardens, embankments and buffer strips. In an attempt to reveal factors enabling hamsters to cope with urban environments, we reviewed historical data and habitat conditions of several urban hamster populations. We suggest that supplemental food resources and reduced predation pressure were the main factors promoting urban occurrence of common hamsters in the last 30 years. Its notable adaptability may be associated with higher stress resilience, ecological opportunism, polyphagy and higher fertility compared to species Unauthenticated Download Date | 5/13/18 9:19 AM 114 NATALIA -YU. relying on non-urban habitats. The phenomenon of synurbization implies coexistence of wildlife and our urban civilization, but at the same time conflicting interests in conservation and urban development. Thus, the common hamster might serve as a model species for efficient mitigation and compensation concepts in urbanism and spatial planning.
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