STUDIES OF DIVERSITY OF THE ANIMAL POPULATION IN ZONAL CLIMATIC GRADIENTS USING THE TRANSECT METHOD

Zonal trends of changes in animal population diversity on land are stu died with the models of individual taxa and multispecies communities. Development of the transect method and use of different scale topoecol ogical gradients make it possible to follow the succession of the spec ies composition and topical. preferences of individual species, as wel l as changes in their absolute and relative abundance, which lead to c hanges in the structure and pattern of functioning of the community as a whole. Modem methodological approaches concerning organization of c omplex studies on megatransects crossing several natural zones are ana lyzed. Methods of estimation of inter- and intrazonal changes in the a nimal population structure and diversity are discussed.