Developmental stability and population dynamics of shrew Sorex in central Siberia

Authors examined temporal variation in developmental stability measured by fluctuating asymmetry of 10 skull characters in sympatric populations of three shrew species: Sorex araneus Linnaeus, 1758, S. caecutiens Laxmannm 1788 and S. tundrensis Merriam, 1900 from one locality in central Siberia with a high four-year-cycle of small mammals. Simultaneous significant changes in develpmental stability have benn revealed during a population cycle 1986-1989 for all three, most abundant shrew species in the locality.