Steppe dwellers |Rock dwellers

In all mountain regions we find similar habitat types and therefore we can find animals that fill the niche of the specific habitats in all the the regions. However, because the formation and colonisation histories of the regions are different, these animals are not the same species all over the world and sometimes do not even belong to the same order.

We can outline the following guilds of animals which occupy the same niches in their particular region:

Steppe dwellers:

Herbivore small mammals

Every alpine region contains large areas of grassland. A large variability of small mammals populate these habitats. This applies to the mountain regions selected here as well as for other ranges like the Andes or the Himalaya.

Large herbivore mammals

Large herbivore mammals do not live permanently in the alpine range. They feed in the alpine grasslands and retreat into the subalpine forests where they find protection from predators. They undertake daily migrations between feeding and resting sites.

Carnivores specialising in small mammal prey

Some small to mid-sized carnivores have spezialised in small mammal prey. What is remarkable is the striking similarity between the Semian fox from the Ethiopian highland and the Maned wolf from the Andes.

Specialists in larger mammal prey

The predators of larger mammals are bound less to the alpine habitat than to their prey. The large carnivores have wide home ranges and hunt in alpine regions as well as in lower mountain forests.

Rock/ Boulder dwellers:

Small mammals in boulder fields

Boulder fields are a habitat that harbour specially adapted species all over the world. Depending on the region, these species belong to very different systematic orders. The analog development of these boulder adapted species indicates that it is worthwile to adapt even to a habitat that seems at first look to be unprofitable.

Rock climbers

Rock climbers are also large herbivores but they retreat into the rocks after feeding instead of into the forest as in the case of the group of "large herbivore mammals").

The above mentioned niches have been occupied by a great variety of animals which are sometimes not related at all. But there also exist species that are closely related and look quite the same all over a continent or even around the world:

Wild goats (Europe)

Wild goats are common in alpine habitats because of their ability to climb rocks and their capability of living with a very sparse food supply. They are present in all European mountains but the species must have been isolated from one another long enough to have evolved peculiar morphs.

Marmots (World)

Marmots can be found all around the globe in the northern hemisphere.

29 August 2011
© ALPECOLe 2002-2007