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RESPONDENT
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Mikhail Soloviev
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SITE NAME
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Bludnaya River mouth, Taimyr, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (495)9394424 // mikhail-soloviev@yandex.ru // Dept. of Vertebrate Zoology, Biological Faculty, Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow, Russia
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Wader Monitoring Project at Taimyr
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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8.06
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8.08
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4
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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| Season phenology: |
average
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Weather conditions: |
Start of season in 2000 was not early or late, but the last 3 weeks of June were the coldest after same periods of 1994 and 1996 years, which were exceptionally late. These three weeks of June were very rainy, with only 2 days dry, which is an absolute record for the seven-year period of observations. Situation improved rapidly on the turn to July, when temperature went up steeply and reached average values by mid July. Precipitation was also moderate in July and number of sunny days was higher than usual, allowing bird chicks to hatch in favourable weather conditions.
Flood basically followed pattern of the earliest in this respect 1999 with early start of rise - on 11 June, and early retreat. This made floodplain habitats available for birds relatively early in the season. Despite July warming insect and plant phenology was heavily affected by cold June, being delayed compared to other years except for extremely late 1994 and 1996.
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| Date of 50%
snow-cover: |
13 June
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
18 June
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
high
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Breeding conditions:
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Arctic Foxes were rarely seen. They presumably bred, but destroyed very few bird clutches in camp vicinities. Weasels were twice recorded in June. Pomorine, Arctic, and Long-tailed Skuas all nested successfully, but densities of two former species were very low. A nest of Rough-legged Buzzards with 2 chicks was found on Khatanga River shore about 6 km to the north from the main study area.
Ruffs and Little Stints nested at unusually high density, but combined density of wader species retained at an average level of 100 nests/sq km, because Pectoral Sandpipers had low number. Density of Lapland Buntings was also low, presumably due to adverse weather conditions in June, but predation on their nests was negligible and most of them survived until fledging. Willow Grouse, Arctic Tern and ducks had mostly high nest success.
Among waders nest success was particularly high in Pacific Golden Plover (80%) and Dunlin (88%), while nomadic species were less successful, although still having good output (Red Phalarope - 65%, Little Stint - 57%, Ruff - 60%, Pectoral Sandpiper - 56%). Fledging success could have been decreased by activities of Arctic and Long-tailed skuas, which had apparent difficulties catching lemmings in late July to early August.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Siberian Lemming numbers further increased compared to 1999 when they were already high enough to allow successful reproduction of birds. After complete melting off snow, on 19 June, lemming winter nests were counted on a transect 7.9 km long and 10 m wide, located principally within flat-hillock marsh - the dominating habitat in the study area. On this transect 49 winter nests were recorded which corresponds to the density 6.2 nest/km, or 620 nests/km2. In total 580 lemmings were recorded in June-July 2000 by four observers, which four times higher than a previous maximum of 1996 year. Numbers reached peak on 17 June with 51 animal, and dropped to non-daily records by mid July. Collared Lemmings took no part in the out-break, constituting for only 1.5% of identified animals. This is much smaller portion compared to 10-15% in previous years with numbers reasonably high for comparisons, but in absolute terms nearly constant level of numbers was retained. Broods of Siberian Lemmings were found and juvenile animals became more common in the second half of July.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Lemmus sibiricus | abundant |
| Dicrostonyx torquatus | rare |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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