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SITE NAME
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Medusa Bay, Taimyr Peninsula, Russia
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| Contact
details (phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| 31 255 564 660/31 255 564 644 // Ingrid.Tulp@wur.nl // Netherlands Institute for Fisheries Research (RIVO) P.O. Box 68, 1970 AB IJmuiden, The Netherlands |
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PROJECT DETAILS
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Project name:
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Medusa Bay 2000 |
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey:
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Team
size:
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6.06 |
4.08 |
9 |
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WEATHER CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| On 6 June (arrival) snow cover was already <50%. Medusa River started flowing on 12 June which is much earlier than usual. Snow melt was much earlier, probably due to a warm period already early in spring, but June was exceptionally cold, with mean temperatures hardly over 0øC and wet with lots of snow, drizzle and mist. The first week of July was sunny but cold, the second week cold and wet again. The remainder of July and early August were sunny and even warm with maximum of 20øC. |
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| Date of ice-break
on rivers: |
12 June |
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| Date of final loss
of snow: |
25 June |
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BIOTIC CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
low |
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Breeding conditions:
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Lemming numbers were very low and Snowy Owls, skuas and Brent Geese did not attempt breeding. However, Long-tailed Skuas were territorial. Pomarine skuas were only on passage. A few breeding attempts of White-fronted Geese were observed. Predated nests of Taimyr Gulls, Glaucous Gulls and Arctic Terns were found on nearby islands. Several Rough-legged Buzzard pairs started breeding but either abandoned their clutch or their nests were predated. At least three different (non-reproducing) Arctic Foxes frequented the 4 sq km intensive study area. Wader nests were depredated by foxes mainly, judging from droppings or smell. Snow Buntings, breeding between rocks, were also predated by Arctic Foxes and Stoats. At the nearby rivers Efremova, Maximovka and Lemberova Peregrine Falcons were breeding successfully and several pairs of Red-breasted Geese and White-fronted Geese bred in their vicinity.
Waders were present in numbers comparable to previous years. Hatching success (calculated using daily survival probabilities) was low: 0% for Curlew Sandpipers, 3% for Dunlins, 13% for Pacific Golden Plovers, 19% for Ringed Plovers, 0.4% for Little Stint. Passerines did much better with 47% for Snow Bunting, 29% for Lapland Bunting and 21% for Shore Lark. Of all 249 nests found (including passerines and Rock Ptarmigans) 191 were depredated (76%). Of the 197 wader nests, 163 were depredated (83%). Although special care was taken in approaching and marking nests (using GPS), we are convinced that reseach activities influenced predation rate. Dunlins, Little Stints, Ringed Plovers and Pacific Golden Plovers laid replacement clutches, Curlew Sandpipers did not. Due to the chronology of weather conditions, the peak in arthropod abundance occurred very late and, combined with the high temperatures, led to favourable growing conditions for chicks. In late July a reasonable number of fledged young Little Stints, Dunlin and Curlew Sandpipers passed through the area. |
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Rodent dynamics:
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| We met lemmings only occasionally - once in every few days. The few lemmings seen were mainly Siberian Lemmings, with occasional Collared Lemmings. In July young were observed more often.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Lemmus sibiricus | rare |
| Dicrostonyx torquatus | rare |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
| Detailed studies of breeding success of abundance of all bird species were carried out in the breeding bird monitoring project of Raymond Klaassen and Sergei Khomenko. Breeding success was determined for all wader species by us and for passerine species by Yulia Bublichenko. For all birds breeding success was very low (varying between <1% nest survival probability fro Curlew sandpiper to 19% for Ringed Plover). Data on island breeding birds (geese, gulls, terns) were collected by Sergei Kharitonov. Lemming densities were measured by Andrej Bublichenko. A basic report incorporating all different studies will be written within one year after the end of the expedition. |
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