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RESPONDENT
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Irina Menyushina
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SITE NAME
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Neizvestnaya River upper reaches, Wrangel Island, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (495)687-06-57 // v.n.ira@mail.ru // Prospect Mira, 103-109, Moscow, 129085, Russia
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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20.05
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20.08
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| Snowmelt was late, but start of summer warm and dry. In late July prolonged snowstorm with north-western winds occurred. Temperature was freezing, snow formed complete cover on tundra, and ice started to form near river banks. This resulted in death of most chicks and mass departure of adult waders and passerines.
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| Date of 50%
snow-cover: |
13.06
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
7.06
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
20.06
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
average
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Breeding conditions:
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| Lemming numbers were average and increasing; Snowy Owl numbers were low, and about 50% of Arctic Fox dens were occupied. In a permanent study area of 46 sq.km Arctic Fox density was 0.11 pairs/sq.km, while birds had the following densities (in nests/sq.km): Snowy Owl - 0.22, Pomarine Skua - 0.13, Long-tailed Skua - 0.24. Predation pressure on tundra birds was significant, in particular during July snowstorm, after which 9 remnants and bodies of waders and passerines were found at a transect of 2.5 km. Majority of wader broods and many Snow Buntings died during the snowstorm from starvation and predators.
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Rodent dynamics:
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
| Studies of Snowy Owl population ecology. Monitoring of rodent-specialized predators' numbers of Wrangel Island
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