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RESPONDENT
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Eugeny Syroechkovski, Jr.
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SITE NAME
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Neshkan settlement, Chukotsky Peninsula, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (095)246-71-54/(095)124-79-32 // ees@gcnet.ru // Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Leninski prospekt, 33, Moscow, 117071, 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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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| Snow cover reduced to 50% (20% near settlement) on 21 May which is very early. Chukchi Sea was ice-free in late May, and wide belt of ice along the coast was afterwards broken 2-3 weeks earlier than normal. Mass flowering of cotton-grass was observed on 24 May along with activity of various invertebrates: spiders, bumblebees, flies and caddis-flies.
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| Date of 50%
snow-cover: |
21.05
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
low
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Breeding conditions:
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Pintails, Common Eiers, Sandhill Cranes, Herring and Glaucous gulls arrived in the beginning of the last 10-day period of May, while Willow Ptarmigans, Snow Buntings, Pectoral, Western, Semipalmated and Rock sandpipers were actively displaying at this time. Snow and Brant geese and Rough-leged Buzzards were migrating westward. Lapland Bunting carrying nest material and ready to lay eggs female of Western Sandpiper were seen on 23-24 May.
Arctic Foxes were not seen near Neshkan, probably due to abundant dogs near settlement. Arctic Foxes were seen twice and wolverine once on the southern coast of the lagoon. Two wandering Snowy Owls were seen on 24 May and 3 June, and one Short-eared Owl on 4 June. Rodent-specialized avian predators did not breed. A pair of Peregrine Falcons was seen on Idlidlya Island, and several pairs near Enurmino settlement. Colonies of Herring and Glaucous gulls were found on rocky Idlidlya Island and the islands of lagoon.
Judging by commonness of birds with broods reproductive success of waders and passerines was not below average in the close vicinity of the settlement. Fledged juveniles of Semipalmated Sandpiper were observed already on 10 July. Waterfowl numbers near settlement and on proximate lagoons were low, presumably due to hunting commited during the whole summer by local people.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Microtus sp. voles were common on the dumping places in the village. Rodents were rare in tundra of the Neshkan Spit: we saw burrows after snow melt, and 3 Brown Lemmings were seen in June and July on the coast and in tundra. Under-snow nests, tracks and droppings were relatively numerous in the hilly area on the southern coast of the lagoon, but animals were not seen. Local residents reported high abundance of lemmings in 2000.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Lemmus trimucronatus | rare |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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