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SITE NAME
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Zackenberg, Greenland, Denmark
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| Contact
details (phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| +45 46301939(dir.)/+45 46301200(switchb.)/+45 46301914(fax) // mel@dmu.dk // National Environmental Research Institute Department of Arctic Environment Frederiksborgvej 399 Postbox 358 DK-4000 Roskilde DENMARK |
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PROJECT DETAILS
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey:
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Team
size:
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31.05 |
31.08 |
3 |
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WEATHER CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| The warmest spring and the earliest egg-laying in waders so far at Zackenberg in high arctic Greenland. Late May, June and early July were about the warmest recorded during more than 50 years of record in Northeast Greenland. We recorded egg-laying as early as the earliest recorded in high arctic Greenland since the first expeditions a hundred years ago. The snow-cover was heavy, but not particularly extensive - probably around 80% in early June. Normally, more or less continuous positive daily maximum temperatures do not begin until late May, but average remains below zero even into June. This year saw for the first time a positive mean for 21-31 May here at Zackenberg, and average was about 3øC higher than during each of the years 1996-2001. Early June was also warmer, but not much more than a number of earlier years. |
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| Date of 50%
snow-cover: |
19.06 |
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| Date of ice-break
on rivers: |
4.06 |
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| Date of final loss
of snow: |
late June |
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BIOTIC CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
average |
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Breeding conditions:
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Egg-laying had been initiated around 1 June in Turnstone and Dunlin nests, with median 1st egg dates even earlier than in the very early breeding season of 2000. Only a few records exist of equally early egg-laying in all of High Arctic Greenland, the most obvious explanation being extraordinary high temperatures in late May and early June.
The population censuses resulted in somewhat lower populations of Sanderling and Turnstone, possibly as the result of the three consecutive problematic breeding seasons mentioned above. Dunlins, however, seem to contradict this, since they apparently have continued their increase. Predation was again high in spite of many lemmings at least early in the season, but regionally the breeding season was very successful. Juvenile waders appeared in numbers on the mud-flats on the coast already in late July, and accumulated totals for Dunlin and Turnstone juveniles from counts every third day until the end of August exceeded what we have recorded in previous years. A very fine breeding season with no spells of inclement weather in June-July. |
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Four lemmings were seen by one researcher during the season. Lemming numbers were accessed using winter nests counts.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Dicrostonyx groenlandicus | common |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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