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RESPONDENT
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Vadim Vinogradov
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SITE NAME
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Russkaya River low reaches, Western Siberia, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Inventory of animals of the Tazovsky district of Yamalo-Nenetsky Okrug by Reseach Center on Biodiversity Conserv.of RANS
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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25.06
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27.07
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3
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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| Season phenology: |
average
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Weather conditions: |
| Ice broke on the Taz River in average time, or slightly later. Flood was very high. Warm periods occurred in June, but almost the whole July temperatures were low, accompanied by strong wind and rains. There were only 3 warm and dry days with weak southern wind for the period of studies. Rain lasting from 2-3 to 24 hours occurred on other days.
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
early June
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
high
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Breeding conditions:
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Red Fox, Wolverine and Ermine were common, likewise Short-eared and Hawk owls. We observed Hawk Owl which managed to take 5 Short-tailed Voles on a sandy river beach during 2 hours on 17 July. Skuas were present only on small tundra-like marshes in wide valleys of springs, and Herring Gulls were also rare. Merlin, Gyrfalcon and Northern Harrier occurred in typical numbers for the forest tundra: 8, 3 and 6 pairs per 110 km of the river, respectively. Peregrine Falcon, Northern Goshawk and Sparrowhawk were seen only once each, and Hobby twice. Crows are absent in the Russkaya River valley, and Raven very rare. Pressure of predators on birds was probably low.
Reproductive success was low due to very cold and rainy weather. Wandering passerines and waders were seen during all July, and replacement clutches were found in either: e.g., fresh eggs of Dusky Thrush on 14 July and Wood Sandpiper on 18 July (given first observation of chicks on 12 July). Wandering Common and Wood sandpipers and Reeves started to gather in flocks by 20 July.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Short-tailed Voles occurred in the floodplain in considerable numbers.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Microtus agrestis | abundant |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
| Poor weather did not allow to sample long enough transects - only 28.2 km were surveyed. Counts from motor boats were regularly performed at a river segment from Tazovsk to Togul mouth, but waders were only counted on channels. Values obtained on passerine numbers were apparently conservative due to their very low activity.
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