BREEDING CONDITIONS REPORT, 2002


RESPONDENT

Pavel Nikolsky

SITE NAME

Novaya Sibir Island, southern coast, Russia

Contact details (phone/fax//e-mail//address):
230-80-84(w)/128-60-76(h) // // Russia, 119017, Moscow, Pyzhevsky per, 7, Geological Institute

PROJECT DETAILS

Project name:

Zhokhov-2002

Start of survey:

End of survey: Team size:

15.07

28.08

2


WEATHER CONDITIONS

Season phenology: late

Weather conditions:

Snow melt was late. Season was unusually cold with exceptionally abundant precipitation and very strong winds. Snowfalls with wet snow were frequent, and pelting rains were accompanied by thunderstorm which is very unusual for the area. Soil accumulated water quickly and remained wet the whole season even on watersheds. Ice retained near southern coast for a long time - until mid August, and afterwards ice fields occasionally appeared there.

 

Season temperature: cold
Season humidity: rainy
Date of 50% snow-cover: 10.07
Date of ice-break on rivers:
Date of final loss of snow: late July

BIOTIC CONDITIONS

Rodents abundance evaluation:

high

Breeding conditions:

Lemmings, waders and Snowy Owls were numerous. We saw 19 owls at a time in mid August in an area not exceeding 4 sq.km, and also we saw two broods with 3 and 4 chicks. In contrast to 2001 no wolves or Polar Bears were seen. Numbers of skuas, waders and Long-tailed Ducks did not appear to be affected by relatively low temperatures and unusually abundant precipitation.
 

Rodent dynamics:

Rodent species recorded:

LatinAbundance

Summary of fauna studies:

 

FAUNA IN STUDY AREA

Group of speciesPresenceAbundanceBreedingDetailed studiesComment
arctic foxesYescommon   
lemmingsYesabundant   
wadersYesabundant   
ducksYescommon   
ptarmigansYescommon   
skuasYesabundant   
gulls/ternsYescommon   
owlsYesabundanthatching Snowy
passerinesYesabundant   

 

SEABIRD COLONIES

speciesComment

 

WATERBIRD NON-BREEDING AGGREGATIONS

speciesAggregation typeNumberComment

 

HUMAN ACTIVITY IN THE STUDY AREA

Human activityComment
summer field camp 

 


Recommended citation

Nikolsky, P.A. (2002). Breeding conditions report for Novaya Sibir Island, southern coast, Russia, 2002. ARCTIC BIRDS: an international breeding conditions survey. (Online database). Eds. M.Soloviev, P.Tomkovich. . Updated 11 Dec. 2008. Accessed .

 more on citation guidelines

 

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