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SITE NAME
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Southampton Island, Canada
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| 609029209101/60909841414(fax) // // 516 Farnsworth Ave Apt 2, Bordentown, New Jersey 08505, USA
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Canadian Arctic Red Knot Population and Habitat Survey
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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18.06
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4.07
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9
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| The season was late and cold. Snow reduced to 50% cover on flat areas on 18 June and disappeared on 3 July. Ice broke up on major rivers on 12 June.
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| Date of 50%
snow-cover: |
18.06
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
12.06
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
3.07
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
low
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Breeding conditions:
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The conditions this year were significantly affected by increased numbers of Arctic Foxes and Long-tailed Skuas, which were both common. Owls, Rough-legged Buzzards and Pomarine Skuas were all rare and did not bred. Nest densities of Red Knots were lower than last year, which were lower than the year before.
Nest success was high for birds overall in 2002, except for the Red Knot which was more at an average/moderate range: 80% in American Golden Plover (n=10), 56% in Red Knot (n=9), 100% in Sanderling (n=5), 80% or higher in Dunlin (n=4) and Lapland Bunting (n=4).
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Lemmings were virtually absent this year after a population high in 2000.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
| This was our third year on one site on Southampton Island to determine the breeding status of the red knot and other shorebird species breeding within the study area. The goal of the work is to relate breeding density of red knots to conditions on the Delaware Bay where most red knots stage prior to reaching the Arctic. In previous years we attached radio transmitters to knots on the bay and located a majority of them on Southampton Island and King William Islands. Our last two years of work have focused on developing a defensible method of determining breeding density of knots and compare that to other breeding shorebirds that don't stage on the Delaware Bay. This year we related nest density determined with systematic sweeps for nests in our study area, with 20 min. point counts to allow an assessment of density over larger areas. We also conducted preliminary radio telemetry studies to assess needs for a future project. We have also used satellite derived habitat mapping and GPS to accurately map all nests and habitats on the site. Using this and field data we have created a database of all macro and micro habitat characteristics of all wader nests found.
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