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RESPONDENT
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Alexander Dmitriev
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SITE NAME
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Bely Island, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| 8-916-1261511/8-495-2152901(for Dmitriev) // zzu@inbox.ru // Orekhovy bulevar, 16-241, Moscow, Russia
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Inventory of animals of the Yamal-Nenets Okrug
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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23.07
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7.09
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3
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| Spring was slightly later than normal. Snow completely melted on 15-20 July, and ice broke on 10 July in the Malygina Strait. Weather was warm in mid July, and extremal events were not observed in the rest of the summer and autumn. Humidity did not drop below 85% which is normal for the coastal area. Permafrost melted to the depth of approximately 10 cm in late July in typical tundra, and lowland mires were flooded with a water table reaching 30 cm, which did not decrease substantially until late August. Tide on sea reached 80-120 cm, depending on wind direction.
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| Date of 50%
snow-cover: |
5-10.07
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
15-20.07
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
high
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Breeding conditions:
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Arctic Fox was seen regularly, including broods with up to 8 cubs.
Breeding and moulting geese were numerous almost everywhere on the island, in particular high numbers of moulting White-fronted Geese and birds with broods were recorded in the Nyabipakha Bay and seaside meadows at the northwest of the island. Skuas were numerous everywhere and bred, while records of Snowy Owls included 3 solitary birds in the northwest of the island on 28.07, 16.08 and 3.09. Rough-legged Buzzard was not seen. Three non-breeding White-tailed Sea Eagles were seen wandering on the island.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Lemming numbers were high, and they were seen almost daily, at a rate of 4-10 animals per excursion. Siberian Lemmings prevailed in records, with solitary records of Collared Lemmings. Inhabited burrows were the most common in typical tundra, where their clusters occurred 150-350 m from each other. A separate population of lemmings inhabited deserted polar station, where occasional catches were conducted.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Lemmus sibiricus | common |
| Dicrostonyx torquatus | rare |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
| Bird counts in different habitats were conducted in a framework of Inventory of animals of the Tazovsky district of Yamalo-Nenetsky Okrug by Reseach Center on Biodiversity Conservation of Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.
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