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SITE NAME
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East Bay, Southampton Island, Nunavut, Canada
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (613)990-2384/(613)998-0458(fax) // paulallen.smith@ec.gc.ca // National Wildlife Research Centre, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0H3, Canada
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Shorebirds of East Bay
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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2.06
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28.07
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3
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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| Season phenology: |
average
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Weather conditions: |
| Snow cover reduced to 50% on 14 June and completely melted on 17 June. Though there was heavy spring snow cover, a very warm June led to its quick disappearance. In contrast to June, July was atypically cold with frequent rain and wind. Though we have no data on fledging rates, we expect that this cold wet weather at peak hatch caused problems for chick survival.
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| Date of 50%
snow-cover: |
14.06
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
17.06
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
low
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Breeding conditions:
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| Yet again, there were few lemmings at East Bay, and generally poor reproductive success of the breeding birds. We found many Brant nests in the coastal portion of the plot, though Brant had not nested at East Bay since 2000. Dunlin continue to increase in abundance at this site, and we found several nests there in 2005. Across the eastern low Arctic, weather in July and August was cold and wet, and I expect that chick growth and survival were adversely affected. Mayfield estimate of hatch success in shorebirds was 0.23, and hatching success in Sabine's Gulls was above 40% ('04/'05 nest monitoring for gulls was spotty - these are the % of nests where we saw chicks, but others could have been missed).
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Lemmings were at a low in this year. Capture data on snap trap transects are available, but no data for change in abundance.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Lemmus trimucronatus | rare |
| Dicrostonyx groenlandicus | rare |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
Detailed studies of all shorebirds species were made. We studied terns, gulls and waterfowl less intensively. All parameters of basic breeding ecology were recorded, such as nest success, nesting densities, timing of peak lay and hatch, etc.
Sources for the studies at East Bay include:
Perkins, D. E. 2004. The breeding ecology and behavioural endocrinology of Ruddy Turnstones (Arenaria interpres) in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. M.Sc. thesis, University of Maine.
Smith, P. A. 2003. Factors affecting nest site selection and reproductive success of tundra nesting shorebirds. M.Sc. thesis, University of British Columbia.
Smith, P.A., H.G. Gilchrist, J.N.M. Smith, and E. Nol. In press. Annual variation in the benefits of a nesting association between Red Phalaropes (Phalaropus fulicarius) and Sabine's Gulls (Xema sabini). Auk:XX.
Stenhouse, I.J. & Robertson, G.J. 2005. Philopatry, site tenacity, mate fidelity and adult survival in Sabine's Gulls. Condor 107: 416-423.
Stenhouse, I.J., Gilchrist, H.G. & Montevecchi, W.A. 2005. Factors affecting nest-site selection of Sabine's Gulls in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Canadian Journal of Zoology 83: 1240-1245.
Stenhouse, I.J., Gilchrist, H.G. & Montevecchi, W.A. 2005. An experimental study examining the anti-predator behaviour of Sabine's Gulls (Xema sabini) during breeding. Journal of Ethology 23: 103-108.
Stenhouse, I.J., Gilchrist, H.G. & Montevecchi, W.A. 2004. Reproductive investment and parental roles in Sabine's Gull (Xema sabini). Journal of Ethology 22: 85-89.
Stenhouse, I.J. 2003. The reproductive behaviour and ecology of Sabine's Gulls (Xema sabini) in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Ph.D. Thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, 192pp.
Stenhouse, I.J., Gilchrist, H.G. & Montevecchi, W.A. 2001. Reproductive biology of Sabine's Gull in the Canadian Arctic. Condor 103: 98-107.
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