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RESPONDENT
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Nataliya Emelchenko
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SITE NAME
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Mongocheyakha River lower reaches, Gydan Peninsula, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| 9032037440 // emelchenko_n@rambler.ru //
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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9.07
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25.07
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1
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
Snow was still present on the coast at arrival on 9 July, while sea in the vicinity of Sosnovka settlement was filled with ice thick enough to carry seals and walruses. Farther east ice extent was decreasing and ice-free sea could be seen from high bank in the area of the Omulyevaya River mouth. Ice was very thin and occupied small fraction of the aquatory on 14 July in the vicinity of Leskin Cape. Low coastal areas were almost completely snow-free at returning to Sosnovka on 16 July, but sea was still filled with ice thick enough to carry human and dog. Ice completely melted by late July, and single ice fragments appeared in the Mongocheyakha River delta at strong northerly wind. Fast ice up to 3-4 m thick did not melt until departure on 25 July.
Low temperatures, strong northerly winds and night frosts occurred first 3 days in the area, but the next 2 days were hot, windless and mosquitoes appeared.Second half of July was characterized by frequent fogs and rains, high temperatures at day-time and low at night, absence of mosquitoes. Northern and eastern winds prevailed.
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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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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In spite of the high abunadance of lemmings Snowy Owls did not nest, although single non-breeding birds were recorded in the area. This could be probably due to low availability of lemmings early in the season, when snow free areas were represented only by upper parts of hills providing rodents better protection against predators compared with wet lowland habitats. I recorded nesting of 2 pairs of Rough-legged Buzzards, one pair of Peregrine Falcons and one pair of Pomarine Skuas in the surveyed area.
White-fronted Geese were numerous in the area, nesting at a density 0.9 nest/km on lower parts of hill slopes in typical tundra, while nesting in polygonal bog was less common. All nests found during first days of study were already at the hatching stage, and the last nest with chicks still present was found on 15 July. Mean brood size was 3.6 chicks (lim 1-6, n=17). Aggregations of broods were mostly observed along small rivers and less often near large lakes. For example, 0.86 broods per 1 km of shoreline were found in the lower reaches of the Omulyevaya River. Groups of geese with broods were recorded in the delta of the Mongocheyakha River in late July. Red-breasted Goose, Long-tailed Duck and King Eider bred in the area. Rock Ptarmigans bred in small numbers.
Grey Plover and Little Stint were numerous among breeding waders, Ruff common, Ringed Plover, Grey Phalarope, Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin rare. Breeding passerines included Shorelark, Red-throated Pipit, Wheatear, Bluethroat, Fieldfare, Lapland Bunting and Snow Bunting.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Siberian and Collared lemmings were recorded daily and captured by dog.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Lemmus sibiricus | abundant |
| Dicrostonyx torquatus | abundant |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
| Transect counts of birds were carried out in different habitats. Publication is planned in "Materials on bird distribution on Urals, in Ural foothills and Western Siberia".
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