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SITE NAME
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Frants Jozef land archipelago, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (812)3774189 // m_gavrilo@mail.ru; mashuka@aari.nw.ru // Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, Beringa, 38, St.-Peterburg, 199397, Russia
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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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28.07
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7.08
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
June was slightly colder in 2007 than in 2006, mostly due to a cold start of the month. Based on the data of weather station on Kheysa Island the mean monthly air temperature was -1.6°C, and mean daily temperature of the coldest day (4 June) -6.7°C. Mean monthly air temperature was 0.3°C above the long-term average (+0.2°C) in July 2007; maximum and minimum temperatures were +4.8°C and -1.7°C, respectively. The mean daily air temperature dropped to -0.9°C on the coldest day of the month, 14 July. The first half of August was also slightly warmer than in 2006. In the period of our studies on the archipelago on 27 July - 8 August the weather was variable with fogs and drizzle, but no snowfalls, and air temperatures ranging from -1.1°C to +4.3°C (mean daily temperature +1°C). The mean daily air temperature was -0.2°C on the coldest day of the month, 5 August. Thus, weather conditions were close to the long-term average based on the weather station data.
According to the expedition report of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia, in spite of generally very light ice conditions recorded in summer 2007 in the northern Barents Sea, ice conditions were quite heavy with a dense pack ice edge moving southward to 80-81° N along the 60° E longitude. Dense (rank 9-10 of 10) first year broken ice (40-100 cm thick) blocked Franz-Josef Land from the east. At the same time, ice conditions in archipelago straits varied greatly with vast areas of open water in its central and western parts.
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
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snow: |
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
low
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Breeding conditions:
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Mammalian predators were not recorded.
The Purple Sandpiper was a common breeder on Kheysa Island, and two broods examined on 27-29 July contained chicks 6-7 and 9-11 days old. Thus, hatching occurred on 18-21 July. A nest with 3 eggs at the final stage of incubation was found on July 31. Flocks of 3-5 birds roaming over tundra were seen on 31 July. The first (for the archipelago) breeding record of the Ringed Plover was made on Kheysa Island, where a brood with two downy chicks was found.
The Common Eider and Brent Geese bred successfully on different islands of the archipelago. On our aerial surveys, combined with ground observations, we found broods or active nests of eiders on Kheysa, Lamont, Wilczek, and Eva-Liv islands, and of Brent Geese on Kheysa and Lamont islands. Breeding success of Ivory Gulls was different on different islands. It was very low in colonies on Eva-Liv and Rudolf islands. Late clutches on Kheysa Island probably indicated repeated breeding attempts. However, chicks hatched successfully on Alexandra Land. Glaucous Gulls bred successfully on Kheysa Island, where we found three broods of two chicks each, and at least 15 alarming pairs. Pairs of Arctic Skuas with feathered chicks were recorded on Eva-Liv Island and Wilczek Island. Arctic Terns had an extremely prolonged reproductive season: both eggs and newly fledged chicks were observed in colonies on 8 August.
Wandering Pomarine and Arctic skuas were recorded as singles and in flocks up to 10 birds on all surveyed islands. One Great Skua was observed on Kheysa Island.
Surveys were carried out in the expedition of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in a framework of the Russian program of the International Polar Year.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Rodents do not inhabit Frantz Josef Land Archipelago.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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