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SITE NAME
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Kandalaksha Bay, northern archipelago, White Sea, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (815-33)92250 // ask_kand_reserve@com.mels.ru // Lineinaya St., 27, Kandalaksha, Murmanskaya oblast, 184042, 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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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
Winter 2006/2007 started earlier than usual, and air temperatures dropped consistently below freezing on 19 October 2006. Then, more usual winter weather established for a period of one month, with prevailing temperatures -7 to -15把. Long-term periods of warm weather occurred in the second half of November and in mid December, with positive mean daily air temperatures. Late December and early January were fairly warm as well, with day-time temperatures often rising above freezing. Consequently, ice covered the north-western part of the Kandalaksha Bay only on 15 January 2007, and the snow layer thickness was 10 cm below the long-term average in December and January. The second half of winter was frosty, and air temperatures were 6把 below average in February. March is considered a winter month at the north, but it was 7把 warmer than average in 2007, with day-time air temperatures above the freezing point on most days after 11 March. Unfrozen patches of water were observed on the sea in mid March.
A relatively warm spring resulted in disappearance of ice on the major part of the bay in the area of the Northern Archipelago by the beginning of May. Temperatures were close to average during the summer months, with the exception of August which was slightly warmer than usual. The first night frost was recorded on 28 August in the Kandalaksha area. Mean daily air temperatures ranged from +5 to -10把 during the whole of September and in early October. Several snow-falls occurred in mid October, but the snow melted quickly. Mean daily air temperatures dropped consistently below freezing from 3 November, and permanent snow-cover was established on 8 November. Moderately cool weather with night-time temperatures dropping to -10-15把 prevailed until the end of the month. December was unusually warm, with a thaw on 15 days and mean monthly temperature 1.3癈 higher than in November. The sea did not freeze until the end of the year in the north-western part of the Kandalaksha Bay.
The yield of berries was relatively low in 2007 on the islands, with Cloudberry ranked 1 on a scale of 5, Crowberry 2, Clusterberry 3, and Bilberry 4 (data of L.A. Moskvicheva).
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| Season temperature: |
average
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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: |
average
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Breeding conditions:
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Mammalian predators were represented by Red Foxes, (one animal was found on each of 6 forested islands), and by American Minks on 3 islands. These predators destroyed clutches and killed land-nesting birds also on near-by islands.
Seven pairs of Ravens nested on 19 forested islands. Among rodent-specialists Kestrels were recorded during the nesting period on one island, where they probably bred. One Short-eared Owl was observed on Telyachy Island in July, and one on Ryashkov Island in August. Lapland Owls were seen on Ryashkov Island in June and on Anisimov Island in August.
As in the previous year White-tailed Sea Eagles did not breed in 2007, although adult and immature birds were recorded on islands during the whole summer. As before eagles preyed upon Common Eiders, and often captured incubating birds on nests. White-tailed Sea Eagles captured 160 eider females by the start of intensive counts of breeding seabirds on islands.
Our joint counts with V.V. Bianki on 45, mostly tree-less islands, ranging in size from 0.1 to 13 ha and having the total area of 37.9 ha, yielded the following results in 2007: 4 nests of Great Cormorants, 1 nest of Mallards 9 nests of Greater Scaups, 1 nest of Long-tailed Ducks, 1,654 nests of Common Eiders, 5 nests of White-winged Scoters, 19 nests of Red-breasted Mergansers, 1 pair of Ringed Plovers, 35 pairs of Turnstones, 178 pairs of Oystercatchers, 378 pairs of Herring Gulls, 34 pairs of Great Black-backed Gulls, 221 pairs of Common Gulls, 128 pairs of Arctic Terns, 79 pairs of Black Guillemots, 37 pairs of White Wagtails, 3 pairs of Hooded Crows, 7 pairs of Wheatears. The abundance of ducks had not changed to any great extent since the previous year. The loss of clutches was 39.1% in Common Eiders, partly due to killing of females by White-tailed Sea Eagles. Numbers increased by 30% in Common Gulls, and decreased by 20-30% in Black Guillemots, Herring Gulls and Great Black-backed Gulls.
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Rodent dynamics:
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Numbers of insectivores were low, and catching with cylinders on Ryashkov Island yielded abundance of 0 animals per 10 days in May, 1.1 in July, 2.2 in August and 6.0 in September. The only species found on all surveyed islands was the Common Shrew (29.1% of the total number of captured animals). Insectivores were absent on small tree-less islands (ludas) in 2007.
Voles over-wintered successfully, and their relative density in spring on Ryashov Island was 0.5 animals/100 trap-nights. Three species of voles accounted for 75.2% of all animals on islands of the Northern Archipelago, and the Short-tailed Vole was the most abundant vole species (93.4%). The Tundra Vole was the only species found on ludas (19.7% of all voles captured on the Northern Archipelago).
Running voles, predominantly Microtus spp., were recorded on 42.1% of forested islands and on 18.2% of ludas of the Northern Archipelago, compared with 26% and 3%, respectively, in 2006. According to reports of V.V. Korbut and A.S. Koryakin microtine rodents were found in the diet of Herring Gulls on islands of Luvengsky and Oleny archipelagos.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Microtus oeconomus | |
| Microtus agrestis | |
| Sorex araneus | rare |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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