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SITE NAME
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Odikhincha mountain vicinity, Anabar platheau, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (499)780-16-53 // taimyr@orc.ru // Glavnaya St. 19A-193, Moscow, 105173, Russia
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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State biosphere reserve "Taimyrsky"
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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10.08
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17.08
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7
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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| Season phenology: |
average
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
31.05-3.06
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| Date of final loss of
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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The vicinity of Odikhincha mountain, the highest peak in the northern part of the Anabar Plateau (645 m a.s.l.), was surveyed by the expedition of the Taimyrsky Nature Reserve on 10-14 August in the course of the rafting down the Kotui River. The river runs in the canyon near the mountain, although there is a small area of wetland on the terrace at a small distance downstream (Kysyl-Khaya locality). The area is located within northern taiga belt, but forest with closed canopy was not found, even in valleys. Fragments of sparse larch forests with dwarf shrub and moss as well as herb and dwarf shrub ground cover and with canopy projection of 0.1-0.2 were found up to the altitude 350 m a.s.l.; higher slopes were occupied by wet dwarf shrub-moss tundra, and above 550 m a.s.l this was replaced by a top mountain plateau with lichen-herb desert.
Weather conditions were described in the Kotuikan River report (No. 38).
Avian predators were probably common in spring. We found 4 nests of Rough-legged Buzzards, which had been occupied this year, but the results of reproduction were not determined. Several records of juvenile Merlins were made. A single White-tailed Eagle was observed in the month of the Kyndyn River for 3 days.
We observed a Wolf and an Ermine. Fresh tracks of Arctic Foxes were rarely seen, but numerous old, probably, spring-time tracks were recorded in the mountain tundra and on river bars.
Odikhincha mountain was interesting, because several tundra species found there in the upper tundra belt, were not recorded on Anabar Plateau either to the north, or to the south of the mountain. These birds included common Long-tailed Skuas with unclear breeding status, Rock Ptarmigans in flocks of 7-12 birds, including juveniles, Pacific Golden Plovers occurring at a density of 1-3 birds/km, including nearly fledged and fledged juveniles, and alarming Eurasian Golden Plovers. Shorelarks, Lapland and Snow buntings were numerous, and probably bred. Noteworthy is an observation of a Lesser White-fronted Geese brood of 3 chicks on the Kotui River at the same place as a pair of these geese was recorded twice in 2005.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Rodent abundance was low in 2007, and we failed to capture any mammals with a catching effort of 20 snaptrap-nights. However, pellets and droppings of Rough-legged Buzzard and Snowy Owl contained remains of lemmings. Northern Pikas were relatively numerous, but were limited to altitudes under 250-300 m a.s.l.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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