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SITE NAME
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Meynypilgynskaya lake-river system, Chukotski Peninsula, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (42722)26647(o), 28806(h)/(42722)26761(fax) // goland87@yandex.ru; elena_golub@mail.ru // Otke 40-15, Anadyr, Chuckotski okrug, 689000, Russia
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Biology and resources of pacific salmons in the Meynypilgynskaya lake-river system
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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15.06
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15.11
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2
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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| Season phenology: |
average
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Weather conditions: |
| Snow melted by the end of May. The flood was not torrential, but the water table remained high in lakes until mid-June, and nesting habitats of birds in lowlands remained under water. A channel from the lakes to the sea was cleared on 19 June, and then the water table in the lakes decreased quickly. Also the flood on the rivers was only short-term because there were small amounts of snow accumulation during the winter. A water table typical for late July - early August established on Pekulneiskoe Lake 15-20 days earlier than usual. According to our observations, which started on 16 June, the summer was warm and dry, and grass had started to whither by late August. Short-term rains in early September did not cause a noticeable increase of water level in rivers, as most water was taken up by the ground. September was warm and wet due to short-term rains, and a second round of flowering of some tundra plants (Alpine azalea, Dandelion Taraxacum sp., Chukotka locoweed) occurred in the middle of the month. Early October was warm as well, and the first frost on the ground was delayed by 5-7 days. However, freezing of Vaamochka and Pekulneiskoe lakes occurred on the usual dates due to temperatures decreases on clear nights. Vaamochka Lake froze on 15 October.
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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: |
low
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Breeding conditions:
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Arctic Foxes were not recorded. Local people, as well as Brown Bears, were taking eggs in nesting colonies of Herring Gulls and Common Eiders on Peremytaya and Dar'ina spits of Pekulneiskoe Lake, and on the island on Vaamochka Lake. Consequently, we found eider clutches of 2-3 eggs at early stages of incubation on Peremytaya Spit until late July, and a nest of Common Eiders with a clutch of 3 eggs was found on a sea spit even on 19 August. The abundance of the Brown Bear has been increasing annually, and they preyed on eggs of gulls and eiders in colonies even during the period of mass spawning of Pacific salmons.
Rough-legged Buzzards were common, but their reproduction was not confirmed. Owls were not recorded. Herring Gulls occurred in high numbers during the whole breeding season, and they did not move in mass to the sea coast in late June - early July, because the abundance of spawning of Far-eastern Capelin was low. Nesting of gulls was successful in colonies on the rocks of Pekulneiskoe Lake. Ravens also bred successfully, and 4 fledglings, that left their nest on 18 July stayed in the area until mid-August.
Poachers increased their pressure on premigratory aggregations of Whooper Swans in October in the Vaamochka-Belokamennaya delta. At least 12 birds (adults and juveniles) were shot in 2007, compared to 2-3 swans in previous years.
Numbers of White-fronted Geese were high in 2004, and decreased at least five-fold in 2005. While numbers did not increase in 2007, they did not appear to be rare. Numbers of geese were very low in moulting flocks on Pekulneiskoe Lake in early August, and the size of premigratory aggregations also decreased. A flock of 52 adult Brent Geese was recorded in the south-western part of Pekulneiskoe Lake on 14 August. Broods of the Red-breasted Merganser, Harlequin Duck and Greater Scaup were regularly observed during 7-12 August in the basin of the Pekulveem River.
Willow Grouse occurred in moderate numbers and bred successfully.
Hatching occurred on the usual dates in Ringed Plovers, and their broods with chicks unable to fly were most often recorded in mid July, with the latest date 2 August. An adult Red Knot accompanied by 2 juveniles was observed on the southern shore of Pekulneiskoe Lake on 25 July. Flocks of juvenile Red-necked Stints, Dunlins and Red-necked Phalaropes were common in the same area in mid-August. Fledging occurred on 7 and 9 August in 2 nests of White Wagtails.
Generally, nesting of most species of birds was successful, according to observations of broods of Sandhill Cranes, ducks, waders and passerines. Broods of White-fronted and Emperor geese were rare, and breeding success of these species was not evaluated.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Voles were relatively rare in the coastal part of the area. Numbers of Arctic Ground Squirrels remained at an average level, similarly to 2006.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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