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RESPONDENT
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Pavel Tomkovich
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SITE NAME
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Knipovich Bay, northern Taimyr, Russia
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| Contact
details (phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (495)6294474/(495)629-48-25(fax, for P. Tomkovich) // pst@zmmu.msu.ru // Zoological Museum, Bolshaya Nikitskaya St., 6, Moscow, 125009, Russia |
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PROJECT DETAILS
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey:
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Team
size:
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WEATHER CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| Snow melt was late due to the deep snow cover and cool summer (it may be typical for this area). As a result, waders bred only on hill-tops and on some hill-sides where the snow disappeared earliest. Wader abundance was therefore low and their distribution patchy. The summer was characterised by winds, with much rain and mist; there was only one warm week at the end of July. |
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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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| Those predators specialised in feeding on lemmings did not breed and their numbers were very low. A similar situation also prevailed further west, in the region of Sterlegov Cape (P. Prokosch pers. comm.). Breeding success was high in species whose nests are well hidden, such as the Little Stint (chicks hatched from 81% of eggs) and in species actively defending their nests, such as Grey Plover (also 81%) and Turnstone (four broods were found and all hatched successfully). Breeding success of waders which have more open nests were lower; Curlew Sandpiper (61%), Sanderling (68%) and Knot (45%). Long-tailed Skuas appeared in July in large numbers and, together with cool weather, this predator is thought to be responsible for the losses of most wader clutches and chicks. Generally, the breeding success for waders was estimated as moderate. |
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Lemmings were absent.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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