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RESPONDENT
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Vladimir Morozov
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SITE NAME
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Bolshezemelskaya Tundra, eastern part, southern tundra subzone, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (495)1553044 // piskulka@mtu-net.ru // Shebashevski Proezd, 7-16, Moscow, 125315, 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: |
| Spring was generally late and prolonged, although in early May there were several warm days. Snowstorms and freezing temperatures were quite common even during the first ten days of June. All natural processes (except ice break-up) occurred three to three and a half weeks later than usual. Summer and autumn was cold and wet with frequent prolonged rains and sometimes stormy north-westerly winds.
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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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| Abundance of Arctic Foxes was high especially around the Baidaratskaya Gulf of the Kara Sea, where single pairs were even breeding. In the rest of the region Arctic Foxes did not start breeding. Owls, Glaucous Gulls Larus hyperboreus and skuas Stercorarius spp. did not breed; the latter remained in flocks on the breeding grounds until mid-July and then departed. Rough-legged Buzzards Buteo lagopus did not breed in the typical tundra subzone; in southern tundras some pairs started nesting although none of them managed to rear young in natural landscapes. Successful reproduction was observed in southern tundras only for several pairs of Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus. As the conditions were unfavourable the number of breeding waders was lower than usual; significant clutch loss was observed for all species due to high predation rate. For example chicks hatched only in one of six nests of Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus under observation. Predation also negatively influenced ptarmigan Lagopus spp., waterfowl and Arctic Terns Sterna paradisaea. The breeding performance of waders was extremely low throughout the whole region, and waders were completely unsuccessful in the typical tundra subzone.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| The number of lemmings and voles was low and decreasing in spring, and reached a low point in summer.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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