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SITE NAME
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Pura River, Taimyr Peninsula, Russia
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| Contact
details (phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (3919)468504(h)/(3919)468693(o) // ya.kokorev@norcom.ru // Naberezhnaya Urvantseva 23-271, Norilsk, 663300, 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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| Season
phenology: |
average |
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Weather conditions: |
| The phenology of the spring events was as usual and the conditions in the summer looked rather favourable. |
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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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Abundance of rodents in the winter was average or above and as a consequence Arctic Foxes started visiting their dens in spring. Everything seemed to point at a successful year for rodent-dependent predators. However, an unusually long warm spell (3 weeks) with rains and temperatures of up to +6øC even at the Pura mouth occurred in April. Such a situation had not been seen in Norilsk and Dudinka area since 1943. On the Yenissei R. ice broke on 20-21 May, i.e. 4-5 days earlier than in 1943. Then temperatures went down again. No Snowy Owls were seen. Many Rough-legged Bazzards nested in the Pura basin and their clutches were relatively large but by the end of the season the young suffered high mortality rates. Single Herring Gulls and skuas nested there and the predator pressure exerted by these species and Arctic Foxes on clutches of other birds was high (for example, all known nests of Long-tailed Ducks and King Eiders Somateria spectabilis near the Pura field station were depredated).
In the Pura River basin breeding density of geese was low and clutches were small. Breeding density of waders was low as well: in riparian habitats the density was close to average, in upland areas - very low. The more abundant species included Ruff, both phalaropes, Pectoral Sandpiper. Only two nests of Little Stint were found and one brood of Temminck's Stint and Dotterel was seen. Overall despite a seemingly favourable summer the tundra appeared empty. |
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Rodent dynamics:
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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