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RESPONDENT
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Vadim Gavrilov
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SITE NAME
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Beliy Nos, Yugor Peninsula, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (095)423-26-13/(095)423-26-13 // // Novoyasenevski Prospekt, 352-3-12, Moscow, 117574, 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: |
| The spring was late, cold and prolonged, the summer was cold as well. The snow cover was thinner than in the previous year, yet it persisted rather long: on 24 June 90% of the tundra surface was still snow-covered (a 10-year maaximum according to the polar station information). Active melting of snow began on 25 June after a heavy, warm rain. Later on, the summer temperature was below the average norm by 5-7^C with the maximum reaching +16.8^C. Showers, fogs and storms were common, a few thunderstorms were recorded as well. Overall the weather did not favour successful wader breeding. Only in late July did the temperatures warm up and that probably had a positive effect on survival of remaining wader young.
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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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An unusually high number of breeding Arctic Foxes for the last three years was noted: 4 dens stretched in a line with the distance of 1.5 to 2 km in-between were found. In July each of them contained at least 3-4 pups, but by late July some of the pups in one of the dens died. Non-breeding Snowy Owls could be seen around the field station all summer. The Rough-legged Buzzard breeding density was close to average, but by early August only one of four controlled nests contained a single chick. Some pairs of Arctic Skuas managed to bring their young to fledging. Pomarine Skuas appeared in numerous flocks in early and mid-June. Small groups of Long-tailed Skuas could be seen throughout the season.
Waders in spring arrived in usual dates, except for phalaropes that were noticeably late. The time of nest/clutch initiation was delayed by 10 days in all locally breeding waders. The breeding density of large and medium-size waders (Dunlin, Ruff, Dotterel and Grey Plover) was as usual, only the number of nesting Ringed Plovers dropped due to the prolonged snow cover on their nesting habitat. Judging from the physiological condition of captured birds no clutches in this group were deserted due to weather conditions, only one Ringed Plover nest was deserted after flooding during a rain storm. Nesting of small, 20-50 g body mass, waders (Temminck's Stint, Little Stint, Red-necked Phalarope) was heavily affected by the adverse weather conditions. Their nesting densities were extremely low and later in the season some nests were abandoned. Wader nest survival varied greatly among species. In large and medium-size species with the exception of Dunlin (29%) up to 60% of nests survived to hatching. In small species the proportion was 10 to 17%. Overall the season was rather unfavourable for all wader species, especially for smaller ones. The larger waders could pull out an average breeding success even in those conditions.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Early in the season Siberian Lemming numbers were about average (for the last three years of observation) which corresponded to the population growth stage after the depression of the previous year. However, their numbers, probably, declined by the end of the summer.
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Rodent species recorded:
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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