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RESPONDENT
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Vladimir Kalyakin
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SITE NAME
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Belush'ya Guba, Novaya Zemlya Islands, Russia
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| Contact details
(phone/fax//e-mail//address): |
| (095)479-74-13 // // Shirokaya St., 9-1-260, Moscow, 129282, Russia
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PROJECT DETAILS |
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Project name:
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Expedition to Novaya Zemlya
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Start of survey:
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End
of survey: |
Team
size: |
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10.07
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15.08
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4
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WEATHER
CONDITIONS
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Weather conditions: |
| Exceptionally late spring was followed by a very short and cold summer with unstable weather. More than half of days from 10 July to 15 August were characterised by stormy winds, with only 4 sunny and 3 windless days. Southern and eastern winds predominated, bringing cold from ice-filled Kara Sea and Karskie Vorota channel. Phenological features of autumn, which are typical for late August, started to appear already from 10 August.
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| Date of 50%
snow-cover: |
early July
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| Date of ice-break on
rivers: |
mid July
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| Date of final loss of
snow: |
mid July
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BIOTIC
CONDITIONS
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| Rodents abundance evaluation: |
low
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Breeding conditions:
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| Numbers of predators were minimal: 1 nesting pair and a single Rough-legged Buzzard, rare skuas of four species, no Arctic Foxes and Snowy Owls. Large gulls concentrated near seabird colonies. However, situation with Arctic Foxes and owls could be different before the start of observations on 10 July. Despite adverse weather, reproduction was successful in White-fronted, Bean, and Barnacle geese, Common Eider (many broods recorded), Turnstone, Black-legged Kittiwake, very bad in murres. Other species were rare, but fledglings were recorded in Little Stint, Dunlin, Purple Sandpiper, Shorelark, Lapland and Snow buntings. Nests of Temminck's Stint, King Eider and Long-tailed Duck in Belush'ye village were depredated by dogs.
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Rodent dynamics:
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| Lemming numbers in 1999 on Gusinaya Zemlya Peninsula were very low (but not the minimal), after the outbreak of 1998. Collared Lemming was very rare. Change in abundance of Siberian Lemmings during summer was not recorded, a few nests with young of different age were found in a number of thouroughly surveyed plots of 2-3 ha. A single male 2-month old was caught on 15 August.
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Rodent species recorded:
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| Latin | Abundance |
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| Lemmus sibiricus | rare |
| Dicrostonyx torquatus | rare |
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Summary
of fauna studies: |
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