ARCTIC BIRDS Bulletin of the International Breeding Conditions Survey supported by the International Wader Study Group and Wetlands International's Goose and Swan Specialist Groups No. 9 · 2007 compiled by Mikhail Soloviev and Pavel Tomkovich A WORD FROM THE COMPILERS reports in the “Arctic Birds” bulletin (see the paper by Clive Minton et al. in this issue). Pronounced fl uctuations of the reproductive output of birds and mammals are characteristic of many Arctic terrestrial The start of the International Polar Year (IPY) in 2007 was ecosystems, but are not restricted to them. However, while associated with the intensifi cation of research activities in the habitat degradation and pollution have strongly affected Arctic and increasing international cooperation. The com- many biomes of the world, patterns of ecosystem dynamics munication of the results of these activities will be aided by in the tundra are still mostly natural, even at a global, pan- the launch of the Arctic Portal (http://arcticportal.org) by the Arctic scale. As it is expected that there will be changes in Arctic Council as its gateway to Arctic related information. the environment due to climate amelioration and accelerat- The “IPY – Arctic Predators” (http://www.arctic-predators. ing industrial activities in the Arctic, the present unique op- uit.no) can be mentioned, among more specifi c projects, as portunity to investigate the regularities of the dynamics of a network of Norwegian and Russian scientists aiming at a a natural ecosystem at a wide spatial scale should be fully large-scale monitoring of terrestrial Arctic predators with the explored. objective of developing reliable predictors of how the tundra ecosystem will function in the context of climate change. The current issue of the bulletin of the Arctic Birds Breed- This issue will apparently remain the focus of many studies ing Conditions Survey (ABBCS) brings together informa- given the continued overall warming of the Arctic system in tion about the breeding conditions for birds in the Arctic and 2007 (http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard). Subarctic during summer 2006, and includes data on weath- er, predators and their prey and bird breeding success. The As the project coordinators we have seen new opportuni- geographic coverage of the survey in 2006 did not change ties for ABBCS arising from the increasing level of research considerably compared with the two previous years, with and other activities in the Arctic. However, we also recog- an exception of the data from the Russian Arctic, which de- nize challenges associated with the need to trace, collect creased by approximately 20%. While several factors con- and process the larger volume of data. Fortunately, a grant tributed to the decrease, discontinued funding of the project provided in 2007 by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in in 2006 and hence the failure to publish the ‘Arctic Birds’ Moscow, Russia, within the framework of the Small Nature issue number 8 as a hardcopy was a contributory factor. Protection Initiative Project (KNIP), made it possible not only to maintain a level of data processing typical for recent The interpretation of global patterns in bird reproductive years, but also to propose new activities with the view of performance will only be perfected when they are comple- raising the profi le of ABBCS as an information resource. mented by more detailed studies at a smaller, regional scale. Namely, new survey forms were developed with the aim of Regional reviews of the dynamics of rodents as alternative making the submission of data more simple and straight- prey for Arctic predators appeared in the previous issues of forward for respondents with different background in fi eld the bulletin (number 4-6). The current issue has made an- data collection. The survey website along with its tradition- other step forward by presenting the paper by Hans Meltofte al address at http://www.arcticbirds.ru has also been made et al. on breeding performance of tundra birds in Northeast available at http://www.arcticbirds.net. This emphasizes the Greenland based on the studies carried out in the area during international nature of the project and its reliance on the net- two decades. work of respondents. The site will become bilingual with Monitoring of juvenile proportions on the non-breeding the principal sections translated into Russian, and we plan grounds still remains the only practical option for the as- to increase the usefulness of the resource by expanding the sessment of bird breeding success across wide geographical range of data published on the web. All these efforts, along regions and for fl yway populations. The long-term efforts of with the much anticipated support by contributors, should researchers from the Victorian and Australasian Wader Stud- provide for the collection of information on bird breeding ies groups to catch waders during the non-breeding season conditions and reproductive performance in summer 2007 in Australia are exemplary in this context. The high quality that will match the expectations for the International Polar and consistency of data are particularly valued in light of Year and provide for a better understanding of ecological their rapid and wide accessibility, also in the form of annual processes in a changing environment. BULLETIN # 9 CONTENTS LOCALITY REPORTS............................................................................................................................3 BIRD BREEDING CONDITIONS IN THE ARCTIC IN 2006 P.S. Tomkovich & M.Y. Soloviev...........................................................................................................37 CONTACT INFORMATION.................................................................................................................43 BREEDING PERFORMANCE OF TUNDRA BIRDS IN HIGH ARCTIC NORTHEAST GREENLAND 1987-2007 H. Meltofte, B. Sittler & J. Hansen........................................................................................................45 BREEDING SUCCESS OF ARCTIC WADERS IN 2006, BASED ON JUVENILE RATIOS IN AUSTRALIA IN THE 2006/2007 AUSTRAL SUMMER C. Minton, R. Jessop & C. Hassell.........................................................................................................54 MAP COLLECTION.............................................................................................................................58 For the latest information about the survey and data access visit the websites: http://www.arcticbirds.net, http://www.arcticbirds.ru Please contact the project coordinators with queries, comments and proposals: Mikhail Soloviev Pavel Tomkovich Dept. of Vertebrate Zoology, Biological Faculty, Zoological Museum, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia B.Nikitskaya St., 6, Moscow, 125009 Russia e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] The bulletin is distributed to contributors to the database. Others may request it, free of charge, from the project coordinators. The project was supported as a Small Nature Protection Initiative Project (KNIP) of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Moscow, Russia. Support from Wetlands International was much appreciated. Our most sincere thanks to everyone who participated in the survey in 2006 and/or previous years, in particular to R. B. Lanctot and V. Y. Arkhipov who stimulated others to join the survey. J. R. Wilson provided invaluable help by improving English. © 2007 International Wader Study Group ISBN 978-5-85941-170-2 Printed by Printing house of the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Moscow, Russia 2 ARCTIC BREEDING CONDITIONS Figure. Arctic localities from which reports about bird breeding conditions were provided LOCALITY REPORTS least 2 strong storms with northely winds occurred on the is- land in the fi rst half of July, judging by the abundance and 1. Svalbard, Norway (78°55’N, 12°15’E) distribution of driftwood. Between 25 September 2006 and 8 March 2007, a total of Ivory Gulls Pagophila eburnea did not breed in 2006 on Victo- 7,043 Svalbard Barnacle Geese Branta leucopsis was aged by ria Island, although a big colony existed there from the 1950s a single observer at WWT Caerlaverock, Scotland. The overall to the 1990s. The absence of ice cover around the island and proportion of young present in these fl ocks was 14.6%, rang- associated poor feeding conditions for Ivory Gulls could be ing from 5.7% to 25.0% within individual fl ocks. This is the a possible reason for their non-breeding. Almost all nests of highest percentage of young since 1998, and is well above the other seabirds which attempted to breed on Victoria Island, the current 10-year mean (8.9%±1.78 s.e.), thus representing a Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea, Glaucous Gull Larus hyper- good breeding season. Brood size was recorded for a total of boreus and Kittiwake Rissa trydactyla (the latter on deserted 111 families, and the mean brood size per successful pair was buildings of the closed weather station) were destroyed by an 2.2 goslings, with brood sizes ranging from 1-5 goslings. This Arctic Fox Alopex lagopus staying on the island throughout is slightly lower than in the previous year, but still higher than the summer. the mean for the most recent 10-year period (1997-2006; 1.81, ± 0.11 s.e.). Although Svalbard Barnacle Geese had a better M.V. Gavrilo, A.E. Volkov than recent average breeding season in 2006, they have shown a steady decrease in breeding success over the past 15-20 3. Frantz Josef Land Archipelago,