MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Scientists will create a network of 75 camera traps on the Shokalsky Island in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region's Gydansky National Park to register polar bears and other rare species, press service of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's center of national parks said.
"The new project will open up new opportunities for the study and protection of rare animal species in the Arctic Zone. The photo-monitoring network will add to the observation options: it will collect data 24/7, it will cut field work costs, will increase the accuracy of rare species' records. Specialists will be able to analyze migration routes, seasonal activities, and the populations' conditions. So far, fauna monitoring in the region has been conducted by ground accounting methods, and in certain years specialists have used aerial accounting and animal tagging. These are traditional methods, but given the territory's remoteness and inaccessibility, regular work means great difficulties and high financial costs," the press service quoted Alexander Gruzdev, a senior researcher at the Gydansky National Park, as saying.
The first expedition will be working for almost one month – from July 31 to August 25. The expedition plans to install 75 camera traps in different parts of the Shokalsky Island, including on the coastline. All the devices will perform year-round shooting every three hours. Thanks to this project, scientists expect to obtain information about how live polar bears, wild reindeer, Atlantic walruses, wolverines, arctic foxes, wolves and other inhabitants of the island in the Arctic. Camera traps will be placed on supports made of driftwood – tree trunks thrown out by the sea. This is the best possible replacement for metal structures, the scientist said.
When installing the equipment, the expedition participants will travel on an ultralight all-terrain vehicle to reduce burden on the Arctic environment. The vehicle is designed to cause minimal impact on the soil cover. The equipment was obtained as part of a grant from the Presidential Nature Foundation and further on the national park will be using it in environmental protection activities. Additionally, the expedition participants will use another ATV while working on the island.
The expedition will feature specialists of the Gydansky National Park, volunteers from the Russian Geographical Society, as well as an expert in Arctic birds and marine mammals, who will assess the island's options for developing ecological tourism and for conducting further bird observations.
"Arctic ecosystems are extremely vulnerable," the Gydansky National Park's Director Vyacheslav Berlinsky said. "It is most important to notice immediately any happening changes. Ongoing monitoring will help to respond quickly to threats to rare species, to develop effective nature protection measures, and to accumulate a database for long-term scientific research."