Scientific publications

In 1997–2019, we conducted surveys of dabbling ducks in agrolandscapes of southern Karelia, Russia, where these birds stop during the spring migration. The abundance of all Anas species varied significantly from year to year depending on the characteristics of the ecological situation in the fields. The abundance of ducks was associated with the course of spring phenology, the area of temporary water reservoirs in the fields, the ice conditions of the nearby Ladoga Lake, and the timing of ice melting in smaller neighbouring water reservoirs. Over the 23-year monitoring period, only in two of the most widespread species in the region, Mallard and Eurasian Teal, numbers have fluc-tuated without pronounced trends. The abundances of the Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, and Garganey steadily declined, while a trend in abun-dance of the Gadwall, a rare species in the region, was not detected. We noted similar trends in many studied species as well as in adjacent territories: in Central Russian Karelia, in the north of the Leningrad region, and in Finland. In our region, popula-tions of only two species of dabbling ducks, Mallard and Eurasian Teal, are in good condition. So far, there is no serious concern about the state of the population of the Eurasian Wigeon, a widespread species in northwestern Russia. We categorize the sta-tus of other studied species as "Near Threatened".