Results of Summer Student Internships in Khakassia Reserve

Collecting of a scientific material

“Khakassky” Reserve performs three major functions: protecting nature, studying nature and teaching others to protect it. These functions are deeply interconnected and can’t exist separately. But the reserve doesn’t work apart from the state and society; it is in constant interaction with many organizations and establishments.

For the purpose of conducting of scientific research on our territory, for assisting in the training of scientific specialists, “Khakassky” Reserve cooperates with educational and academic establishments–not only in Khakassia, but also in Russia as a whole. We work together with universities in Khakassia, Tomsk and Novosibirsk, the Siberian Federal University, and the scientific research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Some years students and post-graduate students of the Moscow State University come to us on internships. The reserve territory allocates housing for these students and transport for carrying out scientific researches. Employees of the Reserve always work to support young scientists.

This summer, more than 50 students had the unique opportunity to carry out educational practice on Reserve sites. Steppe sites, including “Podzaploty,” “Lake Bele,” “Lake Shira,” “Lake Itkul,” “Oglahty” and “Kamyzjaksky steppe with Lake Ulug-Kol” all became objects of study. Their results of this research will form the basis for their course and theses, scientific publications and reports. All materials from this summer’s research will be sending in the scientific department of “Khakassky” Reserve. The data obtained by students will become a part of the annals of nature of Khakasky State Natural Reserve. In addition, the Reserve has the possibility of completing its scientific collections, thanks to the enthusiasm and diligence of students who make these collections more detailed.

Such close cooperation with universities and scientific research institutes expands our possibilities for studying flora and fauna within our territory. A great student’s variety research interests by interns allow us to open new, unknown pages of Reserve life with them. For example, this summer students conducted research on landscapes; composition of water and hydrology of our lakes; and studied bats and insects. By itself, the Reserve couldn’t conduct such a wide such spectrum of scientific work.

Students of Tomsk State University did studies on “Lake Shira” and “Podzaploty”. For almost a month, they studied the structure of landscapes of Reserve territories.

These future scientists completed descriptions of studied landscapes and defined their structure. Other research made comparisons of landscapes between these two sites. Despite the big distance between them (about 100 km), the landscape structures of these sites has many essential distinctions, as well as similarities. Similarities are found in a united geological structure, in wide development Devonian red-colored rocks, in prevalence of marsh soils and chernozems (black earth), steppe and marsh biocenoses on these sites. Difference between these territories are more considerable: a relief on  “Podzaploty” is more difficult than on “Lake Shira”, and differences in relative heights are essential influences as means of humidifying and causing diversity of the landscape. Another feature of the plain of “Podzaploty” is its elevation of more than 100m above the plain of “Lake Shira”. This height coincides with the lower elevation of woodlands; therefore, larch-birch woods with a characteristic combination of grassy plants grow on the slopes of Kuznetsk Alatau, surrounding “Podzaploty”, and chernozems (black earth) are replaced by gray, wood soils. The landscape profile and a landscape card for each of these sites results from the fieldworks of Tomsk University students.

Students by the geography faculty of the Moscow State University have conducted their practica on the sites of “Podzaploty” and «Kamyzjaksky steppe with Lake Ulug-Kol».

The future scientists studied researched Lakes Listvenki, Ulug-Kol and Terpenkol. In the process of this work, they took samples of water for chemical analysis, and they measured the output of a spring, «The New Key» on “Podzaploty”. Output defines the ability of a spring to generate water. Such ability depends not only on adjoining water-bearing layers, but also on the exhaustion of these layers, as well as on seasonal fluctuations. Students have measured the water inflows to Lake Ulug-Kol.

In addition to hydrological researches, students daily did meteorological supervision of temperature, humidity of air speed and wind pressure. This data is necessary for quantifying the evaporation of our lakes. As a result of this work, students created a card-scheme of distribution of depths in lakes Listvenki and Ulug-Kol., which will assist in the further work of future researchers.

Studying bats is interesting employment, but it also demands courage and good sports preparation. Diana Aftohudinova was engaged in this hard business at “Lake Itkul”. She is a student of the Siberian Federal University from Krasnoyarsk.

Studying the migration of flying bats demands their mass banding. During field researches on “Lake Itkul,” Diana has caught and identified 18 bats, measuring and banding each bat for further supervision.

Evgenie Chudinov, a student of Khakass State University, studied problems of recreational wildlife management on Lake Bele, where he walked a area more one ten kilometers on lake vicinities. There he observed in detail the direct influence of people on surrounding landscape, and has studied features of recreational- digression processes on this lake. These processes occur, “thanks” to large numbers of people vacationing on the coastal part of Lake Bele. Measurement of recreational litter became one of the most labor-consuming problems of this type of field practice. Material collected in the summer will form the basis of the future thesis of Evgenie Chudinova.

Although the summer has ended, scientific research in the reserved territory never comes to an end. Soon, Reserve employees and research assistants from other organizations will come to observe the autumn migration of birds on the Central-Asian Flyway, and soon winter counts of animals will take place. “Khakassky” Reserve has made such counts annually many years. This world is open for researchers; it is only necessary to want to learn something new …

Отправить заявку

* Все поля обязательны для заполнения

×
Отправить заявку

* Поля обязательные для заполнения

×
Отправить заявку

* Поля обязательные для заполнения

×
Отправить заявку

* Поля обязательные для заполнения

×
Отправить заявку

* Поля обязательные для заполнения

×
Отправить заявку

* Поля обязательные для заполнения

×
Отправить заявку

* Поля обязательные для заполнения

×
Отправить заявку

* Поля обязательные для заполнения

×
Отправить заявку

* Поля обязательные для заполнения

×
Яндекс.Метрика