Search Database - Locality

From Davies (1989) [Ref.18443]:
A shallow, mesotrophic, freshwater lake with an extensive alluvial area of grassland, river channels, pools and marshes at the western end. Three rivers, including the Orkhon, flow through this marshy area into the lake. The maximum depth of the lake is 16m, but about 40% of the lake is less than 3m deep, and 50% supports macrophytic growth. The surface water temperature in summer reaches 18°C; the conductivity is approximately 280 microSiemens/cm.
Climatic conditions: Extreme continental climate.
Principal vegetation: Most of the shores are erosion shores of gravel, but there are zones of macrophytes one to five metres from the shore composed mainly of Potamogeton spp, Myriophyllum spicatum and Ceratophyllum demersum. The dominant emergent in the marshes at the western end of the lake is Schoenoplectus (Scirpus) sp, and there is very little Phragmites. Other aquatic plants include Polygonum amphibium, Potamogeton perfoliatus, P.praelongus, P. vaginatus, Hippuris vulgaris and Batrachium eradicatum. The phytoplankton is composed chiefly of diatoms. The lake is surrounded by grassy steppe.
Land use: Intensive fishing and some livestock grazing.
Economic and social values: The lake supports a significant fishery, with an annual yield of 50-80 metric tonnes.
Fauna: The benthic fauna is diverse. The zooplankton is dominated by copepods and cladocerans. The fish fauna is dominated by a typically north Eurasian assemblage comprised of cyprinids, pike and perch. The main species are Esox lucius, Perca fluviatilis, Rutilus rutilus lacustris, Leuciscus leuciscus baicalensis, L. idus, Phoxinus phoxinus, Carassius auratus gibelio, Noemacheilus barbatulus toni, Cobitus taenia, Parasilurus asotus and Lota lota, together with some Hucho taimen, Brachymystax lenok and Thymallus arcticus. The carp Cyprinus carpio haematopterus has recently invaded the lake from the Orkhon River. The lake is a very important breeding and staging area for a wide variety of waterfowl, particularly Anatidae. Birds recorded during a brief survey in June and July 1977 included two breeding pairs of Cygnus cygnus along with 25 non-breeders, 1,000 Anser cygnoides (including several breeding pairs), one pair of Gavia arctica and 20 A. anser 40 A. indicus (breeding) 50 Podiceps cristatus (breeding) 10 P. nigricollis 54 Tadorna ferruginea 12 T. tadorna 60 Anas penelope 45 A. strepera 50 A. crecca 60 A. platyrhynchos (breeding) 20 A. quequedula 100 A. clypeata 60 Aythya ferina 130 Bucephala clangula and small numbers of Phalacrocorax carbo, Ardea cinerea, Platalea leucorodia, Anas falcata, A. acuta, Netta rufina, A. fuligula and Mergus albellus (Kitson, 1978).