Svalbard is part of High Arctic with a very limited range on Earth; it is one of the most northerly breeding grounds of birds on Earth. The breeding of birds here takes place during the polar day, which allows the birds to complete the entire reproductive cycle without dusk, dark night and dawn. The effect of the absence of alternating light day and darkness on the behaviour during breeding process is one of our research topics (see Brynychová et al. 2020 in Publications section).
Fieldwork in this pilot year 2022 consisted of searching for nests with eggs, placing miniature camouflaged cameras at the nests and continuous recording of parental behaviour for 2-3 days. The results will help us to better understand the influence of light conditions and climate on behavioural rhythms of breeding birds and their adaptations across latitudes.