Effect of deep freezing of lakes on food supply in habitats of waterbirds

The phenomenon of bottom substrate exposure in deeply freezing lakes during the melting of ice in spring is described. It leads to the formation in the lake of a large temporary biotope—a combination of shoals and exposed portions of the silty bed—with a high trophic capacity for ducks, shorebirds, gulls, etc. The lake in such a state is a rich foraging area for nesting and migrating bird populations. This phenomenon, which is widespread in the Central Yakutian plain, is an ecological manifestation of cryoarid conditions developing in the plains due to extreme climate continentality.