Expedition Notes

Page Contents

• The Trip
• The Animals
• Preparing
• Arriving and Setting a Course
• Gearing Up
  • Collection Techniques and Logistics (supplement page)
• The Route Taken
  • South to the Gobi From Ulaanbaatar
  • The Gobi and North to Bayanhongor
  • Through the Passes to Tsetserleg and Tsagaan Nuur
  • East to Kharkhorin and Back to Ulaanbaatar
• Curating the Collection
• Disseminating the Data

The Trip Back to Top

Our intent was to collect aquatic invertebrates for phylogenetic studies from this biologically rich but under-studied region of Asia. We are keen to develop additional collaborations with colleagues interested in indentifying non-branchiopod crustaceans and sharing data.

The National University of Mongolia and the Mongolian Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology invited researchers from the Crustacea Section of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to collect branchiopod crustacean in 2002. Three U.S. researchers (R. Wetzer, S. Boyce, and N.D. Pentcheff) made the trip to Mongolia.

Our primary goal was to collect branchiopod crustaceans from ephemeral habitats for molecular and morphological systematics research. Our secondary goal was to identify crustaceans new to science. Finding new species is likely, since this region is poorly-sampled and appears to have high endemism.

The support and advice of collaborators and associates made this expedition incredibly successful. Between August 18 and September 3, 2002, we sampled 115 freshwater sites on a 3000 kilometer roundtrip journey through central and southern Mongolia.

The Animals Back to Top

The target group of animals for this expedition was the "Branchiopoda". Branchiopods are a group of invertebrate animals within the larger group Crustacea. Crustaceans also include well-known animals such as crabs, shrimps, lobsters, and barnacles.

Most branchiopods live in fresh water (though there are marine and brackish species), and often have an encysting stage that enables them to persist in small temporary bodies of water. Groups within the Branchiopoda include the Anostraca (brine shrimp, illustrated in the photograph), Notostraca (tadpole shrimp), Chonchostraca (clam shrimp), and Cladocera (water fleas). Most branchiopods are less than one centimeter in length.

Preparing Back to Top

Thanks to help from collaborators both in the U.S. (Clyde Goulden) and in Mongolia (Enkhtsetseg Shagdarsuren and Khayankharvaa Terbish), we secured the necessary permits. Boldgiv Bazartseren (a student of Clyde Goulden's) arranged for his brother (Boldbaatar Bazartseren) to be our guide, and arranged for a driver (Zorigt Urtnasan, complete with his own Russian УАЗ [UAZ] jeep).

With the help of a tour operator experienced in U.S./Mongolia travel (Mongol Global Tours), we flew from Los Angeles to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, through Beijing, China. Travelers from the U.S.A. should note that although a visa is currently unnecessary to enter Mongolia, one is necessary for China, even just for a transit stop.

Not knowing what to expect, we brought nearly everything we thought we might need: clothing for warm and cold weather, full camping equipment, sampling equipment, and even most of our food. We could have bought more food in Ulaanbaatar, but by having it with us, we hit the road sooner.

Arriving and Setting a Course Back to Top

Bad weather in Beijing delayed us for several hours, but even so we were met at the airport in Ulaanbaatar by our guide and driver (Bold and Zorigt). A couple of days in the capital sufficed to finish shopping for supplies, gear up the vehicle with a roof rack, and make a propitious visit to the Gandantegchinlen Khiid (Buddhist monastery) to spin the prayer wheels. We strongly recommend this procedure: our trip went very well after doing it.

The importance of a good driver and guide in Mongolia can't be overemphasized. In our thousands of kilometers of travel, fewer than a hundred were on pavement, and most of the rest were not even on an established track. In Mongolia, when you want to get from here to there, you simply go. If someone else went there before you, it's a "road". The "land of no fences" is equally the "land of no roads".

As you can imagine, an appropriate field vehicle is also a necessity. Zorigt is the proud owner of a Russian УАЗ (UAZ) jeep, the ubiquitous non-urban vehicle of Mongolia. The trip gave us tremendous respect for this vehicle. When driven by a skilled driver, the suspension permits travel over astoundingly rough territory.

Our trip was really launched thanks to the generous and knowledgeable help provided by Khayankharvaa Terbish of the National University of Mongolia. Besides helping with permitting issues prior to our arrival, he spent time with us in Ulaanbaatar and outlined a potential route for us, based on his own biological explorations in the country. We followed his route, and it let us sample far more of Mongolia than we had ever hoped prior to the trip.

Gearing Up Back to Top

We packed most of our gear into heavy-duty hinged-lid distribution boxes (from Consolidated Plastics). They proved to be relatively easy to transport and worked well in the field. The disadvantage to having it all with us, of course, was just a little bit of an overweight penalty on the air flights.

Where we travelled, we didn't expect to find accommodations (tourist or otherwise). We were right. For a nomadic people, the idea of camping nearly continually for a long field trip is hardly exotic. We gave our camping equipment a good workout. Tents worked well, sleeping bags were definitely useful later in the trip when it got cold, an MSR Whisperlite Internationale stove burned the not-so-fine-grade Russian gasoline for hot foods, and a First Need water purifier kept us supplied with healthy drinking water.

The scientific equipment we brought was a mixture of simple and complex. The simple portion was the actual collecting equipment. To collect small crustaceans, the main tools are dipnets and plastic mesh that can be held over a funnel.

Once collected, the animals were preserved in 95% ethyl alcohol and stored in plastic bags (usually one or two bags per collecting site - samples were sorted after the trip).

The complexity came with the ancillary equipment. To get precise locations for the samples and log the route of the entire trip, we used a Garmin eTrex Legend GPS receiver. We used a Nikon Coolpix 990 digital camera to capture images of each collecting site. Finally, we used a laptop computer (loaned by UCLA) to store GPS data and digital photographs during the trip. The Russian УАЗ (UAZ) jeep's battery served to charge the laptop when needed.

Those interested in more technical details might want to see collection techniques and logistics.

The Route Taken Back to Top

The expedition began in the national capital, Ulaanbaatar, and continued southeast in a clockwise loop. This led us first to the Gobi Desert, then west and north through higher elevations in the Arkhangai aimag (Terkhiyn Tsagaan Nuur), finally returning eastwards to Ulaanbaatar.

Click on the maps here for an enlarged view of Mongolia or a closer view of the track of our expedition. For more images of the trip, you might want to see Slide Shows from the trip.

South to the Gobi From Ulaanbaatar Back to Top

Ulaanbaatar (Töv aimag), elevation ca. 1300 m, is in the north-central part of the country, on the eastern edge of Khenteyn Nuruu (mountains) in forest steppe. Heading south from Ulaanbaatar we passed through the Dundgovi' aimag (steppe), collecting north and west of Mandalgovi in ephemeral ponds. The environment becomes more arid traveling southward with the elevation at collecting sites fluctuating between 1230 - 1495 m.

Between Mandalgovi and Dalandzadgad one transitions from steppe to govi (gobi) and summer temperatures rise as the elevation drops to roughly a 1000 m. In this region horses become less common as Bactrian camels become more prevalent.

The Gobi and North to Bayanhongor Back to Top

Bypassing Dalanzadgad, we traveled west through the Gobi Altayn, Gurvan Saykhan and the Kongoryn Els, immense and beautiful sand dunes. Heading north and west we passed near Khatansuudal (Bayanlig/Tsagaan Tolgay) (Bayankhongor aimag) through the Tsagaan Uul (valley). Gently climbing from 1360 m to 1900 m elevation, we passed east of Örgön to Orog Nuur. This once-large lake was dramatically reduced to a fraction of its former size with only its easternmost edge retaining any water at all. Midday temperatures reached 32°C and the surface film had a salinity of 48 ppt. Unlike Orog Nuur, Böön Tsagaan Nuur to the northwest is a large freshwater lake. Approaching the aimag capital Bayanhongor (1745 m), one is on the south side of the Khangayn Nuruu (mountain) divide.

Through the Passes to Tsetserleg and Tsagaan Nuur Back to Top

Climbing up and through the Töv Gol River Valley (Tuyn Gol), we transitioned from steppe to forest steppe. The pass is at about 2700 m, with the highest peak in the region (Myangan Ugalzat Uul) at 3483 m. Descending into the now north-flowing drainage, day- and night-time temperatures were cooler and camels were been replaced by cows and yaks. Now following the Urd Tamir Gol (River) valley, we headed toward Tsetserleg (Arkhangay aimag capital). From Tsetserleg we headed to our northwestmost point of this trip, Tsagaan Nuur.

East to Kharkhorin and Back to Ulaanbaatar Back to Top

Returning and passing through Tsetserleg, we sampled a wide variety of freshwater habitats in this area including "lakelets", streams, ponds, and puddles. Heading towards and passing through Kharkhorin, we took a break from collecting to visit Erdene Zuu Khiid and the remains of this once expansive monastery. Making our way along the Orhon (Orkhon) Gol (River) valley, we visited the Orkhon (Orhon) Waterfall before heading north to Ögiy (Ogii) Nuur (Lake). From there we returned to Ulaanbaatar. We made a final short excursion to the eastern suburbs and Gorkhi-Tertelj to collect our last samples before packing up and heading home.

Curating the Collection Back to Top

Proper care for the specimens we collected and wide dissemination of the collection data make the expedition valuable to the scientific community.

Immediately upon our return, the specimens were submitted to the staff of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's Marine Biodiversity Processing Center. In the photo, Kathy Omura is preparing to process a sample under the fume hood.

The staff of the Center transferred the contents of every bag of specimens to glass jars for permanent storage, added alcohol if needed, and performed a preliminary identification and assessment of the taxa in the sample. Permanent labels were added based on the location and site information collected on the trip. These labels provide the link between the specimen jar and the textual and image data we collected.

Once the samples were in their jars, they were placed on the Processing Center's compact shelving units.

Those interested in more technical details might want to see collection techniques and logistics.

Disseminating the Data Back to Top

Just as important as preserving the physical specimens is disseminating the textual and photographic information we collected. Unless specialists around the world know these specimens exist, they won't be able to use them. Hence, this web site is an integral part of making the Mongolian expedition a scientifically useful endeavor.

More detail about data dissemination can be found in the section on collection techniques and logistics.