Actual numbers and effects of recreational disturbance on the distribution and behaviour of Greylag Geese (Anser Anser) in the Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park Area

The Neusiedler See – Seewinkel National Park area is confronted with a remarkable increase in tourism and recreational activities during the last years. The “Koppel” area, situated on the eastern shore of the lake, is one of the most important breeding sites for Greylag Geese. Behaviour and distribution of the geese on the breeding site as well as touristic activities on the adjacent road leading along the Koppel were examined to investigate relations and interactions between the Greylag Goose population and tourism. Taking into account the excellent weather and breeding conditions in the year 2000 the results of the survey indicate a stable or even rising Greylag population, increasing numbers of visitors and high disturbance frequencies in the vicinity of the study area. The number of disturbances on the adjacent road seems to affect the suitability of the site in general, leading to a specific temporal and spatial distribution of the birds, whereas different disturbance qualities result in changes of the birds behaviour.     

鄱阳湖保护区白琵鹭越冬种群分布

2007年10月至2010年3月3个冬季的调查显示,鄱阳湖国家级自然保护区白琵鹭(Platakakucorodia)种群数量在12月或1月达到峰值,3个越冬期最大种群数量分别为4 757只、10 385只和7 268只.大湖池、沙湖、常湖池是白琵鹭主要的栖息地,每个越冬期在这3个湖泊栖息的白琵鹭种群数量占保护区总数量的...     

Response of the waterbird community to floating pennywort (Hydrocotyle ranunculoides) cover at Ngamo dam,Antelope Park,Zimbabwe.

Little is known on the influence of invasive aquatic weeds on afro‐tropical waterbird communities. We used bird counts in sites of varying floating pennywort Hydrocotyle ranunculoides cover to explore the relationship between the weed and the waterbird community dynamics at Ngamo dam, Antelope Park, Zimbabwe. Waterbird communities in low‐to‐medium weed cover sites were more diverse and abundant compared to sites of high weed cover. In addition to supporting birds such as African Jacana which are able to forage within dense aquatic plants, high weed cover sites were associated with birds whose diets include invertebrates and fish which are likely more abundant and diverse in these sites. In contrast, low‐to‐medium weed cover sites were associated with bird species such as Common Moorhen, Great Egret, Pied Kingfisher and African Fish Eagle which require accessible open water and forage for diving, swimming or wading. The increased bird abundance in low‐to‐medium weed cover sites also likely increases prey for predatory birds. Thus, the negative changes in the waterbird community composition, abundance and diversity in response to increasing floating pennywort cover reflects species‐specific tolerances to floating pennywort and its influence on accessible open water, foraging sites and prey availability.     

黑颈鹤越冬期间植物性食物的显微分析

黑颈鹤与草海越冬期间共取食４７种植物。莎草科植物是主要食物,占７６．５４％,栽培植物仅占２．１４％。植物地一块茎是黑颈鹤取食的主要部位,占３５．１４％,其次为秆状茎,花果和叶。块状戏几乎全来自莎草科植物。酸模的种子占全部花果类食物２７．５４％。比重很大,尤其在越冬前期。我们还对５种主要食物植物或其部位进行了方差分析,得出的结论是食物的性差异是主要的,且非常显著。     

Wintering waterbird assemblages in the central part of the Gulf of Gabès in southern Tunisia

Although the Gulf of Gabès is recognised as an Important Bird Area, several aspects of the ecology of waterbirds inhabiting this area still need to be investigated. We observed how waterbird foraging guilds varied among habitats. In total, 49 species belonging to 16 families were recorded. Winter visitors accounted for 73% of counts. The avifauna was dominated by shorebirds (52% of records), followed by large wading birds (25%), open-water birds (18%) and waterfowl (5%). However, the structure of local waterbird communities and their composition in terms of foraging guilds varied according to habitat type. The bird communities of sandy beaches were dominated by open-water birds, whereas large mudflats were dominated by shorebirds, and wadi estuaries showed a more even representation of foraging guilds. Locally rare species had narrow distributions, whereas locally abundant species were found widely within the gulf. For four species the 1% population level criterion of the Ramsar Convention was exceeded. Overall, our results show that the Gulf of Gabès hosts important numbers of waterbirds with different ecological requirements, which confirms the importance of this gulf as a wintering area for Palearctic waterbirds.     

黄河三门峡库区越冬大天鹅的种群现状

2015年初,黄河三门峡库区发生了大天鹅(Cygnus cygnus)等野鸟感染高致病性禽流感病毒的疫情,我们通过对三门峡大天鹅越冬种群的监测和环志回收的分析,了解大天鹅的越冬种群现状和活动状况,希望研究结果有助于我国对大天鹅种群的保护。调查表明,近些年来大天鹅越冬种群数量呈上升趋势,特别是三门峡天鹅湖由2010年410只增加到2014年6 317只,大天鹅种群数量在12月中旬至翌年1月达到高峰,2月下旬陆续离开,至3月下旬全部北迁。根据彩色颈环标记的回收结果,大天鹅对三门峡库区作为越冬地的选择是较为稳定的,不同个体在库区内的各地点之间还存在游荡行为,此外,还观察到带有彩色颈环的119只个体,已经被证实是由蒙古北部和中部的19个湖泊迁徙而来。三门峡湿地公园大天鹅越冬种群数量增加较快,是由于湖泊水质改善且人为大量投食玉米饲料,吸引了众多大天鹅前来越冬。蒙古环志的大天鹅连续多年在三门峡库区越冬也间接反映了这里有良好的栖息环境和丰富的食物资源。然而,初步推测,2015年这次大天鹅感染禽流感病毒可能与种群密度过高有较大的关系,建议当地政府合理投食补饲,不要盲目追求较多的种群数量;同时采取合理有效的措施促进大天鹅种群扩散,如在附近建立适宜的栖息地,这对于大天鹅种群保护具有重要意义。     

The importance of unmanaged coastal wetlands to waterbirds at coastal Ghana

Ghana's 550 km coastline has about 100 wetlands out of which five large ones are managed as Ramsar sites, the rest being unmanaged. Recent pollution and misuse of unmanaged wetlands have necessitated a study into their roles in the support of waterbirds. Waterbird survey on four wetlands between September 2005 and April 2006 revealed that 51 waterbird species make use of the managed compared to 44 in the unmanaged wetlands. Average numbers of waterbirds were higher on the managed wetlands (10,510 ± 4862) than on the unmanaged wetlands (1348 ± 602) (P < 0.05) but mean population density of waterbirds (n/ha) was the same for both the managed (1860 ± 310) and unmanaged (1400 ± 220) (P > 0.05) wetlands. The population densities of waterbirds belonging to guilds 1, 5 and 7 were significantly higher on the managed wetlands (P < 0.05). In contrast, guilds 2 and 4 have significantly higher population densities on the unmanaged wetlands while the population density of guild 3 was the same (P > 0.05). There was an indication that during mid and late periods of the nonbreeding season, the unmanaged wetlands altogether may support a larger number of waterbirds belonging to guilds 2, 3 and 4 than the five managed wetlands.     

Fine‐scale bird monitoring from light unmanned aircraft systems

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are remote‐controlled devices capable of collecting information from difficult‐to‐access places while minimizing disturbance. Although UAS are increasingly used in many research disciplines, their application to wildlife research remains to be explored in depth. Here, we report on the use of a small UAS to monitor temporal changes in breeding population size in a Black‐headed Gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus colony. This method makes it possible to obtain georeferenced data on nest locations without causing colony disturbance, which would not otherwise be possible via direct ground observations.