Influence and value of different water regimes on avian species richness in arid inland Australia |
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Authors: | Nicole Anja Schneider Michael Griesser |
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Institution: | (1) Landscape Ecology Group, University of Oldenburg, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany;(2) Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7044, 75007 Uppsala, Sweden;(3) Population Biology and Conservation Biology, Department of Ecology and Evolution, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden;(4) Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK |
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Abstract: | Riparian habitats in arid landscapes are recognised for their structurally diverse vegetation and diverse bird species assemblages.
In the extensive semi-arid and arid centre of Australia, riparian woodland habitats are impacted by pastoral land-use which
may negatively influence vegetation structure and avian species composition. However, pastoralism has promoted the establishment
of artificial water bodies, so that additional riparian vegetation may occur in the landscape. In this study, we surveyed
the importance of different water regimes (i.e. artificial lakes, natural waterholes, desert sites) together with their associated
vegetation on avian species richness in north-western New South Wales, Australia. Our results show that bird species richness
was highest at water locations, in particular at artificial lakes. Avian species richness was negatively associated with distance
to water bodies, both in desert vegetation types and in the riparian vegetation type along dry creeks. Moreover, riparian
habitats supported larger avian assemblages and especially those of sedentary bird species compared to the surrounding shrub-steppe
landscape. This indicates that artificial water bodies may be of significance for arid zone bird species and might gain in
importance with changing water availabilities due to climatic changes. |
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Keywords: | Arid zone Artificial water bodies Distance effects Natural waterholes Riparian Vegetation characteristics |
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