The avifauna of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

Abstract

The Vietnamese Mekong Delta has undergone much anthropogenic change in the last 100 years, and few areas of natural or semi-natural habitat remain. Despite the likely consequent loss of biodiversity, little documentation exists about the region's avifauna at any time in its history. Here, we present a review of the avifauna of the Vietnamese part of the Mekong delta based on various surveys and other fieldwork carried out since 1988, and an assessment of the few earlier data that were available. A total of 247 species has been recorded from the Vietnamese delta since 1988. Most pre-war data are now considered to be of uncertain validity. Some 50% of the species recorded since 1988 are dependent on wetlands. Of these, 20 are listed as globally threatened or Near Threatened. The delta supports, or is likely to support, internationally important numbers of 21 species of waterbird, including two threatened and three Near Threatened species. Annotations are provided for records of globally or regionally threatened species; for those species for which the Mekong Delta holds internationally important numbers; and those for which records described herein constitute range extensions. Information on the avifauna of the Mekong Delta presented here suggests it is of regional and global importance for the maintenance of wetland biodiversity.

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“…Sea level rise is expected to impact globally threatened species of migratory shorebirds through the loss of intertidal mud flats (Buckton and Safford 2004;Tordoff et al 2005). Breeding colonies of seabirds and turtles may be particularly vulnerable to sea level rise (Duffy 2011) Ocean acidification leads to a reduction in coral calcification and affects coral reefs which provide habitat for about a quarter of all marine species and are the most diverse among marine ecosystems (Roberts et al 2002) a Predictions are confounded by modeling limitations and natural hydrological variability, and the potential impacts of hydropower dams biodiversity within many of Myanmar's ecosystems.…”

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“…Waterfowl are a particularly species-rich group, with more than 1500 species in different wetlands. The Vietnamese part alone of Mekong delta supports 247 species of birds, most of which are wholly dependent upon wetland habitats (Buckton and Safford 2004). However, the total species richness (alpha diversity) including all organisms in different kinds of wetland has rarely been assessed (e.g.…”

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“…There are 3 main types of soil in the delta (alluvial, acid sulphate, and saline soils) which include three broad landforms (Buckton and Safford, 2004). The northern and central parts of the delta contain a floodplain, which includes the area known as the POR and Ha Tien Plain (HTP).…”

“…Despite the likely loss of biodiversity, little documentation exists of the region's avifauna at any time in its history (Buckton and Safford, 2004). The earliest document relating to the abundance of bird species in MD recorded by (Tirant, 1879), suggests that the delta once contained extensive forests.…”

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