The effects of benthos and wetland area on shorebird abundance and species richness in coastal mangrove wetlands of Leizhou Peninsula, China

Relative abundance and diversity of waterbirds in a Persian Gulf mangrove forest, Iran

“…This means that the locations of proposed mangrove plantations must be considered with respect to conservation of intertidal flats (Zou et al 2008). Field observations showed that human presence at the mangroves in study sites was frequent and often intense, and appeared to be an important factor affecting waterbirds' distribution, especially during the breeding season for six species, namely Casmerodius albus Linnaeus, 1758, Ardeola grayii, Platalea leucorodia and Egretta gularis Bosc, 1792, in spring.…”

“…Noske (1996) identified 104 species in mangroves of north-western Australia, and Alves et al (1997) counted 32 bird species (2 marine species, 18 terrestrial species and 12 waterfowl) in the mangroves of Jequiaman, Brazil. Zou et al (2008) reported 22 shorebird species on mangrove wetland surrounding Leizhou Peninsula, China. In several reports, the importance of mangrove areas for waterbirds, especially some threatened species, has been pointed out (Yorke 1984;Brown et al 2001;Gawlik 2002;Kasawani et al 2007;Fernández et al 2008;Fujita et al 2009).…”

“…Although it is unclear what processes were involved, one likely explanation is that 2009 was an unusually cool spring, especially in the first months, so many migrants delayed their emigration time that may have positively influenced the presence of wintering waterbird populations till early spring. Furthermore, it is well known that environmental quality may affect the equilibrium of wildlife population size (Varasteh Moradi and Zakaria 2009), richness and abundance of species (Zou et al 2008); therefore, the waterbirds would respond quickly to any change in their mangrove habitat.…”

“…Prior studies have noted the importance of environmental condition on feeding activities (Liang et al 2002). For example, water salinity may change waterbirds' surface-feeding (Zou et al 2008) because different species of aquatic invertebrates demonstrate differences in salinity tolerance (Liang et al 2002). The surface water of mangrove habitat is also affected by soil character, which is affected by the bedrock, glacial activity and the plants growing on the soil (Badola and Hussain 2005).…”

Human Impacts on Marine Biodiversity: Macrobenthos in Bahrain, Arabian Gulf

“…Likewise, the sheltered mudflats in Ras-Sand are characterized by high levels of macrobenthos diversity and abundance (Naser, 2010a). It is recognized that mudflats provide several ecosystem services (Zedler & Kercher, 2005), and higher levels of benthos diversity and abundance in these habitats are important to bird populations (Zou et al, 2008). Several nationally and internationally important birds use mudflats in Ras-Sand as feeding and roosting grounds (Evans, 1994).…”