Temporal and Spatial Variation in Avian Diversity at Lake Qaroun, Egypt | ||
| Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology and Fisheries | ||
| Article 3, Volume 28, Issue 1, January and February 2024, Pages 35-76 PDF (1.25 M) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejabf.2024.335814 | ||
| Author | ||
| Shimaa Y. El Sayed et al. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| The lakes of Egypt are the most diverse habitats for breeding and wintering migratory birds. Lakes are classified as wetlands that include both terrestrial and aquatic environments; thus, it is essential to emphasize studying their fauna. The diversity of bird species in the area was evaluated to assess the functionality of several types of habitats around Lake Qaroun. Lake Qaroun is a Ramsar site and is considered an important bird area (IBA). A 15-month fieldwork (five successive seasons) was conducted from December 2020 to February 2021. The study sites were selected and grouped according to habitat types: Open water (OpW), sewage drains (SdR), protected area (PA), and urban villages (UrV). A total of 85 species were recorded belonging to 13 orders and 26 families. The bird community structure was divided into three main groups: resident, migratory, and waterbirds. Waterbirds were the most dominant, representing 68% of the total bird community richness (57 species), followed by residents representing 38% (32 species), and migrants representing 62% (52 species). In addition, the white-headed duck Oxyura leucocephala (a scarce endangered species) and graylag goose Anser anser were two rare passers recorded. Whereas, slender-billed gull (Larus genei) was the most abundant species in the lake. The spatial and temporal variation was measured using species richness, mean abundance, evenness (equitability), Shanonn-Wiener’s, and Simpson’s diversity indices. Results showed that spatially, SdR represented the highest habitat in avian diversity of the overall community and resident species, while PA recorded the lowest. Temporally, autumn recorded the highest richness and mean species abundance, while spring experienced the lowest. Species evenness and diversity indices recorded the highest numbers in both winter seasons, with the lowest observed in summer. Indicator species analysis showed that nine indicator species were significantly associated with sewage drain habitat. In contrast, the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) was identified as an indicator species significantly associated with the habitat of the protected area. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Water birds; Avian diversity; Lake Qaroun; Ramsar; IBA; Bird monitoring | ||
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