Among the newly created habitats, intertidal ponds and inner tidal flats were the most heavily used by birds, followed by dykes and mounds with ruderal vegetation. Since the study sites comprised just the 6%of the total dredge island area available in 2009–2010, the results indicate as large fractions of these shorebird populations might exploit the dredge island habitats for foraging. In winter the six dredged islands supported about 2 % of the dunlins Calidris alpina occurring in the whole lagoon of Venice and about 10 % of the grey plovers Pluvialis squatarola. Dredge islands were mostly used by waders as foraging sites, when surrounding tidal flats were still flooded. Multivariate analysis identified similarity among sites, seasons and observed behaviours. Ten species comprised about 80 % of the total bird abundance was the highest during the post-breeding migration and wintering period. Overall, 101 species (with 23,399 birds) were observed, about a third of those occurring in the lagoon of Venice 58 of these species were of conservation concern. Between July 2009 and December 2010, 32 ornithological surveys were performed at six artificial intertidal sites in the lagoon of Venice (Italy). Despite intensive study outside Europe, very few data are available to date on the bird communities that exploit artificial intertidal sites along the European coasts. Man-made habitats provide suitable nesting, resting and feeding habitats for many birds at coastal sites.
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