Distribution, abundance and bio-characteristics of the Kentish plover (<i>Charadrius alexandrinus</i> L., 1758) in Tuva

Abstract

The paper considers the distribution and elements of breeding bio-characteristics and abundance of the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus L.) on the basis of literary and the authors materials. The necessity of the species state revision is connected with the all-round decrease of its number and its inclusion in the last edition of the Red List of Threatened Animals and Plants of the Russian Federation. Optimal breeding habitats of the Kentish plover are located in a very limited area on the coasts of the steppe lakes of the Ulug-Khem and the Ubsu-Nur basins. The Kentish plover nests regularly in Tuva but its numbers are subject to considerable fluctuations depending mainly on hydrological conditions of the season. The total number of plovers within the studied area does not exceed 4050 pairs. The Kentish plover is more numerous and occurs more widely on migration. The main features of nesting bio-characteristics are similar in other areal parts but late nesting dates were recorded. Some deviations in oological characteristics were also fixed (totally 29 eggs from 9 egg clutches were described). Anthropogenic factors such as cattle grazing along the coasts as well as intensive recreational impact have a great influence on the condition of the local nesting population of the Kentish plover. The authors recommend including the Kentish plover species in the Red List of Threatened Animals and Plants of Tuva Republic due to their low numbers during their nesting and its extreme stenotopicity.