Effects of rainfall in the arid zone on waterbird abundance at a wastewater treatment plant in coastal South Australia

Abstract

We investigated which species of waterbirds at Bolivar, a wastewater treatment plant in Metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, are likely to have been immigrants from the ephemeral wetlands in the arid zone. To do this, we compared the abundance of waterbird species observed at Bolivar during the dry period in the eastern arid zone of late 2018 and 2019 with that during the subsequent wet period 2020–2022. Pink-eared Duck Malacorhynchus membranaceus, Grey Teal Anas gracilis, Australasian Shoveler Spatula rhynchotis, Hardhead Aythya australis and Blue-billed Duck Oxyura australis were all more abundant during the arid-zone dry period. By contrast, Australian Shelduck Tadorna tadornoides, Eurasian Coot Fulica atra and Black Swan Cygnus atratus showed increased abundance in spring and early summer in all years, with no marked differences between the dry and wet periods in the arid zone. Wader species that breed in the Northern Hemisphere – Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata and Red-necked Stint C. ruficollis – also tended to be more abundant during the arid-zone dry year, as did Red-necked Avocet Recurvirostra novaehollandiae, whereas Pied Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus tended to be more abundant in the arid-zone wet years, with breeding by this species taking place in spring. These data suggest that Bolivar is a critically important conservation site for waterbirds and that various species use this location as a refuge during dry times in the arid zone of eastern Australia.