Abstract
The research was conducted in Ghabre Nakhoda, Nedelghar, Dara and Boneh islands in Khore Mosa Ramsar site in the Persian Gulf from May to December 2003 and 2012. Total count method was used to obtain the census of the nests and breeding population of waterbirds on the Islands. Thirty three (34) species of waterbirds were identified, of which eight species were breeders. The maximum breeding population of Lesser Crested Tern Sterna bengalensis, Swift Tern sterna bergii, Caspian Tern Sterna caspia, Bridled Terns sterna anaethetus, Western Reef Heron Egretta gularis and Crab Plover Dromas ardeola were 2551, 124, 120, 1310, 23 and 10500 pairs, respectively. Only two pairs of Little Egret Egretta garzetta had been bred in 2003 in the Ghabre Nakhoda. The islands have been identified as an "important bird area" (as a part of Shadeghan marsh) by Birdlife International proposed for protection as a part of the wildlife refuge of Shadeghan and suggested for to be classified as sensitive habitat for breeding seabirds. Key words: Breeding species, nest number, species diversity, Persian Gulf.
Highlights
There are 34 islands on northern part of Persian Gulf belonging to Iran, four of them are located in Khore Mosa Creek Ramsar site (30°17’58”N 48°56’51”E) in Khuzestan province, (Figure 1)
The study area located in Khore Mosa Creek near Bandar Imam (Imam Port) (30°17’58”N 48°56’51”E, Figure 1) and involves a particular natural habitats in Persian Gulf
Khore Mosa extends from Mahshahr port in the north, south to the Persian Gulf
Summary
There are 34 islands on northern part of Persian Gulf belonging to Iran, four of them are located in Khore Mosa Creek Ramsar site (30°17’58”N 48°56’51”E) in Khuzestan province, (Figure 1). These islands provide ideal breeding grounds for large colonies of seabirds, (Scott, 1995 and 2008; Evans, 1994; Behrouzi-Rad and Tayfeh, 2008; Behrouzi-Rad, 2008, 2013). Waterbirds have been shown to track environmental variations, at short (months) and long (years) temporal scales, and at both species and community level (Redon et al, 2008; Almarez and Amat, 2004). Either the waterbirds themselves or their prey are exploited by humans (for example, hunting and fisheries), so that hunting bags of waterbirds may be indicative of productivity in nesting or wintering areas (Miller et al, 1998) or breeding parameters of birds may inform on fish stock (Enoder, 2009)
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