Habitat Selection of Wintering Birds in Farm Ponds in Taoyuan, Taiwan.

Chia-Hsuan Hsu,Jui-Yu Chou,Wei-Ta Fang

doi:10.3390/ani9030113

Abstract

Simple SummaryIdentification of existing and potential irrigation ponds is essential for creating waterbird refuges to secure habitats for wintering waterbirds in anthropogenically influenced areas. In total, 45 ponds were surveyed in the Taoyuan Tableland in northwestern Taiwan. The association between pond dimensions and bird-species richness and community composition was determined by comparing the responses of functional groups to pond configurations. The results demonstrated that waterbirds, compared with landbirds, have a stronger correlation with pond variables. Our study provided substantial evidence that these artificial ponds had also influenced the distribution of wintering waterbirds.Farm ponds or irrigation ponds, providing a vital habitat for diverse bird communities, are an environmental feature with characteristics that cross over typical urban and natural conditions. In this study, the species richness and community structure of irrigation ponds were characterized on the local and landscape scales. Within a landscape complex in the Taoyuan Tableland of Taiwan, 45 ponds were surveyed, ranging in areas from 0.2 to 20.47 ha. In total, 94 species and 15,053 individual birds were identified after surveying four times. The association between ponds and birds was determined to establish the effect of pond dimensions on species richness and community composition in the complex by comparing the responses of functional groups to pond configurations. Seven avian functional groups were identified. Compared with landbirds (i.e., families Alcedinidae, Apodidae, Icteridae, and Sturnidae), waterbirds (i.e., families Anatidae, Ardeidae, Charadriidae, Podicipedidae, and Scolopacidae) exhibited a stronger correlation with pond variables. Our study provides substantial evidence that these artificial ponds have influenced wintering waterbirds. The final results of this study may help stakeholders and land managers identify areas not to establish large-scale solar facilities considering waterbird habitats in pond areas.

Highlights

Over the years, human activities have severely affected wildlife and its habitat; it is crucial to balance the needs of people and wildlife
We identified a greater species richness among wintering migrants (48%) compared with permanent residents (45%)
We compared wetland birds with landbirds to analyze their associations with internal and external pond variables, and the results demonstrated that the individual numbers of waterbirds were more strongly correlated with the pond variables than were the landbirds

Summary

Introduction

Human activities have severely affected wildlife and its habitat; it is crucial to balance the needs of people and wildlife. The habitats of birds are extensively exploited by humans through the use of land and water for agriculture, associated construction, and other types of development activities [1,2]. In Taoyuan Tableland, Taiwan, thousands of farm ponds have been constructed for irrigation. This area had more than 3290 ponds in the 1970s, but fewer. Pondscape was defined as “a series of water surfaces of ponds in association with various surrounding landforms, including farms, creeks, canals, roads, houses, woodlands, and other open spaces” [3,4,5]. Several migratory birds stop over at pondscapes Because of their specific habitat requirements for stopover during migration, birds provide indicators regarding habitat conditions [6,7]. Duelli and Obrist suggested that generalist species might not be appropriate biodiversity indicators [8]

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