Abstract
The relationship between hydrological variation and the habitat use of waterbirds in wetland complexes is a significant field of ecological research. Quantification of the relationships between wetland hydrological attributes and waterbirds distribution is critical for the success of waterbird conservation. In this study, flood duration (FD) derived from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery was combined with geese GPS tracking data to quantify the optimal FD thresholds for identifying geese habitats. Based on the thresholds, we defined the suitable habitats of wintering geese and investigated the difference in the spatial distribution pattern of habitat from 2018 to 2020 in Poyang Lake, China. We also considered the role of sub-lakes in habitat protection. The results showed that the area of suitable habitats for wintering geese decreased in both dry and wet years, and the range of optimal FD threshold was wider in normal years than in both dry and wet years. The proportion of suitable habitats per unit area was greater in the sub-lakes than in the whole Poyang Lake. We concluded that FD indices extracted from SAR data are valuable for reflecting the influence of the pattern of hydrological variation on waterbird distribution and for the protection and rational use of wetland ecosystems.
Highlights
Seasonal hydrological variations are the driving factor of ecosystem structure and function in large floodplain wetlands [1,2,3,4], through their influences on vegetation colonization and growth, which affect the distribution patterns of herbivorous waterbird habitats [5,6]
The habitat use of wetland waterbirds is affected by hydrological variation [14], esThe habitat use of wetland waterbirds is affected by hydrological variation [14], especially the flood duration, the requirements of waterbirds for specific resources, or their pecially the flood duration, the requirements of waterbirds for specific resources, or their different life-history stages [50]
Using the hydrological model [7] or mapping the spatial pattern of the inundation area [51,52] has been proposed to predict the distribution of pattern of the inundation area [51,52] has been proposed to predict the distribution of suitable habitats in the study area
Summary
Seasonal hydrological variations are the driving factor of ecosystem structure and function in large floodplain wetlands [1,2,3,4], through their influences on vegetation colonization and growth, which affect the distribution patterns of herbivorous waterbird habitats [5,6]. Hydrological conditions in the wet season will have an effect on the plant growth process in the dry season by affecting the soil moisture and determining the wet meadow exposure timing [7,8]. These hysteretic effects will have an effect on the availability and quality of food for herbivorous waterbirds. How the flood duration affects the wintering geese habitats and how to quantify the relationship between them are still unclear. An improved understanding is needed for the effective conservation of wintering geese and wise use of wetlands
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