Abstract
The present study investigates the relative importance of human disturbance, local environmental and spatial factors on variations in bird community composition in natural Ethiopian wetlands with high biodiversity conservation value. We quantified bird abundances, local environmental variables and human disturbances at 63 sites distributed over ten wetlands in two subsequent years. Variation partitioning analyses were used to explore the unique and shared contributions of human disturbance, local environmental variables and spatial factors on variations in community compositions of wetland bird species. Local environmental variables explained the largest amount of compositional variation of wetland bird species. Productivity-related variables were the most important local environmental variables determining bird community composition. Human disturbance was also an important determinant for wetland bird community composition and affected the investigated communities mainly indirectly through its effect on local environmental conditions. Spatial factors only played a minor role in variations in bird community composition. Our study highlights the urgent need for integrated management approaches that consider both nature conservation targets and socio-economic development of the region for the sustainable use and effective conservation of wetland resources.
Highlights
Wetlands are defined as areas that are transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems, where the water table is usually at or near the surface, or the land is covered by shallow water [1]
The present study investigates the relative importance of local environmental variables, human disturbance and spatial factors on the community composition of wetland birds in a set of ten natural wetlands in southwest Ethiopia
Our analyses indicate that variation in community composition of wetland birds is largely determined by local environmental variables and human disturbance, while spatial factors played a minor role
Summary
Wetlands are defined as areas that are transitional between terrestrial and aquatic systems, where the water table is usually at or near the surface, or the land is covered by shallow water [1]. The three important characteristics that are associated with and used to constitute a wetland include hydrology, hydrophytic vegetation and hydric soils [2]. Wetlands perform a wide variety of ecological functions, including provisioning of habitat for wildlife, purification of catchment surface water, floodwater attenuation, groundwater recharge, climate regulation and erosion control [1,3]. Wetlands are increasingly recognized for their high contribution to biodiversity [6,7]. Wetlands provide crucial habitats for many species since they comprise multiple microhabitats that provide a variety of resources. The high habitat heterogeneity of wetlands typically results in highly diverse bird communities, 4.0/)
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