Waterbirds as Bio-indicators in Lake Uromia Ecosystem Changes

Abstract

The main factor for stability of Lake Uromia ecosystem is amount of its water, which provides suitable habitat for terrestrial and waterbirds. In normal condition, average depth of water and area of the lake were five meter and 483000 hectare in 1980 (wet year of lake Uromia), but the depth reduced to less than one meter and area less than 100000 hectare in 2015. Reduction of area and water depth of lake caused variation of breeding population and species number of birds in Lake Uromia. In this paper, reduction of breeding bird's population and species number of birds in 1980, compared with 2015, that lake was dried and the area of the lake reduced to less than twenty percent of normal condition. forty tow species of waterbirds, thirty eight species of waders and wading birds and 109 species of terrestrial birds were reported in Lake Uromia in 1980(at wet years), but in 2015, the species of birds reduced to sixteen species of waterbirds, sixty three species of terrestrial, twenty one species of waders and wading birds. Fifty tow breeding bird's species in 1980 reduced to seventeen species in Lake Uromia in 2015. Breeding indicator species were Phoenicopterus ruber 100000 pairs, Pelecanus onocratelus 3500 pairs, Tadorna tadorna 5000 pairs, Larus genei 5000 pairs and Larus armenicuss 8000 pairs, but in 2015, only seventeen species of birds have been bred, and breeding population of Larus armenicuss and Phoenicotrus ruber reduced to less than 100 pairs, Tadorna tadorna 50 pairs and other breeding indicator species near to zero. Reduction of breeding population and species number of birds are signs of the disintegration of Lake Uromia ecosystem.