Seasonal dynamics of wintering waterbirds in two shallow lakes along Yangtze River in Anhui Province

The shallow lake wetlands in the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain are important wintering and stopover habitats for migratory waterbirds on the East Asia-Australia Flyway.With increasing fishery practices in recent years,however,the wetlands have deteriorated significantly and now threaten wintering waterbirds.To gain insight into the influence of deteriorating wetlands on waterbirds,we conducted a survey of wintering waterbird species,population size,and distribution across 11 belt transects in Caizi Lake and Shengjin Lake,two shallow lakes along the Yangtze River in Anhui Province from November 2007-April 2008 and from November 2008-April 2009,respectively.The impacts of different fishery patterns on the distribution of waterbirds were also analyzed.A total of 43 waterbirds species belong to 7 orders of 12 families were counted during the surveys,of which 38 were found in Caizi Lake with a density of 8.2 ind./hm2,and 42 in Shengjin Lake with a density of 3.5 ind./hm2.Geese（Anser cygnoides）,bean geese（Anser fabalis）,tundra swan（Cygnus columbianus）,and dunlin（Calidris alpina） were the dominant species in the two shallow lakes.Species number and individual assemble reached maximum at the end of December and in early January of the following year,without coincidence of the largest flock for different ecological groups.Based on waterbird diversity across the 11 belt transects and the fishery patterns,habitats could be divided into three groups.Gruiformes,Anseriformes and Charadriiformes had relatively higher densities in the natural fishery zones and lower densities in the cage fishery zones;whereas,the density of Ardeidae showed little change across all lake zones.It is important to develop sustainable fishery patterns in shallow lakes along the middle and lower Yangtze River floodplain to better protect resources of wintering waterbirds.

Response of wintering waterbird diversity to reclamation history and post-reclamation habitat along Yellow Sea coast

Waterbird diversity is one of the most important indicators for monitoring wetland quality.However,the increasing intensity of reclamation activities in recent decades caused the change of habitat landscape along coasts,which could affect the diversity of wintering waterbirds.Our study tried to investigate how reclamation history and postreclamation habitats influence the species richness,species abundance,and Shannon–Wiener diversity of wintering waterbirds along Yancheng coastal wetlands.A total of 68 waterbird species were recorded and the abundance pattern of wintering birds changed from 2009 to 2013.Species richness and abundance of wintering waterbirds varied in the different reclamation histories.Most importantly,the general linear mixed model highlighted the importance of reclamation history,post-reclamation habitat type,and their interactions for shaping both species abundance and Shannon–Wiener diversity of wintering waterbirds,but these variables did not affect the species richness of waterbirds.Furthermore,the random forest results also showed a positive association between reclamation history with species richness,species abundance,and Shannon–Wiener diversity of wintering waterbirds.Moreover,three post-reclamation habitat types,Suaeda glauca,bare flat,and fish pond,played important roles for wintering birds.Our results highlighted that reclamation history,post-reclamation habitats,and their interactions determined waterbird diversity.Given the growing threats to wetland ecosystems from reclamation activities,further research should find a balance between coastal reclamation and waterbird biodiversity conservation.

Priority sites and conservation gaps of wintering waterbirds in the Yangtze River floodplain

The Yangtze River floodplain is critical for migratory waterbirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). Greater awareness of its global importance is urgently needed to ensure waterbird populations remain in favourable conservation status, as well as the enhancement of wider wetland biodiversity within this region. The designation of protected wetland areas and building a green ecological corridor in the Yangtze floodplain is now becoming a critical issue of interest to the Chinese government. Priority sites in this area were identified based on the criteria used to identify sites that qualify as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites) and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) by using multi-source data. The results show that 140 of the sites surveyed are priority sites. The Importance Index (/) for the whole floodplain decreased slightly from 2001–2005 and an unbalanced distribution pattern is evident with Jiangxi and Hunan provinces significantly higher than the other provinces in the floodplain. Although more than 60% of the priority sites are currently located outside protected areas, the average Conservation Effectiveness Index (C) of the whole floodplain is 75.6%, which suggests the coverage of protected areas for most wintering waterbird population is reasonable. Conservation of the Yangtze River floodplain needs to be further strengthened due to declining waterbird abundances and the mismatch between the distribution of protected areas and their importance for wintering waterbirds. A comprehensive system for priority site identification and protection and scientific review is needed. Multi-sourced data from regular, systematic and coordinated monitoring of waterbird distribution and abundance across the EAAF, as well as national scale citizen science programmes are also critically important.