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

Abstract

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 post-reclamation 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.

Keywords: Yellow Sea coast; post-reclamation habitat; reclamation history; wintering waterbirds.