Significance of wetlands for the conservation of avifauna in the central zone of Tigray, northern Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract This study was conducted to investigate the significance of wetlands for bird conservation from June 2022 to May 2023 in the central zone of Tigray, northern Ethiopia. The point count method was used to study the bird assemblage structure and diversity in the study sites. During data analysis, the Shannon–Weaver diversity index was employed using PAST software. A total of 4,324 individual birds belonging to 125 species, 14 orders and 42 families were identified. The order Passeriformes was recorded with the highest number of species (70, 56%), followed by the order Columbiformes (9, 7.2%). Overall bird species diversity and abundance were higher during the wet season at all studied sites. The highest (100, 42%) and lowest (66, 27%) numbers of bird species were recorded in May Abakat and May Shingurti, respectively. The bird community similarity of the studied habitats was SI = 0.492, which is < 50%, indicating that there is low similarity of bird species among the three wetlands. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the abundance of bird species between the wet and dry seasons except in the May Shingurti wetland. Generally, the abundance of bird species among the three selected wetlands showed highly significant variation (p < 0.05). Solid waste disposal, erosion, agricultural expansion, urbanization (human settlement), grazing by domestic stock, military camping, Eucalyptus cultivation and others were identified as wetland threats. Finally, community-based conservation initiatives should be developed and implemented to diminish the threats and safeguard the studied wetlands.