Annual Dynamics of Bird Community at a Coastal Wetland and Their Relation to Habitat Types: The Example of Beidagang Wetland, Northern China

Abstract

In order to provide more scientific guidance for wetland bird protection, this study addressed the dynamics of the bird community sorted by ecotypes, classifications and threat categories from 2015 to 2019, and non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis, generalized additive models and the Mantel test were used to examine the relationships between bird communities and habitat types. The results showed that: (1) The abundance of birds peaked in 2017 at 88,258 individuals and then declined. Moreover, there was an inverse trend between species richness and abundance of birds, meaning greater abundance is associated with fewer species. (2) Swimming birds were dominant ecotypes and Anseriformes possessed the highest abundance. It was noteworthy that the abundance of critically endangered birds (Aythya baeri and Grus leucogeranus) and the species richness of endangered birds increased. (3) Building land and farmland had dominant impacts on the composition of bird community. Wading birds and birds in Gruiformes were significantly impacted by building land and farmland, and near threatened species were substantially influenced by farmland. Therefore, maintaining good connectivity between protected areas and surrounding areas is one of the best ways to effectively manage biodiversity of the target area. This research may provide a broader insight for coastal wetland bird habitat management and bird diversity preservation.