Changes in the waterbird community of the Parc National du Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania, 1980–2017

Summary The Parc National du Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania hosts the largest concentrations of coastal waterbirds along the East Atlantic Flyway. In spite of this importance, a review of the changes in the numbers of waterbirds in the area is lacking since the first complete count in 1980. Here we ana...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bird Conservation International
Main Authors: OUDMAN, THOMAS, SCHEKKERMAN, HANS, KIDEE, AMADOU, VAN ROOMEN, MARC, CAMARA, MOHAMED, SMIT, COR, TEN HORN, JOB, PIERSMA, THEUNIS, EL-HACEN, EL-HACEN MOHAMED
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2020
Subjects:
Calidris canutus
Eurasian Curlew
Numenius arquata
Red Knot
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0959270919000431
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0959270919000431
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Summary:Summary The Parc National du Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania hosts the largest concentrations of coastal waterbirds along the East Atlantic Flyway. In spite of this importance, a review of the changes in the numbers of waterbirds in the area is lacking since the first complete count in 1980. Here we analysed the seven complete waterbird counts made since then, and the additional yearly counts made in one subunit (Iwik region) since 2003. We present evidence for changes in the community composition of waterbirds over the past four decades. Total waterbird numbers showed a decrease between 1980 and 2017, with only Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus showing a significant increase in numbers. Five species showed significant declines: Long-tailed Cormorant Phalacrocorax africanus , Red Knot Calidris canutus , Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica , Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata , and Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus. In the remaining species, the variation in numbers between counts was too large, and the number of complete counts too small, for trends to be detected. The yearly counts at Iwik region also showed sharp decreases in the numbers of Red Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Marsh Harrier, but not of Long-tailed Cormorant and Eurasian Curlew. A multivariate analysis revealed a significant change in species composition over time, which was caused mainly by changes in the species depending on the intertidal mudflats for feeding (generally in decline) vs. the species depending on fish and crustaceans in the sublittoral and offshore zones (often showing increases).

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