Exploring NAO influence on waterbirds abundance through hydrological changes in a Mediterranean coastal wetland

• Published in: Limnetica
• Main Authors: Conejo Orosa, Teresa, Román Muñoz, Antonio, Reche Cañabate, Isabel, Montes Pérez, Jorge J., Rodríguez Gómez, Sofía, Moreno Ostos, Enrique
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Asociacion Iberoamericana de Limnologia 2024
• Subjects: Guadalhorce River mouth; Flooded surface; Rainfall; North Atlantic; North Atlantic oscillation
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10481/93661; https://doi.org/10.23818/limn.43.21

Predicting how waterbird populations may respond to climate change is a major challenge for conservation, which could be addressed by understanding the effects of large-scale climate oscillations, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), on breeding population size. Here, we explore the relationship between the NAO position and the abundance of waterbird breeding pairs in a protected Mediterranean coastal wetland (Mouth of the Guadalhorce River, Málaga, southern Iberian Peninsula). We found a significant and negative relationship between the winter NAO index and the abundance of grebes (r=-0.72, N=15, p<0.01), rails (r=-0.74, N=15, p<0.01), diving ducks (r=-0.56, N=15, p<0.05) and dabbling ducks (r=-0.54, N=15, p<0.05). Our results suggest that this relation is mediated by the NAO indirect effects on wetland flooded surface via changes in winter precipitation and Mediterranean sea level. These results should be considered to design appropriate environmental management strategies devoted to preventing or mitigating potential deleterious effects of the NAO variability on Mediterranean wetlands ecosystems and preserving their valuable waterbird communities. Predecir cómo responden las poblaciones de aves acuáticas al cambio climático es un reto importante para la conservación, que puede abordarse comprendiendo los efectos de las oscilaciones climáticas a gran escala, como la Oscilación del Atlántico Norte (NAO), sobre el tamaño de las poblaciones reproductoras. En este trabajo exploramos la relación entre la posición de la NAO y la abundancia de parejas reproductoras de aves acuáticas en un humedal costero mediterráneo protegido (desembocadura del Río Guadalhorce, Málaga, Sur de la península Ibérica). Encontramos una relación significativa y negativa entre el índice de la NAO y la abundancia de zampullines (r=-0.72, N=15, p<0.01), rálidos (r=-0.74, N=15, p<0.01), patos buceadores (r=-0.56, N=15, p<0.05) y patos nadadores (r=-0.54, N=15, p<0.05). Nuestros resultados sugieren que esta ...