- Title
- Seasonal population dynamics and energy consumption by waterbirds in a small temperate estuary
- Creator
- Hean, Jeffrey W, Craig, Adrian J F K, Richoux, Nicole B
- Subject
- To be catalogued
- Date
- 2017
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/456305
- Identifier
- vital:75501
- Identifier
- xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2016.1230897"
- Description
- Simple measures of population dynamics and energy consumption can provide baseline information on the role of consumers in food webs, particularly for cryptic or highly-mobile species of waterbirds. We provide estimates of the seasonal population dynamics and energy consumption of waterbirds along the Kowie Estuary, South Africa. Ten census counts were conducted every month along the estuary from June 2013 to May 2014. Energy consumption and fresh-matter intake were calculated based on body-mass equations. Piscivorous birds dominated the waterbird assemblage during summer (up to 289 individuals), whereas non-migratory shorebirds were dominant at other times of the year. The total wet mass of prey items ingested by waterbirds ranged from 2.8 kg ha−1 during winter to 8.5 kg ha−1 during summer. The total energy consumption of waterbirds ranged from 12 543 kJ ha−1 during June to 33 104 kJ ha−1 during December. Shannon–Wiener diversity calculations revealed that the Kowie Estuary had a greater diversity of waterbirds than several other South African estuaries, but less diversity than many large European estuaries. Studies that incorporate census counts and energy consumption measures, although rudimentary, may provide valuable information on resource use by waterbirds in estuaries and may benefit conservation management schemes.
- Format
- computer, online resource, application/pdf, 1 online resource (7 pages), pdf
- Publisher
- Taylor and Francis
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Ostrich, Hean, J.W., Craig, A.J. and Richoux, N.B., 2017. Seasonal population dynamics and energy consumption by waterbirds in a small temperate estuary. Ostrich, 88(1), pp.45-51, Ostrich volume 88 number 1 p. 45 2017 1727-947X
- Rights
- Publisher
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Taylor and Francis Online Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.tandfonline.com/terms-and-conditions)
- Rights
- Closed Access
- Hits: 56
- Visitors: 54
- Downloads: 3
Collections
Craig, Adrian JFK (Prof)
Richoux, Nicole Bertine (Assoc Prof)
RU Department of Zoology and Entomology
SDG 15. Life On Land
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Seasonal population dynamics and energy consumption by waterbirds in a small temperate estuary.pdf | 713 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |