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Ding P, Song Z, Liu Y, Halimubieke N, Székely T, Shi L. Nesting Habitat Suitability of the Kentish Plover in the Arid Lands of Xinjiang, China. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:3369. [PMID: 37958123 PMCID: PMC10648522 DOI: 10.3390/ani13213369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 10/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the main ecological factors of the nesting habitat of shorebirds is of great significance in relation to their protection and habitat management. Habitat loss and change due to a lack of water threaten the biodiversity of shorebirds, with impacts likely to be most pronounced in arid lands. We collected the data of 144 nesting sites and 10 ecological factors during the breeding season from April to July each year in 2019 and 2020 in nine river districts in Xinjiang. The MaxEnt model was applied to assess the suitability of nesting habitats for Kentish plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) in the study area to examine the main factors affecting their nesting habitat. The most suitable nesting habitats are mostly distributed in plain reservoirs in the middle part of the Northern Slope of the Tianshan Mountains, Ebinur Lake and its eastern position in the southwestern Junggar Basin, near Ulungur Lake of the Ulungur river area and the southern Irtysh river area. The distance from water, normalized difference vegetation index, mean temperature of the breeding season, slope, and land use were the main factors affecting the nesting habitat selection of Kentish plovers. It was found that the proportion of suitable nesting habitat protected for the Kentish plovers in the study area was low (851.66 km2), accounting for only 11.02% of the total suitable nesting habitat area. In view of the scarcity and importance of water bodies in arid lands and the lack of protection for Kentish plovers at present, it is suggested to strengthen the conservation and management of the regional shorebirds and their habitats by regulating and optimizing the allocation of water resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Ding
- College of Animal Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China;
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory for Ecological Adaptation and Evolution of Extreme Environment Biology, College of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
| | - Zitan Song
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China; (Z.S.); (Y.L.)
- Comparative Socioecology Group, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, 78467 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Yang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Shenzhen 518107, China; (Z.S.); (Y.L.)
| | - Naerhulan Halimubieke
- Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA1 7AY, UK; (N.H.); (T.S.)
| | - Tamás Székely
- Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA1 7AY, UK; (N.H.); (T.S.)
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Lei Shi
- College of Animal Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China;
- Xinjiang Key Laboratory for Ecological Adaptation and Evolution of Extreme Environment Biology, College of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
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Oparina OS, Oparin ML, Kudryavtsev AY, Oparina AM. Characteristics of Great Bustard (Otis tarda) (Otididae, Aves) Habitats in the Trans-Volga Region according to Food Availability during the Chick Rearing Period. BIOL BULL+ 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062359022100272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
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