Importantce Of Coastal Habitats
importantce of Coastal habitats
of the north-western part of the black sea
for Conservation of Waterfowl
I.T. Rusev
Nature protection and regeneration fund named after prof. I.I. Pusanov
"Natural Heritage Fund", Odessa, Ukraine
INTRODUCTION
It is known that migratory birds depend on a whole network of habitats of local, regional, national and international levels. Many coastal biotopes of the northwestern Black Sea coastal zone (Prichernomorya) are key habitats for waterfowl. Since different species use different habitats at different times of the annual life cycle, almost all-coastal natural resources are important for migratory birds.
While playing a great role in conservation of biodiversity, coastal habitats are in need of elaborating integrated national and international plans of conservation and effective management of ecosystems and resources, primarily as habitats for transcontinental migrating birds. Those habitats, which are in a transformed or degraded state, require denaturalization.
The coastal ecosystems of Prichernomorya include islands, bars, bays, limans, lakes, reservoirs, ponds, river deltas and other habitats. These habitats have priority significance for migrating birds for different stages of their life cycle - nesting, moulting, migration, wintering, etc. However, for conservation of biodiversity of habitats, wetlands are of greatest regional, national and international significance. In this region they are represented by three large river deltas (Danube, Dnester, Dnieper) and 14 bays, limans and lagoons. Most of the wetlands of Ukraine included in the list of the Ramsar Convention are found in the Prichernomorya. (Fig.1).
In spite of the marked transformation of natural coastal ecosystems from widescale industrial and agricultural pollution (Rusev 1995b), the coastal ecosystems play an important part in maintaining the diversity of flora and fauna (Rusev 1995a, 1995c). They are especially significant for birds (Rusev &
Barker 1995, Schegolev & Rusev 1995). The waterfowl rank first among avian fauna in species diversity, biomass and numbers in the Prichernomorya coastal zone. Most of the species migrate twice a year en route through coastal habitats in Prichernomorya from Europe to Africa and back, stopping over in natural habitats for nesting, feeding, molting and wintering. For centuries migrating birds have used one of the traditional migration pathways, the Pontic, linking West Siberia, the north of the European part of Russia, the Baltic and Scandinavian territories with wintering ranges situated in southern West Europe, partly in the Near East and Africa (Brauner, 1923). During seasonal migrations this increases the diversity of fauna. Of the 218 nesting species characteristic for the steppe belt (Voinstvenskiy 1960), the coastal ornithofauna make up to 150 (Chernichko 1988).
Of the 18 orders of birds, when nesting and flying over, the most numerous following the sparrowlike are the waterfowl. According to the classification of P. Rose and D. Scott (1994), the ten families (Pelicanidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Ardeidae, Ciconiidae, Threskiornithidae, Charadriidae, Laridae, Anatidae, Rallidae, Gruidae) considered in this paper belong to waterfowl. These birds are able to form large wintering, migratory and nesting aggregations, mono - and polyspecies colonies which have great scientific and practical interest.
COASTAL HABITATS USED BY MIGRATING WATERFOWL
As mentioned earlier, the Prichernomorya is geographically situated in the zone of the Pontic migratory path of birds. Here in the coastal zone in all seasons of the year 340 bird species have been recorded which makes up 90% of all species of the ornithofauna of Ukraine (Korzukov, Rusev, Gerzhik 1996). Birds use various coastal habitats for ending their annual life cycle. One and the same species may use different habitats, while on the contrary, different species may use one and the same habitat. This causes a vertical and horizontal tie between many species of birds with the structural and functional elements of coastal ecosystems.
As families of Pelicanidae, Phalacrocoridae, Ardeidae, Ciconiidae, Threskiornithidae, Charadriidae, Laridae, Anatidae, Rallidae, Gruidae live in these habitats when stopping over during the whole life cycle. And only one of the main biotopes of the coastal zone is not used by migrating waterfowl during the nesting period. Sometimes it is very rarely used by such species as Tadorna tadorna L. (shelduck) and Casarca ferruginae Pall (ruddy shelduck), and usually the habitats are clayey cliffs. The latter are important habitats for other groups of birds. It is understood that concrete species and populations prefer certain habitats.
One of the main conclusions, which can be made, is that to save the richest species diversity of migrating birds through Prichernomorya, it is necessary to save the whole diversity of habitats which are mostly natural biotopes. However, some are man-made territories such as rice paddies, fish-breeding ponds, agrocoenoses etc. In such places birds are not protected from human activity. They are scared and shot at when protecting the harvest. The shots take a toll not only of ordinary mass species as cormorants, gulls and ducks, but many rare species too. That is why in these places migrating birds are in need of protection.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COASTAL HABITATS
FOR NESTING WATERFOWL
The widespread network of habitats in Prichernomorya gives space to 150 bird species of which the nesting waterfowl colonies make up the greatest biomass and numbers. These include, according to IUCN and Birdlife International standards, globally threatened species such as: Pelicanus crispus (Dalmatian pelican), Phalacrocorax pygmeus (pigmy cormorant), Haliaetus albicilla (white - tailed eagle), etc. (Tucker 1994, Anatidae-2000, 1994). Almost all coastal biotopes are excellent nesting sites, but the most favourable are accumulative islands, reedbeds, river deltas, river floodlands, bay spits, limans and brackish, super saline lakes. The most attractive of these for nesting birds are reedbeds which differ in origin, but are used by almost all ecologically similar groups of species. They, according to V. Siokhin and I.Chernichko (1993), give rise to the highest species diversity of waterfowl. Reedbeds occur not only in deltas and river flood plains, but in large accumulative islands and bars of Prichernomorya, all of which adds to diversifying species composition of nesting birds. The dispersal of mass species of colonial birds is shown in Fig.2. Many species of Anatidae and Rallidae nest in these habitats, the most important of which in Prichernomorya are the Danube Delta, Dniester Delta, Kuyalnitsky and Tiligul limans, delta of the Dnepr, Tendrovsky and Egorlitsky bays and Sivash (Shegolev & Rusev 1995, Rusev 1994, 2000). All of these habitats fall into the category of Ramsar wetlands, which is an important feature for giving them international status with measures taken for conservation and management of natural resources.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COASTAL HABITATS
FOR WINTERING BIRDS
Winters in Prichernomorya are mild and maritime, very unstable with temperatures varying above and below zero with thaws and slight frosts. However, in certain years, in the winters of 1995-1996, 1996-1997 and 1999-2000 almost all of the territory of Prichernomorya was covered with snow and the water area -with ice. Only a few brackish water bodies and the coastal sea were available for waterfowl. Even in these years the numbers and species diversity of wintering species were quite large.
The diverse biotopes, mild winter climate and good feeding grounds all attract hundreds of species of birds to Prichernomorya from Europe for wintering. The most numerous are Anatidae. The total numbers reach 300 000 - 350 000 in some years. The most significant habitats during this period are in the coastal part of the Black Sea and limans and lagoons where the birds feed, rest and stay overnight. However, geese prefer agrocoenoses for feeding. This group is the most characteristic for the winter ornithofauna of Prichernomorya. Since it feeds on young plants of winter wheat and rye, humans threaten it.
Six species of geese winter in Prichernomorya, such as: Anser fabalis, Anser erythropus, Anser anser, Chen caerulescens, Rufibrenta ruficollis, Anser albifrons. The latter is the most numerous. During the winter it numbers more than 100 000. It feeds on fields of winter wheat. Although when warm winters give rise to marsh grasses in the Danube and Dnester deltas, the birds feed in these biotopes. This has a great impact on farmlands as daily, bird\’s fly from their night shelters in coastal areas to feed and return back, that is, they feed during the day. Recently, separate groups of geese have been registered which remain overnight in the fields. That is why Anser albifrons is considered a pest for agricultural crops. Certainly this species may be a threat for harvest crops only in that case when the harvest is poor and the winter is mild. To feed themselves the geese nibble not only the green seedlings, but uproot the whole plant. According to I. Rusev\’s studies (l996, 1996a, 1999), geese are not a threat to Prichernomorya as the excrements which they leave on the fields are a good natural fertilizer, and increase the harvest of winter grains. It should be emphasized that additional studies should be conducted for management of bird populations in critical periods of wintering to achieve a compromise between farmers\’ interests and protection of migrating birds.
The species of Rufibrenta ruficollis flying over from Russia where they nest occur in mixed flocks with Anser albifrons (Syroechkovski Jr. 1995). The former is a globally endangered species, and will serve as an emblem of protection of birds all over th whole world. The numbers of this population in the world varies from 35 000 to 74 000 (Vinokurov 1990, Vangeluwe, Stassin 1991.). The Prichernomorya habitats are especially attractive to Rufibrenta ruficollis during autumn migration. A record number of 16 000 - 20 000 birds of this species was recorded in the autumn of 1996 in Prichernomorya, when they stopped to stay overnight and to feed in natural coastal habitats and farmlands (Rusev 1997, 1999).
The first separate individuals of the red-breasted goose wintering in Ukraine were registered by the authors in 1982. This species numbered 100 up to 1988. But from the beginning of 1989, there was a gradual rise up to a maximum 9175 in the winter of 1997-1998 (. Most of the birds wintered in the Danube-Dnester interfluve. However, according to T. Ardamatskaya (1976,1996) it is encountered in the Chernomorsky Reserve in the northern Prichernomorya. The rising abundance of red-breasted geese wintering in Ukraine is attributed to the change from wintering sites on the Caspian coast to the Black Sea coast beginning from the 1980\’s, and to more detailed records of all possible wintering sites during winter field expeditions (Rusev & Korzukov 1996).
It is quite natural that for such numbers of birds of a globally threatened species using coastal habitats, Prichernomorya is of particular significance, a territory in need of protection for conservation of birdlife knowing no boundaries and becoming part of the European ecological network.
CONCLUSIONS
Habitat diversity, favorable climatic conditions, rich feeding grounds of coastal habitats of Prichernomorya are a necessity, but not a sufficient perquisite for protection and conservation of migratory waterfowl of Europe, Africa and partly Asia. Recently, manmade expansion on coastal ecosystems of Prichernomorya as in all of Europe has become one of the main threats for conservation of biodiversity.
For conservation of migrating waterfowl, there habitats and all biodiversity in the Prichernomorya region consistent and practical efforts are required firstly, the legislative availability and effective adherence to it. Today, Ukraine has 13 environmental protection laws, but has no real guaranteed legislative mechanism for conservation of coastal habitats. No matter how difficult this process, the most attention should be paid to Prichernomorya as one of the largest areas in Ukraine having existing nature reserves for future national parks (Rusev 1996b). They are the territories fulfilling the main function for conservation of transcontinental migrants. Today the area of existing nature reserves in the Prichernomorya (Odessa, Nikolaev and Kherson oblasts) makes up 249 225.9 ha or 2.88% of total area. The greatest - 5.56% is in Kherson oblast. Reserved territory for future national parks in Prichernomorya for the three oblasts makes up 462 982.2 h or 5.36%. This is almost up to European standards. That is why the creation of reserves in the coastal zone, according to the authors opinion, is one of the key strategic tasks in conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.
The Prichernomorya within the framework of the European ecological network is one of the key natural areas, which draws the attention to this important habitat for migratory birds, not only of scientists and experts, but of the international ecological community. On the whole it is very significant for conservation of biodiversity.
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