Hsu Chia-Hsuan, Chou Jui-Yu, Fang Wei-Ta
School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University, Taipei City 10617, Taiwan.
Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua City 50007, Taiwan.
Animals (Basel). 2019 Mar 23;9(3):113. doi: 10.3390/ani9030113.
Farm ponds or irrigation ponds, providing a vital habitat for diverse bird communities, are an environmental feature with characteristics that cross over typical urban and natural conditions. In this study, the species richness and community structure of irrigation ponds were characterized on the local and landscape scales. Within a landscape complex in the Taoyuan Tableland of Taiwan, 45 ponds were surveyed, ranging in areas from 0.2 to 20.47 ha. In total, 94 species and 15,053 individual birds were identified after surveying four times. The association between ponds and birds was determined to establish the effect of pond dimensions on species richness and community composition in the complex by comparing the responses of functional groups to pond configurations. Seven avian functional groups were identified. Compared with landbirds (i.e., families Alcedinidae, Apodidae, Icteridae, and Sturnidae), waterbirds (i.e., families Anatidae, Ardeidae, Charadriidae, Podicipedidae, and Scolopacidae) exhibited a stronger correlation with pond variables. Our study provides substantial evidence that these artificial ponds have influenced wintering waterbirds. The final results of this study may help stakeholders and land managers identify areas not to establish large-scale solar facilities considering waterbird habitats in pond areas.
农田池塘或灌溉池塘为多样的鸟类群落提供了至关重要的栖息地，是一种兼具典型城市和自然条件特征的环境要素。在本研究中，对灌溉池塘的物种丰富度和群落结构在局部和景观尺度上进行了表征。在台湾桃园台地的一个景观区域内，对45个池塘进行了调查，面积从0.2公顷到20.47公顷不等。经过四次调查，共识别出94种鸟类，个体数量达15053只。通过比较功能群对池塘形态的响应，确定了池塘与鸟类之间的关联，以建立池塘尺寸对该区域物种丰富度和群落组成的影响。识别出了七个鸟类功能群。与陆鸟（即翠鸟科、雨燕科、拟鹂科和椋鸟科）相比，水鸟（即鸭科、鹭科、鸻科、䴙䴘科和鹬科）与池塘变量的相关性更强。我们的研究提供了大量证据，表明这些人工池塘对越冬水鸟产生了影响。本研究的最终结果可能有助于利益相关者和土地管理者在考虑池塘区域水鸟栖息地的情况下，识别不宜建设大型太阳能设施的区域。
