Fauna and bird population of open habitats of the Shalkar-Zhetykol lake region at the stage of water levels falling
Anatoly V. Davygora, Candidate of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor
Orenburg State Pedagogical University, Orenburg, Russia, davygora@esoo.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8761-5158
Anton A. Lyapin, Postgraduate Student
Orenburg State Pedagogical University, Orenburg, Russia, tred9rave@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9047-9501
Aleksander A. Semenov, Postgraduate Student
Orenburg State Pedagogical University, Orenburg, Russia, semyonov_aa@mail.ru, https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5277-6180
Abstract
The fauna and bird population of open habitats of the Shalkar-Zhetykol lake region is considered to be at the stage of water level falling (drying out) in its constituent reservoirs. On nine routes laid in the main biotopes of open landscapes, 690 individuals of 29 bird species were counted in the post-nesting period. The highest indicators of diversity and abundance were found in mosaic and ecotone habitats, the lowest — in cattle slaughterhouses, burnt out and tall grass areas. The average number of birds in the open biotopes of the study area was 8.56 ind./km of the route; maximum — 22.06 ind./km, minimum — 1.33 ind./km. The absolute dominants are the skylark and the yellow wagtail, which together make up 47.97% of the bird population, and 54.78% together with the black lark. These same species dominate in terms of occurrence; the yellow wagtail was noted on all the routes, the skylark — on 8 routes out of 9, the black lark — on 7 ones out of 9. Of the birds in open habitats, the highest indicators of maximum and average abundance were established for the yellow wagtail (15.00 and
3.55 ind./km) and the skylark (10.15 and 2.41 ind./km), the smallest — for the white-winged lark and the field pipit — 0.002 ind./km.
Key words
Trans-Urals steppe, Shalkar-Zhetykol lake region, water levels falling, open habitats, route bird counts, fauna and bird population.
For citation:
Davygora A. V., Lyapin A. A., Semenov A. A. Fauna and bird population of open habitats of the Shalkar-Zhetykol lake region at the stage of water levels falling. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2024, no. 2 (50), pp. 38—53. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2024.50.3.
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