Responses of breeding waterbird communities to environmental changes in subsidence wetlands in the North China Plain

Guangyao Wang; Jinming Zhao; Weiqiang Li; Xiangrong Song; Yong Zhang; Chunlin Li; Willem F. de Boer

doi:10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100110

Avian Research 2023, 14(3): 100110 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100110

Research Article |

Open Access | Issue | Published: 01 June 2023

Responses of breeding waterbird communities to environmental changes in subsidence wetlands in the North China Plain

Show Author's Information Hide Author's Information Guangyao Wang^{^a}, Jinming Zhao^{^b}, Weiqiang Li^{^a}, Xiangrong Song^{^a}, Yong Zhang^{^c}, Chunlin Li^{^a^,^d}(

), Willem F. de Boer^{^e}

School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China

School of Life Science, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, China

College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands

Keywords:

Artificial wetlands, Environmental changes, Subsidence wetlands, Waterbird community

Cite this article:

Wang G, Zhao J, Li W, et al. Responses of breeding waterbird communities to environmental changes in subsidence wetlands in the North China Plain. Avian Research, 2023, 14(3): 100110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2023.100110

Download citation

EndNote(RIS)

BibTeX

241

Views

Downloads

Citations

Crossref

WoS

Scopus

CSCD

Abstract Full text About this article

Abstract

In the context of global degradation and loss of natural wetlands, waterbirds have been increasingly using artificial wetlands as alternative habitats. However, waterbirds are facing various threats in these artificial wetlands, due to dramatic environmental changes induced by anthropogenic activities. Exploring the effects of these changes on the temporal dynamics of the waterbird communities can help understand how waterbirds adapt to environmental changes and thus formulate effective management and conservation plans. In this study, we carried out field surveys on waterbirds and environmental factors across 20 subsidence wetlands created by underground coal mining in the Huainan coal mining area in the breeding seasons of 2016 and 2021. We predicted that the waterbird assemblages (i.e., number of individuals, species richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity, Pielou evenness and species composition) differed between the two years, and that these differences were correlated with the temporal changes in environmental factors. Across the surveyed wetlands, we recorded 26 waterbird species in 2016 and 23 in 2021. For individual wetlands, the number of waterbird individuals and species richness increased by 71.6% and 20.1%, respectively, over the five years, with no changes in Shannon–Wiener diversity and Pielou evenness. The overall increase in the number of bird individuals was mainly caused by an increase in vegetation gleaners and gulls that adapt well to anthropogenic activities. The species composition was significantly different between the two years, which was mainly caused by changes in the number of individuals of dominant species under influence of changes in human activities. For most wetlands, the temporal pairwise β-diversities could be explained by species turnover rather than nestedness, probably due to high mobility of waterbird species and dramatic changes in local environments. Our study suggests that waterbird communities could respond to environmental changes in subsidence wetlands, providing important implications for waterbird conservation in human-dominated artificial wetlands.

Full text

Abstract

Full text

Outline

About this article

Responses of breeding waterbird communities to environmental changes in subsidence wetlands in the North China Plain

Show Author's information Hide Author's Information Guangyao Wang^{^a}, Jinming Zhao^{^b}, Weiqiang Li^{^a}, Xiangrong Song^{^a}, Yong Zhang^{^c}, Chunlin Li^{^a^,^d}(

), Willem F. de Boer^{^e}

School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China

School of Life Science, Huaibei Normal University, Huaibei, 235000, China

College of Biology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China

Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group, Wageningen University & Research, 6708PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands

Abstract

Keywords: Artificial wetlands, Environmental changes, Subsidence wetlands, Waterbird community

References(59)

Akinwande, M.O., Dikko, H.G., Samson, A., 2015. Variance inflation factor: as a condition for the inclusion of suppressor variable(s) in regression analysis. Open J. Stat. 5, 754–767. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojs.2015.57075.

DOI Google Scholar

Baselga, A., 2010. Partitioning the turnover and nestedness components of beta diversity. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 19, 134–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2009.00490.x.

DOI Google Scholar

Baselga, A., Bonthoux, S., Balent, G., 2015. Temporal beta diversity of bird assemblages in agricultural landscapes: land cover change vs. stochastic processes. PLoS One 10, e0127913. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127913.

DOI Google Scholar

Bielańska-Grajner, I., GŁadysz, A., 2010. Planktonic rotifers in mining lakes in the Silesian Upland: relationship to environmental parameters. Limnologica 40, 67–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2009.05.003.

DOI Google Scholar

Blandón, A.C., Perelman, S.B., Ramírez, M., López, A., Javier, O., Robbins, C.S., 2016. Temporal bird community dynamics are strongly affected by landscape fragmentation in a Central American tropical forest region. Biodivers. Conserv. 25, 311–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1049-2.

DOI Google Scholar

Blondel, J., 2003. Guilds or functional groups: does it matter? Oikos 100, 223–231. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0706.2003.12152.x.

DOI Google Scholar

Brandt, J.S., Haynes, M.A., Kuemmerle, T., Waller, D.M., Radeloff, V.C., 2013. Regime shift on the roof of the world: alpine meadows converting to shrublands in the southern Himalayas. Biol. Conserv. 158, 116–127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.07.026.

DOI Google Scholar

Château, P.A., Wunderlich, R.F., Wang, T.W., Lai, H.T., Chen, C.C., Chang, F.J., 2019. Mathematical modelling suggests high potential for the deployment of floating photovoltaic on fish ponds. Sci. Total Environ. 687, 654–666. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.420.

DOI Google Scholar

Cintra, R., 2019. Waterbird community composition in relation to lake physical traits and wetland limnological conditions in the Amazon basin. Hydrobiologia 826, 43–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3676-y.

DOI Google Scholar

Clarke, K.R., 1993. Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Aust. J. Ecol. 18, 117–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.1993.tb00438.x.

DOI Google Scholar

Davidson, N.C., 2014. How much wetland has the world lost? Long-term and recent trends in global wetland area. Mar. Freshw. Res. 65, 934–941. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF14173.

DOI Google Scholar

Delany, S., 2005. Guidelines for Participants in the International Waterbird Census (IWC). Wetlands International, Wageningen.

Fandos, G., Rotics, S., Sapir, N., Fiedler, W., Kaatz, M., Wikelski, M., et al., 2020. Seasonal niche tracking of climate emerges at the population level in a migratory bird. Proc. R. Soc. B 287, 20201799. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1799.

DOI Google Scholar

Gianuca, A.T., Declerck, S.A.J., Lemmens, P., de Meester, L., 2017. Effects of dispersal and environmental heterogeneity on the replacement and nestedness components of beta-diversity. Ecology 98, 525–533. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1666.

DOI Google Scholar

Giosa, E., Mammides, C., Zotos, S., 2018. The importance of artificial wetlands for birds: a case study from Cyprus. PLoS One 13, e0197286. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0197286.

DOI Google Scholar

Henry, D.A., Cumming, G.S., 2017. Can waterbirds with different movement, dietary and foraging functional traits occupy similar ecological niches? Landsc. Ecol. 32, 265–278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-016-0449-8.

DOI Google Scholar

Hu, B., Guo, W., 2018. Mining subsidence area status, syntheses governance model and governance recommendation. Coal Mining Technol. 23, 1–4 (in Chinese).

DOI Google Scholar

Hu, Z., Xiao, W., Fu, Y., 2014. Introduction to concurrent mining and reclamation for coal mines in China. In: Drebenstedt, C., Singhal, R. (Eds.), Mine Planning and Equipment Selection: Proceedings of the 22nd MPES Conference, Dresden, Germany, 14th–19th October 2013. Springer, Cham, pp. 781–789.

DOI

Jackson, M.V., Choi, C.Y., Amano, T., Estrella, S.M., Lei, W., Moores, N., et al., 2020. Navigating coasts of concrete: pervasive use of artificial habitats by shorebirds in the Asia-Pacific. Biol. Conserv. 247, 108591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108591.

DOI Google Scholar

Kloskowski, J., Green, A.J., Polak, M., Bustamante, J., Krogulec, J., 2009. Complementary use of natural and artificial wetlands by waterbirds wintering in Doñana, south-west Spain. Aquat. Conserv. 19, 815–826. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.1027.

DOI Google Scholar

Kruskal, J.B., 1964. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling: a numerical method. Psychometrika 29, 115–129.

DOI Google Scholar

Kunte, K., 2008. Competition and species diversity: removal of dominant species increases diversity in Costa Rican butterfly communities. Oikos 117, 69–76. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2007.0030-1299.16125.x.

DOI Google Scholar

Lantz, S.M., Gawlik, D.E., Cook, M.I., 2011. The effects of water depth and emergent vegetation on foraging success and habitat selection of wading birds in the Everglades. Waterbirds 34, 439–447. https://doi.org/10.1675/063.034.0406.

DOI Google Scholar

Lewin, I., Spyra, A., Krodkiewska, M., Strzelec, M., 2015. The importance of the mining subsidence reservoirs located along the trans-regional highway in the conservation of the biodiversity of freshwater molluscs in industrial areas (Upper Silesia, Poland). Water Air Soil Pollut. 226, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2445-z.

DOI Google Scholar

Li, C., Yang, S., Zha, D., Zhang, Y., de Boer, W.F., 2019a. Waterbird communities in subsidence wetlands created by underground coal mining in China: effects of multi-scale environmental and anthropogenic variables. Environ. Conserv. 46, 67–75. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892918000292.

DOI Google Scholar

Li, C., Zhang, Y., Zha, D., Yang, S., Huang, Z.Y., de Boer, W.F., 2019b. Assembly processes of waterbird communities across subsidence wetlands in China: a functional and phylogenetic approach. Divers. Distrib. 25, 1118–1129. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12919.

DOI Google Scholar

Li, C., Zhao, B., Wang, Y., 2019c. Nestedness of waterbird assemblages in the subsidence wetlands recently created by underground coal mining. Curr. Zool. 65, 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoy034.

DOI Google Scholar

Li, C., Wang, X., Zhang, B., Cui, P., Feng, G., Svenning, J.C., 2021a. Decomposing multiple β-diversity reveals non-random assembly of the waterbird communities across anthropogenic subsidence wetlands. Divers. Distrib. 28, 1694–1705. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13396.

DOI Google Scholar

Li, X., Anderson, C.J., Wang, Y., Lei, G., 2021b. Waterbird diversity and abundance in response to variations in climate in the Liaohe Estuary, China. Ecol. Indicat. 132, 108286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108286.

DOI Google Scholar

Liu, H., Zhang, M., Su, L., Chen, X., Liu, C., Sun, A., 2021. A boundary model of terrain reconstruction in a coal-mining subsidence waterlogged area. Environ. Earth Sci. 80, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09508-7.

DOI Google Scholar

Lorenzón, R.E., Ronchi-Virgolini, A.L., Blake, J.G., 2020. Wetland dependency drives temporal turnover of bird species between high- and low-water years in floodplain wetlands of the Paraná River. Ecohydrology 13, e2179. https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2179.

DOI Google Scholar

Ludwig, J.A., Reynolds, J.F., 1988. Statistical Ecology: A Primer in Methods and Computing. John Wiley and Sons, New York.

Ma, Z., Li, B., Zhao, B., Jing, K., Tang, S., Chen, J., 2004. Are artificial wetlands good alternatives to natural wetlands for waterbirds? – a case study on Chongming island, China. Biodivers. Conserv. 13, 333–350. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BIOC.0000006502.96131.59.

DOI Google Scholar

Ma, Z., Cai, Y., Li, B., Chen, J., 2010. Managing wetland habitats for waterbirds: an international perspective. Wetlands 30, 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-009-0001-6.

DOI Google Scholar

MacKinnon, J., Phillipps, K., Nong, Y., Hua, L., Yao, X., Zhi, G., et al., 2022. Guide to the Birds of China. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

McCune, B., Grace, J.B., Urban, D.L., 2002. Analysis of Ecological Communities. MJM Software Design, Oregon.

Meng, L., Feng, Q., Zhou, L., Lu, P., Meng, Q., 2009. Environmental cumulative effects of coal underground mining. Proc. Earth Planet. Sci. 1, 1280–1284. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeps.2009.09.198.

DOI Google Scholar

Mundava, J., Caron, A., Gaidet, N., Couto, F.M., Couto, J.T., de Garine-Wichatitsky, M., et al., 2012. Factors influencing long-term and seasonal waterbird abundance and composition at two adjacent lakes in Zimbabwe. Ostrich 83, 69–77. https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2012.692726.

DOI Google Scholar

Ouyang, Z., Gao, L., Yang, C., 2018. Distribution, sources and influence factors of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon at different depths of the soil and sediments of two typical coal mining subsidence areas in Huainan, China. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 163, 255–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.07.024.

DOI Google Scholar

Pielou, E.C., 1966. The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections. J. Theor. Biol. 13, 131–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-5193(66) 90013-0.

DOI Google Scholar

Quan, R., Wen, X., Yang, X., 2002. Effects of human activities on migratory waterbirds at Lashihai Lake, China. Biol. Conserv. 108, 273–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00125-8.

DOI Google Scholar

R Core Team, 2020. R: a Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. https://www.R-project.org/. (Accessed 11 May 2020).

Rajpar, M.N., Ahmad, S., Zakaria, M., Ahmad, A., Guo, X., Nabi, G., et al., 2022. Artificial wetlands as alternative habitat for a wide range of waterbird species. Ecol. Indicat. 138, 108855. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108855.

DOI Google Scholar

Sahu, A., Yadav, N., Sudhakar, K., 2016. Floating photovoltaic power plant: a review. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 66, 815–824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.08.051.

DOI Google Scholar

Si, X., Baselga, A., Ding, P., 2015. Revealing beta-diversity patterns of breeding bird and lizard communities on inundated land-bridge islands by separating the turnover and nestedness components. PLoS One 10, e0127692. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127692.

DOI Google Scholar

Soininen, J., Heino, J., Wang, J., 2017. A meta-analysis of nestedness and turnover components of beta diversity across organisms and ecosystems. Global Ecol. Biogeogr. 27, 96–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12660.

DOI Google Scholar

Sun, C., Wang, Y., Sun, S., Zhang, F., 2006. Analysis dynamics of phytoplankton community characteristics in Daya Bay. Acta Ecol. Sin. 26, 3948–3958 (in Chinese).

DOI Google Scholar

Tavares, D.C., Guadagnin, D.L., de Moura, J.F., Siciliano, S., Merico, A., 2015. Environmental and anthropogenic factors structuring waterbird habitats of tropical coastal lagoons: implications for management. Biol. Conserv. 186, 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.02.027.

DOI Google Scholar

Tourenq, C., Bennetts, R.E., Kowalski, H., Vialet, E., Lucchesi, J.L., Kayser, Y., et al., 2001. Are ricefields a good alternative to natural marshes for waterbird communities in the Camargue, southern France? Biol. Conserv. 100, 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00037-4.

DOI Google Scholar

Wang, H., Shi, R., Lu, C., Jiang, Y., Deng, D., Zhang, D., 2019. Investigation of sudden faults instability induced by coal mining. Saf. Sci. 115, 256–264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2019.01.019.

DOI Google Scholar

Wang, X., Kuang, F., Tan, K., Ma, Z., 2018. Population trends, threats, and conservation recommendations for waterbirds in China. Avian Res. 9, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-018-0106-9.

DOI Google Scholar

Wang, X., Li, X., Ren, X., Jackson, M.V., Fuller, R.A., Melville, D.S., et al., 2022. Effects of anthropogenic landscapes on population maintenance of waterbirds. Conserv. Biol. 36, e13808. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13808.

DOI Google Scholar

Węsławski, J.M., Kendall, M.A., Włodarska-Kowalczuk, M., Iken, K., Kędra, M., Legezynska, J., et al., 2011. Climate change effects on Arctic fjord and coastal macrobenthic diversity – observations and predictions. Mar. Biodivers. 41, 71–85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-010-0073-9.

DOI Google Scholar

Wu, L., Si, X., Didham, R.K., Ge, D., Ding, P., 2017. Dispersal modality determines the relative partitioning of beta diversity in spider assemblages on subtropical land-bridge islands. J. Biogeogr. 44, 2121–2131. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13007.

DOI Google Scholar

Xu, P., Zhang, X., Zhang, F., Bempah, G., Lu, C., Lv, S., et al., 2020. Use of aquaculture ponds by globally endangered red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) during the wintering period in the Yancheng national nature reserve, a ramsar wetland. Glob. Ecol. Conserv. 23, e01123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01123.

DOI Google Scholar

Xu, Z., Wang, Y., Chen, Y., Shen, H., 1995. An ecological study on zooplankton in maximum turbid zone of estuarine area of Changjiang (Yangtze) River. J. Fish. Sci. China 2, 39–48 (in Chinese).

Google Scholar

Zeng, Q., Reid, J., Saintilan, N., Colloff, M.J., Lei, G., Wen, L., 2019. Contrasting diversity patterns of breeding anatidae in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Ecol. Evol. 9, 9990–10003. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5540.

DOI Google Scholar

Zhang, G., Yuan, X., Wang, K., 2019. Biodiversity and temporal patterns of macrozoobenthos in a coal mining subsidence area in North China. PeerJ 7, e6456. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6456.

DOI Google Scholar

Zhou, J., Zhou, L., Xu, W., 2020. Diversity of wintering waterbirds enhanced by restoring aquatic vegetation at Shengjin Lake, China. Sci. Total Environ. 737, 140190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140190.

DOI Google Scholar

About this article

Publication history

Rights and permissions

Publication history

Received: 14 March 2023

Revised: 15 May 2023

Accepted: 21 May 2023

Published: 01 June 2023

Issue date: September 2023

Copyright

Rights and permissions

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).