Abstract

PINEDA-DIEZ DE BONILLA, Esteban; VELAZQUEZ VELAZQUEZ, Ernesto  and  MERA-ORTIZ, Ghelen. Bird richness and composition in three wetlands of Grijalva River, Chiapas, Mexico. Huitzil [online]. 2020, vol.21, n.2, e575.  Epub Oct 17, 2022. ISSN 1870-7459.  https://doi.org/10.28947/hrmo.2020.21.2.494.

The transformation of riparian habitats due to hydroelectric dams is an action that causes loss of biodiversity. We compared with point counts the bird richness and community composition of three wetlands (dam, riverbank, and streams) on the Grijalva River basin. We recorded 170 species (134 terrestrial y 36 wetlands). Both species richness and bird community similarity of the dam were lower compared to the stream and river wetlands. Our results show that modified wetlands, such as dams, play an important role in regional bird species richness. Despite its low diversity, the dam supports a set of aquatic and migratory species that are different from those in the other two wetlands. Although the similarity of species among the three types of wetland is low (32% in average), together they increase the diversity of the regional community. Even though the dam reservoir has reduced the original habitat for many land birds, this environment favors the presence of aquatic species. Therefore, it is necessary to assess and recognize the contribution of wetlands to the maintenance of regional bird diversity throughout the Grijalva basin, and with this information to develop activities of management and conservation of modified wetlands.

Keywords : bird richness; La Angostura Dam; modified wetlands; species similarity.

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