INFLUENCE OF WATER DYNAMICS AND LAND USE ON THE AVIFAUNA OF BASIN WETLANDS NEAR RIVIERA IN SOUTH TEXAS

摘要

Monthly surveys of 16 basin wetlands east of Riviera in south Texas were used to assess the importance of these wetlands to waterbirds throughout the year and to develop a conservation plan. Fifty-two bid censuses were made from October 1994 to December 1998. Mean water indices for the 16 wetlands varied dramatically and sizes of Individual water areas ranged from dry to four times the mean. Of the 103 bird taxa Observed, only 44 had frequencies suitable for analysis. Six waterbird groups dominated the avifauna: 15 species (34/100) of waterfowl (Anatidae) of diverse feeding techniques and foods; Five diving piscivores (11/100) of water columns; one diving herbivore (0.5/100); seven surface- Feeders (16/100) that selected invertebrates, fish, or their remains by swimming or aerial Diving; eight wading piscivores (18/100); and nine taxa (20.5/100) of shorebirds that used mud- Flats or sheetwater.