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Dryad

Bird habitat preferences are related to habitat type and disturbance in the Owabi Wildlife Sanctuary, Ashanti Region (Ghana)

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Oct 26, 2021 version files 125.36 KB

Abstract

Context: Globally, an estimated 1.3% of the bird population has gone extinct over the last millennia largely due to loss of habitat preferences.

Aims: This short-term study investigated disturbance-related drivers as predictors of bird habitat selection and assemblages in the Owabi Ramsar wetland.

Methods: The study was carried out over a five-month period (May to September 2019), in four habitat types (farmlands, Built-up, forest reserve, and open water area). Data was collected in 84 plots across four habitats, using a point-count cantered technique. The Gambin model, nMDS, Chao-1, and Hill numbers models were used to evaluate bird distribution, habitat preferences, and diversity, while the CCA ordination technique was performed to examine the influence of drivers on bird assemblages.

Key results: In all 1,260 individual birds, belonging to 81 species were identified. The Majority of the birds preferred the farmlands and built-up habitats in spite of the severe disturbance (e.g., crop farming, sand winning, and fire), accounting for 55.39% variability in their community structure. The open water was the least preferred habitat and was dominated by the White-faced whistling duck. Despite the drop in species similarity with increasing disturbance from the open water to the built-up, fewer than five species were widely distributed in all the four habitats (e.g., Bronze-mannikins and White-throated bee eater), indicating their broad range habitat preferences and ability to adapt to varied conditions. The forest reserve tended to be the most diverse, reflecting the spatial distribution of birds mediated by nesting microhabitats, varied food availability, less predation, and low disturbance.

Conclusions: The study adds to previous work on the impact of increasing disturbance on the Owabi Ramsar wetland ecosystem. This study particularly highlights the role of disturbance-related drivers and habitat type in bird habitat preference and the need to intensify conservation activities within the catchment of the Owabi Wildlife Sanctuary.

Implications: Giving the increasing level of disturbance, there is the likelihood that the forest and water-dependent bird population will decline sooner if managers of the wildlife sanctuary fail to halt dumped solid waste in the open water, logging and expansion of croplands into the forest reserve.