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Potential impacts of invasive Spartina alterniflora on spring bird communities at Chongming Dongtan, a Chinese wetland of international importance
journal contribution
posted on 2009-06-20, 00:00 authored by X Gan, Y Cai, Chi Yeung Choi, Z Ma, J Chen, B LiInvasive smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora, hereafter Spartina) has been expanding rapidly in the estuarine wetlands at Chongming Dongtan (East China) at the expense of native sea-bulrush (Scirpus mariqueter, hereafter Scirpus) and common reed (Phragmites australis, hereafter Phragmites). To examine the potential impacts of the Spartina invasion on bird diversity, we compared the abundance and species richness of birds in habitats created by Spartina, Phragmites, Spartina mixed with Phragmites, Scirpus, and the bare intertidal zone at Chongming Dongtan in spring 2008. Most birds were recorded in the native habitats, with songbirds and breeding birds being most abundant in the Phragmites habitats, and waterbirds and migrants being most abundant in the Scirpus habitats and bare intertidal zone. Both species number and population densities of birds were lower in the exotic Spartina habitats than in the other four habitats. Although some songbirds and breeding birds used the Spartina-invaded habitats, and even preferred Spartina-invaded habitats to Scirpus habitats and bare intertidal zone, their densities were lower in the Spartina-invaded habitats than in the native Phragmites habitats. This might have resulted from the dense Spartina stands restricting bird movement and providing insufficient useable food for most birds. We conclude that the spread of exotic Spartina has negative impacts on local bird communities. Because Chongming Dongtan is an important stopover site for energy replenishment of shorebirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, urgent measures are needed to control further spread of Spartina and to restore the native habitats for birds.
History
Journal
Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf ScienceVolume
83Issue
2Pagination
211 - 218Publisher
ElsevierLocation
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsPublisher DOI
ISSN
0272-7714eISSN
1096-0015Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2009, ElsevierUsage metrics
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Science & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicinePhysical SciencesMarine & Freshwater BiologyOceanographysalt marshesinvasive plantspecies diversityhabitat selectionmigratory speciesYangtze River estuary (31 degrees 25 '-31 degrees 38'N, 121 degrees 50 '-122 degrees 05 ' E)SALT-MARSHCORDGRASS SPARTINAAVAILABILITY DATACALIDRIS-ALPINAYANGTZE-RIVERHABITAT USEBIODIVERSITYPHRAGMITESESTUARYSPREADESTUARIESMIGRATIONREMOVAL
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