The Importance of Supratidal Habitats for Wintering Shorebirds and the Potential Impacts of Shrimp Aquaculture |
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Authors: | M Yasué P Dearden |
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Institution: | (1) Marine Protected Areas Research Group, Department of Geography, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3050, Victoria, BC, V8W 3P5, Canada;(2) Present address: Project Seahorse, Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada |
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Abstract: | Intensive black tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) aquaculture ponds have replaced significant areas of coastal wetlands throughout tropical Asia. Few studies have assessed
potential impacts on avian foraging habitats. At Khao Sam Roi Yod National Park, Thailand, seminatural wetlands have been
converted to either shrimp ponds or to salinization ponds that provide saline water for shrimp aquaculture. Although shorebirds
cannot feed in aquaculture ponds, hypersaline ponds can provide productive foraging areas. Thus, the overall impact of the
shrimp industry on shorebirds depends partly on the relative quality of the salt ponds compared to seminatural wetlands. In
this study, we examined wintering shorebird use of tidal (N = 5 sites) and supratidal areas (four wetland sites, four salt pond sites) and compared the shorebird community (14 species),
prey availability, profitability, and disturbance rates between wetlands and salt ponds. Two shorebird species fed in higher
densities in wetlands, whereas seven species were more abundant in salt ponds. Large juvenile fish and dragonfly larvae were
more abundant in wetlands, whereas there were more small Chironomid midge and fly larvae in salt ponds. We conclude that salt ponds might provide higher-quality foraging habitats compared to
wetlands for small shorebirds species because of the abundance of small larvae. However, the shrimp aquaculture industry reduces
habitat availability for shorebirds feeding on larger prey. This study demonstrates a comprehensive, multispecies approach
to assess the impacts of a large-scale change in coastal habitats for wintering shorebirds. |
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Keywords: | Foraging ecology Habitat change Invertebrates Thailand Wetlands |
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