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- Title
A Importância do Salgado para a Gestão da Avifauna Limícola Invernante na Ria de Aveiro (Portugal).
- Authors
Morgado, R.; Nobre, M.; Ribeiro, A.; Puga, J.; Luís, A.
- Abstract
The area occupied by saltpans at Ria de Aveiro is usually called "salgado", and includes a central area of Ria occupied by both salt pans and fish ponds. Despite being an anthropogenic habitat, its importance for waders is widely recognized. This area not only supports a great number of wintering waders but is also very important as a stopover site where migrant waders restore fat to fuel the rest of its journey. Several species of waders use Ria de Aveiro's saltpans as a refuge, feeding or breeding area. In this way, considering that salt pans abandonment can lead to a loss of the quality of the "salgado" as an habitat for waders, this work aimed at the study of its real importance, with emphasis in active saltpans, in order to evaluate the implications that the present trend of traditional salt exploiting abandonment can have on wader populations. This work is divided in two parts. Firstly, in January 2006, censuses of waders took place in the whole Ria de Aveiro area, for both high tide and low tide. Additionally, along a two years period, bi-weekly counts of waders were carried on in active salt pans to compare its importance relatively to the abandoned ones. The observations showed that a great number of wintering waders use the "salgado" both during high and low tide. Nevertheless, the study of wader distribution in salt pan area revealed differences between high tide and low tide. During low tide, waders were mainly in abandoned salt pans. However, as the tide advanced and the abandoned salt pan areas became flooded, due to the breaches of its walls, waders started to move to high tide refuges such as active salt pans and fish ponds. These areas are not subjected to tides and the water levels remain more-or-less constant throughout the tidal cycle. As to the factors that influence wader distribution inside the salt pans, the water depth inside was the most important. It is also important to emphasize that wader species differed in the registered feeding percentages. Salt-pans seemed to be a particularly important feeding habitat to the black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus), the redshank (Tringa totanus) and the black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), in both high tide and low tide. These results highlight the importance of artificial habitats such as salt pans for migrating and wintering waders. In this way, the conservation and correct management of those areas may be a strong contribution to minimize losses registered in natural habitats.
- Subjects
AVEIRO Lagoon (Portugal); PORTUGAL; SALT pans (Geology); CICONIIFORMES; FISH ponds; SALT pan conservation; WATER depth; WATER distribution; BLACK-winged stilt; REDSHANK; BLACK-tailed godwit
- Publication
Journal of Integrated Coastal Zone Management / Revista de Gestão Costeira Integrada, 2009, Vol 9, Issue 3, p79
- ISSN
1646-8872
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5894/rgci157