Spatial ecology of little egret (Egretta garzetta) in Hong Kong uncovers preference for commercial fishponds

PeerJ

Yik-Hei Sung¹  Helen Hoi Ning Fong²  Yat-tung Yu²  Chun-chiu Pang²  Hak-king Ying²  Yun-tak Chung² 

[1] Science Unit, Lingnan University, Hong Kong SAR, China;The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, Hong Kong SAR, China;

关键词: Bird;    GPS tracking;    Habitat use;    Home range;    Sustainable land-use management;    Wetland conservation;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.9893

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Many natural wetlands have been converted to human-influenced wetlands. In some instances, human-influenced wetlands could provide complementary habitats for waterbirds, compensating for the loss of natural wetlands. Inner Deep Bay in Hong Kong is composed of both natural and human-influenced wetlands and is under immense development pressure. From an ecology perspective, we need to understand if different wetland types play the same ecological role. To achieve this, we tracked nine little egrets (Egretta garzetta) using GPS loggers for 14 months to study their spatial ecology, home range, movement and habitat use. We found that over 88% of the home range of all individuals comprised of wetlands (commercial fishponds, mangrove, gei wai, channel, and intertidal mudflat). Among these wetland types, nearly all (seven of nine) individuals preferred commercial fishponds over other habitats in all seasons. Little egrets exhibited seasonal movement and habitat use among seasons, with largest home range, greatest movement, and most frequent visits to commercial fishponds in winter compared to spring and autumn. Our results highlight the significant role of commercial fishponds, providing a feeding ground for little egrets. However, other wetland types cannot be ignored, as they were also used considerably. These findings underscore the importance of maintaining a diversity of wetland types as alternative foraging and breeding habitats.

【 授权许可】

Unknown