Version 1
: Received: 31 July 2023 / Approved: 31 July 2023 / Online: 1 August 2023 (08:30:34 CEST)
How to cite:
Rutina, L.P.; Simasiku, E.; Kabanze, J.M. Carnivorous Waterbirds Community Composition and Diversity in Freshwater Tributaries of Zambezi River, Namibia. Preprints2023, 2023080049. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0049.v1
Rutina, L.P.; Simasiku, E.; Kabanze, J.M. Carnivorous Waterbirds Community Composition and Diversity in Freshwater Tributaries of Zambezi River, Namibia. Preprints 2023, 2023080049. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0049.v1
Rutina, L.P.; Simasiku, E.; Kabanze, J.M. Carnivorous Waterbirds Community Composition and Diversity in Freshwater Tributaries of Zambezi River, Namibia. Preprints2023, 2023080049. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0049.v1
APA Style
Rutina, L.P., Simasiku, E., & Kabanze, J.M. (2023). Carnivorous Waterbirds Community Composition and Diversity in Freshwater Tributaries of Zambezi River, Namibia. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0049.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Rutina, L.P., Evans Simasiku and Joseph Musonda Kabanze. 2023 "Carnivorous Waterbirds Community Composition and Diversity in Freshwater Tributaries of Zambezi River, Namibia" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202308.0049.v1
Abstract
Carnivorous waterbirds have been reported to enhance wetlands diversities, control pests, bio-indicators of ecological conditions, and act as indicators of potential disease outbreaks. They also provide important ecosystem services to indigenous communities residing along wetlands. Regardless of their importance, global waterbirds populations are declining. Despite their ecological contribution to wetlands functions and ecosystem services, piscivore waterbirds have been re-ported to compete with piscivorous fish and fishermen. The aim of this study was to compare piscivorous waterbirds species and functional diversity between fish protected areas (FPA) and non-fish protected area (NFPA) in two tributaries of Zambezi River in Namibia. We also measured the degree to which patterns of guild structure between piscivore waterbirds and fish were similar between FPA and non-FPA. Species diversities were determined by calculating the Shannon Diversity Index. We calculated taxonomic diversity, functional diversity and community-based trait diversity indices for each tributary. Generally, species diversities were not significantly different between FPA and NFPA (P > 0.05). However, all functional diversities indices calculated were significantly different between FPA an NFPA (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). This was partly due to food item, weight and movement type that were associated with each site.
Keywords
Waterbirds; Zambezi River; Sikunga channel; Fish protected areas; functional Diversity
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
