Temporal Variation of Shorebirds Population in Two Different Mudflats Areas

A study was conducted to determine the diversity and
abundance of shorebird species habituating the mudflat area of Jeram
Beach and Remis Beach, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia. Direct
observation technique (using binoculars and video camera) was
applied to record the presence of bird species in the sampling sites
from August 2013 until July 2014. A total of 32 species of shorebird
were recorded during both migratory and non-migratory seasons. Of
these, eleven species (48%) are migrants, six species (26%) have both
migrant and resident populations, four species (17%) are vagrants and
two species (9%) are residents. The compositions of the birds
differed significantly in all months (χ2 = 84.35, p < 0.001). There is a
significant difference in avian abundance between migratory and
non-migratory seasons (Mann-Whitney, t = 2.39, p = 0.036). The
avian abundance were differed significantly in Jeram and Remis
Beaches during migratory periods (t = 4.39, p = 0.001) but not during
non-migratory periods (t = 0.78, p = 0.456). Shorebird diversity was
also affected by tidal cycle. There is a significance difference
between high tide and low tide (Mann-Whitney, t = 78.0, p < 0.005).
Frequency of disturbance also affected the shorebird distribution
(Mann-Whitney, t = 57.0, p = 0.0134). Therefore, this study
concluded that tides and disturbances are two factors that affecting
temporal distribution of shorebird in mudflats area.

• N. Norazlimi
• R. Ramli

• Biodiversity
• distribution
• migratory birds
• direct observation.

[1] C.R. Velasquez. “Managing artificial saltpans as a waterbirds habitat:
species responses to water level manipulation”. Colonial Waterbirds,
vol.15, no.1, pp. 43-55, 1992.
[2] J.A. Masero, M. Perez-Gonzalez, M. Basadre, and M. Otero Saavedra.
“Food supply for waders (Aves: Charadrii) in an estuarine area in the
Bay of Cadiz (SW Iberian Peninsula),” Acta Oecologia., vol. 204, pp.
429-434, 1999.
[3] K.R. Dyer, M.C. Christe, and E.W. Wright. “The classification if
mudflats,” Cont. Shelf Res., vol. 20, pp. 1061-1078, 2000.
[4] M.L. Stutz, and O.H. Pilkey. “Global distribution and morphology of
deltaic barrier island systems,” J. Coast. Res., vol. 36, pp. 694-707,
2002.
[5] J.D. Goss-Custard, and N. Verboven. “Disturbance and feeding
shorebirds on the Exe estuary,” Wader Study Group Bulletin, vol. 68, pp.
59-66, 1993.
[6] J. Spencer. “Migratory shorebird ecology in the Hunter estuary, South-
Eastern Australia,” Australian Catholic University, Sydney, New South
Wales, PhD Thesis, 2010.
[7] J. Van de Kam, B.J. Ens, T. Piersma, and L. Zwarts. “Shorebirds: an
illustrated behavioural ecology,” Utrecht, Netherland: KNNV
Publishers, 2004, pp. 1-368.
[8] Y. Zharikov, and G.A. Skilleter. “A relationship between prey density
and territory size in non-breeding Eastern Curlews Numenius
madagascariensis,” Ibis, vol. 146, pp. 518-521, 2004.
[9] J.D. Goss-Custard. “The energetics of prey selection by Redshank,
Tringa totanus (L.), in relation to prey density,” Journal of Animal
Ecology, vol. 46, pp. 1-19, 1977.
[10] D.M. Bryant. “Effects of prey density and site character on estuary
usage by overwintering waders (Charadrii),” Estuarine and Coastal
Marine Science, vol. 9, pp. 369-384, 1979.
[11] R.M. Lomoljo. “Diversity of migratory shorebirds and their habitat
characteristics in Kuala Gula Bird Sanctuary, Perak, Malaysia,”
University Putra Malaysia,” University Putra Malaysia, PhD Thesis,
2011.
[12] G.H. Pyke, H.R. Pulliam and E.L. Charnov. “Optimal foraging: A
selective review of theory and tests,” The Quarterly Review of Biology,
vol. 2, pp. 137-154, 1977.
[13] P.G. Finn. “Habitat selection, foraging ecology and conservation of
Eastern Curlews on their non-breeding grounds,” Griffith University,
PhD Thesis, 2010.
[14] A. Barbosa. “Foraging habitat use in a Mediterranean Estuary by Dunlin,
Calidris alpina,” Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 12, pp. 996-999,
1996.
[15] H. Rippe, and V. Dierschke. “Picking out the plum jobs: feeding
ecology of curlews Numenius arquata in a Baltic Sea wind flat,” Marine
Ecology Progress Series, vol. 159, Pp. 239-247, 1997.
[16] J.A. Van Gils, A. Dekinga, and T. Piersma. “Foraging in a tidally
structured environment by red knots (Calidris canutus): ideal, but not
free,” Ecology, vol. 87, pp. 1189-1202, 2006.
[17] S.J. de Vlas, E.J. Bunskoeke, B.J. Ens, and J.B. Hukscher. “Tidal
changes in the choice of Nereis diversicolor or Macoma balthica as main
prey species in the diet of the Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus,”
Ardea, vol. 84A, pp. 106-116, 1996.
[18] A. Luis, J.D. Goss-Custard and M.H. Moreira. “A method for assessing
the quality of roosts used by waders during high tide,” Wader Study
Group Bulletin, vol. 96, pp 71-73, 2001.
[19] J. Burger, M.A. Howe, D.C. Hahn and Chase, J. “Effects of tide cycle
on habitat selection and habitat partitioning by migrating shorebirds,”
The Auk, vol. 94, pp. 743-758, 1977.
[20] C.A. Davis, and L.M. Smith. “Foraging strategies and niche dynamics of
coexisting shorebirds at stopover sites in the southern Great Plains,”
Auk, vol. 118, pp. 484-495, 2001
[21] K. Sampath, and K. Krishinamurthy. “Shorebirds of the salt ponds at the
Great Vendaranyam Salt swamps, Tamilnadu, India,” Stilt, vol. 15, pp.
20-23, 1989.
[22] K.M. Riak, A. Ismail, A. Arshad, and A.R. Ismail. “Species composition
and use of mudflat of Kapar, West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia by
migratory shorebirds,” The Stilt, vol. 44, pp. 44-49, 2003.
[23] Z.W.D. Li and R. Ounsted. “The status of coastal waterbirds and
wetlands in Southeast Asia: Results of waterbirds surveys in Malaysia
(2004-2006) and Thailand and Myanmar (2006),” Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia: Wetland International, 2007, pp. 1-40.
[24] R. Nagarajan, and K. Thiyagesan. “Waterbirds and substrate quality of
the Pichavaram wetlands, Southern India,” Ibis, vol. 138, pp. 710-721,
1996.
[25] J. Pandiyan, S. Asokan and R. Nagarajan. “Habitat utilization and
assemblage patterns of migratory shorebirds at stop-over sites in
Southern India,” Stilt, vol. 58, pp. 36-44, 2010.
[26] W.F. De Boer, and F.A. Longamane. “The exploitation of intertidal food
resources in Inhaca Bay, Mozambique, by shorebirds and humans,”
Biological Conservation, vol. 78, pp. 295-303, 1996.
[27] R.N. Conner, and J.G. Dickson. “Strip transect sampling and analysis for
avian habitat studies,” Wildlife Society Bulletin, vol. 8, pp. 4-10, 1980.
[28] C.E. Shannon, and W. Weaver. “The mathematical theory of
communication,” Urbana: The University of Illinois Press, 1949, pp 95-
113.
[29] T. Alerstam. “Bird migration,” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1990, pp. 420.
[30] O. Duriez, H. Weimerskirch and H. Fritz. “Regulation of chick
provisioning in the thin-billed prion: an interannual comparison and
manipulation of parents,” Canadian Journal of Zoology-Revue
Canadienne De Zoologie, vol. 78, pp. 1275-1283, 2000.
[31] V. Kannan, and J. Pandiyan. “Shorebirds (Charadriidae) of Pulicat Lake,
India with special reference to conservation,” World of Journal of
Zoology, vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 178-191, 2012.
[32] D. Wedin, and D. Tilman. “Competition among grasses along a nitrogen
gradient: initial conditions and mechanisms of competition,’. Ecol.
Monogr., vol. 63, pp. 199-229, 1993.
[33] J.T. Forsman, R.L. Thomson, and J.L. Seppänen. “Mechanisms and
fitness effects of interspecific information use between migrant and
resident birds,” Behavioral Ecology, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 888-894, 2007.
[34] B. Kalejta.“Aggressive behaviour of migrant and resident waders at the
Berg River Estuary, South Africa,” Wader Study Group Bull., vol. 98,
pp. 25-29, 2002.
[35] J.D. Goss-Custrad. “ Feeding dispersion in some overwintering wading
birds,” in Social behaviour in birds and mammals, J.H. Crook, ed.
London: Academic Press, 1970, pp. 3-35.
[36] L.A. Brennan, J.B. Buchanan, S.G. Herman and T.M. Johnson.
“Interhabitat movements of wintering dunlins in western Washington,”
Murrelet, vol. 66, pp. 11-66, 1985.
[37] J. Burger. “Abiotic factors affecting migrant shorebirds,” in shorebirds:
migration and foraging behaviour, J. Burger and B.L. Olla, Ed. New
York: Plenum Press, 1984, pp. 233-270.
[38] D. Hill, D. Hockin, D. Price, G. Tucker, R. Morris, and J. Treweek.
“Bird disturbance: improving the quality and utility of disturbance
research,” J. Appl. Ecol., vol 34, pp. 275-288, 1997.
[39] E.A. Barbee. “Effects of human disturbance on shorebird populations of
Hatteras, Ocracoke, and North Core Bank Islands, North Carolina,”
University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA, PhD Thesis, 1994.
[40] N.M. Tarr, T.R. Simons, and K.H. Pollock. “An experimental
Assessment of vehicle disturbance effects on migratory shorebirds,” The
Journal of Wildlife Management, vol. 74, No. 8, pp. 1776-1783, 2010.
[41] S.G. Miller, R.L. Knight, and C.K. Miller. “Wildlife responses to
pedestrians and dogs,” Wildlife Society Bulletin, vol. 29, pp. 124-132,
2001.
[42] A.C. Gray. “Impact of human disturbance on the behavior of
sanderlings on the Georgia Cost,” Georgia Southern University,
Statesboro, Georgia, USA, Thesis, 2006.
[43] A. Lord, J. Innes, J.R. Waas, and M.J. Whittingham. “Effects of human
approaches to nests of northern New Zealand dotterels,” Biological
Conservation, vol. 98, pp. 233-240, 2001.
[44] C. Pfister, B.A. Harrington, and M. Lavine. “The impact of human
disturbance on shorebirds at a migration staging area,” Biological
Conservation, vol. 60, pp. 115-126, 1992.