Distribution and Population Trends of Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmaeus in Central Asia, with Particular Reference to the Republic of Uzbekistan

Abstract

As a result of the disatrous reduction of the Aral Sea and associated habitat degradation, the population of Pygmy Cormorants Phalacocorax pygmaeus that formerly occurred in the Aral Sea and Amudarya delta declined rapidly. Since the mid-1980s, immigration and the colonisation of new sites has occurred in southwestern, southern and central Uzbekistan, linked to the recently-constructed irrigation reservoirs that were essential to support agricultural development. This establishment of new geographical sub- populations continues, enabling the species to continue to expand its breeding, migration and wintering ranges. An assessment has been conducted of the current status of the Central Asian meta-population of Pygmy Cormorants to examine the main directions and mechanisms of colonisation; some predictions are made of the likely scenario of future population evolution.