Importance of reservoirs for waterbirds in semi?arid Brazil

Abstract

To investigate the value of water reservoirs for waterbirds in semi-arid lands, we studied the waterbird community in semi-arid of Paraíba, Brazil, and compared the results with other assemblages both in semi-arid and humid regions of Neotropics. Birds were counted during 15 months in 12 reservoirs belonging to the Piranhas-Açu River basin. We counted 4111 waterbirds and recorded 36 species. The most abundant species, such as Wattled Jacana (Jacana jacana) and Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata), were strongly tied to aquatic vegetation. All species have wide distribution, far beyond the borders of the semi-arid region. Abundance and richness of waterbirds in Paraíba are lower than in more humid regions of Neotropics. Species composition in all semi-arid sites studied seems to be a reduced version of assemblages in surrounding humid regions. Nevertheless, reservoirs May become important alternatives as feeding and breeding sites where the natural environments are insufficient to sustain waterbird populations.