Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar 31;12(4):e8782.
doi: 10.1002/ece3.8782. eCollection 2022 Apr.

Dyke demolition led to a sharp decline in waterbird diversity due to habitat quality reduction: A case study of Dongting Lake, China

Feng Zhu  1   2   3   4   5 , Yeai Zou  2   3   4 , Pingyang Zhang  3   4 , Siqi Zhang  3   4   6 , Xinsheng Chen  7   3   4 , Feng Li  3   4 , Zhengmiao Deng  3   4 , Hong Zhang  8 , Zhibing Yu  8 , Xiaoyong Zhu  8 , Yonghong Xie  3   4 , Dongsheng Zou  1   5
Affiliations

Dyke demolition led to a sharp decline in waterbird diversity due to habitat quality reduction: A case study of Dongting Lake, China

Feng Zhu et al. Ecol Evol. .

Abstract

Dongting Lake, an important wintering habitat for migratory waterbirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, has suffered serious degradation in recent decades. To restore habitats for biodiversity conservation and flood control, 459 dykes were demolished and 14 were preserved in 2017. However, the direct impact of dyke demolition on wintering waterbirds was not comprehensively assessed. In this study, based on annual waterbird census and habitat data (2013/14-2020/21), we compared the differences in habitat areas and species composition of waterbirds in the dyke-demolished and preserved areas, and explored whether habitat changes caused by the dyke demolition were responsible for the changes in the number of species and percentages of waterbird individuals. The results indicate that the areas of water (including shallow water) and mudflat habitats significantly decreased, but the vegetation area significantly increased in the dyke-demolished areas. The species numbers and percentages of waterbird individuals at the community and foraging guilds levels, and the percentages of nine species, were higher in the dyke-preserved areas than those in the dyke-demolished areas. Changes in the numbers of species and percentages of individuals of fish eaters, insectivores, and omnivores positively correlated with drastic changes in the percentages of water habitats (including shallow water) after dyke demolition. Effective measures should be carried out to restore hydrological regimes, providing waterbirds sufficient suitable habitats with different water depths. These findings improve our understanding of the influence of dyke demolition on waterbirds and provide insights for wetland management and waterbird conservation.

Keywords: Dongting Lake; Dyke demolition; biodiversity; habitat change; waterbird; wetlands.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Study area and habitat changes before and after dyke demolition
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Changes in the areas of three habitats along water level gradients in the dyke‐preserved and dyke‐demolished areas before (2013–2017) and after (2018–2021) dyke demolition. The black dots and lines represent the average habitat area from 2013 to 2017 (before dyke demolition), and the red dots and lines represent the average habitat area from 2018 to 2021 (after dyke demolition). The water level is the current day's Chenglingji water level corresponding to the satellite image. * denotes p < .05
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Comparison of changes in total habitat areas and percentages of habitat areas before and after dyke demolition. Error bars indicate the standard error of the mean. * denotes p < .05
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Changes in the number of species, percentage of waterbird individuals, and species turnover in dyke‐demolished and preserved areas before and after dyke demolition. * denotes p < .05
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Changes in the number of species and percentage of individuals of five foraging guilds in dyke‐demolished and preserved areas before and after dyke demolition. * denotes p < .05
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Changes in the percentage of individuals of six species in dyke‐demolished and preserved areas before and after dyke demolition. * denotes p < .05
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Relationships between the number of species and the percentage of waterbird individuals of five foraging guilds and their suitable habitat variables. Error bars represent the standard error (SE)
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
Relationships between the percentages of individuals of six waterbird species with significant variation and their suitable habitat variables. Error bars represent the standard error (SE)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adam, M. , Musilova, Z. , Musil, P. , Zouhar, J. , & Romportl, D. (2015). Long‐term changes in habitat selection of wintering waterbirds: High importance of cold weather refuge sites. Acta Ornithologica, 50(2), 127–138. 10.3161/00016454ao2015.50.2.001 - DOI
    1. Afdhal, B. , Charfi‐Cheikhrouha, F. , & Moali, A. (2013). Tunisian man‐made wetlands as alternative habitats for waterbirds and their role for conservation. African Journal of Ecology, 51(1), 154–163. 10.1111/aje.12022 - DOI
    1. Baker, A. J. , González, P. M. , Piersma, T. , Niles, L. J. , de Lima Serrano do Nascimento, I. , Atkinson, P. W. , Clark, N. A. , Minton, C. D. T. , Peck, M. K. , & Aarts, G. (2004). Rapid population decline in red knots: Fitness consequences of decreased refuelling rates and late arrival in Delaware Bay. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 271(1541), 875–882 10.1098/rspb.2003.2663 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Baschuk, M. S. , Koper, N. , Wrubleski, D. A. , & Goldsborough, G. (2012). Effects of water depth, cover and food resources on habitat use of marsh birds and waterfowl in boreal wetlands of Manitoba, Canada. Waterbirds, 35(1), 44–55. 10.1675/063.035.0105 - DOI
    1. Bellio, M. G. , Kingsford, R. T. , & Kotagama, S. W. (2009). Natural versus artificial wetlands and their waterbirds in Sri Lanka. Biological Conservation, 142(12), 3076–3085. 10.1016/j.biocon.2009.08.007 - DOI