Spatiotemporal Assessment of Littoral Waterbirds for Establishing Ecological Indicators of Mediterranean Coastal Lagoons

Waterbirds are vital indicators of anthropogenic influence on the ecological status of Mediterranean coastal lagoons. Our study relates temporal waterbird data to key environmental gradients at catchment scale that have a structural or functional influence on littoral waterbird assemblages at different scales. During two full-year cycles and two additional wintering seasons, the nearshore waterbird assemblages of the Mar Menor coastal lagoon (Murcia Region, SE Spain) were monitored monthly. Several biological indicator variables were related to the anthropogenic environmental gradient in the catchment area. Results showed that there was a strong dependence of waterbird assemblages on the distance to shore, emphasizing the importance of the first 100-m band, in which many species relevant to conservation converge on food resources. Well-preserved shoreline tracts therefore had a clear positive effect on community richness and diversity values, and were correlated with the occurrence of some species. These results clearly support the need for effective protection and restoration measures of such littoral habitats. Specific responses to local disturbing processes were nested within habitat and landscape preferences, supporting the value of aquatic birds as integrative ecological signals in semi-enclosed coastal systems. Moreover, waterbird-based indicators responded positively to environmental improvements both qualitatively and quantitatively.

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Farinos-Celdran P. Robledano-Aymerich F. Francisca Carreno M. y Martinez-Lopez J. Spatiotemporal Assessment of Littoral Waterbirds for Establishing Ecological Indicators of Mediterranean Coastal Lagoons. MDPI, 2017. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi6080256

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Resource type Article
Date of creation 2024-11-05
Date of last revision 2025-01-22
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Metadata identifier 7176f4d4-cea5-55cd-bbab-d2561a5c92f1
Metadata language Spanish
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High-value dataset category Earth observation and environment
ISO 19115 topic category biota
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Name of the dataset creator Farinos-Celdran, P., Robledano-Aymerich, F., Francisca Carreno, M. y Martinez-Lopez, J.
Name of the dataset editor MDPI
Other identifier DOI: 10.3390/ijgi6080256
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Email of the dataset creator pfarinos@um.es
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