) Interannual Abundance of Waterbird and Species Composition in Patagonia, Argentina

PESCADOR, MOISES; DIAZ, SOLEDAD; PERIS, SALVADOR

HUESCA, ESPAÑA

Simposio; 6th International Symposium on Limnology and Aquatic Birds; 2009

Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC)

Interannual Abundance of Waterbird and Species Composition in Patagonia, Argentina. Pescador, Moisésa, Díaz, Soledadb & Peris, Salvadorc a Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Ambientales, Universidad de Salamanca, Avda. Filiberto Villalobos 119-129, E-37007, Salamanca, Spain (moises@usal.es) b Lab. Ecotono-UNC, CONICET; Quintral 1250, R8400 Bariloche, Río Negro, Argentina c Departamento de Biología Animal-Zoología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Salamanca, E-37071, Salamanca, Spain Abstract Regular counts from 2005 to 2009 were made of the water birds inhabiting lakes and ponds in the Lanín National Park, the south-western part of Neuquén (Argentina), which preserves landscapes of the Andean-Patagonian wetlands and forests. Bird surveys were conducted on 21 wetland areas, detecting 8306 individuals belonging to 27 species from 9 families. The most abundant and frequent species were the Ashy-headed Geese (Cloephaga poliocephala), the Speckled Teal (Anas flavirostris), the Red-gartered Coot (Fulica armillata) and the White-winged Coot (F. leucoptera). Species richness was higher in spring and summer than in autumn and winter. In contrast, bird abundance did not differ between either season. The presence and abundance of bird species with respect to the surface area of the wetlands highlight the importance of certain lakes in particular; thus, small lagoons (