FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY IN THE AVIFAUNA OF THE BAÑADOS DE FIGUEROA, AN IMPORTANT AICA IN SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA

ECHEVARRIA, ADA LILIAN; BENAVÍDEZ, ANALÍA; FANJUL, MARIA ELISA; MARTINEZ, VALERIA

Tafí del Valle

Jornada; XXXIV Jornadas Científicas Asociación de Biología de Tucumán; 2017

Asociacíon de Biología de Tucumán

Diversity is generally associated with species richness and abundance in the community. In new studies it is recognized, that the activity oforganisms transforms the environment. This is a functional component of biological diversity and one of the keys to understanding themechanisms of processes in ecosystems. The Bañados de Figueroa form a wide surface of marshes and reservoirs along the Salado river,categorized as AICA (Important Area for the Conservation of Birds). In this paper we analyze functional diversity to detect functionalgroups that serve as indicators of ecosystem quality. The study data were obtained, from 2012 to 2014, of three artificial reservoirs (CuchiPozo, El Cero and Figueroa), from which 48 species of birds were selected. The functional groups were established from a multivariateClusters analysis. The functional diversity index was applied for each site and season of the year. In the dendrogram two functional groupsare distinguished: the first, with few species, large body size and elevated weight, looking for food walking on beaches and / or shallowwaters belonging to several trophic guilds, and the second group with numerous species of medium to small size, varied weight, with agreat variety of feeding strategies and trophic guilds. The greatest value of functional diversity was in the autumn for the Reservoir CuchiPozo and the lowest in spring for the Reservoir El Cero. Functional diversity would be useful as a tool in decision-making related to themanagement of biodiversity and conservation in the region.