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Abundance and Diversity of Wetland Birds: The Case of Dinder National Park, Sudan

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Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience in Sub Saharan Africa

Part of the book series: Climate Change Management ((CCM))

Abstract

This study was conducted in Dinder National Park (Sudan). Patterns of bird species diversity, richness, and abundance were documented in four wetland areas inside Dinder National Park, including Ras Amir, Grerisa, Abdel Ghani, and Dabkara Mayas (meadows) during the dry seasons starting 2014 through 2016, and, diversity over this period was badly eroded and under serious threats. Timed-species count (TSC) technique was used for counting birds. Rarefaction curves combined with nonparametric estimators of species richness were used to extrapolate species richness beyond the collected data. The Shannon (H') diversity index and the Simpson (D) index and the evenness index of Pielou (J') were used to assess alpha diversity and diversity within and between sites, respectively. Finally, chi-square goodness of fit test was used to test the H0 that bird species frequencies at each site were equally proportional and their mean numbers across the four sites were not significantly different. Sampling efforts of over 90% was attained in each of the four study sites. A total of 203 bird species about 145 (71%) of which were wetland birds, all belonging to 33 families and 11 orders, were identified from a set of 3753 individuals. The mean number of wetland birds was generally low at all the Mayas except at Ras Amir Maya where some species had relatively higher mean number. The orders Anseriformes (especially Anatidae), Charadriiformes (especially Jacanidae and Charadriidae), Ciconiiformes (especially Ardeidae, Threskiornithidae, and Ciconiidae), Coraciiformes (especially Alcedinidae), Passeriformes (especially Motacillidae and Ploceidae), and Pelecaniformes (especially Phalacrocoracidae) were the most important, in terms of both abundance and species richness. Diversity indices ranged, in descending order, from Grerisa Maya, Ras Amir Maya, Abd el Ghani Maya to Dabkara Maya. There was no clear trend in terms of bird numbers and abundance between sites, though water-rich Mayas seemed to support more birds than the drier ones. Likewise, certain species were found only in some Mayas but not in others such as African jacana (Actophilornis africanus), African darter (Anhinga rufa), long-tailed cormorant (Phalacrocorax africanus), and allies. This study presents baseline data and contributes in important ways to basic knowledge of wetland biodiversity patterns within Dinder National Park which must be protected because they constitute core areas of great conservation importance.

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Acknowledgment

The assistance and encouragement of Professor Ibrahim Mohammed Hashim, of the Wildlife Research Center (Shambat), is highly appreciated. You not only supported the initial idea but offered invaluable advice too. Thanks are also due to the University of Juba administration for providing logistics and financial assistance. Last but not least, we thank the different individuals who facilitated our efforts in one way or the other in carrying out this study, especially, the Wildlife Authority for permitting us to work in the park.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife Science, College of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, University of Juba, Juba, South Sudan

    Pasquale Tiberio D. Moilinga

  2. Department of Wildlife, University of Bahri, Khartoum, Sudan

    Tahani Ali Hassan

Authors
  1. Pasquale Tiberio D. Moilinga
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  2. Tahani Ali Hassan
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Geo-Informatics, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Yazidhi Bamutaze

  2. Department of Agricultural Production, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Samuel Kyamanywa

  3. Department of Environmental Science, Soil Science Building, Norwegian University of Life Science, Ã…s, Norway

    Bal Ram Singh

  4. Department of Agricultural Production, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Gorettie Nabanoga

  5. The Ohio State University , Columbus, OH, USA

    Rattan Lal

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Moilinga, P.T.D., Hassan, T.A. (2019). Abundance and Diversity of Wetland Birds: The Case of Dinder National Park, Sudan. In: Bamutaze, Y., Kyamanywa, S., Singh, B., Nabanoga, G., Lal, R. (eds) Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience in Sub Saharan Africa. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12974-3_9

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