Shorebird community variations indicative of a general perturbation in the Mont-Saint-Michel bay (France).
The Mont-Saint-Michel bay located on the East Atlantic Flyway is the first site in France for wintering shorebirds, with, on average, 53,000 individuals in January. Seven species represent 96% of that community: dunlin (Calidris alpina), knot (Calidris canutus), oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus), curlew (Numenius arquata), grey plover (Pluvialis squatarola), bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica) and black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa). The international bird census organised by Wetlands International in mid-January gave us the opportunity to study, for a 23 years period, population variations in the bay. Despite a quite good carrying capacity, we showed that the decreasing proportion of 4 species in the bay relative to the other French populations may indicate a general perturbation of the bay. We discuss the different hypotheses to explain that observation.
Eybert
Marie-Christine
MC
UMR Ecobio 6553, Avenue du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes, France. marie-christine.eybert@univ-rennes1.fr
Geslin
Thomas
T
Questiau
Sophie
S
Feunteun
Eric
E
D000821:Animal Feed; D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000502:physiology*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004777:Environment; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects; D005602:France; D005843:Geography; D011156:Population Density; D012623:Seawater; D013045:Species Specificity