Seasonal And Spatial Variation Of Abundance Of Dunlins In Relation To Their Main Prey(Crustacean:Amphipoda:Gammaridean) at Tatu Estruary, Taiwan

• Main Author: 蔡嘉揚
• Other Authors: 陳炳煌
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 1994
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/60307915511542131935

碩士 === 東海大學 === 環境科學系 === 82 === 　　The Dunlin is one of the most common shorebirds on the western coast of Taiwan. Its ecological niche in the coastal and estuarine ecosystem is still not clear. The aim of this study is to understand the mechanisms that regulatethe distribution and abundance of the Dunlin on the southern part of the Tatu Estuary in Changhwa County by analyzing their feeding ecology. 　　Exclosure experiments were carried out from March 1993 to March 1994 in order to estimate the effect of the Dunlin''s feeding on the density of amphipods as compare to the densityof this prey in the control area from which the Dunlin was excluded. 　　Based on experiments in March and April 1993 and in February and March 1994 when the amphipod populations were most abundant, the feeding rate of a Dunlin is estimated to range from 3800 to 8000 individual amphipods/hour at different feeding sites. 　　In addition, spatial distribution and temporal abundance of the Dunlin were correlated with those of the amphipods. There is a positive linear relationship (Rsq=0.82), between the spatial distribution of the Dunlin and amphipods. More abundant amphipods will attract more Dunlin to feed on that mudflat. The abundance of Dunlins and amphipods is correlated temporally (r=0.90).