Assessing Habitat Suitability for the Common Pochard, Aythya Ferina (Anseriformes, Anatidae) at different Spatial Scales in Orel’ River Valley, Ukraine

Abstract

The habitat suitability for the Common Pochard, a duck species in decline, was studied in the middle reaches of the Orel’ River, Central Ukraine, in 2015–2017. The ducks were counted on their breeding grounds with the use of the ground survey technique. The positions of individual birds were estimated by GPS and plotted on the Google Earth map. The Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA) was applied to assess the habitat suitability. Sentinel-2 image was used to extract 13 ecogeographical variables and to get two measures of the ecological niche (marginality and specialization). The ENFA procedure was applied twice at landscape and sub-landscape levels to describe the habitat selection across sequential spatial scales. Both the axes of marginality and specialization of the ecological niche of the species proved to be significantly different from the random alternatives. At landscape level, the distribution may be predicted with the use of Aerosol/Coastal, Vegetation and Hydrothermal Composite indices (marginality) and Modified Normalized Difference Water (MNDW) Index along with several vegetation indices (specialization). At sub-landscape level, MNDW played a crucial role. The importance of MNDW is mediated by the preference for the wetlands with the stretches of open water which are used by the ducks to initiate flight safely and to optimize diving possibilities. The ENFA is a reliable tool for the assessment of the habitat suitability and for setting the conservation priorities for the Common Pochard.

Phytoindication approach to assessing factors determining the habitat preferences of red deer (Cervus elaphus)

“…It should also be noted that, with a certain degree of conditionality, phytoindication estimates can be converted into absolute physical units, which quantitatively characterize environmental factors (Didukh, 2011). Habitat assessments based on the phytoindication method are used to quantitatively characterize the ecological niche of animals (Zimaroeva et al, 2016;Yorkina et al, 2018;Zhukov et al, 2019;Ponomarenko et al, 2021).…”

“…The ecological niche theory is an effective generalization for describing the habitat preference of animal species (Hirzel et al, 2002;Hirzel & Le Lay, 2008;Zimaroeva et al, 2016;Ponomarenko et al, 2021). An important problem is the consideration of environmental parameters that can indicate the ecological niche of animals (Kunakh et al, 2018;Zhukov et al, 2021).…”

Application of remote sensing data for monitoring eutrophication of floodplain water bodies

“…The Dnipro-Zaporizhzhya-Kryvyi Rih triangle was recognized as a territory heavily affected by pollutants generated by many activities, including heavy industry, oil refining, metallurgy, petrochemistry, mining and energy (Vasenko, 1998). Much of the territory of the reserve is occupied by wetland habitats, which are formed in the floodplain of the Dnipro River (Ponomarenko et al, 2021). Despite the proximity of industrial centers and high level of impact of agroindustrial complexes, the Reserve's territory performs an important environmental function and is an oasis of land and water biota biodiversity.…”

Morphological response of lagoon cockle Cerastoderma glaucum (Poiret, 1789) to eutrophication in the Sea of Azov

“…The depressed state of the reservoir has become as a consequence of the mass multiplication of microalgae of cyanobacteria Nodularia spumigena, dinophyte alga Lingulodinium polyedra and Centric diatoms called "water blooms" and decreased water transparency [2][3][4]. The process of "water blooms" was the result of intensive anthropogenic impact through nutrient inputs, radioactive and chemical contamination of water, dumping, and sand mining in the sea [5][6][7][8]. The long-term suppression led to the death of most 1049 (2022) 012059 IOP Publishing doi:10.1088/1755-1315/1049/1/012059 2 marine organisms [9][10][11][12].…”