Waterbird population estimates for a key staging site in Kazakhstan: a contribution to wetland conservation on the Central Asian flyway

Abstract

SummaryRealistic population size estimates for waterbirds are crucial for the application of wetland conservation strategies, since the identification of internationally important wetlands is based on local numbers relative to the population size of the respective species. Central Asia is a poorly surveyed region that is situated at the intersection of migration routes that lead waterbirds from Western Siberia to the south-west (South-West Asia, East Africa) and to the south-east (South Asia, India). We calculated waterbird population estimates for the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn region, a large wetland complex in the steppe zone of Central Kazakhstan, based on waterbird surveys conducted between 1999 and 2004. For 20 of 43 species analysed the region supported more than 5% of the relevant flyway populations. Five species occurred with more than 40% of the flyway totals, including the Endangered White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala and the Vulnerable Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus. Peak numbers were recorded in summer and autumn and for most species numbers were more than an order of magnitude lower on spring migration compared with autumn migration. We identified 72 individual sites that held more than 20,000 waterbirds or more than 1% of a particular flyway population at least once. These sites are likely to constitute priorities for conservation. The general conservation status of the region is favourable, since many of the important sites are located within a strict nature reserve. However, outside the reserve hunting, fishing and powerline casualties represent conservation issues that should be monitored more carefully in the future.

Wader, gull and tern population estimates for a key breeding and stopover site in Central Kazakhstan

“…Most of the data analysed here were collected together with data on other waterbird species analysed by Schielzeth et al (2008), and we refer to that paper for a more detailed description of survey methods including maps showing the spatial-temporal distribution of survey counts in 1999-2004. However, by adding data from four more years, the present paper covers a study period of 10 years from 1999 to 2008.…”

“…IBA criterion A4i is equivalent to Ramsar criterion 6, while IBA criterion A4iii is equivalent to Ramsar criterion 5 (Ramsar Convention Secretariat 2006). Since these criteria are not limited to Charadriiformes, we included data on other species of waterbirds (see Schielzeth et al 2008Schielzeth et al , updated for the years 2005Schielzeth et al -2008. Besides criteria A4i and A4iii, criterion A1 (the occurrence of significant numbers of globally threatened species) is, among Charadriiformes, applicable for the 'Critically Endangered' Sociable Lapwing.…”

“…One of the largest wetland complexes of Central Kazakhstan is situated in the Tengiz-Korgalzhyn region (c. 49.5-51°N, 68-71°E). This region has been shown to hold large numbers of waterbirds (Krivitskii et al 1985, Eichhorn 2001, Koshkin and Koshkina 2003, Gavrilov and Gavrilov 2005, Schielzeth et al 2008, but comprehensive estimates of wader, gull and tern population sizes are still lacking.…”

Current status of the Dalmatian pelican and the great white pelican populations of the Black Sea/Mediterranean flyway

“…20%, increasing from 1730−2105 pairs in the years 2000−2010 (Barov & Derhé 2011) to 2154−2437 pairs in 2011−2012. Unfortunately, the current world population of the DP cannot be estimated because the most recent data for Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are those provided by Crivelli et al (2000), and there is only incidental information on some colonies in Kazakhstan (Morimoto et al 2005, Schielzeth et al 2008. Thus, for all these countries the most recent available information pertains to the 1980s−1990s (Krivenko et al 1994).…”

Migratory movements of waterfowl in Central Asia and avian influenza emergence: sporadic transmission of H5N1 from east to west

“…The former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (hereafter Central Asia) sit at an important crossroads for waterfowl migration. The region encompasses an area of broad spatial overlap between the East Asian, Central Asian and Eurasian–African Flyways and globally significant numbers of waterfowl are funnelled into its wetlands each spring and autumn (Gavrilov & Gavrilov 2005, Kreuzberg‐Mukhina 2006, Lanovenko 2006, Yerokhov 2006, Schielzeth et al. 2008).…”