THE BENEFITS OF LONG-TERM AVIAN COMMUNITY MONITORING

FOR THE DESIGNATION OF PROTECTED WETLANDS

Allen Bush-Beaupré¹

¹Global Vision International, PO box #252-1007, Sucursal, Centro Colon, Edificio Colon, San José,
Costa Rica. Telephone +(506) 8338 3321. [email protected]

INTRODUCTION Motorized Traffic & Traditional Fishing

Canal 1
Proper management of wetlands is crucial to ensure the survival of waterbirds that Average boat/survey: 0.2

use this habitat for resting, breeding and feeding¹. Short and long-term monitoring
allows to evaluate management practices leading to adjustments if deemed
necessary². This study displays the results obtained from monitoring avian
communities over 4.5 years in the wetlands of Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica.
The park was designated a protected area under the Ramsar Convention in 1991.
The area encompasses multiple canals with different degrees of protection; some
being used by motorized boats for tourism and local transportation, others are open Scientific Name Common Name Migrant/Resident Guild Feeding Habits

Anhinga anhinga Anhinga Resident Swimmer Fish + Crustaceans

to traditional fishing and ecotourism while some are closed to the public. The results Ardea alba Great Egret Migrant Wader Fish + Frogs
Jacana spinosa Northern Jacana Resident Wader Insects
from this study show the overall good condition of the national park’s habitat with Butorides
virescens
Green Heron Migrant + Resident Wader Fish + Insects

some areas of improvement for the management strategies. Fig. 1- Trends in abundance of Anhinga anhinga, Ardea alba, Butorides
virescens, and Jacana spinosa.

MATERIALS & METHODS Motorized Traffic Only

Canal 2 Canal 3
Avian visual encounter surveys were conducted from 2014 to 2018 on canals at the
southern end of Tortuguero National Park, located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Average boat/survey: 2.3 Average boat/survey: 1.0

Rica. Information recorded included: substrate, group size, breeding, age and sex
plumages, and general survey weather. Focus was made on 30 target species of
special interest to the park management agency (MINAE). Factors influencing bird
abundance were assessed using generalized linear models. The dependent variable
was bird abundance and the independent variables were: time, canal, weather type
and time of day. Further investigation into trends of bird species was made on each
canal using Simple Linear Regressions (Figures 1-5). Scientific Name Common Name Migrant/Resident Guild Feeding
Habits
Scientific
Name
Common Name Migrant/Resident Guild Feeding Habits

Egretta caerulea Little Blue Heron Migrant Wader Crustaceans Megaceryle Ringed Resident Percher Fish
Egretta thula Snowy Egret Migrant Wader Fish torquata Kingfisher
Laterallus White-Throated Resident Wader Insects Egretta Little Blue Heron Migrant Wader Crustaceans
albigularis Crake caerulea
Egretta tricolor Tricolored Heron Migrant Wader Fish + Nyctanassa Yellow-Crowned Migrant + Wader Crustaceans
Crustaceans violacea Night Heron Resident
Fig. 2- Trends in abundance of Egretta caerulea, Egretta thula, Fig. 3- Trends in abundance of Egretta caerula, Megaceryle
Egretta tricolor and Laterallus albugaris. torquata and Nyctanassa violacea.

No Motorized Traffic Allowed

Canal 4 Canal 5

Scientific Common Migrant/Resident Guild Feeding Habits Scientific Common Migrant/Resident Guild Feeding Habits
Name Name Name Name
Anhinga Anhinga Resident Swimmer Fish + Crustaceans Porphyrio Purple Resident Wader Fish + Insects
anhinga martinicus Gallinule
Butorides Green Migrant + Resident Wader Fish + Insects Butorides Green Heron Migrant + Resident Wader Fish + Insects
virescens Heron virescens

Fig. 4- Trends in abundance of Anhinga anhinga and Butorides Fig. 5- Trends in abundance of Butorides virescens and Porphyrio
virescens. martinicus.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION CONCLUSION

Generalized Linear Model Long-term monitoring of avian communities is beneficial in evaluating the efficiency
• In all canals, bird abundance increased over time (8.473-05 ± 3.817-05, Z = 2.220, of wetland protection policies. The increasing trend in bird abundance over time
P < 0.05). indicates the good health of Tortuguero National Park’s habitat. Further investigation
• When compared to Canal 1, Canal 3 and 5 had a lower abundance (P < 0.001, for of individual species’ trends on each canal showed a possible decrease in the
both). crustacean populations on the canals most used for motorized traffic (Canals 2 & 3).
• More birds were observed during surveys with clear skies compared to rainy On Canal 1, where fishing is allowed, 2 out of 3 fish-eating birds had increasing
surveys (P < 0.001) trends over time. This result allows us to speculate that the amount of fish that is
• Morning surveys had a higher abundance than afternoon surveys (P < 0.001). being removed from the habitat is not significantly impacting the bird populations or
• Bird abundance varied differently over time on separate canals (P < 0.001). that the removal of these larger fish allow for an increase in the smaller fish
populations. Both canals with complete protection (Canals 4 & 5) showed a more
Simple Linear Regressions stable avian community with only 2 species’ abundance varying over time. All of
• 11 out of 30 target species had significant trends in abundance over time (P < these results could not have been obtained without long-term monitoring of this
0.05). protected wetland.
• The trends are represented on each canal, divided into their protection status References:
1Ma, Z. et al. 2009. Managing wetland habitats for waterbirds: An international perspective.

(Figures 1-5). Wetlands. 30: 15-27

2Wei et al. 2017. Impact of habitat management on waterbirds in a degraded coastal wetland. J.

marpolbul. 124: 645–652

Photos by Cormac Healy