Community structure and diversity of birds on east Dongting Lake wetland of Hunan Province
东洞庭湖湿地鸟类群落结构及其多样性

An investigation on the bird resources on east Dongting Lake wetland was conducted from May 2004 to February 2007.A total of 297 species belonging to 150 genera,52 families and 17 orders were recorded,among which,144 species belonged to Palearctic(2 species to Nearctic),92 species to Oriental realm,and 59 species to wide-distributed.166 species were passage or winter migrants,81 species were residents,and 50 species were summer migrants.7 species were National Class I protected,40 species were National Class II protected,and 34 species ranked in Protected Bird List by the Convention on Wetlands.The waterfowl resources on east Dongting Lake wetland were particularly abundant,and the species number and total quantity demonstrated a significant seasonal change,being more in winter and less in summer.High habitat diversity and the increased lake area and abundant food sources after re-submerging particular polders resulted in a high diversity index(4.40) of the birds on the wetland,which was even higher than that in land environment of the Province and other wetlands in China,but the uniformity index of the birds was lower(only 0.54) than that on other regions,which might be related to the wetland environment and artificial disturbances in this area.