Abstract:

 A systemic survey of community structure of waterfowl in the Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve (YRDNR)was conducted during the waterfowl migration and wintering periods from October 2014 to January 2015 using the line transects method. The survey consisted of 8 line transects and 40 observation points. Results show that (1) 54 species,6 orders and 14 families of waterfowl were recorded during the autumn migration period,including 5 species under the national grade one priority protection,and 8 species under the national grade two priority protection,while 31 species,5 orders and7 families of waterfowl were recorded during the wintering period,including 1 species under the national grade one priority protection,and 4 species under the national grade two priority protection; (2) the waterfowl in the reserve during the two periods was dominantly of Anseriformes (Anser fabalis,Anas poecilorhyncha,Anas strepera and Anas platyrhynchos); and waterfowl like Grus japonensis,Ciconia boyciana and Cygnus Cygnus were held to be rare species,but still considerable in population in the reserve;(3) in terms of number of species,populations and Shannon-Wiener diversity index,the waterfowl was higher in the autumn migration period than in the wintering period;(4) species and population of the waterfowl varied with the habitat,and natural waters were the major waterfowl distribution areas; and (5) the waterfowl in natural habitats or natural water areas was much higher in artificial habitats in term of the three indices. Similarity analysis shows that community structure of the waterfowl in natural habitats is higher in similarity than that in the artificial habitats.

Key words: ellow River Delta Nature Reserve, waterfowl, community structure, species diversity, habitat type