SPECIES COMPOSITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF WADERS WITHIN THE TYPICAL AGROLANDSCAPES OF BELARUS

Abstract

We made a study of the species richness and distribution of nesting waders in agricultural fields of central Belarus. Five test areas were chosen in Minsk region, where territorial pairs of waders were counted. Statistically all study sites significantly differ in the percentage of habitats (G-test ≥ 73,34; p < 0,001). Different parts of these plots were used as grasslands or arable lands. We counted 6 species of waders nesting in the investigated areas: Little ringed plover (Charadrius dubius), Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), Snipe (Gallinago gallinago), Black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa), Curlew (Numenius arquata), Redshank (Tringa totanus). The most numerous and common species was Lapwing; this species has the highest density varying in different plots from 2.73 to 10.26 pairs per 100 ha. Other species of waders were counted in small numbers of pairs per plot. The nesting pairs of Lapwing were distributed more or less aggregated. Lapwings make nesting colonies almost in the same places in different breading seasons. The area of these colonies is significantly smaller than the size of the whole test site.

Table 2. Fig. 1. Ref.: 9 titles.