PubData Leuphana Repository: The influence of water shortage on birds at the Ili Delta in Kazakhstan

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://doi.org/10.48548/pubdata-843

Full metadata record

Field	Value
Resource type	Master Thesis
Title(s)	The influence of water shortage on birds at the Ili Delta in Kazakhstan
DOI	10.48548/pubdata-843
Handle	20.500.14123/882
Creator	Hennlein, Julia
Referee	Prüter, Johannes 111303567 Thevs, Niels
Abstract	The Ili Delta in Kazakhstan is an important ecosystem that offers crucial wetland habitats for several bird species. However, the Ili River, the Ili Delta and the Balkhash Lake are suffering from water shortage due to climate change and human activities. The desertification of the Aral Sea, an obvious point of comparison to the Balkhash region, also involved the degradation of wetland habitats and the related loss of many bird species relying on these habitats. Therefore, water shortage at the Ili Delta may also be the reason for the loss of wetland habitats and bird species. In this study, bird species numbers, species abundances as well as bird diversity at different habitats in the Ili Delta were examined. There are many habitat types provided by the Ili Delta, for example reed bed vegetation, Tugay forest, bare soil floodplains along rivers and steppe. The results of this study showed that the central delta region with habitats of submerged reed vegetation showed the highest number of bird species and the greatest diversity. Threatened bird species at the Ili Delta were also observed only in these wetland habitats. Steppe habitats showed the lowest numbers of bird species and the lowest bird diversity. In general, all habitats at the Ili Delta are important for the ecosystem and essential for the bird species that depend on them for their survival. With expansion of arid steppe habitats due to water shortage, however, previous wetland habitats may be lost. Moreover, bird species that depend on these wetland habitats may also be lost. Therefore, protective measures for the Balkhash region in general and the wetland habitats at the Ili Delta and its distinct avifauna in particular are urgently needed.
Language	English
Keywords	Ili Delta; Kasachstan; Vögel; Wassermangel
DDC	570 :: Biowissenschaften; Biologie
Year of publication in PubData	2015
Publishing type	First publication
Date issued	2015-05-20
Creation context	Study
Faculty / department	Fakultät Nachhaltigkeit
Alternative Idenfier(s)	urn:nbn:de:gbv:luen4-opus-143339
Date of Availability	2024-05-31T08:10:50Z
Archiving Facility	Medien- und Informationszentrum (Leuphana Universität Lüneburg 02w2y2t16)
Granting Institution	Leuphana Universität Lüneburg
Published by	Medien- und Informationszentrum, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg