Annual Changes and Dynamics of Caspian Seabirds Population in Gillian Province Northern Iran

Since associations of seabirds are important part of aquatic ecosystems and have unavoidable role in ecological and biological cycles o these biomes, surveys on their status and fluctuations of richness and abundances is important in aquatic ecosystems management. Understanding the distribution and abundance of seabirds relative to Caspian Sea processes is important for several reasons. Seabird distributions are a product of many factors including: evolution, dispersal, predatorfree nesting habitat, food resources, competition, and human influences. The aim of present study was to assess the diversity and abundance of seabird species in Gillian province from 1992 to 2002, and to report the fluctuations patterns of the different species abundance between surveyed years. Based on mid-winter census data collected bye Department of Environment, we found that there were not any clear trend in abundance of Laridae, Pelecanidae, Phalarocoracidae families. Maximum and minimum abundance of families occurred in 2002 and 1994 respectively and both belong to Laridae. Two threatened specie. I.e. Pygmy Cormorant Phalacrocorax pygmeus and Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus, showed good status in this period. This assessment was considered necessary prior to protection and conservation actions for this diverse habitat for seabird community, and so, provide the management plans with useful information.

کلیدواژه ها:

Seabirds ، Population Dynamics ، Caspian Sea ، Gillian