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journal article Open Access Aug 01, 2021

Understanding arid‐region waterbird community dynamics during lake dry‐downs

Graeme S. Cumming ORCID Dominic A. W. Henry ORCID Gregory L. Mutumi Mduduzi Ndlovu ORCID
Ecosphere Vol. 12 No. 8 · Wiley
View at Publisher Save 10.1002/ecs2.3668
Abstract
AbstractThe community dynamics of organisms that exhibit multi‐scale responses to habitat change are poorly understood. We quantified changes in species diversity and the functional composition of a waterbird community over two iterations of a repeated transition, the annual drying‐down of arid‐region Lake Ngami, Botswana. We used our data to test three theoretical predictions: simplification of the bird community over time due to a reduction in habitat area and concurrent niche loss; large fluctuations in densities of mobile, opportunistic species; and high variance in predator and prey abundance. Despite temporal variance in species accumulation, we observed no obvious simplification and distinct but consistent groupings of abundance and composition across transitional stages. There were some rapid shifts in functional composition, such as loss of deepwater foragers; winners and losers also occurred within foraging guilds. We conclude that understanding community‐level trends during transitional periods will require stronger theoretical frameworks that more effectively integrate unique species traits and functional groups. For conservation managers, our study offers a cautionary tale of the importance of understanding connectivity, trajectories of change, and the potential for large fluctuations in animal communities independent of management actions during periods of ecological transition.
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Metrics
5
Citations
42
References
Details
Published
Aug 01, 2021
Vol/Issue
12(8)
License
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Authors
G
Graeme S. Cumming

FitzPatrick Institute DST/NRF Centre of Excellence University of Cape Town Rondebosch 7701 South Africa; ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies James Cook University Townsville Queensland 4811 Australia

D
Dominic A. W. Henry

FitzPatrick Institute DST/NRF Centre of Excellence University of Cape Town Rondebosch 7701 South Africa; Endangered Wildlife Trust Johannesburg 1685 South Africa; Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation Department of Statistical Sciences University of Cape Town Cape Town 7701 South Africa

G
Gregory L. Mutumi

FitzPatrick Institute DST/NRF Centre of Excellence University of Cape Town Rondebosch 7701 South Africa; Life and Environmental Sciences University of California–Merced Merced California USA

M
Mduduzi Ndlovu

FitzPatrick Institute DST/NRF Centre of Excellence University of Cape Town Rondebosch 7701 South Africa; School of Biology and Environmental Sciences University of Mpumalanga Mbombela 1200 South Africa

Funding
Wildlife Conservation Society
Cite This Article
Graeme S. Cumming, Dominic A. W. Henry, Gregory L. Mutumi, et al. (2021). Understanding arid‐region waterbird community dynamics during lake dry‐downs. Ecosphere, 12(8). https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.3668
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