Title
Resource variability and conservation of American flamingos in coastal wetlands of Yucatan, Mexico
Author(s)
Arengo F., Baldassarre G.A.
Published
1999
Publisher
Journal of Wildlife Management
Abstract
Wetlands are characterized by seasonal rainfall and water level fluctuations; hence, knowledge about strategies used by waterbirds in response to such variability, particularly extreme variations, is necessary for implementation of conservation strategies. In 1994-95, we sampled the potential food available to American flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber ruber) using the coastal wetlands of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, and we documented flamingo behavior over an annual cycle at 2 important flamingo sites in Yucatan (the Celestun Lagoon and Uaymitun wetlands) to examine possible factors affecting flamingo distribution and movement patterns. Environmental conditions fluctuated differently at the 2 sites. We found 3 plant items and 9 invertebrate taxa that are potential food items for flamingos in Celestun, but only 5 of these invertebrate taxa were in Uaymitun. The most abundant food items occurred at both sites, but in greatly different proportions. Flamingos foraged in distinct groups and there was high variation among food samples within sites (CV = 92% in Celestun, 125% in Uaymitun); hence, food probably was patchily distributed. Food decreased in abundance from the wet to the dry season in Celestun and increased toward the beginning of the dry season in Uaymitun (P < 0.05). Some behavioral attributes, mean flock size (Celestun: x¯ = 299; Uaymitun: x¯ = 223), and the percentage of flamingos feeding (Celestun: x¯ = 54; Uaymitun: x¯ = 57) were not different between sites, but there were differences within sites and seasonal differences between sites during some sampling periods. Flamingo numbers at the 2 sites did not reflect food abundance, but selection of foraging sites may also be influenced by water depth. Overall hurricanes appear to be the major allogenic factor affecting wetland habitats of the Yucatan Peninsula wherein flamingos must respond to the interaction among food density, food quality, food availability (i.e., water depth), and salinity when selecting foraging sites. These fluctuations in environmental conditions create a variable food base that results in spatial shifts in the availability and quality of foraging habitat. This information demonstrated that the landscape-level needs of the flamingo population in Yucatan include availability of multiple foraging sites within the 8,000-km2 coastal wetland complex along the Yucatan Peninsula.
Keywords
behavioral ecology; conservation planning; food supply; foraging behavior; Mexico; Phoenicopterus ruber
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