Contrasting changes in the abundance and diversity of Northern Iranian birds assemblages from 2011 to 2015

Abstract

Birds are distributed in wide range based on flight power and structural changes in their composition. So, the ecological diversity and density can be indicative of the environmental changes. This study was conducted for the first time in the north of Iran to quantify and compare the temporal abundance in the taxonomic diversity of bird assemblages. Data were collected by the Iranian Environmental Protection Agency from 22 key sampling sites from 2011 to 2015 in Golestan Province. During the 5-years period, 13 abundance and diversity metrics with the average abundances of 123 species for each site were calculated. In terms of the number of birds in a particular species, mallard and greater flamingo were the most abundant species, and Anatidae family was the most abundant bird family in all monitoring data. Based on ecological indicators, the most diversity in species has been observed in 2012. Keywords: Biodiversity, Birds, Diversity matrix, Iran