Assessment of the diversity of wading birds and shorebirds in East Hammar marsh – Basrah / Iraq

Abstract

This study aim to evaluate wading birds and shorebirds diversity in the East Hammar marsh from November 2017 to November 2018. Twenty-seven species belonging four families for shorebirds and one family for wading birds were recorded in study area. A highest relative abundance 15.88% was recorded in November 2018, while the lowest 1.63% was recorded in July 2018. Simpson diversity index 0.79, whereas Shannon-Weiner index was 1.91. Richness index was reached 2.01, while an evenness index was 0.77. Dominance index recorded a high value in November 2018, due to dominance of Egreta garzetta . The assemblage of wading birds and shorebirds at East Hammar marsh was moderate, whereas showed disturbed and semi-balanced assemblage in terms of the richness and evenness respectively.