Diversity and Structure of Nesting Birds in the Coastal Riparian Zones of Great Kabylia in Algeria

Abstract

The study of the nesting birds of the coastal riparian zones in Great Kabylia in Algeria, allowed us to identify 45 species of birds, belonging to 12 orders and 26 families. The richest site in terms of species is Takdempt (31 species). The lowest diversity is noted at the level of Boudouaou wadi with 16 species. The values of the Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H') for all sites are quite high (≥3 bits). Concerning the global abundance of avifauna, the site that represents the highest centesimal frequency is that of Takdempt (20.87 %) and this is due to the presence of a colony of Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758). The bird communities of the sampled sites are not identical, but the degree of similarity, in general, is quite high (≥ 50 %). The main factors controlling the diversity and the structure of the avifauna of Great Kabylia coastal riparian zones are represented by vertical and horizontal vegetation structure