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Consumption of benthic fauna by carnivorous birds in the Wadden Sea

Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen volume 51, pages 373–387 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

Consumption by carnivorous birds was estimated for the Sylt-Rømø tidal inlet in the northern part of the Wadden Sea, as well as the subarea Königshafen, a small, tidal bay. The bird community of the Sylt-Rømø Wadden Sea was dominated by Dunlin (35% of all birds counted), Eider (9%), Oystercatcher (8%), Knot (8%), and Shelduck (7%). The community in the Königshafen was dominated by Eider (20%), Knot (17%), Bar-tailed Godwit (17%), Dunlin (13%), and Oystercatcher (8%). Annual consumption was estimated at 3.4 g AFDW · m−2 · year−1 for the entire Sylt-Rømø Wadden Sea and 19.2 g AFDW · m−2 · year−1 for the Königshafen. Restricting the calculations to the intertidal area resulted in a consumption of 8.7 g AFDW · m−2 · year−1 for the Sylt-Rømø Wadden Sea and 17.6 g AFDW · m−2 · year−1 for the Königshafen. In the two areas, consumption was dominated by the Eider with 37% and 60% of the total consumption, respectively. In comparison to the western parts of the Wadden Sea the seasonal pattern of consumption as well as species composition differed, most probably as an effect of different climatic conditions, whereas annual consumption on intertidal flats seems to be in the same order of magnitude. On average, 15–25% of the mean annual macrozoobenthic biomass seems to be taken by carnivorous birds in the Wadden Sea, which is in the same order of magnitude as in other northern temperate estuarine areas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. forschungs- und Technologiezentrum Westküste der Universität Kiel, Hafentörn, D-25761, Büsum, Germany

    G. Scheiffarth & G. Nehls

  2. Institut für Vogelforschung, “Vogelwarte Helgoland”, An der Vogelwarte 21, D-26386, Wilhelmshaven, Germany

    G. Scheiffarth

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  1. G. Scheiffarth
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  2. G. Nehls
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Scheiffarth, G., Nehls, G. Consumption of benthic fauna by carnivorous birds in the Wadden Sea. Helgoländer Meeresunters. 51, 373–387 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02908721

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Helgoland Marine Research

ISSN: 1438-3888

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