This study was carried out to identify the bird community of the Miryang River, a national river located in Miryang-si, and to be used as basic data for future research on biodiversity conservation. The characteristics of the bird community in the Mir...
This study was carried out to identify the bird community of the Miryang River, a national river located in Miryang-si, and to be used as basic data for future research on biodiversity conservation. The characteristics of the bird community in the Miryang River area were investigated, compared, and analyzed by section and season. The field survey was conducted eight times per season (February, May, August, and December) over two years from 2021 to 2022, dividing the 25-kilometer section of the Miryang River into upstream, midstream, and downstream. Birds were observed using direct observation or hearing birds chirping by moving through the survey section, and Line Cencus and Point Census were conducted using DSLR digital cameras and binoculars Bird community characteristics were analyzed by calculating figures such as species diversity index (Shannon and Weaver, 1949), species abundance index (Margalef, 1958), and evenness index (Pielou, 1975), and more detailed comparisons were conducted by season and section. A total of 7,203 birds of 33 families and 74 species were observed in the entire section of the Miryang River. Depending on the arrival patterns, it was confirmed that the arrival rate of winter migratory birds was higher than that of summer migratory birds, with 30 species of resident birds, 25 species of winter migratory birds, 17 species of summer migratory birds, and 2 species of traveler birds. In addition, the characteristics of the bird community by section were 64 species in the upstream, 70 species in the midstream, and 58 species in the downstream, with the largest number of birds identified in the midstream. There was no significant difference in diversity index and uniformity by section, but the abundance index showed the highest in the midstream. In the case of dominant species, it was confirmed that the ratio of Passer montanus and Paradoxornis webbianus was high in all sections. Seasonal bird community characteristics showed that 49 species of birds were identified in spring and summer, and 60 species of birds in winter, indicating that there was more abundance in winter than in spring and summer.
The diversity index and uniformity showed significant differences by season, but the abundance index showed relatively higher values in winter than in spring and summer. In the case of the dominant species, Passer montanus and Paradoxornis webbianus were found to be dominant regardless of the season. In the spring and summer, summer migratory birds such as Hirundo rustica gutturalis, Pica pica, and Streptopelia orientalis were mainly identified, and in the winter, winter migratory birds such as Anas poecilorhyncha, Anas platyrhynchos, and Fulica atra were found to be dominant. As the results of this study, there was no significant difference in bird communities of each section, such as upstream, midstream, and downstream of the Miryang River, but there were differences in the spring, summer, and winter by season. The species, population, and abundance index of birds were higher in winter than in spring and summer, and it was confirmed that birds in winter were more abundant. However, the territorialization of winter birds such as Anas poecilorhyncha, and the summer bird Ardea
cinerea and the Ardea alba modesta is thought to be closely related to climate change, and further research on the conservation of biodiversity is necessary.