The Importance of Endangered Anatolian (Oriental) Sweetgum Forests for the Bird Species

Yıl 2020, Cilt: 4 Sayı: 1, 14 - 25, 01.06.2020

Okan Ürker Salih Tora Benzeyen

Öz

The research was undertaken to assess bird diversity and abundance in the endangered and fragmented Anatolian (oriental) sweetgum (Liquidambar orientalis) forests, a rare, relict endemic of the eastern Mediterranean Basin. Five visits organized in three different sweetgum forest patches were performed around lake Köyceğiz between March 2018 and January 2019. In total, 76 bird species were recorded in all study sites. Among these species, evidence showed 14 breeds in these forests, while 34 have possibility to breed, and the rest were recorded as passage or wintering species. Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) had been selected as an indicator species for the health of Anatolian Sweetgum forest patches since it showed a high dependency on these forest patches although there were suitable feeding and breeding habitats in surrounding areas. The results also suggest that Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) and Eurasian Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) are possible indicators because they both winter and breed in Anatolian Sweetgum forests. The results suggest that Anatolian Sweetgum forest patches are important habitats for many birds, and the conservation efforts of these forests are also important for many bird species of southwestern Anatolia.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Anatolian (oriental) sweetgum forests, bird community, bird diversity, conservation of birds and forests, habitat fragmentation, Liquidambar orientalis

Destekleyen Kurum

Ornithological Society Of The Middle East The Caucasus And Central Asia

Proje Numarası

26671-B

Teşekkür

Natura, The Society for the Conservation of Nature and Culture - Turkey had studied the bird diversity and abundance in the endangered Anatolian Sweetgum Forest patches around the lake Köyceğiz, Muğla-Turkey. With the support of Ornithological Society of Middle East (OSME) and The Rufford Foundation, Primary Bird Surveys on the Anatolian Sweetgum Forests study had been held with several field studies. We thank Itri Levent Erkol (Doga/BirdLife Turkey) and Alp Giray for their assistance in the field, and Richard Porter (World Land Trust) for his technical advice during the study. Ornithological Society of the Middle East (OSME) was the main financial supporter of the present study. The study was also partly supported by The Rufford Foundation (The Project ID 26671-B). The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest regarding this paper.

Kaynakça

• Alan, M., Kaya, Z. (2003). Oriental Sweet Gum (Liquidambar orientalis Mill.). EUFORGEN Technical Guidelines.
• BirdLife International, (2017). Streptopelia turtur (Amended version of 2017 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22690419A154373407.en downloaded on 13 February 2019.
• Boyla, K. A., Sinav, L., Dizdaroğlu D. E. (2019). Türkiye Üreyen Kuş Atlası (Breeding Bird Atlas of Turkey). WWF-Türkiye, Doğal Hayatı Koruma Vakfı, İstanbul.
• Grigory, D., Gibbons, D. W., Donald, P. F. (2004). Bird Census and Survey Techniques. William J. Sutherland, Ian Newton, and Rhys Green (Eds.), In: Bird Ecology and Conservation: A Handbook of Techniques. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Kavak, S., Wilson, B. (2018). Liquidambar orientalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.20181.RLTS.T62556A42326468.en.Downloaded on 10 February 2019.
• Krebs, C. J. (1989). Ecological Methodology. New York: Harper and Row Publishers Inc.
• Laurance, W. F. (2008). Theory meets reality: how habitat fragmentation research has transcended island biogeographic theory. Biological Conservation, 141 (7) 1731-1744.
• Özkil, A., Ürker, O., Zeydanlı, U. (2017). Art in Sweetgum Forest. Nature Conservation Centre. Ankara: Dumat Ofset.
• Ürker, O., Yalçın, S. (2011). Köyceğiz’de Biterse Dünya‘da da Biter! Sığla Ormanı. TÜBİTAK Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi, Ankara, Turkey.
• Ürker, O., Çobanoğlu, N. (2017). Çevre Etiği Bağlamında Anadolu Sığla Ormanları. LAP - Lambert Academic Publishing, Germany.
• Ürker, O., İlemin, Y. (2019). A pioneer study on the wildlife properties of anatolian sweetgum forests, a case assesment on mammalian diversity in terms of ecosystem integrity. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 28 (7), 5474-5480.
• Ürker, O., Lise, Y. (2018). Anadolu sığla ormanları örneği üzerinden doğa korumada yeni bir kavram olan hassas orman ekosistemlerinin incelenmesi. Anatolian Journal of Forest Research, 4 (1), 1-10.
• Wilcove, D. S., McClellan, C. H., Dobson, A. P. (1986). Habitat Fragmentation in the Temperate Zone. In; M. E. Soule (Ed.), Conservation biology: the science of scarcity and diversity. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, MA.