Maria Denisa Conete, Oana Buduruş
Full Text PDF | breeding birds, lakes, pollution, eutrophication.

Our research study was conducted in the area of the Dâmbovnic and Suseni lakes (a square of 2x2 km), two artificially created lakes. We identified 105 breeding species belonging to 13 orders, 39 families and 74 genera; 97 (92,4%) of them are confirmed breeding species and 8 (7,6 %) are probable  breeding species. The results of the research on the Dâmbovnic and Suseni lakes area were compared and related to the data from the Atlas of the Romanian breeding species. By relating them to the Atlas data, we noted that 83 of the 100 breeding species cited in the Atlas were also recorded during our study; 22 new breeding species were identified (19 of them are confirmed breeding species and 3 are probable breeding species). The species that nest mainly in the reed beds (Ixobrychus minutus, Anas platyrhynchos, Fulica atra, Gallinula chloropus, Aythya ferina, Acrocephalus arundinaceus) and in the ecotones, marginal areas stand out among the wetland-dependent species through their higher numbers of individuals. Chroicocephalus ridibundus and Himantopus himantopus were observed to nest in the Argeş county for the first time. Most of them are constant and euconstant species (78 species), the results reflecting the abundance of resources in the area during the nesting period. The species showing increasing trends in their breeding population had a significant share (57 %), because the attractiveness of these lakes for birds has continuously grown, being correlated with the ecological restoration of the degraded wetland areas and the emergenge of dense vegetation (thus creating new nesting places), the diversity of the habitat, the existence of ecotone areas, the diversification of the aquatic trophic resources and last but not least the reduced interaction between the local population and the bird communities in the lakes area. The anthropogenic influence is manifested through aggressive agriculture (the use of pesticides and fertilizers, etc.) and more recently through hunting, the existence of stray dogs, poor waste management,  felling of old trees, all these in addition to some deficiencies of the water supply system, level fluctuations, etc. Strong eutrophication (hipereutrophication) can decrease food availability for waterbirds, which may lead to population decline in the future. Eighteen breeding species are listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive. There are no protection measures for the bird species in the area, because there is a lack of interest in this issue.

Current Trends in Natural Sciences

ISSN (online) 2284-953X
ISSN (CD-ROM) 2284-9521
ISSN-L 2284-9521
Publisher University of Pitesti, EUP