Uso del hábitat por limícolas invernantes en el litoral de El Médano (Tenerife, islas Canarias)

Resum

Habitat use of wintering waders in the coast of El Médano (Tenerife, Canary lslands)
Habitat use of a wintering coastal wader community at El Médano (Canary Islands), in the East Atlantic Flyway, has been studied. In the study area four habitat types were distinguished and 28 censuses carried out during the winters 1993-94 and 1994-95. Nine wader species were observed but only six which were present, both winters considered. The abundance of birds was significantly different among habitats. Most waders were found in intertidal lava platforms and in supratidal lagoons, while the rest of the habitats were scarcely visited. In intertidal lava platforms there was a higher number of birds feeding and in supratidal lagoons more were roosting, existing a correlation between the abundance of birds in both environments. The sea level would explain this fact because birds use the platforms during a low tide and the lagoons in the high tide. An habitat preference index and the percentage of records in each habitat shows that some taxa are generalists (i.e. Charadrius alexandrinus<(i> or Calidris alba), and the others specialists (i.e. Arenaria interpres).