The Study on Bird Community Diversity along the Xiamen Coastal Wetland

The bird species and their population abundance were investigated in 12 sampled areas along Xiamen coastline during autumn. 52 species belonging to 19 families were recorded. The dominant species in population size were Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinua), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), and Intermediate Egret (Egretta intermedia), which reflect that Xiamen coastline was the wintering habitat of waterbirds. The diversity index of the bird community was higher in the reservoir of Xinglin Bay (3.66) and Yundang Lake (3.35), and lower in Xidi (1.42) and Gaopu (1.17). The diversity index of the bird community was mainly influenced by the amount of bird species and by the evenness of population number among the species.