<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Since the beginning of this century, Greater Flamingo <italic>Phoenicopterus roseus</italic> flocks have been observed regularly when feeding in the large extensions of shallow bottoms in the Lagoon of Venice (NE Italy), the largest lagoon along the Mediterranean. Nowadays thousands of flamingos are present throughout the year. Between 2013 and 2017 I collected data on the environmental features of the shallow bottoms used by feeding flocks, along with measurements of flight initiation distance (FID) of Greater Flamingo in response to the approach of boats and pedestrians. Shallow bottoms were shown to be used when covered with approximately 10 to 60 cm of water. All the feeding sites were in open landscapes, with low occurrence of saltmarshes in a radius of 500 m. The bottoms were barely covered with seagrasses (&lt;4% of the surface around the survey points) and were mostly silty. Feeding flocks were on average 1.2 km far from the nearest road or dyke, while the mean distance from channels that could be used by boats was about 420 m. The mean FID caused by boats or pedestrians was 241 m ± 117 m (N = 31, ± 1 SD) without significant differences between those for the two disturbance sources. The use of shallow bottoms by the Greater Flamingo appears governed primarily by the tidal cycle, but boat disturbance probably modifies this effect. According to FID values, a set-back distance of 465 m is suggested to reduce the disturbance caused by boats and pedestrians to the flamingo feeding flocks.</p></abstract>

Since the beginning of this century, Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus flocks have been observed regularly when feeding in the large extensions of shallow bottoms in the Lagoon of Venice (NE Italy), the largest lagoon along the Mediterranean. Nowadays thousands of flamingos are present throughout the year. Between 2013 and 2017 I collected data on the environmental features of the shallow bottoms used by feeding flocks, along with measurements of flight initiation distance (FID) of Greater Flamingo in response to the approach of boats and pedestrians. Shallow bottoms were shown to be used when covered with approximately 10 to 60 cm of water. All the feeding sites were in open landscapes, with low occurrence of saltmarshes in a radius of 500 m. The bottoms were barely covered with seagrasses (<4% of the surface around the survey points) and were mostly silty. Feeding flocks were on average 1.2 km far from the nearest road or dyke, while the mean distance from channels that could be used by boats was about 420 m. The mean FID caused by boats or pedestrians was 241 m ± 117 m (N = 31, ± 1 SD) without significant differences between those for the two disturbance sources. The use of shallow bottoms by the Greater Flamingo appears governed primarily by the tidal cycle, but boat disturbance probably modifies this effect. According to FID values, a set-back distance of 465 m is suggested to reduce the disturbance caused by boats and pedestrians to the flamingo feeding flocks.

Environmental characteristics of shallow bottoms used by Greater Flamingo <italic>Phoenicopterus roseus</italic> in a northern Adriatic lagoon

Acrocephalus

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Environmental characteristics of shallow bottoms used by Greater Flamingo  in a northern Adriatic lagoon

Since the beginning of this century, Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus flocks have been observed regularly when feeding in the large extensions of shallow...

Environmental characteristics of shallow bottoms used by Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus in a northern Adriatic lagoon

Published Online: Mar 24, 2018

Page range: 161 - 169

Received: Nov 06, 2017

Accepted: Dec 02, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/acro-2017-0010

Keywords
buffer zone, flight initiation distance, Lagoon of Venice, tidal flats, waterbirds

© 2017 Francesco Scarton, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Environmental characteristics of shallow bottoms used by Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus in a northern Adriatic lagoon

Published Online: Mar 24, 2018

Page range: 161 - 169

Received: Nov 06, 2017

Accepted: Dec 02, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/acro-2017-0010

Keywordsbuffer zone, flight initiation distance, Lagoon of Venice, tidal flats, waterbirds

© 2017 Francesco Scarton, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
buffer zone, flight initiation distance, Lagoon of Venice, tidal flats, waterbirds