Community Structure and Diversity of Overwintering Waterbird in Coastal Wetlands of Yantai City

The expansive coastal wetlands in the eastern part of Yantai City are important resting place on the way of migration and wintering sites for many waterbirds. Community and diversity of the overwintering waterbird in Puti Bay of Yangma Island and estuaries of Qinshui River, Yuniao River and Xin'an River Estuary were evaluated by means of zoning direct counting method from November to February of each year from 2017 to 2019. 6 orders 10 families and 48 species were recorded. The most abundant order is Charadriiformes accounting for 45.83% of total recorded species, followed by Anseriformes of 35.42%. Laridae, Anatidae, Scolopacidae, Podicipedidae and Ardeidae consist the most majority and account for 99.00% of the total recorded species. Of note, one first-class (Larus relictus) and two second-class (Cygnus Cygnus and C. columbianus) national protected birds were recorded. There are 9 dominant species during the stable period of overwintering (December to February), and Numenius arquata has been listed as threatened species by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The number of recorded waterbird species of 2017-2018 was the most during the investigation, and moderate community similarity was determined among four investigated regions.