Summering wader communities of the Khnifiss Lagoon (Southern Morocco)a survey in 1997

Résumé

The summering waders and acompanying wading birds of the Khnifiss Lagoon, the most important Moroccan wetland in the Sahara Desert to the south of Agadir, were surve- yed in July-August 1997 in terms of community structure, composition and macrohabitat use. Summering wader community displayed a relatively low diversity and moderate abundances but showed roughly the same pattern of feeding-macrohabitat exploitation than wintering assemblages. For foraging, waders concentrated on the Zostera-coveved shallows in the outermost part of the lagoon, densities being lower in the inner saltmarsh. Dunlin, Kentish Plover and Oystercatcher dominated the wader community, representing ca. 60 % of the birds censused. Numbers of Kentish Plover, Oystercatcher, Greenshank and Wood Sandpiper were higher in Khnifiss than in the Banc d'Arguin (by far the most important wetland of the East Atlantic Flyway) by the same season in previous reports. Greater Flamingo, Grey Heron, Little Egret, and Spoonbill numbers resembled the figures given by earlier surveys in the Khnifiss area. Threats posed by non-controlled human activities and exploitations in the lagoon and its desert boundaries may lead to a critical empoverishment and loss of suitability of the Reserve for waders and coexisting aquatic birds. There is an urgent need for a sustainable management schedule designed to preserve this important wetland in the context of the East Atlantic Flyway.