Species Composition, Relative Abundance and Habitat Association of Avifauna in Zegie Peninsula Forest Patches and Associated Wetlands, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

The study about species composition, relative abundance and habitat association of avian fauna in Zegie Peninsula forest patches and associated wetlands was carried out from August 2018 to March 2019, covering both the wet and dry seasons. Forest, shrub, lakeshore and wetland were habitats. Data were collected using point count and line transect methods, for 24 days. A total of 96 species of birds were identified. Out of the total, 40 species were observed during the wet season; 13 during dry and 43 species in both seasons. There was statistically significance variation of species distribution among habitats (χ2=11.89, df=3, p=0.008). During the wet season, the highest species diversity was recorded in the wetland habitat (H’=3.3) followed by forest habitat (H’= 2.9). During the dry season, avian diversity was highest in lakeshore (H’=2.58) followed by wetland (H’=2.51). Highest evenness was observed in the shrub land (E=0.87) and (E=0.84) during the wet and dry seasons, respectively .During the wet season, the highest species similarity was recorded between wetland and lakeshore habitat (SI=0.39) and during the dry season the highest species similarity was recorded between forest and shrub habitats (SI= 0.6). 64(66.66%) of the avian species were uncommon. Currently, however, the species diversity in the area decreases. This might be due to various anthropogenic activities such as deforestation of trees for timber and cutting tree for fire wood. Therefore, awareness creation should be given to the local community to reduce habitat destruction. Keywords/Phrases: Bird diversity, relative abundance, wetlands, Zegie Peninsula, DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/12-11-01 Publication date:June 30th 2022