Eco. Env. & Cons. 26 (4) : 2020; pp. (1435-1449) Copyright@ EM International ISSN 0971–765X Avifauna composition of two natural and artificial wetlands in Jijel region of North-eastern Algeria (The Beni Haroun Dam and Redjla Marsh) Chabou Sarra1,2, Khammar Hichem1,2, Hadjab Ramzi1,2 and Saheb Menouar1,2 1 Research Laboratory: Functional Ecology and Environment 2 Department of Natural and Life Sciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences and Life and Nature Sciences University of “Larbi Ben M’hidi”, Oum El Bouaghi. 1st November 1954, Oum el Bouaghi 04000, Algeria (Received 28 March, 2020; accepted 25 April, 2020) ABSTRACT This study was carried out in the north-eastern part of Algeria on two wetlands, one artificial (Beni Haroun Dam) and the other natural (Redjla Marsh) from November 2017 to October 2018. Forty seven species from 16 families and 9 orders and four guilds have been identified. The richest family in species and abundance is the Anatidae family (11 species at the Beni Haroun Dam and 12 species at the Redjla Marsh). From an effective point of view, the Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo (Phalacrocoracidae) is the species most represented in the Beni Haroun Dam and the Macroule Coot Fulica atra (Rallidae) is the most represented in Redjla Marsh. Some species frequenting these environments have a national conservation status such as the Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, the Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris and the White Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia. Some species are classified as threatened and vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, such as the Marbled Teal and the Ferruginous Duck Aythia nyroca. Key words : Wetlands, Water-birds, Beni Haroun Dam, Redjla Marsh, Species, Guilds, IUCN. Introduction 2009; Blondel et al., 2010). The Mediterranean basin has been described as Wetlands contain a wide variety of habitats, recog- one of the richest and most complex regions nized for their high ecological value and perform a (Blondel et al., 2010), due to its biological diversity variety of essential hydrological, biological, eco- and a high degree of endemicity, it is one of the 34 nomic and tourism functions. From a biological “hot spots” of the planet (Myers et al., 2000). How- view, these ecosystems provide different ecological ever, nowhere else have natural environments been habitats, favouring a high level of biodiversity, and so altered as in the Mediterranean region, where above all allow the birds, amphibians and fish that habitat loss and degradation are among the most depend on them to feed, winter, take refuge and re- serious threats the to biodiversity loss (Riservato et produce. Many species depend on them and cannot al., 2009). In the southern Mediterranean, Algeria survive without wetlands, hence the need to con- has a vast and highly diversified set of wetlands serve and preserve these transitional spaces be- (lakes, chotts, garaets, sebkhas, dayas, ponds and tween land and water (Chalabi et al., 1985; Saheb, Marsh) of considerable ecological importance, a 1436 Eco. Env. & Cons. 26 (4) : 2020 veritable reservoir of animal and plant biodiversity. avifauna in this portion of the wetlands of Algeria Among these exceptional ecosystems, artificial wet- remain little known. To that effect, we present an lands (dams, urban lakes, hill reservoirs) remain assessment of the current state of aquatic avifauna little studied and poorly documented (Afdhal et al., biodiversity in the wetland eco-complex of Jijel and 2008 and Aberkane et al., 2013). Compared to the the wilaya of Mila. The objective is to provide for natural wetlands of Algeria which have been the the first-time data on the ornithological richness of subject of several scientific studies and ornithologi- the wetlands of this region. To analyse its evolution cal censuses (Chalabi et al., 1985; Houhamdi, 2002; during an annual cycle in two different wetlands, an Véla and Benhouhou, 2007; Bouzegag, 2007; artificial wetland the Beni Haroun dam and a natu- Aissaouiet al., 2009; Saheb, 2009; Bensaci et al., 2011; ral wetland Redjla marsh. These data will be useful Seddik et al., 2012; Chettibi et al., 2013; Metallaoui et for the establishment of a sustainable management al., 2014). system for these ecosystems. Artificial wetlands have not been the subject of any studies on avifauna, despite their roles and im- Study sites portance. furthermore, the natural wetlands of north-eastern Algeria are well documented and are Our study was carried out in north-eastern Algeria classified among the richest ecosystems in the in two different wetlands (Fig. 1). world. In particular, they host many rare or threat- Beni Haroun Dam ened habitats and species (Médail and Quézel, 1999; Houhamdi, 2002; Bouzegag, 2007; Aissaoui et al., Beni Haroun Dam Is the largest in Algeria and one 2009; Saheb, 2009; Blondel et al., 2010; Bensaci et al, of the largest dams in Africa, located in the north- 2011; Chettibi et al., 2013; Metallaoui et al., 2014). In east of the wilaya of Mila, and in the south-east of this region, the eco-complex of wetlands in the the wilaya of Jijel between 36° 33' 19'’ N and 6° 16' wilaya of Jijel and the wilaya of Mila has only been 11'’ Ein a mainly agricultural area (Fig. 1). It consti- the subject of a few descriptive studies or surveys tutes the largest artificial reservoir that spreads over (De Bélair and Samraoui, 2000; Kisserli and an area of 3,929 ha, fed by two main branches, Oued Exbrayat, 2006; Mayache, 2008; Mayache et al., 2008; Rhumel and Oued Endja (Bouhila et al., 2017). Bouldjedri et al., 2011). The biodiversity and aquatic The dam was built in 2001. However, the first Fig. 1. Map of the geographic location of study sites SARRA ET AL 1437 impoundment was on 1 August 2003 (Remini and has a margin of error that depends on the experi- Toumi, 2017). The dam is located in a narrowing of ence of the observer and the accuracy of the optical limestone gorges, where the geology is complex and equipment used, often estimated at between 5 and very sheared (Boulahbel, 2013). Intended to supply 10% (Blondel, 1975). To ensure accurate identifica- drinking water to no less than five million people in tion at the time of observation, we used the bird the wilayas of Mila, Constantine, Jijel, Oum El- guide (Svensson et al. 2005). Weekly outings were Bouaghi, Khenchela and Batna and irrigation water carried out practically from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. from to 30,000 hectares in Teleghma, Chemora and November 2017 to October 2018. The study was car- Tafouna (Djeddi et al., 2018). ried out in 12 observation points, 9 points in the The climate in the Beni Haroun Dam is semi-arid Beni Haroun dam and 3 points in the Redjla marsh in the south and humid and rainy in the north (Fig. 1), which were selected according to the size of (Mebarki et al., 2008; El-Hadef et al. 2013). the water bodies and the degree of accessibility of the terrain. The most remote and inaccessible bodies Redjla Marsh of water were surveyed using the same effort as that Is a natural wetland, of stagnant and permanent allocated to the most accessible locations, in order to water, located in the North of the wilaya of Jijel at allow the most exhaustive possible census of indi- 2.60 km from the Mediterranean Sea between lati- viduals and species (Bibby et al., 1992). Counts af- tudes 36°492 N and 05° 912E. It is bounded to the fected by bad weather and abiotic parameters were north by the village of Redjla which is at the origin not included in the analysis (Afdhal et al., 2008) of its name (Fig. 1). The Redjla marshland is located Data analysis in a region with an agricultural vocation. This site covers an area of 50 ha, it is shallow and invaded by The study of the biology and ecology of the avi- aquatic vegetation. According to forest conserva- fauna was approached by determining ecological tion, it is a wetland that hosts great biodiversity and indices directly related to the balance of the stands: is subject to strong anthropic pressure (use of fertil- abundance, species richness, Shannon and Weaver izers and pesticides, pumping, poaching, grazing). diversity index and equitability index, and the de- The climate in the region is a humid climate with termination of ornithological characteristics. cold winters and hot and humid summers (Birouk, Composition indices 2015). Specific gravity (S) Materials and Methods Total species richness is the number of species con- tracted at least once at the end of N surveys To understand the biodiversity of the two wetlands, (Blondel, 1975), it is the total number (S) of species the Beni Haroun dam as an artificial wetland and present in a biotope (Ramade, 2008). the Redjla marsh as a natural wetland, inventories and monitoring of aquatic bird populations were Relative abundance (RA%) carried out at both sites. Relative abundance (RA%) is a concept that makes Monitoring of avifauna it possible to evaluate a species, category, class or order (n ) to all the animal populations present com- The birds were counted using the direct counting i bined (N) in a wildlife inventory (Faurie, 2011). method, which consists of counting individual birds Relative abundance is expressed as a percentage (%) when the group does not exceed 200 individuals. In by the following formula: the opposite case, when the group was very distant and/or larger than 200 individuals, we conducted visual estimates of the group (Lamotte and Bourlière, 1969; Blondel, 1975; Houhamdi and Frequency (Fi%) Samraoui, 2002; Afdhal et al., 2008). To do this, a pair of binoculars (Nikula ku 81022 10x22) and a According to Dajoz (1982). The frequency of occur- telescope (Optolyth TBS 80 GA) were used.This rence, or the consistency of a species, is the ratio technique is the most widely used for winter counts expressed as a percentage between the total number and counts of waterbird populations.