Birds of the dump: A study on diversity, abundance and threats in landfills of Tigray region, Ethiopia

Birds inhabit all habitats, including dumpsites. Most bird research has mainly focused on protected areas, while landfills have been much less studied. Our study was conducted to collect baseline data on the diversity, abundance and threats of avifauna in waste landfills of the Tigray region, Ethiop...

Повний опис

Збережено в:
Бібліографічні деталі
Дата:2026
Автори: Weldemariam, T. B., Assefa , A. W.
Формат: Стаття
Мова:Англійська
Опубліковано: Publishing House "Akademperiodyka" of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine 2026
Онлайн доступ:https://ojs.akademperiodyka.org.ua/index.php/Zoodiversity/article/view/727
Теги: Додати тег
Немає тегів, Будьте першим, хто поставить тег для цього запису!
Назва журналу:Journal Zoodiversity

Репозитарії

Journal Zoodiversity
_version_ 1859471845710888960
author Weldemariam, T. B.
Assefa , A. W.
author_facet Weldemariam, T. B.
Assefa , A. W.
author_sort Weldemariam, T. B.
baseUrl_str
collection OJS
datestamp_date 2026-02-25T20:46:32Z
description Birds inhabit all habitats, including dumpsites. Most bird research has mainly focused on protected areas, while landfills have been much less studied. Our study was conducted to collect baseline data on the diversity, abundance and threats of avifauna in waste landfills of the Tigray region, Ethiopia, from November 2019 to March 2020. Seven landfill sites in towns with different geographical settings (Maychew, Adwa, Axum, Shire, Sheraro, Humera and Wolkayt) were selected. The point count technique was used to survey the birds. Moreover, interviews and field observations were also conducted to identify threats to birds. Diversity indices and Two-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. A total of 2,985 individual birds belonging to 96 species, 32 families and 11 orders were recorded. Family Accipitridae was the most dominant (24 species), followed by Muscicapidae (8 species) and Columbidae (7 species). Hooded Vulture (17.17%) was the most abundant species, followed by Tawny Eagle (8.32%) and Pied Crow (5.46%). The Humera landfill site had the highest bird abundance, while the Maychew landfill had the lowest. A higher abundance of birds was recorded during the morning than in the afternoon. Humera landfill had the highest species diversity index (H′ = 3.56), followed by Wolkayt (H′ = 3.51) and Maychew landfills (H′ = 3.49). Maychew landfill had the highest species evenness (E = 0.778), whereas Shire landfill had the lowest species diversity and species evenness (H′ = 2.89; E = 0.439). Activities of waste collectors, free-ranging domestic animals and waste burning were considered disturbing factors; at the same time, electrocution, hunting and disposal of pollutant wastes were identified as threats to birds. Waste landfills of the region support a diversity of birds. Therefore, bird conservation action is required, such as proper management of landfills. The impact of discarded waste on the long-term survival of birds, especially threatened species, should also be investigated.
first_indexed 2026-03-12T15:49:00Z
format Article
id zoodiv-article-727
institution Journal Zoodiversity
keywords_txt_mv keywords
language English
last_indexed 2026-03-12T15:49:00Z
publishDate 2026
publisher Publishing House "Akademperiodyka" of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
record_format ojs
spelling zoodiv-article-7272026-02-25T20:46:32Z Birds of the dump: A study on diversity, abundance and threats in landfills of Tigray region, Ethiopia Weldemariam, T. B. Assefa , A. W. dumpsite bird diversity threatened bird species Tigray region of Ethiopia Birds inhabit all habitats, including dumpsites. Most bird research has mainly focused on protected areas, while landfills have been much less studied. Our study was conducted to collect baseline data on the diversity, abundance and threats of avifauna in waste landfills of the Tigray region, Ethiopia, from November 2019 to March 2020. Seven landfill sites in towns with different geographical settings (Maychew, Adwa, Axum, Shire, Sheraro, Humera and Wolkayt) were selected. The point count technique was used to survey the birds. Moreover, interviews and field observations were also conducted to identify threats to birds. Diversity indices and Two-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. A total of 2,985 individual birds belonging to 96 species, 32 families and 11 orders were recorded. Family Accipitridae was the most dominant (24 species), followed by Muscicapidae (8 species) and Columbidae (7 species). Hooded Vulture (17.17%) was the most abundant species, followed by Tawny Eagle (8.32%) and Pied Crow (5.46%). The Humera landfill site had the highest bird abundance, while the Maychew landfill had the lowest. A higher abundance of birds was recorded during the morning than in the afternoon. Humera landfill had the highest species diversity index (H′ = 3.56), followed by Wolkayt (H′ = 3.51) and Maychew landfills (H′ = 3.49). Maychew landfill had the highest species evenness (E = 0.778), whereas Shire landfill had the lowest species diversity and species evenness (H′ = 2.89; E = 0.439). Activities of waste collectors, free-ranging domestic animals and waste burning were considered disturbing factors; at the same time, electrocution, hunting and disposal of pollutant wastes were identified as threats to birds. Waste landfills of the region support a diversity of birds. Therefore, bird conservation action is required, such as proper management of landfills. The impact of discarded waste on the long-term survival of birds, especially threatened species, should also be investigated. Publishing House "Akademperiodyka" of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine 2026-01-21 Article Article application/pdf https://ojs.akademperiodyka.org.ua/index.php/Zoodiversity/article/view/727 10.15407/zoo2026.01.091 Zoodiversity; Vol. 60 No. 1 (2026): Zoodiversity Zoodiversity (Vestnik Zoologii); Том 60 № 1 (2026): Zoodiversity 2707-7268 2707-725X 10.15407/zoo2026.01 en https://ojs.akademperiodyka.org.ua/index.php/Zoodiversity/article/view/727/370 Copyright (c) 2025 Weldemariam Tesfahunegny; Alembrhan Assefa
spellingShingle Weldemariam, T. B.
Assefa , A. W.
Birds of the dump: A study on diversity, abundance and threats in landfills of Tigray region, Ethiopia
title Birds of the dump: A study on diversity, abundance and threats in landfills of Tigray region, Ethiopia
title_full Birds of the dump: A study on diversity, abundance and threats in landfills of Tigray region, Ethiopia
title_fullStr Birds of the dump: A study on diversity, abundance and threats in landfills of Tigray region, Ethiopia
title_full_unstemmed Birds of the dump: A study on diversity, abundance and threats in landfills of Tigray region, Ethiopia
title_short Birds of the dump: A study on diversity, abundance and threats in landfills of Tigray region, Ethiopia
title_sort birds of the dump: a study on diversity, abundance and threats in landfills of tigray region, ethiopia
topic_facet dumpsite
bird diversity
threatened bird species
Tigray region of Ethiopia
url https://ojs.akademperiodyka.org.ua/index.php/Zoodiversity/article/view/727
work_keys_str_mv AT weldemariamtb birdsofthedumpastudyondiversityabundanceandthreatsinlandfillsoftigrayregionethiopia
AT assefaaw birdsofthedumpastudyondiversityabundanceandthreatsinlandfillsoftigrayregionethiopia