Enrique J. Derlindati

Conservation of high Andes flamingo species (Phoenicoparrus andinus and P. jamesi): habitat use and activity patterns in two contrasting wetland systems of Argentina

Thousand of flamingos of three species at Vilama lake. More than 70% are Puna Flamingos (Phoenicoparrus jamesi).

Enrique Derlindati counting flamingos on west shore of Vilama Lake.

Flamingos (Phoenicopteridae) are gregarious, long-lived birds that inhabit saline water environments and breed in colonies. They can travel long distances between nesting and feeding sites, even during incubation and chick-raising, making regional approach a key for their study and conservation. Of the world’s six flamingo species, the rarest and least known are the Puna Flamingo (Phoenicoparrus jamesi) and the Andean Flamingo (P. andinus) and are considered “Vulnerable” and “Near Threatened” by IUCN Species Survival Commission. Their distribution are restricted to saline lakes at high plateau of central Andes and few lowland wetlands. These sites are highly variable and heterogeneous. Two extreme examples of this heterogeneity are Vilama (4500 m a.s.l.– summer range) and Melincué (84 m a.s.l. – winter range), which are considered priority sites for flamingos, supporting thousands of birds periodically. These wetlands and their species are threatened by human activities like mining, unregulated tourism, overgrazing, agricultural activities, and water diversion. Previous studies have focused on their spatial distribution and population sizes. Flamingo presence is associated to food availability and water quality. Their habitats are threatened by mining and water pumping.

The major activities of our project are to make 3 summer and 3 winter flamingo surveys during one year to map microhabitats in lakes and record flamingo abundances and behaviour. We will make a photograph record to describe behaviour and make an image data base. We will record microhabitats variables [diversity and abundance of plankton, pH, O2 (mg/l) and conductivity (Sm)]. We will analyse behaviour data, comparing species’ abundances and mean activity among microhabitats. We will associate flamingo abundances with microhabitat’s variables.

This study is focus to understand the behaviour and ecology of Andean and Puna flamingos, which would allow us to develop actions for their conservation that considers a large spatial and temporal scales at which these species operate, including their seasonal movements.

For more information contact dvazquez@unsa.edu.ar

Project Update: October 2007

Observation tower building in Melincué to survey flamingos activities. (Photo: M. Romano).

Preliminary results show that total flamingo abundances differ between sites. Andean flamingos (Phoenicoparrus andinus) are more abundant at the lowland site than in high Andes site (3,254 vs. 1,022). In contrast, the Puna flamingo (P. jamesi) was the dominant species at high Andes site (5,750), but was absent at the lowland site.

Activities patterns also differ. Andean flamingo used more time in courtship displays (marching of 32 to 225 individuals) in the lowland wetland. In the high Andes site, this species spends more time on feeding activities. Puna flamingos almost exclusively feed all of the time. Lakes differ in some limnological characteristics, mainly conductivity and dissolved oxygen: Vilama showed average values of 20.12 ± 6.75 [O2] mg/l and 86.73 ± 54.83 mS; and Melincué 6.21 ± 0.97 [O2] mg/l and 5.47 ± 1.37 mS.

We believe the high proportion of time used in courtship displays at the lowland wetland, is associated with initiation of the breeding cycle while feeding activities in high Andes wetlands are associated with hatching and fledging. We need to survey more wetlands, including breeding sites, to know if this pattern is consistent.