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The influence of climate variability on numbers of three waterbird species in Western Port, Victoria, 1973–2002

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Abstract

Seasonal and annual movements of Australian waterbirds are generally more complex than those of their Northern Hemisphere counterparts, and long-term data are needed to understand their relationships with climatic variables. This paper explores a long-term (1973–2002) set of waterbird counts from coastal Victoria and relates them to climatic data at local and continental scales. Three species (Black Swan Cygnus atratus, White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae and Grey Teal Anas gracilis) were chosen for this analysis. Black Swans have large local breeding populations near the study region; White-faced Herons have smaller local breeding populations and Grey Teal breed extensively in ephemeral inland floodplains, such as those in the Murray-Darling Basin. All showed significant relationships with streamflow, regional rainfall and the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) at appropriate scales and time-lags, with streamflow explaining the most variance. Black Swans showed a strong seasonal cycle in abundance and local climate variables had the greatest influence on the counts. Numbers were positively correlated with streamflow in southern Victoria three to six seasons before each count. Broader-scale climatic patterns were more important for the other two species. Numbers of White-faced Herons were positively correlated with streamflow or rainfall over various parts of Australia seven to nine seasons before each count. Numbers of Grey Teal showed weak seasonal cycles, and were negatively correlated with rainfall in Victoria or the Murray-Darling Basin in the seasons before or during each count, and positively with streamflow in the Murray-Darling Basin 15–18 months before each count.

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Acknowledgements

The data on waterbird numbers could not have been collected without the dedicated efforts of numerous voluntary observers over 29 years. Many thanks to them all, and to the Bird Observers Club of Australia for supporting the survey.

Streamflow data were kindly provided by a number of state authorities: Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment (Northern Territory); Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (Tasmania); Department of Natural Resources and Mines (Queensland); Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation (South Australia); Rubicon Systems Australia Pty Ltd. (Victoria); Sydney Water (New South Wales); Water and Rivers Commission (Western Australia). Mike Matheson, of the Bureau of Meteorology, provided assistance in obtaining information on stream flows, Wasyl Drosdowsky for the provision of the SOI-rainfall plots, Dörte Jakob for assistance in producing the drainage division plot, and the National Climate Centre provided the SOI and rainfall data.

The authors wish to acknowledge the insightful comments made by Dr Ian Norman of the Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, and Drs Scott Power and Bertrand Timbal, both of the Bureau of Meteorology, on an earlier draft of this paper. The paper was further improved by comments from two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre, G.P.O. Box 1289, Melbourne, Vic, 3001, Australia

    Lynda E. Chambers

  2. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Sustainability & Environment, P.O. Box 137, Heidelberg, Vic, 3084, Australia

    Richard H. Loyn

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  1. Lynda E. Chambers
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  2. Richard H. Loyn
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Correspondence to Lynda E. Chambers.

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Chambers, L.E., Loyn, R.H. The influence of climate variability on numbers of three waterbird species in Western Port, Victoria, 1973–2002. Int J Biometeorol 50, 292–304 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-005-0019-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-005-0019-2

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