Özet:

Due to their ability to fly, bird species can quickly shift during sudden and negative changes in their habitat. With these features, unlike other animal groups, they are seen as indicator species in monitoring the sustainable and healthy structure of the ecosystem in which they are located. Monitoring bird species’ richness and diversity for wetlands are important parameters in monitoring sustainable ecosystem structure and determining conservation activities. The study was carried out to determine the change of ornithofauna and waterbird diversity indexes of Suvla Lake in monthly periods. Between 2017-2020, data was collected using direct observation methods by field study at least once each month. 154 bird species belonging to 20 ordo and 44 families have been identified in and around Suvla Lake. The April has the highest number of species with 92 species and the January has the highest number of individuals with a total of 10991 individuals. While bird species diversity (Shannon-Wiener index) was calculated highest in the month of February (H’: 2,377) and lowest in the month of May (H’: 1,657), species richness (Margalef Index) was calculated highest in the month of April (M: 5,4) and lowest in the month of October (M: 2,625). The most dominant species among waterbird was Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus), whose dominance was calculated as 21.3%. It is revealed that Suvla Salt Lake is on an important migration route during the spring migration period for waterbirds and that the area is an important wintering area with the diversity and richness of species detected during the winter months. The study provides data that will contribute to the preparation of action plans for the sustainability, monitoring and protection of the Suvla Salt Lake ecosystem, which does not have an effective conservation status.

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