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SUMMARY
Seasonal variation in numbers of
birds on two tidal mudflats in
SW Iceland. Part I. Shorebirds
by
Arnthor Gardarsson and
Olafur K. Nielsen
lnstitute of Biology
University of Iceland
Grensasvegur 12
IS-108 REYKJAVÍK
Iceland
This paper describes the seasonal pat-
tern of shorebird numbers on two mud-
flats in SW Iceland. The aim is to present
basic information which may be useful for
biological studies and impact studies. A
number of estuaries in SW Iceland have
been destroyed or altered (Table 1) and
encroachment is expected to continue.
Importance evaluations of threatened es-
tuaries are often based on short term stud-
ies.
The study areas were Kópavogur (21
ha) and Grafarvogur (25 ha), two tidal
mudflats in small sheltered bays near
Reykjavik, SW Iceland (Fig. 1). The mud-
flats harboured a rich invertebrate fauna
dominated by small annelids. The most
important foods of most shorebirds were
small molluscs, especially Mya arenaria
and Mytilus edulis, larvae of the intertidal
chironomid Cricotopus variabilis, and
amphipods (Table 3). The lugworm,
Arenicola marina, was fed on by Iarge
shorebirds (Limosa, Haematopus).
Birds were counted at low tide, when
they were feeding out on the mudflats.
81