Classification of waterbird communities in South-eastern Australia

Abstract

The extent to which coincidence in distribution of waterbird species deviates from that expected by chance was examined. Waterbirds form five communities and several subcommunities (associations). Comparisons of localities that have many indicator species of a certain community thus reveal habitat characteristics that may explain the occurrence of many species. The communities correspond in part with habitat categories proposed by Braithwaite (1975). The community pattern found in the Central Highlands is more complex than that of similar climatic zones in Europe and South America, possibly due to immediate and evolutionary effects of spatial and temporal heterogeneity of Australian wetlands.