Population Trends of Waterfowl on the Arid Coast of the Western Caspian During the Epoch of Climate Warming

Abstract—According to the data of 1995–2020 surveys conducted in the Sulakskaya and Turalinskaya lagoons on the western coast of the Caspian Sea in Dagestan, as well as according to information about the returns of bands obtained from the banding center of the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, the geographic dispersion of migrating wader populations was determined, for ten species of which population trends were established. Of the ten model taxa, the abundance decreased in four, increased in two, and remained at the same level in four. There is a correlation between changes in air temperature in the Primorskaya lowland of Dagestan with average annual fluctuations in the abundance of the model group of birds. The dynamics of the number of migrating shorebird populations is determined by hydroclimate cycles, anthropogenic factors, and foraging. It is recommended to introduce a temporary ban on the hunting withdrawal of lapwing, herbalist, snipe and black-tailed godwit until their populations recover steadily.