Bird habitat preferences are related to habitat type and disturbance in the Owabi Wildlife Sanctuary, Ashanti Region (Ghana)

Context: Globally, an estimated 1.3% of the bird population has gone extinct over the last millennia largely due to loss of habitat preferences.

Aims: This short-term study investigated disturbance-related drivers as predictors of bird habitat selection and assemblages in the Owabi Ramsar wetland.

Methods: The study was carried out over a five-month period (May to September 2019), in four habitat types (farmlands, Built-up, forest reserve, and open water area). Data was collected in 84 plots across four habitats, using a point-count cantered technique. The Gambin model, nMDS, Chao-1, and Hill numbers models were used to evaluate bird distribution, habitat preferences, and diversity, while the CCA ordination technique was performed to examine the influence of drivers on bird assemblages.

Key results: In all 1,260 individual birds, belonging to 81 species were identified. The Majority of the birds preferred the farmlands and built-up habitats in spite of the severe disturbance (e...