Book review on the bird journal, Ibis. Oct 2010.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/d ... X.2010.01063.x/full
Wong, L.C., Lam, V.W.Y. & Ades, G.W.J. ( eds ) Ecology of the Birds of Hong Kong . 229 pages, many colour photographs, figures and tables . Hong Kong Special Administrative Region : Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden , 2009 . Paperback, HK$230.00, ISBN 978-962-8869-52-7 . Website:
http://www.kfbg.org.hk .
This attractive book is a synthesis of the information that has been gathered on the ecology of the birds of Hong Kong, in particular the results of studies in the past 20 years. The concept for the book was developed after the publication of the Avifauna of Hong Kong (Carey et al. 2001; reviewed in Ibis144: 353–354), which covered the taxonomy, status and distribution of the birds of the Special Administrative Region, but not the information available on their ecology.
Much of the book consists of chapters summarizing what is known about the bird communities which inhabit eight major habitat types: Seabirds; Rocky and sandy coasts; Coastal wetlands; Inland wetlands; Farmland birds; Forest; Scrubland and grassland; and Urban areas. There are also chapters on frugivory and seed dispersal by birds; climate change and the avifauna of Hong Kong; and conservation of birds in Hong Kong. An introductory chapter on the environmental history of Hong Kong summarizes the dramatic changes in land use and vegetation that have taken place there since the first European descriptions of the landscape were written (from 1751 onwards). Some of the most interesting information in the book relates to the impacts of these environmental changes on the bird communities.
For example, the chapter ‘Forest’ describes how Hong Kong was largely or entirely deforested for several centuries prior to 1945, but since then tree-planting and natural succession have rapidly expanded the area of forest and shrubland. By 2007, 22.3% of the total area of Hong Kong was covered by forests, and recent studies of the bird communities in these regenerated forests have found that they are dominated by a few habitat-generalist species and are much less diverse than those of remnant patches of older and less disturbed forest in neighbouring parts of southern China. Some forest species with high dispersal abilities have recolonized, but other new arrivals are known or suspected to have originated from Hong Kong’s high-volume wild bird trade, including species that may have been constituents of the primeval bird community and several exotic species that clearly were not. Some forest-dependent groups such as pheasants (Phasianidae) and trogons (Trogonidae) are entirely absent, and a conservation dilemma is whether to consider the reintroduction of presumed former resident species before their niches are filled by non-native escapes.
Hong Kong lies on the Pearl River delta, the largest intertidal area in southern China, and the extensive wetlands around Deep Bay support internationally important concentrations of waterbirds in winter and during passage, notably 20% of the global wintering population of the Endangered Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor. The chapter ‘Coastal wetlands’ summarizes the results of long-term monitoring of waterbird numbers at Deep Bay, which show a large increase since regular counts began in 1979, apparently because organic pollutants have increased the availability of intertidal mudflat invertebrates. A wide range of studies have been undertaken on the habitat use and foraging ecology of Black-faced Spoonbill, herons and egrets (Ardeidae) and other waterbirds, which have helped to guide the management of the intertidal shrimp ponds and other key habitats for waterbirds around Deep Bay.
Rice was the major crop grown in Hong Kong until the 1960s, but rice farming then declined rapidly because of low economic returns and has now been entirely abandoned. There have been rather few studies of the interactions between birds and agriculture in Hong Kong, as in most parts of Asia, but ‘Farmland birds’ summarizes what is known and shows that the loss of rice fields and other agricultural changes have had a significant impact on many species, including large declines in the numbers of several breeding birds.
The history of Hong Kong as a British Crown Territory has meant that its avifauna has probably been studied for a longer period and in greater depth than in any other region of China. By synthesizing the wealth of information available on the ecology of Hong Kong’s birds, this book provides a valuable reference for local researchers about what has already been done, and identifies many gaps in knowledge where new studies are needed. It will also be of interest to ornithologists and conservationists in other parts of East Asia, where similar land-use changes have taken place and the same conservation challenges are being faced.
Michael J. Crosby
