A SURVEY OF THE EURASIAN KINGFISHER (ALCEDO-ATTHIS) AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH WATERCOURSES QUALITY

The paper assesses the influence that prey availability, and some abio tic parameters related to water quality, have with the abundance of br eeding kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) in west-central Spain. Kingfisher ab undance is positively correlated with the abundance and diversity of f ish. A statisically significant relationship between pH of the water a nd bird abundance was not found, although the highest bird density was more observed in neutral or basic waters. Physical and chemical varia bles of water quality, as total nitrogene, carbonates and water turbid ity, were not found to be statistically significant with bird presence and abundance, and only the phosphate concentration could have some e ffect on kingfisher abundance. Sampling areas with the lowest rates of human population density, as well as minor agricultural use, have sho wn the highest bird density, which indicates a preference of the speci es for more pristine watercourses. According to our data, the utility of kingfisher as an indicator of water pollution is useful in middle a nd low watercourses and on extensive areas as hereby prospected. Proba bly the relatively acceptable state of conservation of most of the riv ers studied limited the present study, and more research is needed in more polluted waters to assests the suitability of the species as a fr eshwater indicator.