Avian Diversity and Spatiotemporal Distribution in the Unprotected Ecological Corridor of Gambella-Omo-Boma National Parks, Southwestern Ethiopia: Implication for conservation.

Ecological corridors play a significant role in maintaining ecological connectivity and supporting biodiversity. The Gambella-Omo- Boma corridor is one of the unprotected, yet proposed, ecological corridor in Southwestern Ethiopia, that connects three national parks. In addition to linking these national parks, the area serves as a transboundary route for birds and mammals moving between Ethiopia and South Sudan. In this study, we evaluated the distribution and diversity of bird species to support the legal protection of this proposed ecological corridor and to promote biodiversity conservation. The sampling sites were stratified into five habitat types and data was collected using the point transect method. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H’) was used to calculate bird diversity. Principal components analysis (PCA) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) were used to visualize bird distribution and habitat association respectively. One-way ANOVA was used to compare seasonal abundance, and two-way ANOVA to test the influence of season and habitat on species distribution. From 19 orders and 57 families, 183 avian species were recorded in both seasons. During the dry season, forestland and wetland habitats had the highest species diversity (H’ 4.08) and (H’4.19) respectively. In the wet season, the highest bird diversity was recorded in forestland (H’ 4.34) and wooded grassland (H’ 4.56). Due to strong connectivity with three national parks, the area has higher species diversity in both seasons. However, agricultural expansion and illegal gold mining have been drastically changing the area. In order to improve ecological connectivity between Gambella, Omo and Boma national parks and support trans-border conservation efforts between Ethiopia and South Sudan, legal designating and protecting this ecological corridor is needed.