Impact of Climate Change on the Diversity and Abundance of Wintering Birds at a Northern African Wetland - Case Study of Oglat Eddaira Wetland (Naama, Western Algeria)

The Mediterranean regions have been classified as the areas of the world most susceptible to the effects of environmental change. These regions are sensitive to drought and rising temperatures and with heightened aridity in the next several years. The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of climate change on the diversity and abundance of wintering birds in the Oglat Eddaira wetland located in western Algeria and classified in the Ramsar list. This study is based on the comparison between some indices of biodiversity: species richness, abundance, Shannon-Weiner and Simpson Index, during the period 2015 to 2024 and interpret them according to the two important climatic factors (precipitation and temperature). The different treatments carried out reveal a perfect relationship between the indices studied of the diversity and abundance of the wintering avifauna in terms of species and population with the climatic regression. In addition, the study area has housed several species of avifauna that are threatened with extinction in the wild and will likely be in danger in the near future namely: Oxyura leucocephala, Aythya nyroca, Aythya ferina and Marmaronetta angustirostris.