Abstract
The Sanctuary of Nature Humedales del río Maullín is a system made up of various types of wetlands, from its origin in Llanquihue Lake to its encounter with the Pacific Ocean. Its great estuary constitutes one of the coastal wetland systems most diverse of continental Chile. The objective of this work was to determine the composition and structure of the community of aquatic birds present in various coastal wetlands of the Maullín River, considering its seasonal variation over six years of study. From 2015 to 2020, seasonal censuses of aquatic birds were conducted in four coastal wetlands of the Maullín River: Las Lajas, Laguna Quenuir, Lepihué-La Pasada, and Amortajado. A total of 68 species of aquatic birds were recorded, of which 70% are residents, and about 30% migratory shorebirds, mostly of boreal origin. The greatest differences in the diversity of aquatic birds were obtained when comparing Laguna Quenuir with the rest of the coastal wetlands studied. This wetland presented a greater particularity in the diversity of birds, therefore, it is advisable to take special management measures for its conservation. On the other hand, the wetlands of Amortajado and Las Lajas presented similar values of richness and abundance of aquatic birds, sharing important abundances of migratory shorebirds such as Phoenicopterus chilensis and Limosa haemastica. The coastal wetlands of the Maullín River correspond to one of the places with the greatest diversity of aquatic birds on the Chilean littoral
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