Skip to main content

An overview of the Rallidae of Algeria with particular reference to the breeding ecology of the Purple Swamp-Hen Porphyrio porphyrio

Wetlands Ecology and Management volume 23, pages 505–517 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Rallids are good biological models to monitor anthropogenic changes to wetlands. The distribution of the Rallidae was mapped up during a survey of all major wetlands across Algeria and nest site selection, phenology, and breeding parameters of the Purple Swamp-Hen Porphyrio porphyrio were monitored at two distinct sites under contrasting conditions. Data were collected at Boussedra, an unprotected freshwater marsh during the years 2005 and 2008, and at Lake Tonga, a protected freshwater marsh during 2009. The onset of egg-laying was found to occur earlier (mid-February) than was recorded previously (end-March). There was much variation in the egg laying patterns and in the clutch sizes which dropped significantly from 5.8 ± 0.9 (Boussedra 2009) to 3.4 ± 0.9 (Boussedra 2008) and 3.9 ± 1.0 (Tonga 2009). This study, the first investigation of the ecology and conservation of the Purple Swamp-Hen in North Africa, suggests a decline in breeding success associated with steady habitat loss and ineffective enforcement of legislation.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

References

  • Anderson DW, Keith JO (1980) The human influence on seabird nesting success: conservation implications. Biol Conserv 18:65–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battisti C, Luiselli L, Pantano D, Teofili C (2008) On threats analysis approach applied to a Mediterranean remnant wetland: is the assessment of human-induced threats related to different level of expertise of respondents? Biodivers Conserv 17:1529–1542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benassi G, Battisti C, Luiselli L, Boitani L (2009) Area-sensitivity of three reed bed bird species breeding in Mediterranean marshland fragments. Wetl Ecol Manag 17:555–564

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BirdLife International (2004) Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends and conservation status. BirdLife International, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Carney KM, Sydeman WJ (1999) A review of human disturbance effects on nesting colonial waterbirds. Waterbirds 22:68–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig JL (1980) Pair and group breeding behavior of a communal gallinule, the Pukeko, Porphyrio p. melanotus. Anim Behav 28:593–603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig JL, Jamieson IG (1985) The relationship between presumed gamete contribution and parental investment in a communally breeding bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 17:207–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig JL, Jamieson IG (1988) Incestuous mating in a communal bird: a family affair. Am Nat 131:58–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cramp S, Simmons KL (1980) The birds of the Western Palearctic, vol II. University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Cresswell W, McCleery R (2003) How great tits maintain synchronization of their hatch date with food supply in response to long-term variability in temperature. J Anim Ecol 72:356–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Bélair G, Samraoui B (1994) Death of a lake: lac Noir in northeastern Algeria. Environ Conserv 21:169–172

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finlayson CM, Hollis GE, Davis TJ (eds) (1992) Managing mediterranean wetlands and their birds. IWRB Special Publication 20, Slimbridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Fishpool LDC, Evans MI (eds) (2001) Important bird areas in Africa and associated islands: priority sites for conservation. Pisces Publications and BirdLife International (BirdLife Conservation series no 11), Newbury and Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson LH (1970) Breeding biology of American coots in Iowa. Wilson Bull 82:445–458

    Google Scholar 

  • Green AJ, El Hamzaoui M, El Agbani MA, Franchimont J (2002) The conservation status of Moroccan wetlands with particular reference to waterbirds and to changes since 1978. Biol Conserv 104:71–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gregory RD, Vorisek P, Noble DG, Van Strien A, Klvanova A, Eaton M, Gmelig Meyling AW, Joys A, Foppen RPB, Burfield IJ (2008) The generation and use of bird population indicators in Europe. Bird Conserv Int 18:S223–S244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grussu M (1999) Status and breeding ecology of the Purple Swamp-Hen in Italy. Br Birds 92:183–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamdi N, Charfi-Cheikhrouha F (2012) Characterization of the waterbird communities wintering in Tunisian coastal lagoons. Hydrobiologia 699:111–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Balsac HH, Mayaud N (1962) Les Oiseaux du Nord-Ouest de l’Afrique. Paul Lechevalier, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Hollis GE (1992) The causes of wetland loss and degradation in the Mediterranean. In: Finlayson CM, Davis TJ (eds) Managing mediterranean wetlands and their birds, 20. IWRB, Slimbridge, pp 83–90

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoyt DF (1979) Practical methods of estimating volume and fresh weight of bird eggs. Auk 96:73–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulme M, Doherty R, Ngara T, News M, Lister D (2001) African climate change: 1900–2100. Clim Res 17:145–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Isenmann P, Moali A (2000) Birds of Algeria. SEOF, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Isenmann P, Gaultier T, El Hili A, Azafzaf H, Dlensi H, Smart M (2005) Birds of Tunisia. SEOF, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacob JP, Jacob A (1980) Nouvelles données sur l’avifaune du lac de Boughzoul (Algérie). Alauda 48:209–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasparek M, Bilgin CC, Akin A (1989) The purple Gallinule, Porphyrio porphyrio in the Eastern Mediterranean. Zool Middle East 3:19–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lack D (1950) The breeding seasons of European birds. Ibis 92:288–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ledant JP, Jacobs JP, Jacobs P, Malher F, Ochando B, Roché J (1981) Mise à jour de l’avifaune algérienne. Gerfault 71:295–398

    Google Scholar 

  • Meziane N, Samraoui F, Samraoui B (2014) Status and diurnal activity budget of non-breeding white-headed ducks Oxyura leucocephala in Algeria. Ostrich 85:177–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mocci Demartis A (1972) Le statut de la Poule sultane (Porphyrio porphyrio) en Sardaigne. Aves 9:187–197

    Google Scholar 

  • Monaghan P, Uttley YD, Burns MD (1992) Effect of changes in food availability on reproductive effort in Arctic Terns Sterna paradisaea. Ardea 80:71–81

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Connell M (2000) Threats to waterbirds and wetlands: implications for conservation, inventory and research. Wildfowl 51:1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Pacheco C, McGregor PK (2004) Conservation of the purple gallinule (Porphyrio porphyrio L.) in Portugal: cause of decline, recovery and expansion. Biol Conserv 119:115–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paracuellos M (2008) Effects of long-term habitat fragmentation on a wetland bird community. Rev Ecol (Terre Vie) 63:1–12

    Google Scholar 

  • Perennou C, Beltrame C, Tomas Vives P, Caessteker P (2012) Existing areas and past changes of wetland extent in the Mediterranean region: an overview. Ecol Mediterr 38:53–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Perrins CM (1996) Eggs, egg formation and the timing of breeding. Ibis 138:2–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qninba A, Dakki M, El Agbani MA, Benhoussa A, Thevenot M (1999) Hivernage au Maroc des gravelots et pluviers (aves, charadrii, charadriinae) et identification des sites d’importance international. Alauda 67:161–172

    Google Scholar 

  • R Development Core Team (2014) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Development Core Team, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • Samraoui B, de Bélair G, Benyacoub S (1992) A much threatened lake: Lac des Oiseaux (N.E. Algeria). Env Conserv 19:264–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samraoui B, Samraoui F (2007) The reproductive ecology of the common coot (Fulica atra) in the Hauts Plateaux, northeast Algeria. Waterbirds 30:133–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samraoui F, Menaï R, Samraoui B (2007) Reproductive ecology of the cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) at Sidi Achour, northeast Algeria. Ostrich 78:481–487

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samraoui B, Samraoui F (2008) An ornithological survey of the wetlands of Algeria: important Bird Areas, Ramsar sites and threatened species. Wildfowl 58:71–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Samraoui B, Boudot JP, Riservato E, Ferreira S, Jovic M, Kalkman VJ, Schneider W (2010) The status and distribution of dragonflies. In: García N, Cuttelod A, Abdul Malak D (eds) The status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in northern Africa. IUCN, Gland, Cambridge and Malaga, pp 51–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Samraoui F, Alfarhan AH, Al-Rasheid KAS, Samraoui B (2011) An appraisal of the status and distribution of waterbirds of Algeria: indicators of global changes? Ardeola 58:137–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samraoui F, Nedjah R, Boucheker A, Alfarhan AH, Samraoui B (2012) Breeding ecology of the little bittern Ixobrychus minutus in northeast Algeria. Bird Study 59:496–503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Samraoui F, Nedjah R, Alfarhan AH, Samraoui B (2013) Status and breeding ecology of the common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus in Algeria. Ostrich 84:137–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Lafuente AM, Rey P, Valera F, Muñoz-Cobo J (1992) Past and current distribution of the Purple Swamp-Hen Porphyrio porphyrio L. in the Iberian Peninsula. Biol Conserv 61:23–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Lafuente AM (1993) Breeding systems related to incubation investment in the Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio porphyrio (L.). Ardea 81:121–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Lafuente AM, Alcántara JM, Romero M (1998) Nest-site selection and nest predation in the Purple Swamp-Hen. J Field Ornithol 69:563–576

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Lafuente AM, Valera F, Godino A, Muela F (2001) Natural and human-mediated factors in the recovery and subsequent expansion of the Purple swamp-Hen Porphyrio porphyrio L. (Rallidae) in the Iberian Peninsula. Biodivers Conserv 10:851–867

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Lafuente AM (2004) Trade-off between clutch size and egg mass and their effects on hatchability and chick mass in semi-precocial Purple Swamp-Hen. Ardeola 51:319–330

    Google Scholar 

  • Saunders DA, Hobbs RJ, Margules CR (1991) Biological consequences of ecosystem fragmentation. A review. Conserv Biol 5:18–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smart M, Essghaier MF, Etayeb K, Hamza A, Azafzaf H, Baccetti N, Defos du Rau P, Dlensi H (2006) Wetlands and wintering waterbirds in Libya, January 2005 and 2006. Wildfowl 56:172–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith LA, Chow Fraser P (2010) Impacts of adjacent land use and isolation on marshbird communities. Env Manag 45:1040–1051

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland JM, Maher WJ (1987) Nest-site selection of the American Coot in the Aspen Parklands of Saskatchewan. Condor 89:804–810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Temple SA, Wiens JA (1989) Bird populations and environmental changes: can birds be bio-indicators? Am Birds 43:260–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Thévenot M, Vernon R, Bergier P (2003) The birds of Morocco. British Ornithologists’Union/British Ornithologists’Club, Tring

    Google Scholar 

  • Vieilliard J (1974) The purple Gallinule in the marismas of the Guadalquivir. Brit Birds 76:230–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Voorbergen A, De Boer WF, Underhill LG (2012) Natural and human-induced predation on Cape Cormorants at Dyer Island. Bird Conserv Int 22:82–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weimerskirch H (1992) Reproductive effort in long-lived birds: age-specific patterns of condition, reproduction and survival in the Wandering Albatross. Oikos 64:464–473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weller M (1999) Wetland birds: habitat resources and conservation implications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to two anonymous referees for their valuable comments on the manuscript. We thank A. Boucheker for help during fieldwork and are most grateful to Luc Hoffmann and staff of the Station Biologique de la Tour du Valat for free access to the Station’s library. This project was supported by NSTIP strategic technologies programs, number (12-ENV2569-02) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Recherche et de Conservation des Zones Humides, University of Guelma, Guelma, Algeria

    Farrah Samraoui, Riad Nedjah & Boudjéma Samraoui

  2. Center of Excellence for Research in Biodiversity, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmed H. Alfarhan & Boudjéma Samraoui

Authors
  1. Farrah Samraoui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Riad Nedjah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ahmed H. Alfarhan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Boudjéma Samraoui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Boudjéma Samraoui.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Samraoui, F., Nedjah, R., Alfarhan, A.H. et al. An overview of the Rallidae of Algeria with particular reference to the breeding ecology of the Purple Swamp-Hen Porphyrio porphyrio . Wetlands Ecol Manage 23, 505–517 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-014-9404-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-014-9404-0

Keywords

  • Clutch size
  • Nest-site selection
  • North Africa
  • Rallidae
  • Waterbirds
  • Wetlands