Effects of environmental factors on breeding dynamics of the Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus in Vojvodina (Serbia)

Abstract

The Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) is widely distributed in Vojvodina, the northern province of the Republic of Serbia. It breeds in colonies, on different types of aquatic habitats, whether they are natural, modified or artificial, running or stagnant fresh water bodies, so it resents a valid bioindicator species for the evaluation of the quality of water ecosystems. The main goal of this paper is to show in which way some environmental factors: water level and eutrofication have influences on number of breeding pairs, dynamic and breeding process of the Great Crested Grebe. Data were collected from 1997-2000. Data were obtained from three natural as well as four artificial water ecosystems (fishponds with regulated water level) in Vojvodina, and were comparatively analyzed. Further, we wanted to compare natural water bodies to fishponds and to affirm which of them provide better breeding, resting and feeding conditions for Great Crested Grebe. At last, we wanted to show what impacts anthropogenic factors have on breeding dynamics and population density.