Transformation Processes of Fauna of the Abkhazian Coast in the Caucasus and Possible Causes and Mechanisms

Abstract

This article discusses the species wealth and ecological and faunogenetic structure of nesting avifauna at three different sites on the Black Sea coast in Abkhazia in the vicinity of the Pitsunda–Mussera Reserve (the Pitsunda Lowland, the Mussera Hills, and the Gudauta Plain) versus the avifauna of the Colchis Lowland in Georgia and the Imereti Lowland in the lower reaches of the Mzymta River in Russia. This comparison has revealed the key biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors that determine the formation of regional faunas. The comparative analysis of the avifauna of the Abkhazian coast in four time spans (the beginning of the 20th century, the middle of the 20th century, the 1960s–1980s, and the beginning of the 21st century) has determined the basic trends of its transformation, the rate of changes being observed, and the sources of the formation of the fauna of separate bird species and the causes of their disappearance. The data obtained were used for predicting the development of the avifauna of Colchis landscapes in Abkhazia for the next 100 years.