THE ROLE OF THE HAQQUSH COLONY IN THE ECOSYSTEM: A CASE STUDY OF BUKHARA REGION
Keywords:
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), piscivorous birds, colony, nesting, eggs and chick development, feeding objects (fish, water snake, frog), Bukhara fish farm, population adaptation, migration, trophic chain, bioindicator, monitoring, conservation.Abstract
This study investigates a colony of the Black-crowned Night Heron inhabiting a cultural park located in the Robotiqalmoq area of Bukhara Region. Observations documented nest construction, egg laying, and chick rearing processes. The results demonstrate that night heron colonies, as high-trophic-level predatory birds, contribute to the regulation of populations of small fish, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates, enhance nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes through guano deposition, and exhibit bioindicator properties in riparian habitats. The presence of a nearby fish farming facility provides an important trophic base supporting the persistence of the colony in this area. The article also offers practical recommendations for standardizing monitoring, reducing anthropogenic disturbance, and conserving breeding habitats. The obtained data highlight the ecological adaptability and trophic interactions of the Black-crowned Night Heron.
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