The grey partridge (Perdrix perdrix) – an indicator of the romanian agro-sylvo-pastoral ecosystems

Abstract

The grey partridge (Perdrix perdrix), a bird which is included in the cynegetic biodiversity of Romania, is a sedentary species, who may vary in number according to the quantity and the quality of the food. This species can be seen as an biobarometric indicator which offers information about the level of pollution in the geographic areas. This study provides a retrospective analysis on the evolution of the number of partridges in Romania between 1937- 2016. The average number of partridges in that period is 110,309,36±22.549,13 and their distribution suggests that there were three peaks: in 1937 (273.000 specimens), in 1971 (300.000 specimens) and in 1998 (132.000 specimens). In the West Plain the number of specimens decreased starting with the year 1971 but then in 2003 there was another increase which had its peak in 2011 when the large monoculture areas were replaced with smaller ones with variety flora. This study highlights the factors which lead to the small numbers of partridges and some measures which can be taken in order to protect this species.