Tsunami effects on Coquimbo Bay wetland water bird species composition, associated with the 2015 Mw8.4 Illapel earthquake (northern Chile)

On September 16, 2015, an earthquake occurred in Chile, causing a tsunami (T16S) that impacted Coquimbo Bay, where the Punta Teatinos, Elqui River Mouth, and El Culebron wetlands are located. Changes in the flat topography produced by the T16S in these wetlands are described using Google Earth Pro v. 7.3.2.5491 and in waterbird richness, with data obtained from eBird. The richness of the accumulated species (S = 43), the similarity of the richness (analysis of conglomerates and similarity index of Sorensen) and differences between means of waterbird richness before and after T16S were analyzed statistically. The similarity in the composition of water birds before and after T16S were, Punta Teatinos (0.83), Mouth of the Elqui River (0.86) and El Culebron (0.91), the latter was the most affected in its flat topography but showed higher similarity before and after T16S. No statistical differences in the mean of waterbird richness were found before and after T16S. The three wetlands were highly resilient. The original flat topography, the vegetation structure and the water bird richness recovered in a year. It is considered that water birds and these wetlands are resilient to disturbances.