1. Assessing the quality of wetlands as refuelling areas for migrating waterbirds based on resource distribution patterns is challenging. Resources in wetlands can vary both horizontally and vertically and may be differentially available to different bird species at different times of the year. Therefore, the extent to which wetland quality can be generalised across seasons and for a diversity of birds remains unresolved.
2. Spatiotemporal variation in abundance and quality of macrobenthos as food for migrating waders was studied in a set of wetland areas near a Mediterranean migration bottleneck in the Balkan peninsula, during both spring and autumn migration. Samples were subdivided into different depth layers to differentiate between parts of the sediment that are accessible to different groups of wader species. To quantify food availability and the resulting refuelling capacity in different wetland habitat types, abundance, wet weight, and lipid and protein content of invertebrate taxa were determined for each sample.
3. Invertebrate food availability and quality were markedly higher in spring than in autumn. Given the higher abundance and protein and lipid content of prey in spring, the total energy that could be harvested in spring (3.81 ± 0.79 kJ/m²) was about 7 times higher than in autumn (0.56 ± 0.12 kJ/m²). Most prey were found in the top layer of the sediment (0–22 mm depth), but about a third of the total energy was present in the deepest soil layer that only longer‐billed species could reach (55–200 mm depth). Higher quality prey items such as larger‐bodied and heavier polychaetes and bivalves were found in the deeper sediment layers.
4. For other taxa, there was no evident vertical pattern of increasing individual body size. Prey abundance differed between certain habitat types but, overall, food availability could not be linked to distinct habitats. In spring, redox potential tended to be higher, while pH, vegetation cover, conductivity, and temperature were lower than in autumn.
5. Different wetland habitat classes used in a conservation framework may provide similar food resources for waders. As a result, linking food availability to habitat classifications is not straightforward. Furthermore, seasonal variation in wetland quality requires a re‐evaluation of the importance of wetland areas during spring and autumn migration. Finally, nutritional analyses are essential for determining the capacity of wetlands to support refuelling by migratory waterbirds.

中文翻译：

---

生物能数据表明，在地中海迁徙的瓶颈地区，涉水者的湿地质量在空间上存在微弱的季节性差异，但季节性差异却很大

1. 根据资源分配模式评估湿地作为水鸟迁徙补给区的质量具有挑战性。湿地的资源在水平和垂直方向上都可以变化，并且在一年中的不同时间可能会不同地用于不同鸟类。因此，湿地质量在整个季节和鸟类多样性方面的普遍程度尚待解决。
2. 在春季和秋季迁徙期间，在巴尔干半岛地中海迁徙瓶颈附近的一组湿地地区研究了作为迁徙涉水食物的大型底栖动物的丰度和质量的时空变化。将样品细分为不同的深度层，以区分可用于不同涉水物种组的沉积物部分。为了量化不同湿地生境类型中的食物供应量和由此产生的加油能力，对每个样品确定了无脊椎动物类群的丰度，湿重以及脂质和蛋白质含量。
3. 春季无脊椎动物的食物供应和质量明显高于秋季。考虑到春季猎物的丰度更高，蛋白质和脂质含量更高，春季可以收获的总能量（3.81±0.79 kJ / m ²）是秋季（0.56±0.12 kJ / m ²）的约7倍。大部分猎物被发现在沉积物的顶层（0-22毫米深），但是总能量的大约三分之一存在于最深的土壤层中，只有长嘴物种才能到达（55-200毫米深）。在较深的沉积层中发现了更高质量的猎物，例如更大或更重的多毛鸭和双壳贝。
4. 对于其他分类单元，没有明显的垂直模式来增加个体大小。在某些栖息地类型之间，猎物的丰度有所不同，但总的来说，食物的供应量无法与不同的栖息地联系起来。在春季，氧化还原电势倾向于较高，而pH，植被覆盖度，电导率和温度均低于秋季。
5. 保护框架中使用的不同湿地生境类别可能为涉水者提供类似的食物资源。结果，将粮食供应与生境分类联系起来并不容易。此外，湿地质量的季节性变化要求对春季和秋季迁徙期间湿地面积的重要性进行重新评估。最后，营养分析对于确定湿地支持水鸟迁徙的能力至关重要。