Naturally-occurring seasonal saltpans serve as a major foraging ground for migratory shorebirds. Nevertheless, little is known about the role of various environmental factors in determining the density, diversity and species richness of shorebirds and their prey in India. This study was designed to collect quantitative data for the first time on the role of season, salinity, water depth, and prey availability in influencing the density, diversity, and species richness of migratory shorebirds in the eastern coastal saltpans of Tamilnadu, India. Selected sites were classified as seasonal saltpans and hypersaline saltpans based on the concentration of salinity in water. Shorebirds were counted systematically from (August) 2012 to (May) 2015 using the total count method. The measurement of salinity level and water depths of each sighting was also collected. The density, diversity and species richness of shorebirds showed highest in the seasonal saltpans than the hypersaline saltpans. The monsoon season attracted more shorebird density, diversity species richness when compared to other seasons. Calidris alpine was only the migratory shorebird species recorded in both types of saltpans and across seasons. The micro and macro-invertebrate prey species showed the highest in the seasonal saltpans. The Chironomid larva showed the highest turnover than other species recorded in the studied saltpans. The multiple regression models showed that the year, season, salinity, and water depth influence the shorebird density, diversity, species richness, and prey species' density with a more significant percentage. The study results found that saltpans are also an ideal habitat for migratory shorebirds and their diverse prey species seasonally.

自然形成的季节性盐田是候鸟的主要觅食地。然而，人们对各种环境因素在决定印度滨鸟及其猎物的密度、多样性和物种丰富度方面的作用知之甚少。本研究旨在首次收集有关季节、盐度、水深和猎物可用性在影响印度泰米尔纳德邦东部沿海盐田候鸟的密度、多样性和物种丰富度方面的作用的定量数据。根据水中盐度的浓度，选定的地点被分类为季节性盐田和高盐度盐田。2012 年（8 月）至 2015 年（5 月）期间，使用总计数法对水鸟进行系统计数。还收集了每次观测的盐度水平和水深的测量结果。滨鸟的密度、多样性和物种丰富度在季节性盐田高于高盐盐田。与其他季节相比，季风季节吸引了更多的滨鸟密度和物种丰富度。Calidris alpine只是两种类型的盐田和跨季节记录的迁徙滨鸟物种。小型和大型无脊椎动物的猎物种类在季节性盐田中表现出最高。摇蚊幼虫的周转率高于所研究的盐田中记录的其他物种。多元回归模型表明，年份、季节、盐度和水深对滨鸟密度、多样性、物种丰富度和猎物物种密度的影响百分比更显着。研究结果发现，盐田也是季节性候鸟及其多样化猎物的理想栖息地。