Habitat use by the Great
Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps (Gruiformes: Otididae) in breeding
and non-breeding seasons in Kachchh, Gujarat, India
Sandeep B. Munjpara1, C.N. Pandey 2 & B. Jethva 3
1 Junior Research Fellow, 3Scientist, GEER Foundation, Indroda Nature
Park, P.O. Sector-7, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382007,
India
2 Additional Principal Chief
Conservator of Forests, Sector-10, Gandhinagar,
Gujarat 382007, India
3 Presently address: Green Support Services, C-101, SarthakApartment, Kh-0, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382007, India
1 sandeepmunjpara@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 pandeycn08@rediffmail.com, 3 bharatjethva2000@yahoo.co.in
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2757.3654-60 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7482F4E8-11D8-4A69-ABDA-3044D59EB007
Editor: C. Srinivasulu,
Osmania University, Hyderabad, India. Date of publication:26 February 2013 (online & print)
Manuscript details: Ms #
o2757 | Received 08 April 2011 | Final received 23 January 2013 | Finally accepted
07 February 2013
Citation: Munjpara,
S.B., C.N. Pandey & B. Jethva(2012). Habitat use by the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps (Gruiformes: Otididae) in breeding and non-breeding seasons in Kachchh, Gujarat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5(2):
3654–3660; doi:10.11609/JoTT.o2757.3654-60.
Copyright: © Munjpara et al. 2013. Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium,
reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and
the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing Interest: None.
Acknowledgements:We are thankful to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India
for financially supporting the present study. We sincerely acknowledge the valuable
support received from Gujarat Forest Department. We extend our deep gratitude towards the
forest officers of Kachchh Circle who constantly
helped us out during various field visits. We are grateful to the staff members
of GEER Foundation for helping and supporting our various activities for the
project.
Abstract: The Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps, a threatened and endemic species of
the Indian subcontinent, is declining in its natural habitats. The Great Indian Bustard is a bird of
open land and was observed using the grasslands habitat (73%), followed by
areas covered with Prosopis (11%). In
the grasslands, the communities dominated with Cymbopogon martinii were utilized the highest, while those
dominated by Aristida adenemsoidis were least utilized. As Cymbopogon martiniiis non-palatable, we infer that it does not attract livestock and herdsmen
resulting in minimum movement and trampling that favors the Great Indian
Bustard.
Keywords: Cymbopogonmartini, grassland, Great Indian Bustard, habitat preference,
seasonality.
For
figures, images -- click here
The Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigricepsis an endemic species of the Indian subcontinent (Ali & Ripley 1998; Rahmani 2006) and recently upgraded as Critically
Endangered (BirdLife International 2011). The Great Indian Bustard (GIB) is
distributed in six states of India, namely, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka (Rahmani2006). In Gujarat, it was earlier
found in most of the grasslands of Saurashtra and Kachchh regions (Dharmakumarsinhji1957, 1962a,b, 1978). Presently,
the only surviving population is recorded from a small pocket of Kachchh District (Pandey et al.
2009; Munjpara et al. 2011).
In order to develop effective
conservation strategies for the long term survival of
GIB, it is important to know its detailed habitat requirements. Determination
of various habitats and their utility by the species was carried out to
understand whether the grassland is sufficient enough for detailed management
planning. The present study made a
systematic effort to find out the availability of various habitat types and
also habitat preference and utilization by the species. This data will be crucial for
understanding the biological requirement of this species in its current
distribution range and will be helpful in detailed planning of conservation and
management strategies for long term survival of the
species in Gujarat.
Study area
The habitat preference of GIB
was studied in the Naliya grassland located in the
southwestern taluka of Abdasain Kachchh District (Fig. 1). Fewer amounts of
precipitation and frequent drought condition in this area do not support the
growth of big tree species, and moisture from the air supports the growth of
the grass. Ecologically, this area
is of the type of 5A/DS 4-Dry grassland with few scattered patches of 5A/DS
2-Dry Savannah forest (Champion & Seth 1968). Both continuous and discontinuous
patches of grassland were observed in the study area; some areas covered with
only grasses and forbs, and other areas covered with grass, forbs as well as
with scattered bushes of Acacia spp., Prosopis juliflora, Prosopiscineraria, Zizyphus spp., Salvadora spp., and Capparis spp. The area supports
many threatened wildlife. It holds
almost 33% of the total bird species of Gujarat State (Munjpara& Gadhvi 2012).
Methods
The study of the habitat preference
of GIB was carried out by comparing available habitats and habitats used by the
species. Field data collection was
carried out from July 2006 to October 2007. The methods followed are as given below:
Step 1: Delineation of intensive area/ total distribution of GIB: In order to determine the
total availability of various habitats, the intensive study area or the total
area of annual distribution range was considered. Therefore, a 100%
minimum convex polygon (MCP) was generated by plotting all the locations where
GIB was observed during the entire study period. An area of 996.76km2falling within 100% MCP was further used for quantifying the habitat
availability.
Step 2: Quantification of available habitats of GIB: A satellite image (IRS-P6-
LISS-III, of 10 December 2006 of path 89 and row 55) of the intensive study
area was procured for habitat analysis. The satellite image of the study area was classified into major habitat
types using unsupervised classification in ERDAS software. The delineated intensive study area
(100% MCP) was superimposed on the classified satellite image of the study
region and areas of various habitat types were calculated using GIS
domain. A total of nine different
habitat categories were identified as: (i) grassland,
(ii) open scrubland, (iii) agriculture land, (iv) prosopis, (v) open land, (vi) water body,
(vii) rocky, (viii) mudflat, and (ix) salt affected and sandy areas.
Preliminary maps were prepared
and taken back to the field for further verification and ground-truthing. After ground-truthingand corrections, final maps on a 1:50,000 scale were
prepared. The areas under various habitat categories within the total
distribution range were calculated and the proportional availability of various
habitats was calculated.
Step3: Quantification of used habitats of GIB: A total of 22 field visits
(of which nine visits were during the breeding season) were made to the study
area covering almost all the months and all the three major seasons of the
year. During these field visits,
sighting point locality coordinates were recorded using GPS. These observed locations were plotted on
the above mentioned classified satellite image of the total distribution range
of the species. The number of bird
observation locations falling in each category of habitats was calculated and
proportional uses of various habitats were quantified. The grassland habitats were further
analyzed at community levels. The
grassland area was further divided on the basis of grass species
compositions. Various area polygons
were marked based on the dominant grass species. Qualitative classification of dominant
species in terms of percentage (more than 60%) cover by a particular species
was considered to make various subcategories within the broad category of
grassland. The sightings of the
species within various grass communities were quantified for further
statistical analysis.
Step 4: Statistical analysis: Chi-square test was conducted to understand the habitat use and
preference by the bird for this study (Jethva & Jhala 2003). The observed proportional uses of various habitat categories were tested
against the proportional availability of each habitat categories. The grassland in the study area could be
further differentiated into five grass communities based on the dominant
species. The communities of various grass species were classified based on the
species that dominated more than 60% in a particular grassland patch. The proportion of all
five different types of grass communities present in the distribution range
were considered as available to the species. If the bustards showed no preference to
any particular grass community then they were expected to use these different
grass communities randomly or use in proportion to their availability (null
hypothesis).
Results and Discussion
Available habitats to Great Indian Bustards in the study area: A total of nine broad land
cover classes/habitat categories could be identified using remote sensing
techniques within the study area in Gujarat. The description on the ecological
condition of the various habitats, their area and proportions are given below.
(1) Grassland: Nearly 28,257ha area is covered by flat grasslands. These coastal grasslands are locally
known as “Doan” cover a total of 28.4% of the total extent of the study
area. These grasslands are composed
of major grass species belonging to the genera Cymbopogon,Chrysopogon, Dicanthiumand Aristida. The average grass height varies in different zones based on the
species combination and the grazing pressures, and was found to be between 0.38
and 1 m in the region between two consecutive good rain years. Depending on the location, these
grassland areas were divided into four zones—Kanothia,Bhanada, Naliya, and Jakhau. The
grassland habitats are patchy as they are fragmented due to the presence of
various villages, habitations, village roads, highways, agriculture fields and defence establishments.
(2) Open land: The barren
areas devoid of any vegetation were considered as open areas. The open land
constitutes a total of 27,783ha (27.9%).
(3) Open scrubland: A
total of 15,685ha (15.7%) was composed of open scrubland. This category
includes sparse vegetation such as herbs and small grasses that are
interspersed with shrubs such as Zizyphus sp.,
Acacia sp., and shrubs such as Prosopis juliflora, P. cineraria.
(4) Agriculture land: A
total 11,685ha (11.7%) was found to comprise agriculture land. Agricultural
land is well interspersed with grasslands. The agriculture practiced in the region is dry and rain fed and only one
crop is cultivated during the year. The major crops in the region are ground nut, cotton, millet, sorghum
and cumin. The majority of the
fields remain fallow post harvesting throughout the year.
(5) Rocky area: A
total of 330ha (0.3%) is comprised of rocky area which include small hillocks
and undulating areas.
(6) Salt affected/sandy area: A total of 4,766ha (4.8%) along the saline water creeks of Gulf of Kachchh and some wasteland area with accumulated white salt
on the surface.
(7) Water body: A
total of only 909ha (0.9%) include freshwater and saline water sources. The seasonal shallow watershed,
check-dams, ponds and village ponds are important water sources for wildlife in
the region. However, the water
category also includes the saline water.
(8) Prosopiscover: The dense to sparse scrub patches of Prosopis juliflora makes a total of 10,089ha (10.1%) of
the total distribution range of GIB in the region.
(9) Mudflat: A total
of 134ha (0.1%) is located mainly on the coastal area of the Arabian Sea and on
the edges of various creeks and water bodies such as ponds, check-dams, dams
and reservoirs.
Habitat utilization: The
proportional use of various available habitats by GIB was quantified during the
study period based on the proportional frequency of sightings of the bird in
different available habitats within their distribution range (Fig. 2). A total of 118 observations,
constituting 73.3%, out of 161 sightings were made in grasslands indicating
that the grassland habitat is more frequently used. Other habitats were used
less frequently (Prosopis juliflora shrub cover 11.2 %, open scrubland 8.1 %,
open land 6.8 %, agriculture 0.6 %). However, the rest of the habitats such as
salt affected area, rocky area, water body and mudflats were
found to be avoided by GIB.
Habitat preference: Our
analysis of habitat use suggests that there was a significant variation
(Chi-square=107.2, df =8, p<0.001) between the
proportion expected and the observed uses of various habitat types. Our observation suggests that the
habitats such as grassland and Prosopis cover
were proportionally used more than their availability (Fig. 2; Images
1–4).
Seasonal utilization of habitats by the GIB: The seasonal utilization of
various habitat types did not show major differences in their utilization
pattern in all the seasons (Fig. 3). Utilization of Prosopis cover was higher in monsoon than in summer and it was utilized almost in
proportion to its availability in winter. The Prosopis provides shelter to
the bustards in summer and winter against the sun and chilly winds,
respectively. However, the edges ofProsopis cover were
observed to be used by female bustards to hide their young ones during
the breeding season, in the monsoon.
The preference of grassland communities by the GIB in core areas: Though the bustards were
distributed in a total of 996.4km2 area, the grassland habitat,
their most preferred habitat, totals 282.6km2 covered with grassland
patches of various sizes. Of these
grassland patches, an area of 97.0km2 is more or less continuous
where maximum sightings were recorded and hence categorized as the core zone
during the study period. These
areas are mainly the grasslands of Kanothia, Kalatalav, Bhachunda, Banada, Tera, Naliya,Vinghaber, Parjau, Lala, Jakhau and Budia villages. This grassland area could be further divided into various grass
communities based on the occurrence of the dominant species of grasses. Of
these important grassland patches, an area of 3,663ha (37.7%) is dominated by Cymbopogon martinii. The other patches of grasslands were
dominated with Dicathium annulatum (2,700ha) followed by Aristida spp. (1,397ha) and Glossocerdia boswellia (1,892ha). In some patches mixed species, forbs and
shrubs were also observed (Fig. 4). A significant variation (Chi-square = 69.47, df= 4, p<0.005) between the proportion expected and
observed uses of various grass community types was obtained. Our observation suggests that the Cymbopogon-dominated and mixed species
grasslands are used more than their proportional availabilities in the total
grassland area (Fig. 4). However, Dicanthium sp. and Aristida sp. areas were used less by the GIB. The reason for the preference
of Cymbopogon-dominated grassland areas
is likely due to fewer disturbances caused to birds in this grass
community. Since Cymbopogon is a non-palatable grass species
these areas do not attract livestock and herdsmen whichresult in minimum movement and trampling in the area (Rajput 2008).
Breeding and nesting habitats of the GIB: Observations were also made
on the breeding ecology of the GIB. Habitats used during courtship display and
nesting were studied.
Display of Male (Lekking): Courtship display or ‘lekking’
was observed from April to October. Intensive and aggressive display was
observed between June to August. Of the total seven courtship displays
observed, three were found to be in Cymbopogon martinii dominated area and three were in Glossocerdia boswellia dominated
area and one in saline grassland area. The grass height was observed to be 6–10 inch at all the display
sites. Of these displays six were
found in grassland patches of Naliya and one was
found in Jakhau.
Nesting habitats: Nesting
was recorded from April to September months during the study period. A total of nine nests were observed in
the core area including grassland patches of Kanothia,Naliya and Jakhau(sanctuary area) dominated by Cymbopogon martinii.
There are a number of
favorable biophysical conditions that hold the GIB population in their present
distribution range in Kachchh. The unique combination of climatic
condition, topography, location, geology and habitat types make this area a
distinct ecosystem with a unique assemblage of floral and faunal species. The scanty and erratic rainfall, high
wind speed, and extremes of temperatures result in high evapotranspiration rates which causes rapid drying of water sources in the
region. Such conditions are not
favorable for growth of trees and other luxuriant vegetation excluding the
grasses and scrub in the region. The climatic conditions along with geology, topography and sparse human
population favor the existence of a grassland that
supports the population of the GIB in this area. The distribution range of the GIB is a
mosaic of various habitat types such as grasslands, scrubland, agriculture
fields, open land and human settlements. The area is relatively flat with few low hillocks and deep ridges
created by the seasonal drainages. Due to the flatness of the plain, presence of sparse vegetation, short
grasses and open land, the visibility is high in the grassland habitat which favors the survival of the heavy-bodied
bustard. The invasion by Prosopis juliflora is
prominent in some of the areas particularly on the periphery of grasslands. The
majority of the grass species remains green (Image 3) during the rainy days and
start becoming paler yellow as winter approaches (Image 1) and become
completely dry during summer (Image 2). However, as the area is located on the coast of Arabian Sea, the sea
breeze carrying moisture help the growth of summer shoots of Cymbopogon, which makes a considerable
portion of the food items for the herbivore Spiny-tailed Lizard (Saara hardwiicki)
in the region (Dutta & Jhala2007). This diurnal lizard is prey
to the many carnivorous birds and mammals including the bustard. The Great Indian Bustard is an omnivore
and feeds mainly on snakes, lizards, insects and plant seeds. This unique grassland-scrubland
ecosystem harbors a number of important species and has a higher conservation
significance deserving recognition and conservation efforts for the long term survival of a unique assemblage of wildlife species
including the Critically Endangered Great Indian Bustard.
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