Abundance and diversity of threatened birds in Nangal Wetland, Punjab, India

Main Article Content

Rajwinder Kaur
Onkar Singh Brraich
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9847-4807

Abstract

Anthropogenic threats to wetland ecosystems, including discharge of industrial effluents, municipal sewerage, land reclamation, erosion and deforestation, have contributed to the rapid declines in populations of many bird species. The present study aimed to document avian diversity, including birds on the IUCN Red List, at Nangal Wetland, Punjab from February 2013 to January 2015. A total of 155 species belonging to 48 families (resident and migratory) under 17 orders were recorded, of which 13 come under various IUCN Red List categories: one ‘Endangered’—Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus; five ‘Vulnerable’—Common Pochard Aythya ferina, Greater-Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga, Sarus Crane Grus antigone, Lesser White-Fronted Goose Anser erythropus, and Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus; and seven ‘Near Threatened’—Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, River Lapwing Vanellus duvaucelii, Indian River Tern Sterna aurantia, Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala, Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster, Blossom-headed Parakeet Psittacula roseata, and Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria. The Shannon-Weaver index of diversity was highest during winter (H’= 1.9) followed by autumn (H’= 1.9) then spring (H’= 1.5), and was lowest during summer (H’= 1.4). Though this wetland is highly productive and provides homes to many threatened species, untreated industrial effluents from adjoining areas sometimes create problems. The discharge of pollutants should be stopped through strict enforcement of environmental laws and policies. 

Article Details

Section
Communications

References

Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1987). Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 841pp.

Ali, S. (1996). The book of Indian birds. 11th ed. Bombay Natural History Society and Oxford University Press, Bombay, 394pp.

Bhat, P.I., S.S. Cristopher & B.B. Hosetti (2009). Avifaunal diversity of Anekere wetland, Karkal, Udupi district, Karnataka, India. Journal of Environmental Biology 30: 1059–1062.

BirdLife International (2000). Threatened birds of the World. BirdLife International, Cambridge, and Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 852pp.

BirdLife International (2001). Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red data book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, 3,038pp.

Chaudhry, M.J.I., M. Arshad & G. Akbar (2012). Some observations on Threatened and Near Threatened avifauna of Pakistan. Records of Zoological Survey of Pakistan 21: 65–72.

Garay G., W. Johnson & W. Franklin (1991). Relative Abundance of Aquatic Birds and Their Use of Wetlands in the Patagonia of Southern Chile. Revista Chilena De Historia Natural 64: 127–137.

Gerritsen, J., R.E. Carlson, D.L. Dycus, C. Faulkner, G.R. Gibson, J. Harcum, S.A. Marcwitz (1998). Lake and Reservoir Bioassessment and Biocriteria, Technical Guidance Document, US Environmental Protection Agency, 199pp.

Gibbs, J.P. (1993). The importance of small wetlands for the persistence of local populations of wetland-associated animals. Wetlands 13: 25–31. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160862

Giri, B. & M.K. Chalise (2008). Seasonal diversity and population status of waterbirds in Pehwa lake, Pokhara, Nepal. Journal of Wetland Ecology 1(1/2): 3–7. https://doi.org/10.3126/jowe.v1i1.1568

Grewal, B., S. Monga & G. Wright (1995). Birds of the Indian subcontinent. Guidebook company limited, Hong Kong, 352pp.

Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp & T. Inskipp (2001). Pocket Guide of the Birds of the Indian subcontinent. Oxford University Press, Mumbai, 384pp.

Guadagnin, D.L., A.S. Peter, L. Fernando, C. Perello & L. Maltchik (2005). Spatial and temporal patterns of waterbird assemblages in fragmented wetlands of southern Brazil. The International Journal of Waterbird Biology 28(3): 261–272. https://doi.org/10.1675/1524

IUCN (2018). IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2017.2 www.iucnredlist.org.

Kauzeni, A.S. & H.L. Kiwasila (1994). Serengeti Regional Conservation Strategy: A Socioeconomic Study. Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: Institute of Resource Assessment University of Dar Es Salaam.

Kazmierczak, K. (2002). A Field Guide to the Birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhupan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Om Book Service, New Delhi, 352pp.

Kershaw, M. & P.A. Cranswick (2003). Deriving population estimates for wintering wildfowl in Great Britain. Ornis Hungarica 12–13: 75–87.

Kideghesho, J.R., J.W. Nyahongo, S.M. Hassan, T.C. Tarimo & N.E. Mbije (2006). Factors and ecological impacts of wildlife habitat destruction in the Serengeti ecosystem in northern Tanzania. Aajeam-Ragee 11: 917–932.

Kristen, S. & I. Brander (1991). The Economic Values of the World’s Wetlands. Living Waters. Amsterdam. Available at TEEBweb.org. Version 1.1; Last update: November/2010.

Lei, F.M., G.A. Wei, H.F. Zhao, Z.H. Yin & J.L. Lu (2007). China subregional avian endemism and biodiversity conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation 16: 1119–1130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-006-9080-3

Lei, F.M., Y.H. Qu, J.L. Lu, Y. Liu & Z.H. Yin (2003). Conservation on diversity and distribution patterns of endemic birds in China. Biodiversity Conservation 12: 239–254.

Mitsch, W.J. & J.G. Gosselink (1986). Book review: Wetlands. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York. Ecological Modelling 80, 300pp.

Narayanan, S.P., A.P. Thomas & B. Sreekumar (2011). Ornithofauna and its conservation in the Kuttanad wetlands, southern portion of Vembanad-Kole Ramsar site, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(4): 1663–1676. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o1870.1663-76

Pandit, M.K., N.S. Sodhi, L.P. Koh, A. Bhaskar, B.W. Brook (2007). Unreported yet massive deforestation driving loss of endemic biodiversity in Indian Himalaya. Biodiversity and Conservation 16: 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-006-9038-5

Paracuellos, M. (2006). How can habitat selection affect the use of a wetland complex by waterbirds. Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 4569-4582. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-005-51820-z

Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (1994). Nangal Reservoir – The Lake of National Importance. Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, Chandigarh, 34pp.

Riley, J. (2002). Population sizes and status of endemic and restricted range species on Sangihe Island, Indonesia. Bird Conservation International 12: 53–78. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270902002046

Robin, V.V. & R. Sukumar (2002). Status and habitat preference of White-bellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major in the Western Ghats (Kerala and Tamil Nadu), India. Bird Conservation International 12: 335–351. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270902002216

Salathe, T. (ed.) (1991). Conserving Migratory Birds. Technical publication no. 12. International Council for Bird Preservation, Cambridge, England, 393pp.

Saxena, V.S. (1975). A study of flora and fauna of Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Dept. of Tourism, Jaipur, Rajasthan. Report No. 147, 35pp.

Shannon, C.E. & W. Weaver (1949). The Mathematical Theory of Communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana, 117pp.

Stattersfield, A.J., M.J. Crosby, A.J. Long & D.C. Wege (1998). Endemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series No. 7. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK, 846pp.

Sutherland, J.W. (1999). Ecological Census Techniques: A Handbook. 4th Edition. Cambridge University Press, UK, 336pp.

Wijesinghe, M.R. & M.L. de Brooke (2005). Impact of habitat disturbance on the distribution of endemic species of small mammals and birds in a tropical rain forest in Sri Lanka. Journal of Tropical Ecology 2: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467405002695

Most read articles by the same author(s)