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Jou
rn
al of R
esearch
in
Biology
Avian diversity in Barna Wetland of Narmada basin in Central India
Keywords:
Avian diversity, Barna wetland, Migratory birds.
ABSTRACT: Observations were made on the occurrence and diversity of waterbirds in Barna reservoir from March 2009 to February 2011. A total 63 species of water birds belonging to 7 order and 12 families were recorded from the wetland during the study. Migratory birds also visit the reservoir during winter season. Anatidae was the most dominant family recorded during winter, in terms of species richness and population. The present paper deals with various types of habitats available in the reservoir and its surrounding area. The mosaic of habitats makes it an unique avifaunal refuge. Protected catchment area is also a supportive feature for the conservation of bird species.
460-468 | JRB | 2012 | Vol 2 | No 5
This article is governed by the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which gives permission for unrestricted use, non-commercial, distribution and reproduction in all medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
www.jresearchbiology.com
Authors:
Satish Balapure, Sumana
Dutta and Vipin Vyas.
Institution:
Department of
Environmental Science and
Limnology, Barkatullah
University, Bhopal- 462026,
India.
Corresponding author:
Vipin Vyas.
Email:
Web Address: http://jresearchbiology.com/
documents/RA0253.pdf.
Dates: Received: 06 Jun 2012 Accepted: 21 Jun 2012 Published: 02 Jul 2012
Article Citation: Satish Balapure, Sumana Dutta and Vipin Vyas. Avian diversity in Barna Wetland of Narmada basin in central India. Journal of Research in Biology (2012) 2(5): 460-468
Journal of Research in Biology
Original Research
Journal of Research in Biology
An International
Scientific Research Journal
An International Scientific Research Journal
INTRODUCTION
Wetlands are defined as lands transitional
between terrestrial and aquatic eco-systems where the
water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is
covered by shallow water (Mitsch & Gosselink 1986).
The various reservoirs, shallow ponds and numerous
tanks support wetland biodiversity and add to the
country’s wetland wealth. It is estimated that freshwater
wetlands alone support 10 percent of the known range of
biodiversity in India (Deepa & Ramachandra 1999)
including 2400 birds species and sub species of birds.
Wetlands in India occupy 58.1 million hectares,
including areas under wet paddy cultivation
(Prasad et al., 2002)
Wetlands and waterbirds are inseparable
elements and support a rich array of waterbird
communities (Grimmett and Inskipp, 2007). Waterbirds
are an important component of most of the wetland
ecosystem as they occupy several trophic levels in the
food web of wetland nutrient cycles. Activities of
waterbirds are considered as indicator of quality of the
wetland ecosystem and form the terminal links in many
aquatic food chains, and as a result they reflect changes
originating in several different ecosystem components
(Custer and Osborne, 1977). Parish and Prentice (1989),
suggested various direct and indirect factors that causes
deterioration of wetlands all over the world. Factors that
cause wetland deterioration like vegetation changes,
deterioration of water quality, siltation, cattle grazing and
poaching were recorded in India by Vijayan (1986),
Anjaneyulu (1991), Sampath (1993) and Trisal (l993).
No in-depth study of ecology of wetlands as
birds habitat has been conducted in Madhya Pradesh.
Some sporadic references are available that too limited
to check listing of birds. Wetland ecology has been
studied in isolation lacking avian ecology. Barna wetland
of Madhya Pradesh is an identified wetland under
National Wetland Conservation Programme by Ministry
of Environment and Forests (Govt. of India). No detailed
study has been conducted on the water birds of the Barna
reservoir, but a preliminary survey in the winter of
2001- 2002 revealed a huge congregation of more than
20,000 birds on the main water body
(Islam & Rahmani, 2004). This site has not been covered
during the Asian Waterfowl Census, and needs regular
monitoring of water birds.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Barna is one of the major irrigation projects of
Madhya Pradesh constructed by damming river Barna in
Raisen district near Bari village. This is located about
100 kms from Bhopal. Narmada basin is located at the
latitude 22°50’ 13.5” N and longitude 77°50’ 78.10” E.
This reservoir is an important source of fish production
in the area. Regular fish stoking is done in this reservoir
every year. The water of the reservoir is mainly used for
the fisheries and irrigation purpose. The reservoir
supports a rich biodiversity and provide habitat for
wildlife including migratory birds. A major part of the
reservoir basin falls under Singhori Wild Life Sanctuary.
Wetland habitats:
Study of avifaunal diversity of Barna wetland
was conducted between March, 2009 and February,
2011. Seasonal observations were made during the study
but they were clubbed into four observations for further
analysis. Birds were observed within the transect of
300m. Nikon Binoculars of 10×50 were used for
observations. The field book of Ali and Ripley (1986),
Ali (1996) were used to identify bird species. The
checklist was prepared using the standardized common
and scientific names of the birds of the Indian
subcontinent by Manakkadan and Pittie (2001).
Data analysis:
The statistical analysis was carried out using
software Paleontological Statics (PAST) version 2.04
(Hammer et al., 2001) to find out the significance of
spatial variation on biological parameters. Margalef’s
species richness (d), Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’) and
Balapure et al., 2012
461 Journal of Research in Biology (2012) 2(5): 460-468
Simpsons index (D) was calculated. Jaccard’s similarity
cluster was constructed based on bird species richness.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:
In the present study 63 bird species were
recorded from Barna reservoir belonging to 12 families
and seven orders (Table: 1). Das and Saikia 2011
recorded 39 species of water birds from 16 different
families from Deepor beel (Ramsar site) of Assam.
Family Anatidae was found to be the most dominant
family represented by 16 species followed by Ardeidae
with nine species and Charadriidae with eight species
(Fig:1). Family Recurvirostridae had only one species
Himantopus himantopus commonly known as Black
winged stilt. Rathore and Sharma (1999) also reported
Anatidae to be dominating family with 11 species in
Sarsai Nawar in UP. Surana (2007) recorded Anatidae to
be most dominant family with 11 species, Ardeidae with
nine species and Charadriidae with eight species in
Chimdi lake of Nepal. Tak et al., (2010) reported 31
water birds from Hathnikund wetland of Haryana with
maximum richness of Anatidae (35%) followed by
Ardeidae (19.6%). Rajashekara and Venkatesha (2011)
recorded Ardeidae to be the most dominating family
having nine species followed by Anatidae family having
five species from Bangalore lake.
Site-1, Site-4 and Site-7 harbored maximum bird
species richness compared to the other sites. The
Balapure et al., 2012
Journal of Research in Biology (2012) 2(5): 460-468 462
Map of Barna reservoir in Narmada basin of central India were as study sites are
located zone wise
maximum diversity of water birds was noted at Site-4 as
47 species followed by Site-7 having 45 bird species,
Site-1 with 31 species (Fig:2). These sites were
characterized as shallower zones of the reservoir.
Minimum water bird assemblage was noted at Site-8,
Site-9 and Site-2. Family Anatidae, Phalacrocoracidae,
Rallidae and Alcedinidae were the abundant families of
Barna reservoir which were observed at all the sites
comprised of both shallower zone as well as deeper zone.
Family Ardeidae, Ciconiidae, Threskiornithidae,
Gruidae, Recurvirostridae, Charadriidae and Laridae
were restricted only in shallower zone of the reservoir.
Kurup (1991) attributed it to the larger mudflat areas
which attract shorebirds in large numbers. Cormorants
were noted both in shallow and deeper zone of the
reservoir. Waders were restricted to only shallow waters
having a depth of 2 mt. Deep water has been reported to
reduce the availability and accessibility of invertebrates
to feeding waders (Murkin and Kadlec, 1986).
Murkin et al., (1997) found that diving ducks as a group
selected habitat that consisted of deeper water and less
vegetation.
There was a temporal variation in bird diversity
(Fig:3). The maximum diversity of birds was noted in
winter season. Similar observation was noted by
Rajashekara and Venkatesha (2011) in 15 major lakes of
Bangalore during 2008. Chinchkhede and Kedar (2012)
reported 76 species belonging to 15 orders in and around
Koradi lake of Nagpur among which 54 species were
recorded as resident; 09 species as seasonal local migrant
and 13 species as winter migrant. There was a gradual
decline in species richness in the reservoir as the weather
condition changes from colder to warmer. A sharp
decline was recorded during summer 35 species of water
birds in the reservoir belonging to 12 families and 7
orders. With the onset of monsoon in June and July, the
field conditions are unsuitable for birds and the bird
occurrence was significantly low in all the study areas.
The diversity of birds vary according to the weather
conditions like rainfall, temperature, relative humidity
and precipitation changes have a profound effect on
water level, cover ratio and the quality of the habitat for
the water birds (Rao et al., 1997). Anatidae family which
was the most dominant family during winter period was
represented by sixteen species. This indicates that most
of the wintering water birds belong to Anatidae family.
Vyas et al., (2010) observed that Anatidae was the most
dominating family in Bhoj wetland. The second most
dominating family was Charadriidae represented by 10
species followed by Ardeidae represented by nine
species. Vijayan (1988) while working on Bharatpur
wetland also recorded similar observations. Members of
Anatidae family were found to dominate among the
winter migratory birds. Coot was the only dominant
migratory bird belonging to family Rallidae which could
not be recorded after Monsoon season in Barna reservoir.
Balapure et al., 2012
463 Journal of Research in Biology (2012) 2(5): 460-468
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Sp
ecie
s
S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 S-8 S-9
Alcedinidae
Laridae
Charadriidae
Recurvirostridae
Rallidae
Gruidae
Anatidae
Threskionithidae
Ciconidae
Ardeidae
Phalacrocoracidae
Podiciptidae
Fig 1: Family wise percentage composition of
wetland birds in Barna reservoir
Fig 2: Spatial variation in species richness of
wetland birds in Barna reservoir
Family Ardeidae comprised of Egrets and herons showed
an increasing population trend from the beginning of the
summer season. Vijayan (1987, 1988) recorded increase
in egret’s population during monsoon period due to their
breeding season.
The various diversity indices for water birds are
shown in Figure 4. The higher value for Shannon’s index
was observed at Site-4 (2.554) followed by Site-5 (2.4).
Simpson’s diversity index was highest at Site-6 followed
by Site-5 and Site-4. Species richness was highest at
Site-4 (6.14), followed by Site-7 (5.87) and Site-1 5.05).
Lowest species richness was recorded at Site-3, Site-6
and Site-9 having a depth of 4-6 mt.
The dendogram constructed showed the
similarity of the sites according to the species richness of
the water birds present at nine sites of Barna reservoir
(Fig: 5). Two main clusters were formed; first cluster
was formed with Site-1, Site-4 and Site-7. Among the
first cluster Site-4 and Site-7 forms a subgroup. These
two sites exhibit maximum species diversity as compared
Balapure et al., 2012
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Winter Summer Monsoon Post Monsoon
Sp
ecie
s p
erc
en
tag
e
Alcedinidae
Laridae
Charadriidae
Recurvirostridae
Rallidae
Gruidae
Anatidae
Threskionithidae
Ciconidae
Ardeidae
Phalacrocoracidae
Podiciptidae
Fig 3: Temporal variation in species composition of
wetland birds of Barna reservoir.
Fig 4: Variation in site specific diversity and richness
indices among sites at Barna reservoir.
Journal of Research in Biology (2012) 2(5): 460-468 464
Fig 5: Cluster analysis showing similarity in species richness of different sites of Barna reservoir.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0.24
0.32
0.4
0.48
0.56
0.64
0.72
0.8
0.88
0.96
Similarity
S-5
S-6
S-9
S-8
S-2
S-3
S-4
S-7
S-1
Balapure et al., 2012
Table 1: List of birds recorded in Barna reservoir during March 2009- February 2011
S. No Zoological Name Common Name Scientific Name
1.Order : Podicipediformes
1 1. Family- Podiciptidae Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis
2 Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
2. Order: Pelecaniformes
3 2. Family - Phalacrocoracidae Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
4 Indian Shag Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
5 Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger
6 Darter Anhinga melanogaster
3. Order : Ciconiformes
7 3. Family – Ardeidae Large Egret Casmerodius albus
8 Little Egret Egretta garzetta
9 Median Egret Mesophoyx intermedia
10 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis
11 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
12 Purple Heron Ardea purpurea
13 Little Green Heron Butorides striatus
14 Black-Crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax
15 Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii
16 4. Family – Ciconidae Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala
17 Asian Openbilled Stork Anastomus oscitans
18 White-Necked Stork Ciconia episcopus
19 5. Family – Threskionithidae Black Ibis Pseudibis papillosa
20 Oriental White Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus
21 Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia
4. Order : Anseriformes
22 6. Family – Anatidae Greyleg Goose Anser anser
23 Bar headed Goose Anser indicus
24 Brahminy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea
25 Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna
26 Comb Duck Sarkidiornis melanotos
27 Lesser Whistling -Duck Dendrocygna javanica
28 Northern Pintail Anas acuta
29 Common Teal Anas crecca
30 Spottbill Duck Anas poecilorhyncha
31 Gadwall Anas strepera
32 Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope
33 Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata
34 Red carested Pochard Rhodonessa rufina
35 Common Pochard Aythya ferina
36 Tufted Pochard Aythya fuligula
37 Cotton Teal Nettapus coromandelianus
5. Order : Gruiformes
38 7. Family- Gruidae Common Crane Grus grus
39 Sarus Crane Grus antigone
40 8. Family- Rallidae Whitebreasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus
41 Watercock Gallicrex cinerea
42 Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
43 Purple Moorhen Porphyrio porphyrio
44 Common Coot Fulica atra
6. Order : Charadriiformes
45 9. Family- Recurvirostridae Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus
465 Journal of Research in Biology (2012) 2(5): 460-468
to the other sites having shallow depth (0-2 mt) with rich
marophytic vegetation which serves food for water
birds. According to Mitchell & Prepas (1990) and
Clifford (1991) shallow lakes with broad littoral zones
and abundant macrophytes and macroinvertebrates
provide excellent habitat for aquatic birds. Second
cluster was formed with Site-2, Site-3, Site-5, Site-6,
Site-8 and Site-9. In the second cluster, Sites 6 & 9
formed sub cluster because of low richness of bird
species may be due to their similar depth profile. These
sites come under deeper zone having a depth of 4-6
meters. Maximum depth was the another morphometric
feature that showed strong correlations with guild
composition and richness of water birds (Paszkowski and
Tonn, 2006).
CONCLUSION:
It is revealed that overall, 63 species belonging to
12 families and 7 orders were documented which
included 36% residents, 35% local migrants and 29% as
migratory species. Among these 24.5% were considered
to be common, 23.81% fairly common, 31.75%
uncommon and 19.05 % rare species. From the present
study it was revealed that existence of various patterns of
spatial and temporal segregation among the water bird
reflected the different requirements that are met by these
limnologically variables. Higher values of Shannon’s and
Margalef indices indicated rich water bird occurrence
and species richness at Site 1, Site 4 and Site 7. Water
bird abundance status was calculated according to Kumar
& Gupta (2009). Sarus Crane which was declared as
vulnerable species in Important Bird areas of India
(Islam & Rahmani, 2004) recorded with a total
number of 25 from the shoreline of the wetland. Three
near t hreat ened spec ies name ly Dar t er
( A nh inga me lano ga s t e r) , P a int e d S to r k
(Mycteria leucocephala) and Oriental white Ibis
(Threskiornis melanocephalus). We have recorded nearly
57 Darter, 53 Painted stork and 12 Oriental white Ibis
during the entire study period from the wetland.
Conservation of this wetland is very essential to sustain
migratory bird populations along with the threatened and
vulnerable birds of that area.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
The authors are thankful to Dr. Pradeep
Shrivastava, Professor, Department of Environmental
Science and Limnology, Barkatullah University, Bhopal
Balapure et al., 2012
Journal of Research in Biology (2012) 2(5): 460-468 466
46 10. Family – Charadriidae Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus
47 River Lapwing Vanellus duvaucelii
48 Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius
49 Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus
50 Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis
51 Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola
52 Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
53 Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
54 Little Stint Calidris minutus
55 Dunlin Calidris alpine
56 11. Family – Laridae Brown-headed Gull Larus brunnicephalus
57 Yellow-Legged Gull Larus cachinnans
58 Common Tern Sterna hirundo
59 River Tern Sterna aurantia
60 Little Tearn Sterna albifrons
7. Order : Coraciiformes
61 12. Family – Alcedinidae Whitebrested Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
62 Small Blue Kingfisher Alcedo atthis
63 Lesser Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis
(India) for his support and encouragement throughout the
study period.
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