Abstract: Birds always have been an organism of fascination to humans. Pond (eco) system attracts several aquatic bird species. They boast a good habitat and food-store in the form of aquatic vegetation, fishes, insects, crabs, molluscs, dipterans, etc. and procure a satisfying abode for the aquatic avian. Overcoming the anthropogenic disturbances and habitat destruction, few aquatic birds ‘check-in’ in these standing water (lowland) and its surrounding (shoreline/uplands). The study was conducted from January, 2015 to December, 2017. Three ponds, Sendh Pond, Jhanj Pond and Khandwa Pond, were selected for the study at Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Overall, including the three ponds, a total of 100 species of aquatic birds belonging to 9 orders and 23 families were recorded. Of them, 50 species were Resident(R), 46 species were Migratory (M), and 4 species were Local Migratoty(LM) catogories. According to the IUCN status (2017) 1 species was Vulnerable (VU), 6 species were Near Threatened (NT) 93 species were Least Concerned (LC). Also 1 species belonged to Schedule I of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Pond wise analysis for the aquatic birds under various categories was also done, to determine the difference amongst different ponds. Categorization, for feeding guild behaviour of aquatic birds, was also executed to find out the Insectivorous, Carnivorous, and Omnivorous aquatic birds. In the Omnivorous category, we interestingly worked out for the green feeders too, and identified the aquatic plants/ plant parts as bird food, supported by our field observations, and enlisted them in addition to the early available data of aquatic plants for the region. The Shanon-Weiner (Hʹ) diversity index from yearly population counts at the three ponds was also determined, while estimating and discussing the threats and their impact. This prudent work shall cover up the sustaining lacuna, and contribute for the baseline records and will be good paradigm for future works.
Keywords: Aquatic avian, Naya Raipur, Aquatic plants, food resource, guild behavior.
Title: Aquatic Avian Composition, Diversity and Their Food Resources in the Selected Ponds of Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India
Author: Faiz Bux, A.M.K. Bharos
International Journal of Life Sciences Research
ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)
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