Bird Diversity and Composition across Different Habitat Types in Chittaranjan, West Bengal, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55863/ijees.2025.0705Keywords:
Urban avifauna, Bioindicator, Avian ecology, Species composition, Rarefraction analysis, Sustainable planningAbstract
Anthropogenic pressures and urbanization significantly impact biodiversity patterns, profoundly affecting bird communities and their ecological functions. However, heterogeneous urban landscapes can support considerable avian diversity. To inform sustainable urban planning strategies, this study examined bird diversity across various habitat types in Chittaranjan township, West Bengal, India. Between February and May 2021, surveys recorded 112 bird species across 20 orders and 47 families. Of these, 84 species (3,331 individuals) were documented during point count surveys along road networks distributed among four habitat types: water bodies (WB), open shrub lands (OS), tree cover areas (TC), and built-up areas (BA). Initial analyses revealed the highest species richness in water bodies (54 species) followed by open shrub lands (48), tree cover (42), and built-up areas (36). However, rarefaction analysis indicated significant sampling bias, particularly in water bodies, where rarefied richness was reduced to 27.18 species. In contrast, open shrub lands retained high species richness (47.77) after rarefaction, signifying greater avian diversity independent of sampling effort. The tree cover and built-up areas exhibited rarefied richness values consistent with their raw diversity metrics. The Shannon-Wiener indices were comparable across terrestrial habitats (H′ = 3.13-3.28) but significantly lower in water bodies (H′ = 1.52) due to low evenness (J′ = 0.08) and dominance by a few species, particularly Dendrocygna javanica, Microcarbo niger, and Tadorna ferruginea. Feeding guild analysis indicated that insectivores were the most species-rich group (39 species), while omnivores dominated numerically across all habitats, particularly in water bodies (86.7%). Most species (76) were residents, with 29 being winter visitors. Conservation assessments highlighted three species of concern: the Near Threatened Palaeornis eupatria and Falco chicquera and the Vulnerable Aythya ferina. The findings underscore the necessity of preserving habitat heterogeneity to maintain avian diversity in small urban landscapes, ensuring connectivity and managing invasive species that impact avian foraging and ecosystem health.
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