Spatial Variations of Waterbird Diversity at Upper Lake, a Ramsar Site in Bhopal, M.P., India

Abstract

The wetland birds have restricted habitat requirements and are thus the most vulnerable to changes in habitat conditions. The Upper lake of Bhopal is an important habitat for migratory waterbirds as it lies along the Central-Asian flyway in central India. However rapid urbanization has caused tremendous anthropogenic pressure on lake which may cause adverse impacts to lake and its biodiversity. To assess the impact of varying habitat features like depth, vegetation, surrounding landuse and other anthropogenic disturbances within and around the lake upon waterbirds distribution the present study was conducted on the Upper Lake of Bhopal. Total 68 species of waterbirds were recorded collectively from all the 12 sampling sites of Upper lake. The species richness showed notable variation between different sampling stations. On a spatial scale, it was observed as a general trend that the birds preferred sites with ample food and least human disturbance. The sites with similar physical attributes exhibited variation among waterbird population with an obvious outcome visible in the results that the sites with high human interference were less preferable to birds.

Keywords: Waterbirds, wetlands, depth, spatial variation, India.