Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

A SURVEY ON AVIFAUNA DIVERSITY IN SOME SELECTED LOCALITIES IN AND AROUND MADURAI CITY

Thangavel Rajagopal, Karuppaiya Sonaimuthu, Subbiah Selvarani, Ponnirul Ponmanickam and Mahadevan Sekar

Abstract

The present study aims to survey the avifaunal diversity in some selected localities in and around Madurai City, Tamil Nadu during June 2021 to April 2022. Birds were surveyed using short-strip transects counts (SSCT) method. A total of 99 species of birds belonging to 44 families and 86 genera have been recorded in Madurai city, of which 78 species are resident, 14 species are migrant and 7 species are local migrants. The Ardeidae were the most prominent family with 11 species, and their relative diversity index was the highest (RDi = 11.11). Carnivores’ bird community was found to be dominant among foraging pattern. According to their frequency of occurrence, 57 species (57.57%) were very common, 30 (30.30%) common and 12 (12.12%) rare. IUCN threat categories classify four species as “Near Threatened” and 95 species as “Least Concern”. The present study reveals the highest birds species diversity (Shannon’s), richness (Margalef’s), and evenness (Pielou’s) indices were found in the Madakulam area when compared to that of other study areas. Based on the occurrence of bird species in ten different areas, we can conclude that the diversity and richness of bird species increases with increased vegetation areas and decrease with greater human disturbances. Additionally, researchers have reported that anthropogenic disruptions will reduce the diversity of bird species, as well as other issues such as habitat loss, overhunting, structural collisions, pollution, climate change etc.