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A preliminary assessment on the role of abandoned shrimp farms on supporting waterbirds in Pichavaram mangrove, Tamilnadu, Southern India

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Abstract

Asian wetlands are pivotal habitats for numerous globally declining migratory and resident waterbird species. Ironically 80% of the wetlands in East and South East Asia are classified as threatened, with 50% under grave threat. In particular the mangrove wetlands are under serious threat due to large scale conversion for commercial shrimp ponds and sea level rise. So, the impoverishment of natural wetlands has forced waterbirds to find alternative habitats. On the other hand, some recent studies have highlighted the potential role of anthropogenic, artificial and restored habitats such as coastal grazing marshes, salinas and rice fields to be good habitats for waterbirds. The present study was mainly designed to investigate the role of abandoned shrimp ponds near the mangroves supporting the migratory and resident waterbirds in the Kodiyampalayam area of Pichavaram mangroves. The results show that the abandoned aqua ponds support 26 species of waterbirds. Among them, 16 were migrant and three were in the near threatened (NT) category of IUCN. Suggestions were made in order to improve the habitat to attract more number of waterbird species in the near future.

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  1. PG and Research Department of Wildlife Biology, A.V.C. College, Mannampandal, 609305, India

    S. Sandilyan

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Sandilyan, S. A preliminary assessment on the role of abandoned shrimp farms on supporting waterbirds in Pichavaram mangrove, Tamilnadu, Southern India. J Coast Conserv 21, 255–263 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-016-0477-1

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