Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Shorebird assemblages respond to anthropogenic stress by altering habitat use in a wetland in India

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Shorebirds are globally experiencing declines due to habitat loss and anthropogenic disturbance. The Central Asian Flyway hosts significant shorebirds that winter in the Indian subcontinent. The current study examined the shorebird assemblages of Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve, an internationally important estuarine wetland in southwestern India, to determine changes in their assemblages in relation to habitat alterations. We conducted point counts from 2005 to 2012 in mudflats, mangroves, sandy beaches and shallow water areas in Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve. This study measured physicochemical variables as a proxy for anthropogenic change experienced as a result of rapidly increasing human populations combined with development. We examined rainfall data during the study period to determine associations with shorebird abundance. Stepwise linear regression showed that total nitrogen and rainfall were significantly related to shorebird abundance (bird count = 306 + 213 NO3 −—1.13 rainfall, F = 31.20, p < 0.001). High rainfall in a given year (one-way ANOVA F = 19.91, p < 0.001) and the previous year resulted in lower shorebird counts (one-way ANOVA F = 16.01, p < 0.001). Shorebirds declined during the study period and habitat use shifted significantly from mangroves and mudflats to sandy beaches (one-way ANOVA, F = 2.18, p = 0.034). Shorebirds also exhibited a gradual decline in diversity. We conclude that altered nutrient content in this wetland resulted in changes in the prey base in the four habitat types. Shorebirds responded to these changes by increasing the use of less preferred habitat (sandy beaches). The anthropogenic influences on the wetland are large (waste disposal, sand mining, disturbance due to development) and continued pressure may result in further decline of shorebird assemblages. The results from this study indicate that certain anthropogenic disturbances, such as waste disposal and sand mining, should be reduced to maintain and improve the integrity of this wetland.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aarif KM (2009) Some aspects of feeding ecology of the Lesser Sand Plover Charadriusmongolusin three different zones in the Kadalundi Estuary, Kerala, South India. Podoces 4(2):100–107

    Google Scholar 

  • Aarif KM, Prasadan PK, Babu S (2011) Conservation significance of the Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve. Curr Sci 101(6):717–718

    Google Scholar 

  • Acosta M, Mugica L, Blanco D, Lopez-Lanus B, Antunes Dias R, Doodnath LW, Hurtado J (2010) Birds of rice fields in the Americas. Waterbirds 33(suppl):105–122

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • APHA (2005) Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water, 21st edn. American Public Health Association, Washington, p 125

    Google Scholar 

  • Balachandran S (2006) The decline in wader populations along the east coast of India with special reference to Point Calimere, south-east India. In: Boere GC, Galbraith CA, Stroud DA (eds) Waterbirds around the world. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, pp 296–301

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger J (1984) Behavior of marine animals: shorebirds: breeding behavior and populations. In: Burger J, Olla BL (eds) Shorebirds as marine animals, vol 5. Plenum Press, New York

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Burger J, Niles L, Clark KE (1997) Importance of beach mudflat and marsh habitats to migrant shorebirds on Delaware Bay. Biol Cons 79:283–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butchart SHM, Walpole M, Collen B, Van Strien A, Jörn PW et al (2010) Global biodiversity indicators of recent declines. Science 328:1164–1168

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Connors PG, Myers JP, Connors CSW, Pitelka FA (1981) Interhabitat movements by Sanderlings in relation to foraging profitability and the tidal cycle. Auk 98:49–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Convention on Migratory Species (2005) Central Asian flyway action plan for the conservation of migratory waterbirds and their habitats. United Nations Environmental Program, New Delhi

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawson TP, Jackson ST, House JI, Prentice IC, Mace GM (2011) Beyond predictions biodiversity conservation in a changing climate. Science 332:53–59

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Drake KR, Thompson JE, Drake KL, Zonick C (2001) Movements, habitat use and survival of nonbreeding piping plovers. Condor 103:259–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flynn DFB, Gogol-Prokurat M, Nogeire T, Molinari N, Richers BT, Lin BB, Simpson N, Mayfield MM, DeClerck F (2009) Loss of functional diversity under land use intensification across multiple taxa. Ecol Let 12:22–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gopal B, Chauhan M (2001) South Asian wetlands and their biodiversity: the role of monsoons. In: Gopal B, Junk WJ, Davis JA (eds) Biodiversity in wetlands: assessment, function and conservation, vol 2. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, pp 257–276

    Google Scholar 

  • Grimmett R, Inskipp C, Inskipp T (1999) Birds of Indian subcontinent. Oxford University Press, New Delhi, p 384

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammer Ø, Harper DAT, Ryan PD (2001) PAST: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol Electron 4(1):9

    Google Scholar 

  • Heip C (1995) Eutrophication and zoobenthos dynamics. Ophelia 41:113–136

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoves, Bakewell JG (1989) Shorebird studies manual. AWB Publication, Kuala Lumpur, p 362

    Google Scholar 

  • Huettmann F, Czech B (2006) The steady state economy for global shorebird and habitat conservation. End Spec Res 2:89–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Wader Study Group (2003) Waders are declining worldwide, Conclusions from the 2003 International Wader Study Group Conference, Cádiz, Spain

  • Kannan V, Pandiyan J (2012) Shorebirds (Charadriidae) of Pulicat Lake, India with special reference to conservation. World J Zool 7(3):178–191

    Google Scholar 

  • Krebs CJ (1989) Ecological methodology. Harper and Row Publishers, New York, p 654

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar A, Sati JP, Tak PC, Alfred JRB (2005) Handbook of Indian wetland birds and their conservation. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, p 468

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurup DN (1991a) Ecology of the birds of Malabar Coast and Lakshadweep. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Calicut, Calicut, p 262

  • Kurup DN (1991b) Migrant shorebirds in estuarine habitats with reference to Kadalundi-Bharathapuzhaestuaries. In: Proceedings of the third Kerala science congress, Kozhikode, pp 31–32

  • Lafferty KD (2001) Birds at a Southern California beach: seasonality, habitat use and disturbance by human activity. Biod Cons 10:1949–1962

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li WD, Mundkur T (2007) Numbers and distribution of waterbirds and wetlands in the Asia-Pacific region: results of the Asian waterbird census 2002–2004. Wetlands International, Kuala Lumpur

    Google Scholar 

  • Long LL, Ralph CJ (2001) Dynamics of habitat use by shorebirds in estuarine and agricultural habitats in northwestern California. Wilson Bull 113:41–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manikannan R, Asokan S, Samsoor Ali AM (2012) Abundance and factors affecting population characteristics of waders (Charadriiformes) in great vedaranyam swamp of point calimere wildlife sanctuary, south-east coast of India. Int J Ecosyst 2(1):6–14

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Message S, Taylor D (2005) Waders of Europe, Asia and North America. A&C Black Publishers, London, p 224

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison IG, Harrington BA (1979) Critical shorebird resources in James Bay and eastern North America. Trans N Am Wildl Conf 44:498–507

    Google Scholar 

  • Muzaffar SB, Ahmed FA (2007) The effects of the flood cycle on the diversity and composition of the phytoplankton community of a seasonally flooded Ramsar wetland in Bangladesh. Wetl Ecol Manag 15:81–93

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nagarajan R, Thiyagesan K (1996) Waterbirds and substrate quality of Pichavaram wetlands, Southern India. Ibis 138:710–721

    Google Scholar 

  • Newton I (2008) The migration ecology of birds. Academic Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Pardal MA, Marques JC, Metelo I, Lillebo AI, Flindt MR (2000) Impact of eutrophication on the life cycle, population dynamics and production of Ampithoevalida (Amphipoda) along an estuarine spatial gradient (Mondego estuary, Portugal). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 196:207–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peirsma T, Lindstrom A (2004) Migrating shorebirds as integrative sentinels of global environmental change. Ibis 146((suppl)):61–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prasad SN, Ramachandra TV, Ahalya N, Sengupta T, Kumar A, Tiwari AK, Vijayan VS, Vijayan L (2002) Conservation of wetlands of India: a review. Trop Ecol 43:173–186

    Google Scholar 

  • Radhakrishnan C, Gopi KC, Palot MJ (2006) Occasional paper No 246 Records of Zoological Survey of India. Mangroves and their faunal associates in Kerala. Zoological Survey of India, Calicut, Kerala, pp 81

  • Recher H (1966) Some aspects of the ecology of migrant shorebirds. Ecology 47:393–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ribeiro PD, Iribarne OO, Navarro D, Juareguy L (2004) Environmental heterogeneity, spatial segregation of prey, and the utilization of southwest Atlantic mudflats by migratory shorebirds. Ibis 146:672–682

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandilyan S, Thiyagesan K, Nagarajan R (2010) Major decline in species-richness of waterbirds in the Pichavaram mangrove wetlands, southern India. Wader Study Group Bull 117(2):91–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (2012) Biometry. W. H. Freeman, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Stroud DA, Baker A, Blanco DE, Davidson NC (2006) The conservation and population status of the world’s waders at the turn of the millennium. In: Boere GC, Galbraith CA, Stroud DA et al (eds) Waterbirds around the world. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, pp 643–648

    Google Scholar 

  • Sundar KSG, Subramanya SS (2010) Bird use of rice fields in the Indian subcontinent. Waterbirds 33(Suppl):44–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uthaman PK, Namasivayan L (1991) The birdlife of Kadalundi sanctuary and its conservation. Proceeding of Kerala science congress, Kozhikode, pp 37–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Warnock SE, Takekawa JY (1995) Habitat preferences of wintering shorebirds in a temporally changing environment: western sandpipers in the SFB estuary. Auk 112:920–930

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to Kerala State Forest Department for Granting research permission for our study. Financial support for the study was obtained from Moulana Azad National fellowship from University Grant Commission, New Delhi, India. SB acknowledges director Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History for the logistic support. We are also thankful to local authorities of Kadalundi for their support in the field.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Department of Zoology, Mary Matha Arts and Science College, Mananthavady, Vemom PO, Wayanad District, Kerala, India

    K. M. Aarif & P. K. Prasadan

  2. Department of Biology, United Arab Emirates University, PO Box 15551, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

    S. B. Muzaffar

  3. Ornithology Division, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (PO), Coimbatore, 641 108, Tamil Nadu, India

    S. Babu

Authors
  1. K. M. Aarif
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. S. B. Muzaffar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. Babu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. P. K. Prasadan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. B. Muzaffar.

Additional information

Communicated by Stephen Garnett.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Aarif, K.M., Muzaffar, S.B., Babu, S. et al. Shorebird assemblages respond to anthropogenic stress by altering habitat use in a wetland in India. Biodivers Conserv 23, 727–740 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0630-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0630-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation