A decadal study on the waterbirds and an analysis of the declining species in Perur-Sundakamuthur Lake, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10275.18.7.29212-29225Keywords:
Anthropogenic disturbance, avian population trends, foraging guilds, habitat heterogeneity, long-term monitoring, migratory waterfowl, wetland managementAbstract
The results of a decade-long systematic monthly monitoring of birds in Perur-Sundakamuthur Lake, an urban wetland in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, conducted from May 2014 to April 2024, are presented. The status and population trends of 129 species that comprise 51 waterbirds and 78 non-waterbirds were analysed. The analysis was focused solely on 37 species of waterbirds by categorising them into 10 guilds. Of these, seven species were each treated as a separate category based on their distribution status. Among them, 65% of the species were present in high numbers when the water level was medium. Also, about 78% of the winter migrant ducks and shorebirds were present only during the aforesaid condition, feeding on the shallow pools and moist mudflats. The abundance of 73% of the analysed waterbird species declined, ranging from 3% to 99%. The population of shorebirds and winter migrant ducks declined by 67% and 99.5%, respectively. From the findings, it is believed that maintaining full water levels in the wetland to aid commercial fishing is the most probable reason for the decline of these winter migrants. Monthly bird counts are suggested in the wetlands of greater Coimbatore to expand the scope of long-term monitoring of the urban avian population.
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