Lotus Nelumbo cultivations of Beehama Ganderbal offer novel habitats for diversity and seasonal variation of wetland birds
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10386.18.6.29085-29092Keywords:
Alternate breeding grounds, anthropogenic activities, artificial garden, bird assemblages, lotus cultivation, marshy paddy field, species composition, wetland bird diversityAbstract
Conversion of marshy paddy fields into Nelumbo (lotus) gardens by the farmers of Beehama Ganderbal, Jammu & Kashmir has not only increased their livelihood and economy but also started yielding ecological dividends although unintentionally, because these Nelumbo gardens, along with adjoining Salix cultivations are now serving as alternative and rich habitats for the thriving of wetland birds. The present study was designed to assess the wetland bird assemblages in these artificial Nelumbo gardens to understand the species composition and richness along with their seasonal variation from March 2023 to February 2025. The study revealed that these artificial Nelumbo gardens can act as potential alternative feeding and breeding grounds for the diversity of wetland birds when main wetlands are shrinking due to anthropogenic activities.
References
Ahangar, F.A. (2008). Studies on avian diversity and breeding biology of mallard Anas platyrhynchos in the wetlands of Kashmir. PhD thesis, Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar 212 pp.
Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1983). Handbook of The Birds of India and Pakistan. Compact edition. Oxford Univ. Press, Delhi, 737 pp.
Ali, S. (2002). The Book of Indian Birds. Oxford University Press, Bombay, 326 pp.
Bates, R.S.P. & E.H.N. Lowther (1952). Breeding birds of Kashmir. Oxford Univ. Press, London, 367 pp.
Bibby, C.J., N.D. Burguess, D.A. Hill & S. Mustoe (2000). Bird Census Techniques (2nd Edition). Academic Press, New York, 302 pp.
Bonthoux, S. & G. Balent (2012). Point count duration: five minutes are usually sufficient to model the distribution of bird species and to study the structure of communities for a French landscape. Journal of Ornithology 153: 491–504.
Buckton, S (2007). Managing wetlands for sustainable livelihoods at Koshi Tappu. Danphe 16(1): 12–13.
Byju, H., K.A. Rubeena, C.T. Shifa, T.R. Athira, K. Jishnu, J. Singh, A. Sohil, S. Kushwah, A. Kumar, J. Anand & K.M. Rajaneesh (2023). Transitioning wintering shorebirds to agroecosystem: a thorough evaluation of habitat selection and conservation concern. Diversity 29(1): 23. https://doi.org/10.3390/d16010023
Choudhary, H.J. & H.B. Soni (2023). Avian diversity in and around wetland of national importance ‘Pariyej Community Reservoir’, Gujarat, India. Current World Environment 18(3): 1168–1177. https://doi.org/10.12944/CWE.18.3.20
Clements, J.F., T.S. Schulenberg, M.J. Iliff, T.A. Fredericks, J.A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage & B.L. Sullivan (2025). The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: Version 2025. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/
Fazili, M.F., B.A. Bhat & F. Ahangar (2017). Avian diversity of Anchar Lake, Kashmir, India. New York Science Journal 10(1): 92–97. https://doi.org/10.7537/marsnys100117.15
Grimmett , R., C. Inskipp & T. Inskipp (2016). Pocket Guide to Birds of Indian Subcontinent. Oxford University Press, 384 pp.
Holmes, P.R. & A.J. Parr (1988). A checklist of the birds of Haigam Rukh, Kashmir. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 85: 465–473.
Kichloo, A.M., N. Sharma, I. Suhail, Shagoo & P. Kumar (2024). A checklist of the birds of Jammu & Kashmir, India. Indian Birds 19(6): 163–180.
Maltby, E.R. (1986). Waterlogged Wealth: Why Waste the World’s Wet Places? Earth Scan, London, UK, 132 pp.
Maltby, E.R. & R.E. Turner (1983). Wetlands of the world. Geographical Magazine 55: 12–17.
Mitsch, W.J. & I.G. Gosselink (2000). Wetlands. John Wiley & Sons Inc, United States of America, 356 pp.
Mitsch, W.I. & I.G. Gosselink (1986). Wetlands. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 539 pp.
Roux, F. (1973). Censuses of Anatidae in the central delta of the Niger and the Senegal delta- January 1972. Wildfowl 24: 63–80.
Thomas, M., H. Byju, H. Maitreyi, N. Raveendran, S. Sheela & J. Anand (2026). Diversity and composition of avian populations in Sivagalai Wetland, Thoothukudi, India. Journal of Experimental Zoology India 29: 965–974. https://doi.org/10.51470/jez.2026.29.1.965
Unni, K.S. (2002). Wetlands of India, pp. 1–5. In: Proceedings of the National seminar on ecology and conservation of wetlands. Limnological Association of Kerala, 102 pp.
Verner, J. (1985). Assessment of counting techniques. Current Ornithology 2: 247–302.
Zewarts, L. (1976). Density related processes in feeding dispersion and feeding activity of Teal (Anas crecca). Ardea 64: 192–209.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Sheikh Tanveer Salam, Fayaz Ahmad Ahanger, Showkat Ahmad Wani
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
