Biodiversity significance of small habitat patches: More than half of Indian bird species are in academic campuses

Abstract

Habitat loss, fragmentation, and land-use changes threaten global biodiversity, and human needs are increasingly compromising the functional role of protected areas. Therefore, finding opportunities to conserve biodiversity within the human-modified landscape is crucial. Ecologists have begun paying attention to fragments of biodiversity habitats in the urban landscapes in the past few decades. Of these, academic campuses offer a unique opportunity to evaluate such fragments due to well-preserved green spaces within the campuses and maintenance of biodiversity data. We studied the scope of academic campuses in India for their biodiversity potential vis-à-vis their ability to retain the habitat for native biodiversity. We used bird richness as a surrogate to biodiversity as they are the most widely monitored species group. Academic campuses (n = 335) in India reported 779 bird species, with an average of 88 species per campus. The species included five critically endangered, seven endangered, 17 vulnerable, and 33 near-threatened species. Several campuses worldwide have held intact natural habitats for centuries. The campuses in India underwent human-induced habitat modification significantly less than their surrounding landscape in last one decade. The academic campuses globally could prove hugely beneficial in securing a wide variety of species in relatively small land areas. While our study was restricted to academic campuses, non-academic campuses such as the army, industrial and private establishments could further add to such spaces. The campuses could also serve as living repositories and evolutionary labs for plant and small animal species that remain isolated due to fragmentation.