Bird Assemblages Research Articles

Differences of water chemistry, bird assemblages and nutrient loads introduced by waterbirds into morphologically similar waterbodies

The number and structure of waterbirds is affected by the size of the waterbody, the presence of islands and macrophytes, but also by their trophy status. The aims of the study were to compare nutrients in water, numbers of waterbird assemblages, and the loading of nitrogen and phosphorus introduced by waterbirds in two similar waterbodies with different rates of water discharge. This study was conducted in two eutrophic shallow waterbodies, P1 and P2 in 2016 and 2017. The median concentrations of NO2 - , NO3 - and NH4 + were 4.0 times, 3.2 times, and 1.7 times greater in the P1 than in the P2 location, respectively. Similar proportions of organic matter in sediments were statistically greater in P1. The number of birds was also significantly greater in P1 than in P2. The waterbirds (Anas platyrhynchos, Aythya fuligula, Fulica atra, Phalacrocorax carbo and Chroicocephalus ridibundus) excreted 5.2 times more total phosphorous and 3.3 times more total nitrogen in P1 than in P2. Significant negative correlations were also found between the concentrations of NO3 - and the number of waterbirds in P1.

Equivocal support for the climate variability hypothesis within a Neotropical bird assemblage.

The climate variability hypothesis posits that an organism's exposure to temperature variability determines the breadth of its thermal tolerance and has become an important framework for understanding variation in species' susceptibilities to climate change. For example, ectotherms from more thermally stable environments tend to have narrower thermal tolerances and greater sensitivity to projected climate warming. Among endotherms, however, the relationship between climate variability and thermal physiology is less clear, particularly with regard to microclimate variation-small-scale differences within or between habitats. To address this gap, we explored associations between two sources of temperature variation (habitat type and vertical forest stratum) and (1) thermal physiological traits and (2) temperature sensitivity metrics within a diverse assemblage of Neotropical birds (n = 89 species). We used long-term temperature data to establish that daily temperature regimes in open habitats and forest canopy were both hotter and more variable than those in the forest interior and forest understory, respectively. Despite these differences in temperature regime, however, we found little evidence that species' thermal physiological traits or temperature sensitivity varied in association with either habitat type or vertical stratum. Our findings provide two novel and important insights. First, and in contrast to the supporting empirical evidence from ectotherms, the thermal physiology of birds at our study site appears to be largely decoupled from local temperature variation, providing equivocal support for the climate variability hypothesis in endotherms. Second, we found no evidence that the thermal physiology of understory forest birds differed from that of canopy or open-habitat species-an oft-invoked, yet previously untested, mechanism for why these species are so vulnerable to environmental change.

Changes in thermal niche position and breadth of bird assemblages in Spain in relation to increasing temperatures

AbstractAimAnimal communities around the world are responding to climate change by altering their taxonomic composition, mainly through an increase in the colonisation rate of warm‐dwelling species and the local extinction of cold‐dwelling ones. We assessed whether the taxonomic composition of bird assemblages in peninsular Spain has changed in accordance with the recent increase in temperature. We also evaluated the role of species thermal affinities and population dynamics on these changes.LocationPeninsular Spain.TaxonBirds.MethodsWe compared assemblages reported in the last Spanish breeding bird atlases (1998–2002 vs. 2014–2018) in 10 × 10 km squares. We described species' thermal niches by overlaying global species breeding distributions and world temperature metrics (based on mean, minimum, maximum and range), and then aggregated them to obtain a set of community thermal indices for each assemblage (CTIs and CTR for ranges). Long‐term average temperatures and local current temperatures were related to changes in CTIs using spatial GLMMs, which considered habitat change. We identified the species most responsible for variation in assemblages and regressed species' influence on thermal affinities and population dynamics.ResultsCTIs increased with temperature and warm‐dwelling species became more prevalent to the detriment of cold‐dwelling ones. However, we found a counteracting effect of temperature and habitat. Cold‐dwelling forest species were among the most influential species, mainly through colonisation, while warm‐dwelling farmland species contributed through local extinctions (both attenuated local increases in CTI). The mean thermal breadth of assemblages (CTR) decreased with temperatures.Main conclusionsThe taxonomic composition of bird assemblages shifted in line with the main expectations due to global change (thermophilisation), mainly due to local colonisation of warm‐dwelling species, although it did not show the pattern of thermal homogenisation suggested elsewhere. Our results add further evidence of the interplay between climate warming and land‐use change in the ongoing adjustment of animal communities.

Diversity of wintering avifauna throughout the heterogeneous aquatic habitats of Bankura District, West Bengal, India

Birds play various crucial roles in the ecosystem including pollination, seed dispersal, and pest control. Assemblages of bird species in a particular landscape are useful predictors in various ecosystem services, this is evident from studies of forest bird assemblages, aquatic bodies and agro ecosystems. For developing conservation strategies, information on bird species assemblages in a particular geographical area is important. Diversity in aquatic ecosystem support a diversity of water bird species. In the present study, around 45 bird species were recorded in 21 aquatic bodies in Bankura, West Bengal, India, in which two species, namely, Leptoptilos javanicus and Aythya ferina declared ‘Vulnerable’ and three species such as Mareca falcata, Threskiornis melanocephalus, and Limosa limosa considered as ‘Near Threatened’ according to the IUCN Red list. Dendrocygna javanica and Nettapus coromandelianus were found to be the most abundant. In those 21 study areas, site6 has the highest species richness and site2 has the lowest. The dominance index was highest for site2 and lowest for site6. Pielou’s index of evenness was highest for site20. The rarefaction curve showed species abundance was highest for site1. Classical cluster analysis for species abundance showsthat site20, site21, site3, site8, site4, site19, site5, site14, site12, site15, site7, site 10 site11, and site13 are closely related. This paper is aimed to generate interest among people to conserve aquatic birds and their habitats and to document baseline information for further study.

Bird species richness and habitat guilds at isolated forest patch in Turahalli Minor Forest, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Analyzing habitat preferences and foraging dynamics can be useful in understanding how birds adapt to changing physical environments. This is the first-ever study that was carried out on Avian feeding and Habitat guild of the Turahalli minor forest. Our study compares foraging patterns and habitat preferences among bird species by using One-way ANOVA, Tukey’s multiple comparison test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U tests. Observations based on habitat and diet affinities accounted for rich avian diversity with a total of 139 bird species recorded from five different habitats from October 2020 to November 2022. Large trees (95 species) harbored more species followed by shrub and thorny (30 species) and open ground (8 species). Bird assemblages were richer in large tree habitats and shrub and thorny habitats and findings showed that there was no significant difference in bird species richness between the habitats. Insectivorous species (39%) and carnivorous species (30%) exceeded other feeding guilds in the study area. Results of the study showed that different functional groups of avifauna behaved differently, primarily persuaded by choice of food. By providing birds with stable foraging, roosting, and nesting options, habitat heterogeneity supported avifaunal persistence.

Mapping breeding birds in a re-naturalized historical fortress: composition, structure and considerations about abundance vs. biomass comparisons

Using the mapping method, I obtained data about a rich, even and diversified breeding bird assemblage inhabiting an abandoned and re-naturalized historical military fortress (Rome, central Italy). Fortress and the surrounding parks host a large number of edge-mosaic, forest and synanthropic species (often localized at urban scale as Dendrocopos minor and Columba palumbus) due to a large availability of many sub-habitats and related niches (walls, cavities, tree holes, mature trees, mowed meadows, hedgerows, and deep moats). In this regard, this historical site may be considered a “key-stone structure” at the landscape scale (i.e., a mature forest/rocky patch embedded in an agromosaic suburban mosaic). The application of the Abundance/Biomass Comparison (ABC) evidenced a dominant role of large body mass species. The underlying logic behind this approach assumes that, generally, in less disturbed environments species with higher trophic level (and higher body mass) dominate: the increase in frequency of these larger species induce early cumulating biomass curves. However, in our anthropized case study, this assumption seems not valid since many large body mass species (as Columba livia dom., Psittacula krameri and Corvus cornix) show a low trophic level (e.g. granivorous or homnivorous): i.e. body mass is not an indicator of trophic level. Therefore, the pattern reported by ABC curves evidence only a dominance of large body mass species without implications on the trophic level and, consequently, on the disturbance acting on the assemblage. In this regard, assumptions linked to the ABC curves are probably not universal but only limited to specific taxa and contexts.

The dynamic avifaunal assemblage of a fragmented urbanised habitat at Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Urbanisation reshapes ecosystems and fundamentally influences species assemblages. Urban habitats are also highly dynamic with changes taking place on both spatial and temporal scales. The campus of Universiti Brunei Darussalam is an example of an urban habitat consisting of a mosaic of green spaces, fragments of kerangas forest, planted native and ornamental plants as well as building infrastructure, roads and pathways. The aim of this study is to provide an insight into the bird assemblages found within the university campus. Two survey periods were conducted in 2006/2007 and in 2019/2020 using the line transect method. A total of 49 bird species belonging to 23 families and 10 orders were recorded in this study. No evidence of differences in species richness was observed between the two surveys after exclusion of migrants. Insectivores were the most species-rich followed by omnivores, granivores, carnivores and frugivores. As predicted, there was a higher number of non-forest dependent bird species than forest-dependent species. Vegetation cover was lower in 2007 than in 2019, but species composition was similar between the surveys, and the co-occurrence of bird species was random. Even though the bird diversity was considered depauperated, it was comprised of a wide range of species classified as residents, migrants and waterbirds, indicating their ability to tolerate urbanisation. More studies are required to confirm that bird species are surviving and reproducing in this urban habitat.

Simultaneous passive acoustic monitoring uncovers evidence of potentially overlooked temporal variation in an Amazonian bird community

The vocal activity and detectability of tropical birds are subject to high levels of temporal heterogeneity, but quantifying patterns of diel and day‐to‐day variation in complex systems is challenging with traditional point count methods. As a result, research concerning stochastic temporal effects on tropical bird assemblages is limited, typically offering only broad conclusions, such as that overall activity is highest in the first few hours of the morning and some species are active at different times of the day. Passive acoustic monitoring introduces several advantages for studying temporal variation, particularly by enabling simultaneous and continuous data collection across adjacent sites. Here, we employed autonomous recording units to quantify temporal variation in bird vocal activity and observed species richness at an Amazonian reserve in Madre de Dios, Peru, a region featuring some of Earth's richest, most complex bird assemblages. We manually annotated 18 dawn hour recordings, collected simultaneously from three separate days at the same six sites, which represent various microhabitats and bird community compositions. We documented significant and consistent temporal variation in avian vocal activity levels and observed species richness within the dawn hour and across days. We found that temporal effects were stronger for vocal activity than for observed species richness and that vocal activity patterns over the course of the dawn hour varied between species. Our results indicate that overlooked temporal variation in Amazonian soundscapes may obfuscate the results of surveys that do not sufficiently account for temporal variables with simultaneous monitoring. While manual analysis of large volumes of soundscape data remains challenging, such data should be collected to supplement traditional surveys whenever possible. Rapid advances in the automated processing of acoustic data could lead to more efficient methods for reducing temporal bias and improving the calibration and accuracy of tropical bird surveys.

Facets of functional diversity support niche‐based explanations for Australian biodiversity gradients

AbstractAimThere is widespread support that species richness increases with the available energy of an ecosystem, but the mechanisms underlying this driver of biodiversity patterns remain elusive. We evaluated gradients of functional diversity to test whether the higher species richness of productive, structurally diverse environments is due to a greater range of niches being supported by the abiotic conditions present (environmental filtering), greater availability of biotic resource and habitat niches (more niches) or increasing functional similarity of species (niche packing).LocationAustralia.TaxonBirds and mammals.MethodsWe used structural equation modelling to evaluate the relative contributions of climatic harshness (actual evapotranspiration, AET) and the availability of resource (gross primary productivity, GPP) and habitat (tree height) niches on taxonomic richness and functional richness, dispersion and evenness. We performed parallel analyses within 15 bioclimatic zones and continentally to evaluate the scaling of biodiversity gradients and the shifting balance between niche‐based mechanisms along environmental gradients.ResultsAll continental diversity gradients were primarily associated with energy variables, but while species richness of both taxa and all functional diversity measures of bird assemblages increased with AET, mammal functional diversity was more strongly associated with GPP gradients. Results were more variable at the regional scale, but species richness gradients along tree height (birds and mammals) and GPP (mammals) within bioclimatic zones tended not to be paralleled by increases in functional richness or dispersion.Main ConclusionsThe niche‐based explanations of biodiversity gradients varied in importance with scale, position on environmental gradients and taxonomic group. At the continental extent, bird biodiversity gradients were structured by environmental filtering by climatic harshness, while mammal biodiversity was related to the increasing availability of resource niches with increasing productivity. Niche packing was more prominent at the regional scale, especially in bioclimatic zones where productivity and vegetation height were less limiting, and in mammal assemblages, suggesting that biodiversity patterns scale differently for birds and mammals.

Elevational patterns of species richness and community structure of understorey birds in an East African montane forest

AbstractMt. Kasigau is the northeastern most of the Eastern Arc Mountains global hotspot and harbours some endemic and threatened species, but little is known about bird community changes along its elevational gradient. We assessed the relationship between bird biodiversity metrics, season, human disturbance, elevation and temperature using mist‐netting data collected bi‐annually over a 10‐year period. Birds were sampled along the mountain's elevational gradient at four elevation levels (858, 1104, 1321 and 1547 m). Bird richness, diversity and evenness decreased with increasing altitude in both dry and wet seasons. Bird abundance declined with increasing elevation for the lower three elevation levels but peaked at the highest elevation. All diversity metrics were higher in the wet season compared to the dry season across all the years. Elevation had a greater effect on species assemblages than season, disturbance and temperature. Temperature had significant effects on abundance, diversity and richness, while disturbance had significant effects on diversity, evenness and richness. We conclude that bird assemblages in Mt. Kasigau are strongly shaped by elevational changes, while temperature and disturbance constitute important factors influencing bird conservation in the face of global warming. Our study highlights that elevation, disturbance and temperature influence bird assemblages along tropical elevational gradients.

Winter Assemblage of Birds in and Around Sheeal Lake, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India

Winter Assemblage of Birds in and Around Sheeal Lake, Murshidabad, West Bengal, India

Effects of habitat heterogeneity on bird communities in the forests of northeastern Germany

Habitat heterogeneity is a key factor for regulating biodiversity in temperate lowland forests. Specifically, stands associated with late forest development phases provide important habitat structures for many rare and threatened forest bird species. However, how forest stands that differ in their structural complexity, canopy conditions and tree species composition affect forest bird assemblages both at the local and landscape scale remains largely unclear. In a young moraine lake landscape of northeastern Germany, we assessed correlations of bird diversity and bird composition with stand properties. We used data from 48 transects (400 m) established in (1) unmanaged, closed-canopy, mature stands that were dominated by Fagus sylvatica (UDS), and (2) diverse managed, mixed coniferous stands with a mosaic of open and closed canopy patches (MCS). We found that bird communities of the UDS strongly differed from those in the MCS, with open habitat species being more frequent in the MCS. By contrast, differences in diversity measures were less distinct. Moreover, we identified nine indicator species for the UDS (Columba oenas, Cyanistes caeruleus, Muscicapa striata, Leiopicus medius, Certhia brachydactyla, Ficedula parva, Dryobates minor, Sturnus vulgaris, Ficedula hypoleuca) and seven indicator species for the MCS (Periparus ater, Pyrrhula pyrrhula, Regulus regulus, Prunella modularis, Lophophanus cristatus, Emberiza citronella, Anthus trivialis). Several famous ancient beech forest patches in Müritz National Park and the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve “Schorfheide-Chorin” were found to harbour the set of the UDS indicator species. The UDS support of bird coenosis is typical for old mature broadleaved forests and can be considered as an effective tool for bird conservation. Our results further indicate that the combination of unmanaged and managed stands associated with different habitat complexities would benefit forest bird assemblages at the landscape scale. Key words: forest specialist birds, bird conservation, non-managed forests, old-growth patches, Ficedula parva, Leiopicus medius, coniferous forest

Distribution and Structure of Bird Assemblage in Northern Eurasia in the First Half of Summer

Distribution and Structure of Bird Assemblage in Northern Eurasia in the First Half of Summer

Blue-green infrastructure and biodiversity: Urbanization and forestation have an important influence on bird diversity in water habitats

Water and forest habitats are an indispensable part of the blue-green infrastructure, a network that provides solutions for urban climatic challenges by building with nature. We were interested in the effect of water areas and the surrounding environment on bird species richness; specifically, we studied the influence of different levels of urbanization and related forestation. We focused on water, arboreal and ground bird assemblages in forested and nonforested water habitats in a 2000 km2 lowland area of Polabí in the Czech Republic at three urbanization levels: (i) urban, (ii) rural and (iii) open landscapes. The results revealed that ground birds were positively influenced by urban areas, while arboreal birds benefitted from surrounding forestation and tree vegetation on water banks. Overall, the results for native bird assemblages were not different, except that native water birds appeared to thrive in no settlement. The positive relationship between ground birds and urbanization and the weak negative relationship or lack of relationship between urbanization and the other groups were somewhat unexpected. The most likely reason is that water habitats are not as homogenized as other urban habitats. Surrounding forests could also help buffer the influences of urbanized areas. We conclude that blue-green infrastructure is also an essential environment for many birds.

Summer calling activity patterns of a bird assemblage in a Valdivian temperate rainforest biodiversity hotspot

ABSTRACT Birds generally produce vocalisations in specific daily temporal windows. Describing diel-calling activity patterns along with taxonomic group and guild membership increase the knowledge about potential factors shaping the behaviour of these animals. This information is also highly relevant for the enhancement of monitoring plans for conservation. We performed a passive acoustic monitoring to describe the diel calling activity patterns of a bird assemblage within the Valdivian temperate rainforest, associating the patterns to taxonomic group and diet guild, and also aiming to contribute to the enhancement of ecological monitoring within this biodiversity hotspot. Our results indicate that high richness levels are detected around sunrise and sunset. Also, within the bird assemblage studied, most birds show diurnal vocal activity, among which several were also active during crepuscular periods, and only two species had nocturnal vocal activity. Among diurnal birds with enough number of detections to perform a detailed description of diel calling patterns, our results did not show clear trends considering diet guild or taxonomic group. We expect that this information encourages future research to increase the understanding on the factors influencing vocal activity patterns, as well as population and community trends from this biodiversity hotspot.

Constraints on avian seed dispersal reduce potential for resilience in degraded tropical forests

Abstract Seed dispersal is fundamental to tropical forest resilience. Forest loss or degradation typically leads to defaunation, altering seed transfer dynamics and impairing the ability of forested habitats to regenerate or recover from perturbation. However, the extent of defaunation, and its likely impacts on the seed dispersers needed to restore highly degraded or clear‐felled areas, remains poorly understood in tropical forest landscapes. To quantify defaunation of seed‐dispersing birds, we used field survey data from 499 transects in three forested regions of Brazil, first comparing the observed assemblages with those predicted by geographic range maps, and then assessing habitat associations of frugivores across land cover gradients. We found that current bird assemblages have lower functional diversity (FD) than predicted by species range maps in Amazonia (4%–6%), with a greater reduction in FD (28%) for the Atlantic Forest, which has been more heavily deforested for a longer period. Direct measures of seed dispersal are difficult to obtain, so we focused on potential seed transfer inferred from shared species occurrence. Of 83 predominantly frugivorous bird species recorded in relatively intact forests, we show that 10% were absent from degraded forest, and 57% absent from the surrounding matrix of agricultural land covers, including many large‐gaped species. Of 112 frugivorous species using degraded forest, 47% were absent from matrix habitats. Overall, frugivores occurring in both intact forest and matrix habitats were outnumbered by (mostly small‐gaped) frugivores occurring in both degraded forest and matrix habitats (23 additional species; 64% higher diversity). These findings suggest that birds have the potential to disperse seeds from intact and degraded forest to adjacent cleared lands, but that direct seed transfer from intact forests is limited, particularly for large‐seeded trees. Degraded forests may play a vital role in supporting natural regeneration of small‐seeded tree species as well as providing a ‘stepping‐stone’ in the regeneration pathway for large‐seeded trees. We propose that both intact and degraded forests will support the restoration potential of tropical forest landscapes, and that bird‐assisted seed dispersal can be enhanced by maintaining buffer zones of degraded or secondary forests around remaining intact forest patches. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

An Index of biotic condition (IBC) using birds as indicators of coastal wetland quality in North America’s Laurentian Great Lakes

To survive in an area, plant and animal species must confront many interacting environmental stressors at different spatial and temporal scales. Consequently, assemblages of resident species, which have successfully negotiated these stressors, are widely recognized as indicators of environmental quality. Many biotic variables have been employed as indicator metrics, but the simplest is presence/absence of sensitive species in a standardized field sample. We describe a multi-species ecological indicator, the Index of Biotic Condition (IBC), which overcomes key concerns with using indicator species or species assemblages to assess environmental quality. Developing an IBC requires substantial ecological knowledge and preliminary data to identify an appropriate set of species or species groups for the area and habitat(s) of interest and to quantify the sensitivity of these species to an explicit environmental reference gradient. Based on objective biotic response (BR) functions describing the relationship between species occurrences and the environmental gradient, we outline a method for deriving species weights (factors that determine the relative contributions of species / species groups), subsequently used to calculate the simple multispecies index. The IBC is more rigorous than structurally similar metrics like the Floristic Quality Index (FQI) and average Coefficient of Conservatism (C¯) and, at least for some applications, is more parsimonious than comprehensive metrics like the Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) and our previously described Index of Ecological Condition (IEC). We apply information from standardized basin-wide bird surveys conducted between 2011 and 2022 (particularly a subset of data from 2011 to 2015) to develop an IBC for comparing and interpreting the environmental quality of 794 wetlands in the coastal zone of North America’s Laurentian Great Lakes. Implicit in this formulation is the existence of a high-quality reference assemblage that includes 14 obligate or facultative bird species/species groups characteristic of these wetlands. The index ranges from 0 (worst condition) to 10 (best condition) and is correlated with species richness (r = 0.87), although the IBC provides additional information reflecting the taxon-specific environmental sensitivities. The distribution of IBC values for 4,359 point samples in Great Lakes coastal wetlands between 2011 and 2022 is strongly skewed right, with a median value of 2.31. Only 28 wetland points (<1%) yielded an IBC value of 8.0 or greater, suggesting that relatively complete coastal wetland bird assemblages rarely occur at specific points in today’s Great Lakes coastal wetlands, consistent with the region’s well-documented historical reduction in biological diversity.

Differential utilization of surface and arboreal water bodies by birds and mammals in a seasonally dry Neotropical forest in southern Mexico.

Water availability significantly influences bird and mammal ecology in terrestrial ecosystems. However, our understanding of the role of water as a limiting resource for birds and mammals remains partial because most of the studies have focused on surface water bodies in desert and semi-desert ecosystems. This study assessed the use of two types of surface water bodies (waterholes and epikarst rock pools) and one arboreal (water-filled tree holes) by birds and mammals in the seasonally dry tropical forests of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in southern Mexico. We deployed camera traps in 23 waterholes, 22 rock pools, and 19 water-filled tree holes in this karstic region to record visits by small, medium, and large-bodied birds and mammals during the dry and rainy seasons. These cameras were set up for recording videos documenting when animals were making use of water for drinking, bathing, or both. We compared the species diversity and composition of bird and mammal assemblages using the different types of water bodies by calculating Hill numbers and conducting nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), indicator species, and contingency table analyses. There was a greater species richness of birds and mammals using surface water bodies than tree holes during both seasons. There were significant differences in species composition among bird assemblages using the different water bodies, but dominant species and diversity remained the same. Terrestrial and larger mammalian species preferentially used surface water bodies, whereas arboreal and scansorial small and medium mammals were more common in arboreal water bodies. These findings suggest that differences in water body characteristics might favor segregation in mammal activity. The different water bodies may act as alternative water sources for birds and complementary sources for mammals, potentially favoring species coexistence and increasing community resilience to environmental variation (e.g., fluctuations in water availability). Understanding how differences in water bodies favor species coexistence and community resilience is of great relevance from a basic ecological perspective but is also crucial for anticipating the effects that the increased demand for water by humans and climate change can have on wildlife viability.

Contrasting patterns of biodiversity across wetland habitats using single‐time‐point environmental DNA surveys

Abstract Wildlife surveys are central to the conservation and restoration management of wetland habitats; however, the often laborious and costly nature of traditional survey methods can constrain the spatial and temporal extent and replication of survey efforts. Environmental DNA (eDNA) technologies now provide the opportunity to reduce some of these limitations, but applications in temporary and permanent freshwater marshes and meadows (herein referred to as ‘wetland habitats’) remain limited. This study investigates the performance of single‐time‐point eDNA surveys for characterizing fish, amphibian and bird assemblages of wetland habitats in south‐eastern Australia. Comparisons were made between coastal and inland wetlands, between wetlands of varying condition and between eDNA and traditional surveys. Findings show that eDNA surveys can provide comprehensive descriptions of faunal assemblages associated with wetland habitats, with resolution similar to that provided by traditional survey approaches. Analyses also revealed significant differences in patterns of biodiversity between wetland types (coastal vs. inland) but not between wetland habitats varying in condition. Overall, this study confirms that eDNA surveys provide a reliable option for undertaking wetland biodiversity assessments aimed at improving biodiversity data coverage for otherwise data deficient wetlands.

Assessing avian diversity and conservation status in Dighal Wetlands, Haryana, India

Birds are considered sensitive indicators of ecosystem health and functionality in freshwater wetlands. Assessment of birdassemblages in wetland habitats is, therefore, emphasised from a sustainable management perspective. Bird surveys were conducted from October 2020 to September 2022. These surveys aimed to assess the community composition and status of avifauna in Dighal wetlands, an important bird area in the Jhajjar District of Haryana, India. Data collection employed point counts and opportunistic encounter methods. A total of 154 bird species belonging to 108 genera, 47 families, and 18 orders were recorded. Of these, 75 species were residents, 60 were winter migrants, and 10 were summer migrants. The greatest species richness was observed for the order Passeriformes (54), followed by Charadriiformes (22), Anseriformes (17), and the rest of the 15 orders. Anatidae was the most dominant family with 17 species, constituting 11% of the bird community in the study area. Data on local abundance revealed that 10 species were common, 23 were fairly common, 83 were uncommon, and 38 were rare in the study area. Among the recorded avifauna, one species is classified as Endangered, three as Vulnerable, and eight as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species; 17 species are listed in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); and 11 are included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. These wetlands also support 40 species of birds, which have a declining population trend globally. The occurrence of migrants and species of global conservation priority underscores the importance of these wetlands as a conservation site and wintering ground for avifauna due to the extensive food resources and rich biodiversity they support. The present study provides baseline information for future research on monitoring bird assemblages and proper management of the Dighal wetlands of Haryana.