Eco-spatial and Temporal Variation in Waterbirds Composition and their relationship with Habitat Characteristics of Urban Lakes of Bengaluru city, India

Eco-spatial and temporal variation in the occurrence, abundance, density, diversity and community composition of aquatic birds in relation to the characteristics of lakes was studied from February 2008 to January 2010 in Bengaluru city. The species diversity, evenness, and richness of waterbird species were varied among different lakes. Also, the indices of various waterbird populations at different lakes between two years were significantly different (paired Student’s t-test at P<0.05). The frequency of occurrence of Bubulcus ibis was 100% percent among the recorded 42 waterbird species. Among the studied lakes, the mean population density of waterbirds per hectare was highest in Lalbagh Botanical Garden lake, whereas it was least at Thippagondanahalli lake. Although the occurrence of number of waterbird species recorded between the different seasons varied, it was not significantly (P>0.05). The decrease in an anthropogenic disturbances and an increasing water depth of lakes show positive impact on the aquatic avian density in the urban lakes. The present study clearly brought out the need for preparing and implementing the specific conservation plans for urban lake ecosystem.