Artificial wetlands are built to meet the rising human population's water needs, with little attention paid to their ecological significance. The current study was carried out to assess the importance of artificial wetlands in biodiversity conservation. Habitat quality of wetlands was assessed using the birds as an ecological indicator. Bird surveys were carried out at the five artificial wetlands located in the Ajara conservation reserve, northern Western Ghats, India. Bird surveys were conducted for five years (2011–2015). During the study, 165 bird species were recorded, including 34 wetland birds and 131 wetland-associated birds. Wetlands in forested areas have a higher richness of wetland birds. Wetlands surrounded by exotic plantations, agriculture, and human settlements exhibit lower wetland bird richness than wetlands in forested areas. Land use attributes around the wetlands affect wetland bird diversity. The current study gives a glimpse that these artificial wetlands could serve as a possible habitat for wetland birds.
We studied the reptilian diversity in and around five man-made wetlands in Amboli hill complex of the northern Western Ghats, in the monsoon seasons from 2011 to 2015. During the study we recorded 37 reptile species: 26 snakes, 10 lizards, and one turtle. Several endemic, range-restricted and newly-described species were recorded. We recorded the Indian Black Turtle Melanochelys trijuga, which is under ‘Near Threatened’ category of IUCN Red List 2020. We observed the greatest species richness at Gavase and Dhangarmola wetlands, followed by Khanapur, Yarandol, and Ningudage.
The present attempt of study has been made to reveal the status of fresh water reservoirs from Gadhinglaj Tahsil of Kolhapur District, Maharashtra, India by using Global Positioning System (GPS) with reference to survey and mapping. Emphasis is given to survey, location, mapping and submergence area of major wetlands from the Tahsil. Comparison with secondary data is made available from Government authorities so as to study the percentage of change in the total submergence area of wetlands in this area due to anthropogenic activities and other environmental factors. The study adds multi-temporal GPS information on the reservoirs, which have paramount importance to indicate environmental changes and anthropogenic activities. The finding obtained from the survey can provide valuable information for policy makers and government authorities to implicate initiatives, management related decision-making and environmental impact assessment. The present results indicate reduction in the submergence area and changes in the landscape pattern due to influence of human activities and population pressure. The total reduction observed in water resources in present investigation from Gadhinglaj tehsil is 7.57%.
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