Using Heronry Birds to Monitor Urbanization Impacts: A Case Study of Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala Nesting in the Delhi Zoo, India

Urfi, Abdul Jamil

doi:10.1007/s13280-010-0018-3

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…In contrast, only few nesting trees were located in their native habitats, such as wetlands and mangrove islets, despite an abundance of these habitats in the study area. The affinity of heronry birds to towns and cities was also reported previously in other parts of India ( Subramanya 1996 ; Sashikumar and Jayarajan 2007 ; Urfi 2010 ), and elsewhere ( Des Granges and Reed 1981 ; Henny et al 1989 ; Vennesland and Butler 2004 ; Vergara et al 2006 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Although heronry birds are highly acclimated to the disturbed environments such as urban areas ( Urfi 2006 , 2010 ; Moller 2008 ), vertical and horizontal expansion of cities, and irresponsible solid waste management are sources of concern for the continued conservation of this important functional group of birds in wetland and urban ecosystems. The study sites have already experienced decline in the heronry bird nests in recent years ( Roshnath et al 2013 , 2014 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Colonial waterbirds, for example, use cities for nesting and foraging ( Parasharya and Naik 1990 ; Jamgaonkar et al 1994 ; Subramanya 1996 ; Urfi 1997 ). Monitoring the population ecology of heronry birds is particularly useful to understand the impact of urbanization ( Urfi 2010 ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Nesting tree characteristics of heronry birds of urban ecosystems in peninsular India: implications for habitat management

Roshnath¹,

Sinu²

2017

Current Zoology

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Wetland ecosystems, particularly the mangrove forest, are the primary wild habitat of heronry birds. However, urban ecosystems have become a favorite breeding habitat of these birds. To provide inputs into the habitat management for conservation of these birds, we investigated the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of nesting trees of heronry birds in the urban environment of the North Kerala region of peninsular India. Census on nesting trees was done in 3 major microhabitats of the urban ecosystem: avenues of national highways and towns, nonresidential plots, and residential areas apart from the mangrove islets in the peri-urban locality. The study found that 174 trees of 22 species hosted 1,928 heronry bird nests in the urban habitats; mangrove forests, although plentiful in the study area, hosted only about 20% of the total nests encountered in the study. Rain trees Samanea saman (43.7%) were the most available nesting tree. The greatest number of nests and nesting trees were encountered on the roads of urban areas, followed by nonresidential areas and residential areas. The differences in the observed frequencies of nesting trees in 3 microhabitats and in 3 types of roads (national highways > state highways > small pocket road) were significant. Canopy spread, girth size, and quality of the trees predicted the tree selection of the heronry birds in urban environments. Therefore, we recommend proper management and notification of the identified nesting trees as protected sites for the conservation of herorny birds.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nesting tree characteristics of heronry birds of urban ecosystems in peninsular India: implications for habitat management

Roshnath¹,

Sinu²

2017

Current Zoology

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“…While several bird species occur alongside the Painted Stork at foraging locations, among fish eating waders of a comparable body size, Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) are the only birds from which a Painted Stork can steal prey. Mahindiran and Urfi (2010) recorded Painted Stork stealing fish from Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger). However, the fish taken by the cormorant were relatively small, since it forages in shallow waters which are often near the shore.…”

Section: Nocturnal Foraging and Kleptoparasitismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Important side effects include the dispersal of food due to flooding and creation of islands which effectively isolate nesting colonies from ground predators (Ali and Ripley 1987;Urfi 2010). (1) The causal linkages between the monsoon rains and Painted Stork nesting merit more detailed investigation.…”

Section: Directions For Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%