PhD Theses (WII)

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    Population dynamics and breeding habitat use by colonial waterbirds nesting at the Kokkare-Bellur Community Reserve, Southern Karnataka
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2026) Mahapatra, Aksheeta; Kumar, R. Suresh
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    Study on waterbird assemblages of the Middle Ganga river
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2025) Aftab; Mathur, V.B.; Hussain, S.A.
    The Ganga River, one of Asia's most biodiverse riverine systems, exemplifies this ecological significance, hosting a rich assemblage of aquatic species, including over 150 waterbird species, and threatened taxa such as the Gangetic River dolphin, gharial, and Indian skimmer. However, these ecosystems face severe threats from climate change, habitat degradation because of anthropogenic activities, including unsustainable development, and pollution, leading to an estimated 10,000– 20,000 freshwater species being extinct or at risk of extinction globally. In India, the Ganga River is significantly impacted by the over-extraction of water from dams and barrages, industrial and sewage effluents, sand mining and riverbed agriculture, resulting in significant biodiversity loss. Waterbirds are key indicators that reflect the health of wetland and riverine ecosystems, owing to their sensitivity to environmental changes. Their roles as pollinators, seed dispersers, predators, and nutrient cyclers emphasise their ecological importance. In the Gangetic plains, waterbirds rely on the dynamic hydrological processes of rivers and associated wetlands for feeding, breeding, and roosting. Yet, these habitats are under immense pressure from urbanisation, agriculture, and pollution, with up to 40% of India's wetlands lost over the past 50 years. The middle stretch of the Ganga River, supporting rich diversity of waterbirds and other aquatic fauna, remains understudied, with limited comprehensive data on waterbird assemblages and their responses to a range of environmental and anthropogenic factors. This PhD thesis investigates the spatio-temporal patterns of waterbird assemblages along the middle stretch of the Ganga River, aiming to address critical knowledge gaps in their status, distribution, and ecological dependencies. The study pursues four key objectives: (1) to determine the status, distribution, and assemblage patterns of waterbirds; (2) to identify habitat features governing waterbird assemblages; (3) to assess the impacts of anthropogenic pressures; and (4) to prioritise areas for waterbird conservation. Through systematic surveys and ecological assessments, this research seeks to generate comprehensive data on waterbird diversity and evaluate the influence of habitat characteristics, such as channel depth and width, bank features, and water quality, alongside anthropogenic stressors like sand mining, solid waste dumps, pollution, and habitat fragmentation.
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    Status, habitat use and factors affecting breeding waterbirds of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, Ladakh (India).
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2020) Mahar, Neeraj
    Tourism has evolved as an alternative livelihood for the local people and has reduced their direct dependencies on natural resources and perhaps indirectly contributed towards nature conservation. However, unregulated tourism activities have led to degradation of natural systems and increased the ecological vulnerabilities of local communities. Often, tourism and other developmental activities related disturbances collide with the peak season for several biological processes and affect the ability of natural system to revive and restore itself. In case of waterbirds these disturbance affect the breeding success. Other than anthropogenic activities, domestic dogs, apparently the most abundant carnivores in the world, pose a major threat to local wildlife. Recent studies have determined waterbirds as an important part of their diet. The existing literature clearly suggested that there was a huge information gap regarding Trans-Himalayan wetlands and their avifaunal characteristics. Previous studies were either site specific or species-specific, and thus, landscape level base line data was either scanty or unavailable. The Trans-Himalayan wetlands of India are increasingly under anthropogenic stress which is affecting their ecological structure and functions, especially the breeding birds. Blacknecked crane (BNC) is one of the flagship species of these wetlands. With the above background, I decided to study and understand their ecology and major threats faced by waterbirds and wetlands of Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary (CWLS). The objectives for this work were to (1) assess the population status and habitat use by waterbirds, (2)evaluate the factors affecting the breeding waterbirds, and (3) assess change in the wetland area.
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    Nesting ecology of colonial waterbirds at Bhitarkanika mangroves, Orissa
    (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, 2010) Gopi, G.V.; Pandav, Bivash
    Colonial nesting is an important feature among a majority of the members of Pelicaniformes and Ciconiiformes. The nesting colonies of these birds that represent spatial and temporal clumping of nests are popularly referred to as heronries. One of the largest heronries in India is located in the Bhitarkanika mangroves, along the east coast of India. Birds use five species of mangrove trees for nesting which include Excoecaria agallocha (Guan), Heritiera fomes (Bada Sundari), Cynometra iripa (Singada), Hibiscus tiliaceus (Bania), Tamarix troupii (Jagula) for nesting in the heronry. . The breeding birds in this mixed species colony are Asian Openbill, Great Egret, Intermediate Egret, Little Egret, Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Purple Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Little Cormorant, Darter, and Black-headed Ibis. The heronry in Bhitarkanika is located in an island covered with mangrove vegetation. The availability of large number of nest trees in terms of the mangrove forest and foraging areas in terms of the wetlands inside the forest and the paddy fields surrounding the forest are believed to be the factors favouring such large congregation of breeding water birds in the heronry
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    A study on water bird population and human use of Hokersar and Hygam wetlands of Kashmir valley for conservation planning
    (2009) Hamid, Fozia; Hussain, S.A.
    The primary focus of this study was to evaluate the landscape composition and describe the floristic communities; assess the waterbird abundance and its spatio-temporal variation. The study also examined the resource dependence of local communities and their conservation attitudes towards these wetlands. The objectives were set forth: Map the habitat types with respect to water depth and vegetation characteristics of Hokersar and Hygam wetlands of Jammu & Kashmir. Derive spatio-temporal variation in the density and diversity pattern of waterbirds in these wetlands. iv Examine the seasonal pattern of use of these two wetlands by migratory and resident waterbirds. Examine the extent of use of these wetlands by the local people and their perception and attitude towards these wetlands. The field work was done during July to October 2004; mid-winter (December - January, 2004-2005); post-winter/ spring (February - April, 2005); summer (July - August, 2005), from June to October, 2006 and from June to October 2007. A structured questionnaire was designed and employed to obtain information on socio-economic parameters and vi dependence on wetland resources. The findings of this study indicate a difference in landscape structure between two wetlands. The pattern of land use - land cover between two landscapes shows that the extent of marshy areas was more in Hokersar wetland landscape (35.65%) than Hygam landscape (22.26%).