Diversity, composition and conservation status of avian fauna in the forest and the wetland sites of Hastinapur wildlife sanctuary, India

Almost, in all flora and fauna, the species richness is affected by environmental changes; hence it is important to survey regularly to understand the current composition and diversity of different wildlife species in an ecosystem. The present study surveyed to assess the species distribution, conservation status, abundance and diversity of birds using the point count method, at two different habitats, a wetland (BhikundJheel; BJ) and a forest (Arjun Van; AV) in Hastinapur wildlife sanctuary, India. We surveyed early in the morning (before and after sunrise) and evening (before sunset) for 20 min at every point from January 2019 to April 2019. A total of 96 bird species were recorded, which belong to the 40 families and 15 orders. Out of 96 species, we recorded 67 resident bird species and 29 migratory bird species. The number of bird species specific to the type of habitat was higher in BhikundJheel than those in Arjun Van. The species richness and abundance were higher in the wetland (81; 5605)than in the forest habitat(45; 1716); however, evenness (J’) and diversity [Shannon-Weiner (H’) and Simpson diversity (D)]indices were higher in the forest habitat (J’: 0.827, H’: 3.420, D: 0.960) than in the wetland habitat (J’: 0.669, H’: 2.940, D: 0.827). Overall, we found that in the wetland habitats had more species richness than in the forests.