Guwahati: Indian Institute of Technology campus at Guwahati is not all about studies but a bird watchers’ delight too.
From migratory birds to endangered birds, the campus has 152 avian species. This was found in a study on the first-ever avifaunal diversity on the IIT Guwahati campus. The study, done by Umang H Rathod and Rupam Bhaduri, both students, has been published in the latest edition of the Journal of Threatened Taxa.
“This is the first avifaunal diversity study at IIT Guwahati campus, which is published in the scientific journal as well as peer-reviewed by the experts in this field,” Umang H Rathod, a doctoral student at IIT Guwahati campus, told EastMojo.
This study is particularly important to highlight the richness of avian species on the campus besides the quantitative comparison of diversity among the different campus habitats.
The campus is surrounded by marshy areas to the east and north, human settlements to the west, and the ‘Brahmaputra’ river and sandy riverbanks in the south. Moreover, in the proximity of the campus, the hilly areas ‘Kali Pahar’ in the north and ‘Nilanchal’ hills in the south are located.
In total, 152 species of birds belonging to 108 genera, 50 families and 14 orders were recorded on the IITG campus. Among them, 35 species are winter migrants (including altitudinal and local migrants), four summer migrants, and others are resident. The different habitat types in the campus are water bodies, swamy-marshy, secondary growth, eco-forest and constructions.
Important winter migrants are various duck species, Booted eagle, Himalayan griffon, Peregrine falcon, Siberian rubythroat, species of shrikes, Grey-headed canary flycatcher, Blue rock thrush, Taiga flycatcher, and different species of wagtails and warblers. Key summer migrant species is the Blue tailed bee-eater. The critically endangered Slender Billed Vulture is also present.
“Comparatively, the total number of species is way larger than the average of 88 bird species reported by Guthula and others in a study by surveying 335 Indian academic campuses. Internationally, this number has been reported as equal to 66 based on surveys done on 300 university and college campuses worldwide since 1940 by Liu and others. So, based on these reports, it can be deduced that the diversity of the campus is pretty rich” Rathod says.
During the 2017─2020 study, one critically endangered, one endangered, two vulnerable and three near-threatened species were recorded as per IUCN Red List norms.
“Both the migratory aquatic species, viz., Common Pochard ( Vulnerable) and Ferruginous Duck ( Near Threatened) can be observed in the water bodies of the campus during winter in small numbers. However, their presence has become less frequent with each winter as per the authors’ observations. Another important observation by the authors is that both the species, besides other duck and pochard species, are mostly found in Serpentine and ‘Tihor’ lakes, and not in the IITG lake” the study says.
Both the migratory aquatic species, viz., Common Pochard ( vulnerable) and Ferruginous Duck( Near Threatened) can be observed in the water bodies of the campus during winter in small numbers. However, their presence has become less frequent with each winter as per the authors. Another important observation by the authors is that both the species, besides other duck & pochard species, are mostly found in Serpentine and ‘Tihor’ lakes, and not in the IITG lake.
“The reason can be the small island-type patches and bushes on the fringes of the lakes, except that of the IITG lake, which provides safe roosting places for the aforementioned species (as the majority of them are nocturnal feeders) away from the reach of feral cats, dogs, and Indian Jackal. Over time, vegetation on the fringes of the IITG lake has been removed due to constant construction work, fencing, and campus beautification by planting Bottle palm tree species. This would be one of the probable reasons behind their less frequent presence. Preservation of the small island patches and vegetation on peripheral fringes can be an important step to maintain the Water bodies undegraded for the critically endangered and near threatened aquatic species besides other species” the authors of the study said.
The authors say the reason can be the small island-type patches and bushes on the fringes of the lakes, except that of the IITG lake, which provides safe roosting places for the aforementioned species (as the majority of them are nocturnal feeders) away from the reach of feral cats, dogs, and Indian Jackal.
“Over time, vegetation on the fringes of the IITG lake has been removed due to constant construction work, fencing, and campus beautification by planting Bottle palm tree species. This would be one of the probable reasons behind their less frequent presence. Preservation of the small island patches and vegetation on peripheral fringes can be an important step to maintain the Water bodies undegraded for the critically endangered and near threatened aquatic species besides other species” the study says.
The study has recommended that certain parts of the campus should be protected with minimal scraping and disturbance, diversity of university campuses should be monitored thoroughly to plan more diversity-friendly designs, provide nature-based education and awareness to campus residents, especially the students as they are the next generation of potential birders/naturalists and restoration of biodiversity in the surrounding area with biodiversity protected in the campus.
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“Awareness of the avifauna within the IITG campus was restricted only to the birders with experience. Therefore, the authors, with support from the IITG population, tried to spread the message of the presence of birds within the campus by organizing ‘Bird Walk’ events frequently. During these events, participants were provided with the necessary support to identify and understand the importance of birds” the study says.
“Especially for water bodies and swampy-marshy habitats, the ‘Asian Waterbird Census’ (by Bird Count India and International Waterbird census – IWC) has also been organized in the IITG campus to record migratory waterbirds. Plantation drives are also being organized from time to time in the eco-forest, secondary growth and periphery of the water bodies, which will be beneficial, especially for IITG lake, to address the concerns mentioned earlier. Further, a pictorial guide on birds in the form of a coffee table book by Bhaduri and others was also launched by the IITG to inform visitors and students about avian diversity” the study says
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