Visakhapatnam: Industrialisation hits wildlife

Visakhapatnam: Rapid urbanisation and industrialisation have resulted in a direct loss of wetland acreage in Vizag district over the years, threatening the homes of the vast array of wildlife and plants. Now, an Andhra University study has unravelled the ecology of the birds in the saltwater marshes and backwater swamps in the coastal environs of the district. As part of their 52-km-long survey along the coastal environs in these water bodies, two researchers — Prof. PS Raja Sekhar and S. Aparna at the Department of Environmental Sciences of Andhra University, studied the demography of the bird species at three different sites in the district, namely Bangarampalem, Pudimadaka and Gangavaram. In total, they have recorded 54 bird species belonging to 18 families of aquatic habitat and 69 species of terrestrial birds consisting of 31 families. These also include 15 bird species of local migrants and 5 species of winter migrants.

The researchers also sighted rare birds such as Eurasian curlew, painted stork, brown shrike, pied crested cuckoo, brown headed gull etc. Among the spotted birds, those like pintail, cotton teal, common teal, shoveller and brahminy duck were the winter migrants. According to Prof. P.S. Raja Sekhar, these three sites have been recommended for the Integrated Protected Area Management Systems (IAPMS) network of AP forest de-partment, to develop them as “Urban Wildlife Refuges”.

The study, which was recently published in the ‘International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies’, also highlighted how the elevated Eastern Ghats’ slopes and maritime coastal plains have created these water bodies in Visakhapatnam district, which are somewhat unique to the region. The researchers studied the population of birds based on their location, vegetation type etc.

“As the birds stay active mostly during the early mornings as well late evenings, we have made our observations during the same time. Data of nocturnal birds was recorded during the full-moon days. As per the seasonal occurrence and duration of stay of each bird species, the bird species habitat utilisation patterns were classified into different categories,” said Dr. P.S. Raja Sekhar.