Impact of Urban Threats and Disturbance on the Survival of Waterbird Communities in Wetlands of Bengaluru City,India

Threats to waterbird communities on urban wetlands in the Bengaluru city, South India are poorly known. We calculated disturbance scores for 15 lakes along a gradient from low (LDL) to high (HDL) disturbance levels based on vegetation structure and composition. HDL had the highest threat scores and the lowest number of waterbird species whereas LDL supported the highest number of species. Human activities included commercial fishing and aquaculture, and shoreline development leading to habitat fragmentation and degradation. We discuss strategies for the conservation of urban wetlands and the preservation of waterbird diversity.