Bird diversity and distribution in mosaic landscapes around Jammu,Jammu & Kashmir

The composition and persistence of avian population depends not only on the size and structure of habitat patch but also on surrounding landscapes which contribute to many environmental functions in an urban environment. To assess the bird assemblages around an urban conglomeration, we surveyed the urban landscape of Jammu stratified into six habitat types from January 2017 to December 2017. These comprised two aquatic (Nikki Tawi & Gharana Wetland Conservation Reserve), three terrestrial (Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Bahu-Mahamaya Forest & Jammu University Campus) and a mixed ecosystem, the Southern Open plains. Two hundred and eight species of birds in 63 families and 16 orders were recorded during the investigations. We observed that the protected ecosystems and semi disturbed landscapes harbored rich avian diversity among other sites. A distinct species overlap was noticed in all the study sites while the protected areas shared maximum similarity. The study indicated a defined set of bird assemblages for different habitats across the study area. More datasets are however required to understand the patterns and drivers of bird biodiversity in relation to the fast-expanding urbanization.