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Conservation monitoring of a polluted urban river: an occupancy modeling study of birds in the Yamuna of Delhi

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Abstract

Given that ecological knowledge of large urban river systems is extremely sparse due to logistics and accessibility an occupancy modeling study was conducted on the resident birds of Delhi. River Yamuna passing through Delhi is a refuge for several resident and migratory species of birds but its water quality has been deteriorating due to ever growing population, contributing most of its pollution load in the urban center. The objectives of this study were 1) to determine whether the occupancy of common waterbirds varied between differential polluted sections of the river, 2) to better understand the associations between habitat variables and use of the river habitat by common waterbirds and 3) to identify whether any species or groups of species could be useful as indicators for habitat quality. The occupancy parameter Ψ was estimated for 17 common resident species among 68 species, recorded from 176 sampling locations during 2018, on the banks of river. Species occupancy was estimated as a function of habitat variables such as physico-chemical characteristic of water, solid waste, percent area of surface and emergent vegetation and human disturbance at each sampling site. The results suggest that Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Grey-headed Swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus), Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), Common Moorhen (Gallinuala chloropus), Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) and Little Cormorant (Microcarbo niger) are negatively associated with the Total Dissolved Solute (TDS). Interestingly, occupancy of Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus) is negatively associated with pH but positively with solid waste strongly suggesting its preference for the polluted sections of the river, possibly due to the increased availability of food. For river Yamuna, estimates of Ψ for various birds forms a baseline to study future trends. This study also indicates that species like Black-winged Stilt, can serve as an indicator of contaminated water bodies. The challenges posed by increasing urbanization and pollution to riparian bird habitats in urban areas can be effectively dealt with by incorporating such ecological knowledge with habitat restoration and conservation efforts.

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Acknowledgements

Sana Rehman thanks the Waterbird Society, USA for partial funds to attend the Waterbird Society 43rd Annual Meeting 2019 to discuss this work and colleagues at Rajdhani College for their encouragement. Nawin Kumar Tiwary thanks Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi for the award of a research project enabling him to complete some parts of the fieldwork. A J Urfi thanks the University of Delhi for funds under various schemes (Department of Science & Technology, India-purse grant, Research & Development grant and Teaching & Research grant). We thank Praveen Thakur and Paritosh Ahmed for their help in field work. We also thank the two anonymous referees and the associate editor for their constructive comments in the earlier versions of the manuscript.

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Funding

The research leading to these results received funding from University of Delhi under various schemes (‘Department of Science & Technology, India-purse grant’, ‘Research & Development grant’ and ‘Teaching & Research grant’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Studies, Rajdhani College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, 110015, India

    Sana Rehman

  2. Department of Environmental Studies, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110054, India

    Nawin Kumar Tiwary

  3. Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, New Delhi, 110007, India

    Abdul Jamil Urfi

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  1. Sana Rehman
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  2. Nawin Kumar Tiwary
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  3. Abdul Jamil Urfi
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by Sana Rehman. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Sana Rehman and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. Nawin K. Tiwary provided assistance in the analysis and creating the final draft. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Abdul Jamil Urfi.

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Rehman, S., Tiwary, N.K. & Urfi, A.J. Conservation monitoring of a polluted urban river: an occupancy modeling study of birds in the Yamuna of Delhi. Urban Ecosyst 24, 1399–1411 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-021-01127-1

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