DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE OF AVIAN FUNA AT MAIN CAMPUS UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, FAISALABAD: A SYSTEMATIC FIELD SURVEYS

Abstract

Background: Birds constitute a fundamental component of vertebrate diversity and provide indispensable ecological services including insectivory, pollination, seed dispersal, and nutrient cycling, thereby functioning as mobile linkages facilitating energy transfer within and between ecosystems. Despite their ecological significance, avian populations face escalating threats from habitat modification, agricultural intensification, pesticide exposure, and anthropogenic disturbances, with numerous species experiencing pronounced declines globally.

Objective: The present investigation aimed to assess avian diversity patterns and quantify anthropogenic impacts on bird communities across heterogeneous habitats within the University of Agriculture Faisalabad campus, while examining the influence of landscape composition on species abundance, distribution, and community structure.

Methods: Systematic field surveys were conducted twice weekly from January through May 2023 across three distinct habitat categories: urban areas (comprising academic departments, hostels, and residential colonies), agricultural zones (including crop fields and botanical gardens), and pond habitats (twelve freshwater fish ponds). Data collection employed complementary line transect and point count methods, with all avian observations recorded using standardized field protocols. Species identification was performed using regional field guides, and community structure was quantified through Shannon-Wiener diversity indices, evenness calculations, and dominance indices. Analysis of variance was applied to examine significant variations in bird populations across temporal and spatial gradients.

Results: A total of 2,601 individual birds representing 48 species across 12 orders were documented throughout the study period. Agricultural habitats supported the highest abundance with 1,013 individuals (38.95% of total observations), followed by pond areas with 889 individuals (34.18%), and urban environments with 699 individuals (26.87%). The Shannon-Wiener diversity index varied markedly across habitats, with pond areas exhibiting the greatest diversity (H'=3.784), followed closely by agricultural zones (H'=3.761), and urban areas demonstrating comparatively reduced diversity (H'=3.636). Evenness values followed a parallel pattern, with pond habitats showing the most equitable species distribution (J=0.977), agricultural areas exhibiting intermediate evenness (J=0.972), and urban environments displaying the lowest evenness (J=0.939). Dominance indices confirmed these patterns, with urban areas showing the highest concentration of abundance within few species (D=0.0354), while agricultural (D=0.0247) and pond habitats (D=0.0220) demonstrated more balanced community structures. Analysis of variance revealed statistically significant habitat-based differences in bird populations during January (p=0.005), February (p=0.007), March (p=0.008), and May (p=0.002), while April showed non-significant variation (p=0.088).

Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that agricultural and aquatic habitats within peri-urban institutional landscapes support substantially greater avian diversity and more equitable community structures compared to developed areas, underscoring the critical importance of habitat heterogeneity for biodiversity conservation. Urban environments exhibited reduced diversity and increased dominance by synanthropic species, reflecting the ecological filtering effects of anthropogenic modification. This research provides baseline data for monitoring environmental changes, assessing habitat loss impacts, and evaluating the consequences of contemporary agricultural practices on avian communities in human-dominated landscapes.