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Foraging Ecology of Aquatic Birds: Implications for Conservation Intervention and Suggestions for Future Research

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Wetland Science

Abstract

India’s rich diversity of water-dependent birds includes more than 200 species of which 37 are listed as threatened. Modern bird conservation science depends upon accurate information on the diet, ecology, and foraging behavior of threatened species, and therefore, it is important to take stock of the research on foraging ecology of these birds. The same is reviewed here along with an outline of developments in foraging ecology worldwide. This paper flags out a number of areas for future research such as ingesting contaminants (particularly pesticides and other toxins) along with food, impacts of invasive ichthyofauna, etc., and discusses the conservation aspects of aquatic birds in the context of monsoon-dependent, multiple use wetland landscapes. An effort is made to attempt a pan-Asian perspective and ideas for future research are enumerated.

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Acknowledgment

This chapter is in memory of Dr. Bhupathy Subramanian, principal scientist, a talented naturalist, and above all a very fine colleague, who tragically passed away in May 2014 while doing fieldwork in Agasthyamalai hills. The ideas presented in this chapter were developed from a lead talk delivered by the author at the “2nd International Conference on Indian Ornithology” (ICIO-2013), organized by Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) in November 2013. I thank the conference participants and particularly Dr. P. A. Azeez, Dr. Rajah Jaypal, (Late) Dr. S. Bhupathy, Dr. R. Nagarajan, and Dr. B. Anjan Kumar Prusty for their valuable comments and suggestions. I thank the University of Delhi, India, for funding my research under the schemes, “providing funds to university faculty” and DST Purse grant.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Abdul Jamil Urfi

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  1. Abdul Jamil Urfi
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Correspondence to Abdul Jamil Urfi .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Impact Assessment Division, Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, Bhuj, Gujarat, India

    B. Anjan Kumar Prusty

  2. Terrestrial Ecology Division, Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, Bhuj, Gujarat, India

    Rachna Chandra

  3. Sálim Ali Center for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

    P. A. Azeez

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Urfi, A.J. (2017). Foraging Ecology of Aquatic Birds: Implications for Conservation Intervention and Suggestions for Future Research. In: Prusty, B., Chandra, R., Azeez, P. (eds) Wetland Science . Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-3715-0_7

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