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Study of Terrestrial Birds with special reference to insects as their food base around three reservoirs in Central Gujarat Thesis Submitted For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Zoology The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Submitted by Nirjara Gandhi Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,Vadodara India MAY 2012 STUDY OF TERRESTRIAL BIRDS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO INSECTS AS THEIR FOOD BASE AROUND THREE RESERVOIRS IN CENTRAL GUJARAT NIRJARA GANDHI Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda Vadodara -390002 India Ph.D Thesis May 2012 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis entitled ―Study of Terrestrial birds with special reference to insects as their food base around three reservoirs in Central Gujarat‖ submitted by Ms. Nirjara Gandhi for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy has been carried out under my guidance in the Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara. The matter presented in this thesis incorporates the results of investigation of the independent research carried out by the researcher herself. The matter contained in this thesis has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of any other degree. Dr. Geeta Padate Research Guide Associated Professor Department of Zoology Faculty of Science The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda 3rd May 2012 DECLARATION I hereby declare that the entire work embodied in this thesis has been carried out by me under the supervision and giudance of Dr. Geeta Padate and to the best of my knowledge no part of the thesis has been submitted for any degree or diploma to this university or any other university or Institutes in India or Abroad. Nirjara Gandhi Department of Zoology Faculty of Science The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE MAHARAJA SAYAJIRAO UNIVERSITY OF BARODA FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ZOOLOGY DEDICATED TO MY PARENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am thankful to the authorities of the Department of Zoology who provided me with all the necessary facilities for the successful completion of my work. I would also like to thank The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda for permitting me to commence my PhD in this esteemed and well known University. I am deeply indebted to my guide Dr. Geeta Padate I/c Head Department of Zoology for providing me the vision and foresight for this work as well as inspire and guide me through out my 3 years long journey putting her valuable time and inputs and stimulating suggestions and encouragements. It is my foremost duty to thank the Forest Department, Vadodara who initiated the project on the Biodiversity of Wadhwana reservoir under which I started my work. I would like to thank UGC, New Delhi for providing me with the fellowship without the aid of which the completion of the present work would have been difficult. My deepest thanks to all the teachers and the non teaching staff who supported me and help me in any possible manner whenever I needed help. Thank You would be a small word to express my gratitude to Ms. Chandni Patel who have been a true friend and have acted as a backbone to accomplish my research work. Without her support this work would have never been possible. It’s my pleasure to thank Sandhya for cheering me all through my work and helping me in the tedious work of proof reading of this thesis. I would like to heartily thank Sonal didi and Jagruti didi for their words of encouragement and guidance all throughout my work. I would also like to thank all my seniors who gave me guidance as well as joyous moments during initial period of work. Friends are the most important part of the life and so their enthusiasm adds new flavour to your life. I would like to express my gratitude to Kiran Morya and Anita Singh for their enduring support during my study. I thank all my friends for their support. I would like to thank Deepak, Swati, Jaymesh, Bhavya and Khushali and all others whom I may have forgotten for their support and help all throughout my work. I am grateful to Patil Sir whose some of the photos have been used in the thesis and Arpita madam who helped me in the final stages of the thesis in the proof reading. I would like to thank Sujatha Madam and Bhavna madam for their words of encouragement. I would like to thank the R.G. Subdivision Vadodara and Irrigation Department for providing me with the necessary meteorological data. Without the support of family any work is not possible so I would like to give special gratitude and thanks to my Parents who are the pillars of my life, for their kind co- operation and encouragement in completing my research work. My mother was always there in my difficulties and encouraged me whenever I was disheartened. The word of wisdom of my father always gave me the strength to complete my work successfully. I would also like to thank my litle sis and bro for their never ending support and encouragement. I would also like to thank my Dadi for believing in me and her support and all my family members who showed faith in me that I could accomplish this work. Last but not the least I would like to Thanks the Almighty for giving me the strength and courage to complete this work as desired. Finally I apologize if I have forgotten any one and thank one and all who have contributed in one or the other way in completion of this thesis. Nirjara Gandhi CONTENT Page No. 1. Introduction 1 2. Study Area 13 3. Materials and Methods 20 4. Chapter 1: Terrestrial Bird Diversity around Wetlands 26 5. Chapter 2: Insect Diversity around Wetlands 64 6. Chapter 3: Odonata Diversity around Wetlands 107 7. Chapter 4: Hemiptera Diversity around Wetlands 152 8. Chapter 5: Butterflies Diversity around Wetlands 187 9. Chapter 6: Hymenoptera Diversity around Wetlands 227 10. Summary 270 11. General Consideration 280 12. Annexure 291 13. References 299 INTRODUCTION India due to its tropical location and influence of the monsoon winds has tropical monsoon type of climate which maximally influences the economy. Nearly 70% population of the country lives in rural area and earns their living by agriculture. For the sustenance of the agriculture, water is essential. In the monsoon type of climate of India, rainfall being a seasonal phenomenon, precipitation is observed only during certain part of the year i.e. June to September in the western parts and November to December in the eastern part of the country. Hence, to combat the water needs in dry seasons of the year, construction of reservoirs becomes essential. In many areas, depressions on the surface of earth are dammed so that the rain water can accumulate naturally resulting in the formation of reservoirs which can supply water during dry conditions. This stored water is used for irrigation, livestock farming, fishing and many other human utilities. According to the Biogeographic classification of India, major part of Gujarat falls in the arid and Semi arid Zones. Central Gujarat where the present study was carried out comes under the semi arid zone of the state where several reservoirs have been built over the century to fulfill the water requirements of the residents living in the vicinity. Most of these reservoirs were built for the purpose of Irrigation. Water being the basic necessity of life, wherever and whenever water is available life comes into existence. The shallow areas of these reservoirs, the transitional zone between land and water, saturated with water, have developed in to valuable ecosystems - the Wetlands. Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as ―area of marsh, fen, peat land or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water; the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters‖. These are considered as one of the most diverse aquatic ecosystem supporting a variety of flora and fauna (Ramachandra et al., 2002). These ecosystems, linking the terrestrial and aquatic systems, play a significant and sensitive ecological role especially in terms of the bio-geo-chemical cycling of various nutrients (Pandey et al., 2004), and are considered as the ―Kidneys of the landscapes‖ (Mitsch and Gooselink, 1986). Their value is increasing as they contribute to the health of the environment. After the implementation of the Ramsar convention, this much neglected ecosystems - the wetlands, started getting due importance. Ramsar Convention, adopted in the year 1971, rated the water bodies according to the waterfowl density it supported. As water birds form one of the major group supported by the wetlands, the density and diversity of water fowls supported by many major wetlands have been documented. However, in recent years Ramsar convention puts more emphasis on the sustainable use of the wetland ecosystem and hence various parameters like the physicochemical properties of the water present along with the pollution status and the wise use of the resources available in the ecosystem has also become important. Besides Ramsar Convention, the Convention on Biodiversity signed at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 1992 aims on the documentation of the Biodiversity present from the grass root level to the larger ecosystem level. Under the concept of conservation of Biodiversity, conservation of the Ecosystem has gained momentum rather than conservation of a species. The Biodiversity Earth Summit has now reached from the National to State level where the identification of the species at local level is a major concern.

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