Survey of ferns and fern allies from Kolli Hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu.

Abstract :

We studied the spatial variations of bird species and invertebrates in the different saltpans of Kodikkarai regions of east coast of southern India. We selected five different saltpans and fortnightly quantification was made on birds and invertebrates. The birds were estimated by total count and the invertebrates were sampled at 20cm depth which used for foraging by shorebirds. In total 10345 of individual birds consisting of 46 species were using the saltpans as foraging grounds. In which, species of shorebirds used the saltpans more than the other bird species. Among the five saltpans, the Nedunthittu saltpan had highest density (21.08/ha.), diversity (H’=2.1092) and bird species richness (38) than the other saltpans. The bird density showed significant difference among the saltpans (P<0.05). Also, there was a positive relationship between the density of bird species and density of benthic organisms (P<0.05). From this study, it is inferred that the conservation, restoration and development of saltpans at coastal wetlands, is a viable approach to the conservation of birds especially migratory shorebirds.