Effects of land use changes on bird composition along River Njoro: A watershed of Lake Nakuru
The rift valley lakes and their associated watersheds are home for millions of resident and migratory waterfowl. However, they have been recently challenged by land use changes. Lake Nakuru (Kenya) supports diverse biological resources of global, regional and national importance. It is saline and River Njoro is its main source of freshwater. Deforestation, cultivation and urbanization in vital watershed areas have altered the hydrological regime of River Njoro. There is need to preserve and restore aquatic, riparian and terrestrial biological diversity in the watershed to be able to restore and maintain ecological health of Lake Nakuru. The impact of these recent land use changes on birds in the River Njoro Watershed is of concern to conservationists. This study aimed at giving basic information on the status of bird community in the River Njoro watershed. The upper river course was surveyed. The different land uses along the upper river course were assessed and classified according to the quality of the available habitat. A total of seven sampling sites were studied and observations made. Bird species were identified, counted and recorded. The data was compared among the different land use and correlated to the quality of the habitat. The data revealed that species are distributed largely on the basis of microhabitats. Subsequently, sites with higher number of microhabitats recorded higher species composition. Overall, the upper River Njoro Watershed has a high diversity of birds (>0.90 Simpson indices). Even then, there was a significant difference between sites along the river depending on riparian land use (p<0.05). Harmonious integration of land uses in the watershed is the underline for high diversity in the watershed.
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Proceedings Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2006
|
| Subjects: | Aquatic birds, Urbanization, Resource conservation, Resource management, Land use, Migratory species, Environment management, Protected resources, Watersheds, Lake basins, Inland waters, Environmental effects, Species diversity, Riparian environments, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/1499 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|