Avifaunal Diversity and Distribution in Protected and Non-Protected Areas at Central Low Country Dry Zone, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is a tropical island with major development in the recent past. Rapidly developing the tourism industry and the recently started Moragahakanda Hydro-electricity and multipurpose project affects the fauna and flora in the Habarana area, where typical dry zone semi-evergreen vegetation is present. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts on avifauna due to such changes in the natural environment. Three sites by the side of Habarana (Kaudulla National Park (KNP), Minneriya National Park (MNP) and Non-Protected Forest Patch (NPFP)) were selected as the study area. Avifauna was recorded usingcircular plots (number of plots for each site was decided after drawing the species discovery curve for each site) representing different habitat types at each site in the morning (6.00 am to 10.00 am) and evening (2.00 pm to 6.00 pm) during a period of 6 months from March 2018 to August 2018. According to the results, 73 species, was observed at MNP belonging to 35 families and 15 orders and at KNP had 67 species, belonging to 32 families and 12 orders were observed. At the NPFP 43 species were observed belonging to 18 families and 9 orders. At KNP and MNP the most abundant species were aquatic birds (Black-headed Ibis, Black-winged Stilt, Painted Stork and Grey Heron) due to the presence of large reservoirs. Most abundant species at the NPFP were garden birds (Rose-ringed Parakeet, Red-vented Bulbul, White-browed Bulbul, and Yellow-billed Babbler) indicating the human invasion to the area. In total, four endemics (Sri Lanka Jungle fowl, Sri Lanka Swallow, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, and Sri Lanka Green Pigeon) were observed in the study area. Simpsons and Shannon diversity indexes were highest at KNP (0.928 and 3.03) and lowest at NPFP (0.935 and 3.17), while at MNP, the above indexes were 0.9571 and 3.54, respectively. Species evenness at the three sites were 0.481, 0.472 and 0.356 at KNP, MNP, and NPFP, respectively. Hence, species diversity and species evenness at all three sites depict high diversity in the study area indicating the importance of all habitats for species conservation. Therefore, not only less disturbed National Parks but also, non-protected disturbed forest patches are also important as habitats for avifauna. This is an important assumption to prove the vital necessity of protecting diverse habitats and integration of overall land-use management to conserve avifauna as well as other native species.Keywords: Avifauna, Distribution, Diversity, Kaudulla, Minneriy

Diurnal Avifaunal Diversity at Anavilundawa Ramsar Site of Sri Lanka

Anavilundawa is a globally important Ramsar wetland as well as one of the important bird areas in Sri Lanka. The wetlands at Anavilundawa are famous for a greater diversity of aquatic birds. However, the area is threatened with the wide and rapid spread of invasive aquatic plant species. Hence, there is a possibility of changes in avifaunal diversity in the area, a study was conducted to determine the diversity of avifauna in different habitats during the different time periods of the day. Data were collected in the morning (6.00-10.00 am) and evening (2.00-6.00 pm) along six 500 m line transects representing diverse habitats. Birds within 100 m either side of the transect were recorded. According to the results, 2,281 individuals representing 100 species belong to 48 families and 17 orders were recorded within a period of 6 months from January to June 2019. More importantly, 7 endemic species were recorded in the study area. Most abundant species were Little comorant, Lesser whistling duck, Cattle egret and Purple swamphen with the relative abundances of 23.0%, 14.4, 8.8% and 8.6% respectively. The highest number of species (50) were recorded in the Suruvila reservoir while the highest number of individuals (601) were recorded at the Pinkattiya reservoir. Lowest number species and individuals were recorded at the paddy field area. The Shannon Weiner and Simpson’s Diversity indices for morning and evening were 3.235/0.918 and 2.932/0.867 respectively. The species evenness in the morning was comparatively higher (0.318) than the evening (0.216). Therefore, as depicted by diversity indices morning diversity is higher than the evening. In addition, important sightings such as Black-capped Kingfisher, Black-rumped flameback and Sri Lanka Emerald collard parakeet were recorded in the area which is out of their recorded species distribution range. Therefore, the Anavilundawa Ramsar Site provides a favorable feeding and breeding habitat for a high number of species and individuals. Though, spreading invasive flora rapidly alters the aquatic habits which can be recognised as a threat to most avifaunal species. However, few bird species are benefitted and adopted to the change in landscapes. Therefore, Anavilundawa has good diversity and has the potential of acting as a good refuge for avifaunal conservation, prompt action must be taken to control the spreading of invasive flora which is observed as the main threat to the sanctuary. Further studies on the impact of invasive flora on avifauna are recommended.Keywords: Diurnal, Avifauna, Anavilundawa Ramsar site, Diversit

Seed Dispersal Potential of Elephas maximus maximus at Habarana, Sri Lanka

Elephants are holding a significant position in the environment, as they are the largest terrestrial mammal species in Sri Lanka. Elephants act as seed dispersal agents of the ecosystem. They consume a huge amount of plants per day and most of the seeds in their diet can remain undigested. Those seeds can germinate in normal environmental conditions. There are only a few studies conducted in Sri Lanka to assess the seed dispersal potential of Sri Lankan elephants (Elphas maximus maximus). Therefore, this study was carried out to identify the seed dispersal potential of Sri Lankan elephants in the low country dry zone of Sri Lanka. The selected study area was Habarana, Hurulu Forest Reserve, and Minneriya National Park, where most of the Elephants roam throughout the year. The dung samples were collected randomly within a period of five months starting from January 2019 to June 2019. Collected dung samples were broken into pieces to find visible seeds. Furthermore, they were kept a few days to observe the germination of the seeds. Altogether, 90 piles were observed; out of which, 43 piles contained 59 germinated plants (36-Oryza spp, 2-Citrullus lanatus, 12-Cucumis melo, 5-Cucurbita maxima, and 4-unidentified seedlings), and 16 piles contained 20 seeds (1-Artocarpus heterophyllus, 14-C. melo, 2-C. lanatus, and 3-unidentified seeds). The greatest number of plants were paddy (Oryza spp), because some elephants live close to human habitats and they tend to feed on paddy fields and chena cultivations. Snake Cucumber (C. melo) and Pumpkin (C. maxima) are commonly grown plants in chena cultivations. Moreover, the elephants in the park mainly consume grass species that grows on reservoir beds such as Cogon Grass (Imperata cylindrica), which is rapidly spreading weed of this area. Therefore, their dung piles did not contain seeds of other plant species that can germinate. Furthermore, polythene bags were found in 14 dung piles, because some elephants are used to feed on garbage and it is a significant threat to elephants in the area. This observation depict that improper garbage disposal in the expanse cause severe threat to the Elephants in the area. In addition, the Elephant dung contains many insects and other small invertebrates, which depicts that Elephants play a key role in the ecosystem. When considering the seed dispersal potential of Elephas maximus maximus in the area, the above results conclude that Elephants, which roam outside the protected areas mainly, disperse paddy (do not last for long period) and other vegetables.Keywords: Elephants, Dung, Seed-dispersal, Habaran

Green Buildings Concept for Nature Based Tourism; A Case Study from Sri Lanka

The concept of green buildings and nature-based tourism are topics of global concern for effective sustainable environment management. This has now become a very popular business and marketing strategy since large amounts of money are drawn into these businesses by the hospitality industry. However, sustainability and monitoring progress is in want in most of these concept based projects. Therefore, a study was carried out with the objective of assessing the effectiveness of the concept of green buildings in relation to nature- based tours. This case study was conducted at a luxury resort located in Sigiriya, which has received the Gold Award based on the GREEN Rating System of New Buildings. In addition to a proper environment management plan, prominent green features of the resort in order to obtain high ranking in green building rating system was landscaped with native flora, a micro socio-economic system demonstrated by creating a lake and setting up a small paddy field on the site. The design of the resort is planned to keep the environment undisturbed as much as possible.The success of the site for nature-based tours was analyzed by comparing the birds that can be observed naturally during the course of bird watching tours conducted within a period of 24 months, from 7th July 2014 to 7th July 2016. The bird diversity was observed and analyzed within the resort premises and adjacent sites with similar landuse patterns (abandoned farmland, man-made lake, paddy field and natural forest patch) and same extent. The fixed distance line transect method was used to count the bird species and then the alpha diversity and gamma diversity was calculated for the study area. According to the results, the resort site had the highest alpha diversity with 87 species. The lake, abandoned farmland, natural forest patch and paddy field had 70, 57, 47 and 43 alpha diversities respectively. The gamma diversity for the entire area was 112 species.The manifold diversity within the resort was mainly due to the presence of large numbers of different micro habitats within a small extent of area when compared with the other sites with similar areas of extent. Hence, a bird watcher could observe many numbers of species that are present in various dissimilar habitat types with the same time and effort. This is worth the while for both the service provider (resort, travel agent or the guide) and customer (tourist). The different micro habitats were primarily created as a result of the passion inspired by the concepts of green buildings and nature based tours. Therefore, outcomes from such conceptual developments are an example for organizations which are involved in the same field to conduct effective nature based tours which benefit all parties such as the service provider, the client (tourist) as well as the local fauna and flora. Industry and conservation should run parallel to each other to optimize economic and conservation goals. Thus the ‘green buildings concept for nature based tours’ would be a new prospect in the field of effective conservation.Keywords: Green building, Sustainability, Nature-based touris

Green Buildings Concept for Nature Based Tourism; A Case Study from Sri Lanka

The concept of green buildings and nature-based tourism are topics of global concern for effective sustainable environment management. This has now become a very popular business and marketing strategy since large amounts of money are drawn into these businesses by the hospitality industry. However, sustainability and monitoring progress is in want in most of these concept based projects. Therefore, a study was carried out with the objective of assessing the effectiveness of the concept of green buildings in relation to nature- based tours. This case study was conducted at a luxury resort located in Sigiriya, which has received the Gold Award based on the GREEN Rating System of New Buildings. In addition to a proper environment management plan, prominent green features of the resort in order to obtain high ranking in green building rating system was landscaped with native flora, a micro socio-economic system demonstrated by creating a lake and setting up a small paddy field on the site. The design of the resort is planned to keep the environment undisturbed as much as possible.The success of the site for nature-based tours was analyzed by comparing the birds that can be observed naturally during the course of bird watching tours conducted within a period of 24 months, from 7th July 2014 to 7th July 2016. The bird diversity was observed and analyzed within the resort premises and adjacent sites with similar landuse patterns (abandoned farmland, man-made lake, paddy field and natural forest patch) and same extent. The fixed distance line transect method was used to count the bird species and then the alpha diversity and gamma diversity was calculated for the study area. According to the results, the resort site had the highest alpha diversity with 87 species. The lake, abandoned farmland, natural forest patch and paddy field had 70, 57, 47 and 43 alpha diversities respectively. The gamma diversity for the entire area was 112 species.The manifold diversity within the resort was mainly due to the presence of large numbers of different micro habitats within a small extent of area when compared with the other sites with similar areas of extent. Hence, a bird watcher could observe many numbers of species that are present in various dissimilar habitat types with the same time and effort. This is worth the while for both the service provider (resort, travel agent or the guide) and customer (tourist). The different micro habitats were primarily created as a result of the passion inspired by the concepts of green buildings and nature based tours. Therefore, outcomes from such conceptual developments are an example for organizations which are involved in the same field to conduct effective nature based tours which benefit all parties such as the service provider, the client (tourist) as well as the local fauna and flora. Industry and conservation should run parallel to each other to optimize economic and conservation goals. Thus the ‘green buildings concept for nature based tours’ would be a new prospect in the field of effective conservation.Keywords: Green building, Sustainability, Nature-based touris

Freshwater Fish Diversity in Urban Wetlands at Ramsar Wetland City-Colombo, Sri Lanka

Urban wetlands are highly fragile and dynamic ecosystem in Sri Lanka. Especially, the wetlands in Colombo are particularly diverse with assemblage of faunal species with notable endemism. Amongst, fish fauna are unique and highly vulnerable to decline of their population due to various natural and human induced activities such as habitat alteration, introduction of alien species, unregulated aquarium trade, water pollution, landfilling and climate change. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the freshwater fish diversity at urban wetlands in Ramsar wetland city-Colombo. Samplings were carried out in three different urban wetlands; Diyasaru wetland park, Thalangama Tank and Bellanwila-Aththidiya sanctuary. Data were collected once a month at each site from February 2019 to June 2019. Cast net, two-gill nets, bank count and random observations were used to collect data. According to the results, a total number of 253 individuals belonging to 14 species, 8 families and 5 orders were recorded from the three wetlands. The most abundant species recorded at Diyasaru and Thalangama was Horadandiya (Horadandia atukorali) with a relative abundance of 24% and 52.6% respectively. Whereas at Aththidiya the most abundant species was the Sucker Mouth Catfish (Pterygoplicththys pardalis) with a relative abundance of 47.9%. Additionally, comparing the number of endemic species with other two wetlands Diyasaru contains a highest number of endemic species with a relative abundance of 49.7%. Endemic species such as Filamented barb (Dawkinisia singhala), Olive barb (Systomus sarana) and Horadandiya (Horadandia atukorali) were recorded at Diyasaru wetland. The Shannon and Simpson diversity index values at the three wetlands Diyasaru, Thalangama and Aththidiya were 1.847/0.824, 1.295/0.653 and 1.386/0.691 respectively. In addition, the Shannon and Simpson diversity index values for native and exotic species in three wetlands are 1.834/0.816 and 1.177/0.668. The highest number of exotic species was recorded at Bellanwila-Aththidiya Sanctuary with a value of 78.08%. More importantly, a data-deficiency exotic species belonging to the Family Cichlidae was recorded in the study sites. Moreover, further studies including assessment of anthropogenic activities must be conducted to determine the threats for freshwater fish faunal diversity in urban wetlands. In conclusion, overall native fish species diversity is high in the wetlands compared to exotic species in the wetlands. Furthermore, Diyasaru wetland has a high fish faunal diversity compared to other two wetlands. As well as, proper conservation methods, control of invasive species and integrated water resource management practices are a mandatory requirement to protect freshwater fish diversity at urban wetlands.Keywords: Conservation, Diversity, Freshwater fish, Ramsar wetland city, Urban wetland

Soil Loss Estimation from Kelani River Catchment, Sri Lanka

Soil erosion from land surfaces is a major problem worldwide including Sri Lanka, especially in the Kelani river catchment. Kelani river basin is home to around 25% of the Sri Lankan population. The river is primary source of drinking water to over 4 million people living in the capital city - greater Colombo and over 10,000 industries and businesses depend on the natural resources and services provided by the basin. The land of Kelani river catchment is 2,342.05 km2 of this area 1,211.67 km2 used for agricultural purposes including rubber, tea and paddy and for the home gardens 390.29 km2 have been used. Another 269.38 km2 are occupied for forest cover together with lowland rainforests, sub-montane forests and montane forests. In addition, 24.04 km2 are covered with streams and rivers. To address these issues proper understating of soil erosion from the catchment is a vital requirement. Therefore, a study was conducted with the objective of estimating the soil erosion from the Kelani river watershed using universal soil loss equation (USLE). ArcGIS 10.2.2 commercial software was used to calculate the soil loss from the catchment. The results indicate that the average soil loss ranges between 0 to 715-ton ha-1, which is considerably high soil loss from the catchment. Average soil loss is highest in urbanized areas (715-ton ha-1) due to increases of the slope length factor and the lowest soil loss were found in the forested areas (0-ton ha-1). The soil loss from agricultural areas (481-ton ha-1), had average soil loss. Therefore, immediate soil erosion control measures must be applied to the residential areas. Also, sustainable development strategies should give major consideration for soil conservation. Since, the forested areas have the lowest erosion rates, forest cover in the upper catchments must be protected and expansion of the forests must be promoted. Therefore, this study concludes, estimation and modeling of soil erosion from the Kelani river catchment is an important tool for development of environment conservation and management plans with in the catchment.Keywords: Catchment, GIS, Kelani River, Soil loss USL

Distribution and Conservation Awareness of Grey Slender Loris (Loris lydekkerianus nordicus) at Sampopham’s Arboretum, Dambulla, Sri Lanka

Lorises are very unique creatures that live on trees. As a result of habitat destruction, they have become a rarity and are on the verge of extinction. Sam Popham’s Arboretum, Dambulla is Sri Lanka’s only dry zone Arboretum where an amazing spectrum of trees, birds, butterflies, dragonflies, and mammals can be observed in their natural setting. The slow Lorises are now identified as a heavily threaten group of animals and declared as threatened species in Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is an urgent necessity to take measures to protect them in their habitats. There are no studies reported so far on different habitats and the distribution pattern of the Loris population at Sam Popham’s Arboretum. The main objective of this research is to study the distribution pattern and population estimation of Grey Slender Loris in different habitats at Sam Popham's Arboretum. The number of Lorises, its gender, maturity (adult/juvenile) and the species of tree (with the height) which Lorises were spotted were recorded and tagged. The data was collected for a period of seven months from January 2019 to July 2019. The results obtained so far showed that Lorises are restricted to certain specific tree species. Although the forest is rich with large no trees belonging to several families, they commonly occupied species such as Pamburu (Pamburus missionis), Daduwa (E. bracteata), Welan (P. suberifolium), Elapath Habarala (Diospyros ferrea), and Ahatu (Ficus tinctoria). Furthermore, the Lorises were sighted at a height of 5 feet and above. According to the results, 31 Grey Slender Lorises were found and 14 of them were adult males, six were adult females and 11 were juveniles. Out of the tree species, Daduwa (E. bracteats) has the highest number of loris sightings consisting of 4 adult Lorises all were male adults. Elapath Habarala (D. ferrea), Ahatu (Ficus tinctoria) and Velan (P. suberifolium) each consist 3 Grey Slender Lorises which were 3 adults males, 1 female and 4 juveniles. As per the present study, during the full moon, the Loris sighting was relatively low compared to other days due to the moonlight. However, during the study, an average of 3 Lorises can be observed within a period of 2 hours. This indicates that there is a good population of Lorises within the Arboretum. Therefore, the establishment of similar Arboretums and enhancing the knowledge of the general public will help to uplift the rapidly declining Loris populations in the area.Keywords: Loris, Arboretum, Dambulla, Distributio

Urban Parks and Urban Gardening for Sustainable Urban Development and Conservation; A Case Study from Sri Lanka

Urban parks and urban gardening are globally emerging concepts to offer recreation and green space for concentrating urban human populations while providing safe and suitable feeding, breeding and residing habitats for urban wildlife. For a concept to be sustainable, it should have socio-economic benefits as well as environment friendly perception. Most of the urban parks in Sri Lanka are developed on wetlands, on their own are not identified as of much use to general public. However, after the implementation of urban parks, they were able to attract people, which would increase the socio-economic aspects such as metal well-being and income for the government. Simultaneously, urban gardening also an important concept, which improves the well-being by improving the mental stability of individuals by means of relaxation. However, observing and assessing the socio-economic benefits and environmental benefits of such concepts are a vital requirement to improve sustainable development plans in future. Therefore, this study was conducted with the objective of determining the environmental prosperities of such concepts. This case study was carried out in two different urban habitats, ‘Diyasaru’ Wetland Park of Thalawathugoda (urban park) and a home garden of Pelawatha (Urban garden), from June to August 2018. Butterflies were used as indicator species for this study, mainly because they represent an important position in ecological food webs in urban wildlife. Butterfly data was collected at each location using plot sampling method in an area of same extent. The Simpson’s and Shanon Diversity Indices for Diyasaru and home garden in different time intervals were 8.00-8.15 a.m. [(1.944/0.7911) and (2.226/0.8707)], 10.00-10.15 a.m. [(2.179/0.8122) and (2.117/0.8207], 12.00-12.15 p.m. [(2.411/0.8823) and (2.468/0.8826)], 2.00-2.15 p.m. [(2.33/0.8074) and (2.069/0.8336)], 4.00-4.15 p.m. [(2.076/0.8432) and (2.059/0.8252)] respectively. The results indicate that the butterfly diversity at Diyasaru and the home garden are similar and high. According to several studies, which butterflies were used as indicator species, the diversity of urban butterflies in these urban habitats are comparatively higher than other urban habitats and several other similar suburbs. Therefore, this study concludes that, concept of urban gardening and development of urban parks are a strategic approach in sustainable urban development.Keywords: Sustainable, Urban parks, Urban gardening, Butterflies, Conservation