Avian diversity and feeding Guild structure of Urban Birds: The case of Jimma Town, South West Ethiopia

Abstract

Birds are among the most significant members of biodiversity with enormous ecological, economic, and aesthetic values. Ethiopia is one of the most avifauna rich countries in Africa Despite the diversity of avifauna in the country little ornithological researches have been done particularly in urban ecosystem. Therefore, this study was aimed at recording the species diversity, relative abundance and feeding guild structure of urban birds in Jimma town. Three habitat types including building sites, vegetation patches and waste dumping site were identified and Point count method was used to collect the data of birds. The data were analyzed using Shannon-Weiner diversity index, Sorenson’s similarity index, Chi-square and generalized linear model. A total of 3259 individual birds were recorded in the town. The highest species diversity was recorded during dry season in each habitats with H'=3.77, H'=3.45 and H'=1.68 in vegetation patches, building sites and waste dumping sites respectively, While the least diversity was recorded during wet season with H'=3.36, H'=2.97 and H'=1.59 in vegetation patches, building sites and waste dumping sites respectively. The species diversity did not have significant difference with seasons (x2=2.000, p>0.05, df=1) and habitat types (x2=6.000, p>0.05, df=4). The species abundance was not statistically significant (x2=6.00, p>0.05, df, 4) with habitat types and seasons x2=2.00, p>0.05, df, 1) in the study area. Five feeding guilds were recorded including insectivore (28,29.16%), granivore (21,21.87%), omnivore (20,20.83%), scavenger (18, 18.75%) and frugi-nectare (9, 9.37%) in building sites where as insectivore (43, 41.35%), granivore (16, 15.38%), omnivore (25, 24%), scavenger (8, 7.69%) and frugi-nectare (12, 11.54%) in vegetation patches and insectivore (1, 9.09%), ominivore (3, 27.27%) and scavenger (7, 63.63%) in waste dumping site. Generalized linear model shows that the abundance of all feeding guilds was significantly (p < 0.05) interacted with habitat types except scavengers in waste dumping site. The abundance of insectivore and omnivore showed significant (p<0.05) interaction with dry season whereas frugi-nectare, granivore and scavenger did not show any significant (p>0.05) interaction. Enhancing the qualities of the urban landscape via reforestation, creating green areas, and providing a buffer against human activity are recommended to enhance the diversity and abundance of birds in the city.