The Paradox of Shorebird Diversity and Abundance in the West Coast and East Coast of India: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Migratory shorebirds that move across continents along their flyways are undergoing a drastic decline globally. A greater proportion of them that regularly winter along the Indian coasts within the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) are also undergoing severe declines. However, the mechanisms underlying the population trends in these areas remain little understood. This study investigated the diversity, abundance, population dynamics and distribution patterns of shorebirds along the Indian coasts based on the available literature. The west coast of India is relatively less studied than the east coast in the CAF. Further, we observed that the diversity, abundance, population dynamics and distribution pattern of the shorebirds follow different trends on the west coast compared to the east coast. These variations are in accordance with the differences in topography and biotic and abiotic factors between the coasts. Anthropogenic activities have far-reaching effects on the survival and persistence of shorebirds along the coasts. The west coast is evidently more productive than the east coast at every trophic level and thus the west coast is expected to account for more abundance and diversity of shorebirds. Paradoxically, we found that the east coast supports a greater abundance and diversity of shorebirds than the west coast. The west coast, therefore, requires further investigations to obtain a better understanding of the causes of apparent differences in abundance and diversity as well as the observed declines in shorebirds, compared to the east coast of India.