Diversity of Aquatic Insects and Insectivore Birds in Kurichi Wetland, Coimbatore.

Aquatic biodiversity is largely responsible for maintaining and supporting overall environmental health. Birds and insects are a very important part of aquatic biodiversity. While birds are best indicators of wetland function, aquatic insects can give insight into many different areas of ecology. Insects are a critical source of protein for many insectivore birds and growing nestlings of majority of birds. A survey was carried out to study the species diversity of aquatic entomo-fauna and insectivorous birds in the Kurichi wetland of Coimbatore district for a period of one year from September 2014 to August 2015. A total of 1721 aquatic/semi aquatic insects belonging to 11 orders, 19 families and 19 species were recorded. Higher species numbers were of insects belonging to the orders Hemiptera, Diptera, Odonata, Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Coleoptera, Ephemeroptera and Orthopetra followed by those belonging to Neuroptera, Hymenopthera and Lepidopthera respectively. The insectivore birds belonging to 7 orders, 22 families and 55 species were recorded. Higher species diversity was of birds belonging to the order Passeriformes followed by Apodiformes and Gruiformes. The birds were classified as resident/migrant/residentmigrant based on migration status. Majority of the birds were found to be resident birds. Most of the birds were sighted throughout the year. This study re-emphasized the potential of the Kurichi wetland as an important area of biological diversity. Keywords: Aquatic biodiversity; Conservation; Insectivore birds; Kurichi wetland; Tamilnadu.