Study of Bird Diversity in Ghamot National Park Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan

Bird species diversity and distribution research is important for conservation efforts in various protected areas. However, the richness and distribution of birds in Ghamot National Park are unknown. Based on land cover attributes, the research region was divided into five habitat categories. During 2020-21, a point transect count was used softly up to 30-50 m radius with a random sample approach. One-way ANOVA was used to evaluate the data. This research discovered a total of 38 families totaling 127 species. Muscicapidae was numerically the dominant family (n=18; 14.17%) Highest number of individuals (n=938; 24.26%) was recorded from Agricultural crop zone (along the surgan stream; elevation ranges between 2750-3050m) Minimum number of individuals was recorded in alpine pasture, alpine meadows and wetland (n=113; 2.92%) at an elevation ranges between 3950-4400m. 47 (37%) species were recorded summer migrant, 59 (46.45%) were residential of study area, 3 (2.36%) species were recorded irregular year round migrant and 18 (14.17%) species were winter migrant. It was recorded that maximum number of species (n=90; 70.86%) breed (+) in study area however least number


INTRODUCTION
T he most successful vertebrate group is birds. Flying offers them rapid and direct access to practically any point on the earth. They can eat a variety of things and nest in an unlimited number of places. Most birds serve people by supplying meat and eggs for sustenance, facilitating pollination, disseminating seed and fruits, and biologically controlling insect pests such as grasshoppers, mosquitoes, and others (Singh et al., 2018). Birds can also serve as markers of biodiversity and environmental change, such as pollution levels and environmental effect (Abie et al., 2019). Birds are good indicators of the ecological state of any given ecosystem since they play a significant part in the food chain in the natural ecological unit (Hossain and Baki, 2015). Various researches have attempted to simulate species habitat interactions, while others have observed diversity structures along elevation gradients in order to understand the mechanisms behind those patterns. Nonetheless, agreement on the generality of processes and trends remains a source of disagreement (Rahbek et al., 2007), with the majority of studies focusing on species richness and distribution variation. Because elevation influences both the physical environment and the types and amounts of resources available for nesting and feeding, the composition and structure of bird populations can alter along an elevation gradient (Altaf et al., 2018). A wide variety of bird species may be found in Pakistan. Over 668 species have been recognized so far (Mirza and Wasiq, 2007). Wintering birds spend the majority of winter O n l i n e F i r s t A r t i c l e season in Pakistan, as well as migratory birds that travel through in the spring and fall in the Indus flyway route (Grimmett et al., 2008;Bibi et al., 2013). Azad Jammu and Kashmir is located in the Himalayan foothills. It is located between 2°-17` and 36°-58` north latitude and 73°-6` and 80°-30` longitude (Awan et al., 2012). Azad Kashmir's forest types range from tropical thorn forest to cold desert forest. The climate varies across the territory due to the diverse ecological zones. In this area, various biotopes provide suitable habitat for wildlife species. Azad Kashmir's fauna includes both Palearctic and Oriental elements (Roberts, 1991). The study area is in the Neelum valley, which is part of the Western Himalayas Endemic Bird Area (Awan et al., 2012). The diversity and dispersion of birds is the most important aspect of Ghamot National Park. Despite the fact that various bird species exist in the study region, there has been no scientific research on the variety and abundance of birds. Furthermore, ecologists and biologists employ species diversity and abundance to analyse community organization, which is crucial for conservation efforts (Altaf, 2010;Abie et al., 2019). Given these considerations, surveying these bird species was an apparent focus for our research. The research goal was to determine the variety and dispersal of bird species in the studied region.

Study area
Ghamot National Park (GNP) is situated 170 kilometers north of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, in the upper Neelum valley, a region of the inner Himalayas. The study area lies within latitude 35° 24' N and longitude 73° 57' E at an altitude ranging from 2439-4949 m above sea level. The park is located on the edge of Surgan Nullah, at a distance of about 25 km from Sharda. On its western side lies the Kaghan Valley in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), while on its eastern side is Indianoccupied Jammu and Kashmir. The road from Sharda to Ghamot National Park is a seven-kilometer carpeted road up to Surgan, a small town at the Surgan-valley's entrance, and a further 16 to 18-kilometer stretch of Jeep-able roads from Surgan village to Ghamot village, a small settlement at the park's boundary. The climate of the area varies with altitude, but generally, the forest areas of the study area fall into moist temperate forest, dry temperate forest, subalpine scrub, and alpine pastures. Winters are extremely cold, with deep snow. Summers are extremely pleasant and cool. Snow may remain on high peaks until June or even later (on glaciers) (Fig. 1). The meteorological data record for Neelum Valley is not available at the Pakistan Meteorological Department (Qamar et al., 2012).
The study area is positioned at the confluence of three famous mountain systems, i.e., the Hindu Kush, Karakorum, and Himalayas. This uniqueness of the mountain's arrangement results in strong floral and faunal biodiversity. Aside from hundreds of economically important animal and plant species, the study area is home to some rare and globally valuable and threatened wildlife species, including snow leopard Uncia uncia, common leopard Panthera pardus,  (Ahmad et al., 2016;Ali et al., 2018).

Data collection
Sampling survey was carried out from April 2020 to March 2021. Field sampling was started in the early morning (5:00-10:00 a.m.) and in the evening (4:00-6:00 p.m.). Birds were surveyed using line transect with point count method. A total of 42 transects (total area covered 11.4km) with 166 point count (4 in each transect) were laid. To avoid double counting of same individuals, each point count in transect was at least 50 m far away from each other. Length of transect varied from locality to locality on the basis of habitat type. On the basis of habitat type, three different types of transects were laid: type 1 for open habitat (300m x 200m), type 2 for dense forest habitat (300mx50m) and type 3 for riparian forest habitat (300m x 100m) (along the streams). Out of total fourteen transect (300m x 50m) were laid in BLI and BL2 (riparian habitat), 12 (300m x 100m) in BL4 and BL6 (Open habitat type) and 16 (300m x 200m) were laid in BL3, BL4, BL5 and BL6 (Table I).
Observations at each point transect were made by standing in the middle of point transect and observing up to a distance of 30-50 m radius, direct observation was aided by a cannon binoculars (7×50mm and 8×40 mm). Direct observation at each point lasted for 10-15 min. Each point transect was visited 4 times during the study period. All observed individuals characteristics such as color, shape, size, beak, legs, tail, song and calls were recorded on a prepared datasheet. Bird species were identified and taxonomically classified using bird guide books and other available references (Roberts, 1991(Roberts, , 1992Grimmett et al., 2008).

Data analysis
The Shannon diversity index abbreviated as H′ was calculated using statistical software known as past. This study uses proportions rather than absolute abundance data to minimize the influence of order of magnitude changes in bird populations between species. The evenness of the proportion of each species found inside squares is measured by this index. J′ = H′ ln(S), where J' is the evenness index, H' is the Shannon-Wiener index calculated using formula (H′); and S is the species richness. Relative abundance (RA) = n/N 100, where n is the number of individuals recorded for a specific species and N is the total number of individuals for the species.

O n l i n e F i r s t A r t i c l e
Out of total recorded bird species, 47 (37%) species were summer migrants, 59 (46.45%) were residents in the study area, 3 (2.36%) species were irregular year round migrants and 18 (14.17%) winter migrants. The maximum number of species (n=90, 70.86%) were breeding (+) in study area however least number (n=37, 29.13%) do not breed (-) in the study area (Table III).

O n l i n e F i r s t A r t i c l e
Bird Diversity in Ghamot National Park

O n l i n e F i r s t A r t i c l e
Bird Diversity in Ghamot National Park

O n l i n e F i r s t A r t i c l e
Highest biodiversity of birds (H'=4.5, 4.4) was recorded in riparian forest habitat, scrubland, dense vegetation in RZ, FZ, SLZ, ACZ respectively. Lowest biodiversity (H'=2.9) was recorded in high alpine pasture and wetland habitat. Highest evenness (J=0.97), was also recorded in high alpine pasture (BL5), however lowest value of evenness (J=0.95) was recorded in ACZ and SLZ (Table III).
Distribution of species across habitat types was not significantly different (p>0.05, df =5, f=46.21) between four habitat type (ACZ, SLZ, RZ, FZ). However, a significant difference (p<0.5) was recorded between riparian, scrub land, forest habitat and alpine pastures, and wet land at high elevation. Highest distribution was recorded in riparian forest habitat (7.38±0.51) while lowest distribution was recorded in high alpine pastures (0.89±0.21). Highest species richness (n=116) was recorded in RZ, while the AZ showed the lowest species richness (n=21) ( Table III).

DISCUSSION
Overall a total of 38 familes representing 127 birds species were recorded. Result revealed that the study area was home to a large number of bird's provisim of diverse and heterogeneous habitat may attract birds in the area. Establishment of national park saved forest and other habitat from destruction, while most of the surrounding areas are transformed into agricultural fields and disturbed habitats. Present study also revealed that two near threatened species of Accipitridae (Gyps himalayensis and Gypaetus barbatus) were inhabited in the study area, while 57 migratory species in the area indicated importance of conservation priority of study area. The diversity in bird species could be due to the diverse habitat condition, availability of sufficient food, and breeding season of the species (Mengesha and Bekele, 2008;Altaf, 2016;Ali et al., 2020;Rahman, 2021). No significant difference was recorded between four localities; this could be due to same type of vegetation characteristics of localities and elevation. Two localities in alpine pastures showed significant difference, this dissimilarity could be due to habitat changes, harsh climate condition and high elevation. The abundance and richness were also high at lower elevation as compared with higher elevation. Hence it could be concluded that at lower elevations habitat condition could be favorable for bird species in term of shelter, food and cover as well as other availability of requirements. The higher richness and abundance at lower elevations may be attributed to the heterogeneous nature of habitats. Various studies also documented a general decrease in species richness and abundance along an elevation gradient (McCain, 2009;Mughal et al., 2020). On the other hand, the decrease in species abundance and richness at higher altitudes attributes to homogeneous habitat type, lack of fruiting trees, and threat of predation. A study conducted by Shochat et al. (2010) explained that birds abundance increased with increase in habitat heterogeneity. Scientists documented that bird abundance decreases with canopy cover closure in a well-developed forest; anthropogenic activities is altering the habitat of birds, and negatively impacts abundance and richness of avian species. The existence of a range of food items, water, and cover led to the increased species diversity, richness, and evenness in this habitat during the research period (McWethy et al., 2009;Girma et al., 2017;Jadoon et al., 2019;Altaf, 2021). As a consequence of the study's findings, the location is home to a varied range of bird species and is an important conservation priority region.

CONCLUSION
According to the findings, the GNP is an ideal habitat for a wide range of bird species, including many endemic, near-endemic, globally threatened, rare, and migratory species. As a result, GNP is an important location with diverse habitats for the conservation of bird species. As a result, the area qualifies as an important bird area in Pakistan. As a result, the study area should be subjected to additional conservation measures in order to preserve the diversity of existing bird species. Furthermore, because this was the first investigation, there may have been a limitation in discovering cryptic and nocturnal bird species, hence additional research is needed to discover more bird species.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors are grateful of the local community for help during the survey.

Funding
The study received no external funding.

IRB approval
The survey-based research on birds adhered to ethical protocols specific to this study, without requiring IRB approval.

Ethical statement
The data was gathered through direct observation, utilizing both the naked eye and binoculars. The collection process strictly adhered to established ethical principles and guidelines.

Statement of conflict of interest
The authors have declared no conflict of interest.