ABUNDANCE OF AVIAN SPECIES IN OGBA ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN AND NATURE PARK

ABSTRACT

The study of the abundance of avian species in ogba zoological garden and nation park.

The study was carried out to examine the abundance of avian species in ogba zoological garden and nature park. The birds which inhabit the ecological setting of the zoo were studied between 2021 and 2022 to determine the free range avian species found in the zoo and to examine abundance and distribution of bird species. The study area was split into two compartments A and B. Compartment A having transect A1, A2 and A3 and compartment B having transect B1, B2 and B3. The data collected was analysed using student t-test to determine significant difference at 5% level avifauna relative abundance in both dry and wet season. The transect count method was used to sample the birds in the study area. A total of 1272 individual birds belonging to 20 families and 39 species was recorded out of which 696 individual birds were recorded in compartment B comprising of 39 species and 576 individual birds in compartment A comprising of 36 species in compartment A. A significant population of species were spotted in transect B3 and B2 during the wet season where Shannon wenners diversity in transect B1 and A1 were significantly higher. However, the study shows that the black-necked weaver was the highest with (136) and Western Born owl the lowest with (3). Therefore, it is recommended that the management improves on the conservation status of the birds’ habitat which would help to remediate migration trend during the dry season.