Urban Wildlife and Conservation in Sri Lanka

Sinharaja Rain Forest (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the last viable remnant of Sri Lanka’s tropical lowland rainforest spanning an area of 18900 acres is located within Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces of the south-west lowland wet zone of Sri Lanka. Located in south-west Sri Lanka, Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic species of mammals and butterflies, as well as many kinds of insects, reptiles and rare amphibians. PPT representing a biodiversity and geodiversity via realistic images.

Avifauna species diversity and abundance in and around of an urbanized lake called Peralanda Lake were recorded using point transect technique from January 2015 to December 2016. The lake is situated at North Colombo area adjacent to Ragama city in Gampaha District. Three Different habitat types were identified as Water body habitat, Terrestrial habitat adjacent to the water body and Disturbed habitat. Bird census was performed on 20 sampling points with a radius of 25m which were fixed by using a Global Positioning System device (GPS) (Garmin e Trex). Each point was visited 3 times per month at different times of the day between 0600h to 1000h and 1500h to 1900h. Sixty-two species belonging fourteen orders and thirty-seven families were recorded during the study. These include three globally near threatened species Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis), Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) and Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocepha-lus); three locally near threatened species, Cotton Pygmy-goose (Nettapus coromandelianus), Oriental Honey-Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) and Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis); one critically endangered species, Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus); two endemic species, Sri Lanka Small Barbet (Megalaima rubricapilla) and Sri Lanka Swallow (Hirundo hyper-ythra) and four migrant species, Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi paradisi), Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) and Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus). Highest species diversity was recorded in terrestrial habitat adjacent to the water body followed by Disturbed habitat while least species diversity was recorded in Water body habitat.

Butterfly species diversity was studied in a semiurbanized landscape in Thorayaaya area in Kurunegala district from March 2017 to February 2018. Sampling process was conducted on a randomly selected day per a week from morning 7am-llam,to evening 3pm-6pm following the "Pollard Walk" method. Two line transects of 500m each in length, l0 m in width with a height of lOm were selected and fixed by using Global Positioning System (GPS) device (Garmin e Trex). All butterflies and preferred plant species were identified using taxanomic keys. Based on the frequency of sighting, butterfly species were divided into 3 categories as common (>30 sightings), uncommon (16-30 sightings) and rare (<15 sightings).Butterflies belonging to 51 species and 5 families were recorded. Highest butterfly species richness was recorded from family Nymphalidae withlg species (38%), followed by family Lycanidae with 11 species (22%),family Pieriedae with 10 species (20%), family Papilionoidea with 6 species (l l%) and family Hesperidae with 5 species (11%). Most frequently sighted families during this survey were Nymphalidae and Lycaenidae followed by Pieridae,Papilionoidae and Hesperiidae respectively. This include 2 endemic species: Sri Lanka lesser albatro ss (Appias galena) and Sri lanka pale six lineblue Qtlacaduba sinhala) along with 25 migratory species, 2 vulnerable species: Sri Lanka pale six lineblue (Nacaduba sinhala) and Dark Palm Dart (Telicota bambusae) and two near threatened species: The Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis) and the Smallest swift. (Parna rabada). At the study site 38 larval food plants were also iecorded. The resulted high butterfly species diversity in the area can be attributed to the availability of flowering plants in the area and to the tendency of planting flowering plants in human modified landscapes. The present study reveals the fact that, though the landscape is becoming urbanized, butterfly fauna can be conserved and managed by simply providing plant species necessary for the survival and reproduction of butterflies in the associated land area.

Avifauna species diversity and abundance in and around of an urbanized lake called Peralanda Lake were recorded using point transect technique from January 2015 to December 2016. The lake is situated at North Colombo area adjacent to Ragama city in Gampaha District. Three Different habitat types were identified as Water body habitat, Terrestrial habitat adjacent to the water body and Disturbed habitat. Bird census was performed on 20 sampling points with a radius of 25m which were fixed by using a Global Positioning System device (GPS) (Garmin e Trex). Each point was visited 3 times per month at different times of the day between 0600h to 1000h and 1500h to 1900h. Sixty-two species belonging fourteen orders and thirty-seven families were recorded during the study. These include three globally near threatened species Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis), Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) and Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocepha-lus); three locally near threatened species, Cotton Pygmy-goose (Nettapus coromandelianus), Oriental Honey-Buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus) and Black Eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis); one critically endangered species, Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus); two endemic species, Sri Lanka Small Barbet (Megalaima rubricapilla) and Sri Lanka Swallow (Hirundo hyper-ythra) and four migrant species, Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica), Asian Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi paradisi), Blue-tailed Bee-eater (Merops philippinus) and Forest Wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus). Highest species diversity was recorded in terrestrial habitat adjacent to the water body followed by Disturbed habitat while least species diversity was recorded in Water body habitat.