A survey of biodiversity and population changes of birds in parks of Mashhad, Khorasan province, Iran in summer 2011 Case Study (Mellat and Pardis Ghaem Parks)

To evaluate the importance of urban parks in attraction of biodiversity, indificaton of birds and calculate the biodiversity indices , observations and record information were done in Mellat and Pardis Ghaem parks during the summer 2011 in Mashhad, Iran .Overall, there were 27 species of birds in the parks, in 16 families and 6 orders that a number of 18 species were observed throughout this season, which may relate to desirable weather conditions, abundance of food, and parks safety in summer in Mashhad city, also families of Passeridae and Fringillidade had the greatest number of birds with 272 and 223 individual birds, respectively.In summer, the large Mellat Park with 25 species and 686 individual birds had the largest species richness (Margalef’s index=3.66) and heterogeneity (Shannon-Wiener index=3.74) due to its vastness that provided enough space for birds to find shelter and reproduce as well as due to its diverse vegetation of trees and shrubs, also Pardis Ghaem Park with 18 species and 397 individual birds had the highest species evenness (Hill’s index=0.76), which indicated homogenous distribution of bird species across this park.

Keywords:

Birds , Biodiversity index , Population changes , Urban parks , Mashhad- Iran