Occurrence of Amphibians and Reptiles at Village Ponds in Ludhiana, Punjab: Diversity, Threats and Conservation Prospects

Amphibians and reptiles, collectively referred as herpetofauna are integral constituents of animal diversity associated with village pond habitats in agro ecosystems. Present investigation was carried out with objective to assess diversity of amphibians and reptiles in relation to water quality parameters by selecting two ponds in villages namely Jhamat and Malakpur; third selected pond was in Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) campus falling under district Ludhiana from March 2019 to February 2020. Line/point transect methods and visual encounter surveys were followed to record diversity of amphibians and reptiles. Overall, two species belonging to class Amphibia i.e. Euphlyctis cyanophlyctis (Schneider, 1799) and Duttaphrynus stomaticus (Lutken, 1864) and four species of class Reptilia i.e Lygosoma punctate (Gmelin, 1799), Ptyas mucosa (Linnaeus, 1758), Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801) and Varanus bengalensis (Daudin, 1802) were recorded at studied ponds. Class Reptilia was indicated positive correlation with Class Amphibia. Both Amphibia and reptilia had also shown positive relation with water temperature, ambient temperature, pond area and fallow land area; whereas values of pH, BOD and DO were found to be negatively related. Land use changes due to agricultural intensification and anthropogenic factors have been altering water quality parameters thereby threating herpetofauna inhabiting freshwater pond habitats in villages. Urgent and focused conservation interventions are required to preserve village pond habitats accompanied with steps to conserve animal groups like herpetofauna in agriculture dominated Punjab State.