HABITAT-WISE COMPARATIVE BIODIVERSITY ANALYSIS ACROSS TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS OF A SEMI-ARID UNIVERSITY CAMPUS IN SOUTH PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

University campuses in semi-arid, human-modified landscapes are increasingly recognized as refuges for urban biodiversity, yet integrated assessments comparing terrestrial and aquatic compartments within a single institutional footprint remain scarce in Pakistan. We conducted a six-week, multi-method faunal survey (point counts, visual encounter surveys, sweep-netting, pitfall trapping and dip-netting) across terrestrial and aquatic/riparian habitats of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), Rahim Yar Khan Campus, in the semi-arid ago-ecological zone of southern Punjab. A total of 80 faunal species from 7 classes and 2 phyla (Arthropoda, Chordata) were confirmed. Insecta (38 spp., 47.5%) and Aves (20 spp., 25.0%) dominated species richness, and together with Arachnida and Mammalia (7 spp. each), Reptilia (4 spp.), Amphibia (3 spp.) and Actinopterygii (1 spp.) constituted the full faunal inventory. Recalculating diversity indices directly from full-census population data (rather than partial-guild estimates) gave Shannon–Wiener H′ = 2.92 for terrestrial insects and 2.32 for birds, versus a markedly lower H′ = 0.30 for the aquatic vertebrate guild owing to strong numerical dominance by farmed GIFT Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Despite occupying a small spatial footprint, the pond–riparian ecotone hosted taxa from six of seven recorded classes, including all three amphibian species, two medically significant scorpions (Androctonus australis, Hottentotta tamulus), the dengue-vector mosquito Aedes albopictus, and both specialist waterbirds recorded on campus, confirming the ecotone as a disproportionate biodiversity and public-health hotspot. These findings establish the first faunal baseline for a Rahim Yar Khan district campus, demonstrate that terrestrial and aquatic compartments provide non-substitutable and functionally linked biodiversity, and support targeted, evidence-based recommendations for pond-margin conservation, pollinator-friendly landscaping and vector surveillance in institutional green spaces across arid South Asia.