Malays. Appt. Biol. (December 2004) 33(2): 7-17
DIVERSITY AND DENSITY OF MAMMALS IN THE PEAT SWAMP FORESTS OF THE LANGAT BASIN, SELANGOR, MALAYSIA
NORHAYATI, A.1*, SAIFUL, A.A.2, SHAHROLNIZAH, A.1, MD-ZAIN, B.M.1, SHUKOR, M.N.1,
HAZIMIN, H.2 and NORDIN, M.2
1School of Environmental Sciences & Natural Resource Studies,
Faculty of Science and Technology,
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
2Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI),
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi,
Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.
ABSTRACT
Species diversity and abundance of mammalian species were estimated in the fragmented peat swamp forest of the Kuala Langat South Forest Reserve, in the Langat Basin, Malaysia. Using the line transect method a total of 565 individuals was recorded from four orders, six families, 10 genera, and 12 species. The overall Shannon Diversity Index value of H' = 1.45 means that the diversity of mammalian species in the study area was low, due to low evenness of the assemblage (E = 0.58). The most diverse mammalian assemblage according to H' value was in C29 (1.72 ± 0.07), followed by C26 (1.43 ± 0.08) and C24 (1.06 ± 0.08) and C33 (1.06 ± 0.12). The mammal assemblages were closest between C24 and C26, indicated by the Jaccard's coefficient similarity index of about 70%. Long-tailed macaque is the most common primate in the study area, with an encounter rate of 1.23 ± 0.34 sightings/km, compared to 0.71 ± 0.39 sightings/km for Hylobates lar. The relative density or the encounter rates of these two species oi primates were comparatively high with other studies. The high estimate obtained for Macacafascicularis in this study was most probably due to food supply, which was abundant from the forests, and especially from the surrounding orchards, oil palm and rubber plantations. This study showed that the mammalian assemblage in the fragmented peat swamp forest tended to be dominated by common, widely distributed forest species, and forest edge species, such as Macacafascicularis, Sundasciurus tenuis, and Callosciurus notatus. The low occurrence of forest dependent species and dominance of generalist species indicate that the forest reserve is degraded, but due to the other food supply from the surrounding oil palm and rubber plantations, many species can persist, and even flourish here.
ABSTRAK
Kepelbagaian dan kelimpahan spesies mamalia dianggarkan di hutan paya gambut Hutan Simpan Kuala Langat Selatan, di Lembangan Langat, Selangor, Malaysia. Dengan kaedah pensampelan jarak, sebanyak 569 individu haiwan telah direkodkan yang tergolong dalam empat Order, enam Famili, 10 genera dan 12 spesies. Indek Kepelbagaian Spesies Shannon, H'=1.45 menunjukkan yang kepelbagaian mamalia di kawasan kajian adalah rendah kerana Indek Kesamarataannya rendah (E=0.58). Kepelbagaian yang paling tinggi antara kompatmen ditunjukkan oleh C29 (1.72 ± 0.07), diikuti oleh C26 (1.43 ± 0.08), C24 (1.06 ± 0.08) dan C33 (1.06 ± 0.12). Himpunan mamalia yang paling sama ialah di antara C24 dan C26, atas dasar nilai koefisien Jaccard yang tinggi (70%). Kera ialah spesies primal yang paling melimpah di kawasan kajian, dengan kadar penemuan 1.23 ± 0.34 penemuan/km, berbanding 0.71 ± 0.39 penemuan/km untuk Hylobates lar. Anggaran kepadatan individu kera ialah 214 ± 81 individu /km2. Anggaran kepadatan individu H. lar pula ialah 19.56 ± 6.06 individu/km2 atau 11.36 ± 3.79 groups/km2. Kepadatan relatif atau kadar penemuan kedua-dua spesies primat ini adalah tinggi seperti yang pernah dilaporkan oleh kajian lain. Anggaran yang tinggi untuk M. fascicularis dalam kajian ini besar kemungkinan disebabkan oleh bekalan makanan yang banyak dari hutan dan terutama sekali dari ladang kelapa sawit dan getah di sekelilingnya. Kajian ini juga menunjukkan bahawa himpunan mamalia di hutan paya gambut yang tersisih ini didominasikan oleh spesies umum yang mempunyai taburan yang luas dan spesies pinggir hutan seperti Macacafascicularis, Sundasciurus tenuis, dan
To whom corresoondence should be addressed.
REFERENCES
Anon. 1999. Annual Report 1999. Foresty Department Peninsular Malaysia.
Bennet, E.L. and Gombek, F. 1991. Wildlife and conservation in Sarawak's peat swamp forest. In. International Symposium on Tropical Peat Land, Sarawak 6-10 May 1991. pp. 307-309.
Bierregaard, R.O. Jr. and Stouffer, P.C. 1997. Understory birds and dynamics habitat mosaic in Amazonian rainforest. In: Laurance, W.F., Bierregaard, R.O. Jr. (Eds), Tropical Forest Remnants. Ecology, Management, and Conservation of Fragmented Communities. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 138-155.
Blouch, R.A. 1997. Distribution and abundance of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and other primates in the Lanjak Entimau wildlife sanctuary, Sarawak, Malaysia. Tropical Biodiversity 4 (3): 259-274.
Brown, K.S. Jr. and Hutchings, R.W. 1997. Disturbance, fragmentation, and the dynamics of diversity in Amazonian forest butterflies. In: Laurance, W.F., Bierregaard, R.O. Jr. (Eds), Tropical Forest Remnants. Ecology, Management, and Conservation of Fragmented Communities. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 91-110.
Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R., Burnham, K.P. and Laake, J.L. 1993. Distance Sampling: Estimating Abundance of Biological Population. Chapman and Hall, London.
Burnham, K.P., Anderson, D.R. and Laake, J.L. 1980. Estimation of density from line transect sampling of biological populations. Wildlife Monograph 7.
Caughley, G. 1980. Analysis of Vertebrate Populations. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Curtin, S.H. (1980) Dusky and banded leaf monkeys. In: Chivers, D.J. (Ed.), Malayan Forest Primates. Plenum Press, New York and London, pp. 107-145.
Fischer, J. and Lindenmayer, D.B. 2002. Small patches can be valuable for biodiversity conservation: two case studies on birds in southern Australia. Biological Conservation 106: 129-136.
Forman, R.T.T. and Godron, M. 1986. Landscape Ecology. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
FRIM. 1997. Wildlife Survey and Conservation in Peat Swamp Forest of Peninsular Malaysia. Malaysia-DANCED Project on Sustainable Management of Peat Swamp Forest. Malaysia.
Gittins, S.P. and Raemaekers, J.J. 1980. Siamang. lar and agile gibbon. In: Chiver, D.J. (Ed.). Malayan Forest Primates. Plenum Press, New York and London, pp. 1-27.
Godron, M. and Forman, R.T.T. 1983. Landscape modification and changing ecological characteristics. In: Mooney, H.A.. Godron, M. (Eds), Disturbance anc, Ecosystems: Components of Response. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 12-28.
Goosem, M. 1997. Internal fragmentation: The effects of roads, highways and powerline clearings on movement and mortality ol
rainforest vertebrates. In: Laurance, W.F. Bierregaard, R.O. Jr. (Eds.), Tropical Forest Remnants. Ecology, Management and Conservation of Fragmented Communities. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 241-255.
Graham, C.H. and Blake, J.G. 2001. Influence of patch- and landscape-level factors on bird assemblages in a fragmented tropical landscape. Ecological Application 11: 1709-1721.
Harrison, T. 1969. The abundance and population density of mammals in Malayan lowland forest. Malay. Nat. J. 22: 174-178.
Hobbs, R.J. 1993. Effects of landscape fragmentation on ecosystem processes in the western Australian wheatbelt. Biological Conservation 64: 193-201.
Inoue, M. and Nakagoshi, N. 2001. The effects of human impact on spatial structure of the riparian vegetation along the Shida river, Japan. Landscape and Urban Planning 53, 111-121.
Johns, A.D. 1986. Effects of selective logging on the behavioral ecology of West Malaysian primates. Ecology 67(3): 684-694.
Jongman, R.H.G., Braak, C.J.F. and Tongeren, O.F.R. 1995. Data analysis in community and landscape ecology. Cambridge: Cambridge University. Press.
Krebs, C.J. 1992. Ecological Methology. Harper and Row Publishers, New York.
Lee, H.S. 1991. Utilisation and conservation of peat swamp forests in Sarawak. In International Symposium on Tropical Peat Land, Sarawak 6-10 May 1991. pp. 286-292.
Lira, B.L. 1991. Small mammals studies (1950-1988) in relation to environmental changes in the Langat Basin. Report submitted to the UNDP/ISIS Programme of Research grants for Small-scale projects on the Environment and Development.
Magguran, A.E. 1988. Ecological Diversity and Its Measurement. Chapman and Hall, London.
Magguran, A.E. 1991. Ecological Diversity and Its Measurement. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Malcolm, J.R. 1997. Biomass and diversity of small mammals in Amazonian forest fragment. In: Laurance, W. F., Bierregaard, R. O. Jr. (Eds.), Tropical Forest Remnants. Ecology, Management, and Conservation of Fragmented Communities. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 207-221.
Matlack, G.R. 1993. Microenvironment variation within and among forest edge sites in the eastern United States. Biological Conservation 66: 185-194.
Matthysen, E. 1999. Nuthatches (Sitta europaea: Aves) in forest fragments: demography of a patchy population. Oecologia 119: 501-509.
Medway, L. 1983. The Wild Mammals of Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) and Singapore. Second Edition (revised). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Multivariate Statistical Package. 1999. Version 3.11. Kovach computing services, Wales, UK.
Nordin, M. and Azrina, L.A. 1998. Training and research for measuring and monitoring ecosystem health of a large-scale ecosystem: the Langat Basin, Selangor, Malaysia. Ecosystem Health 4: 188-190.
Opdam, P., Foppen, R., Reijnen, R. and Schotman, A. 1995. The landscape ecological approach in bird conservation: integrating the metapopulation concept into spatial planning. Ibis 137: 139-146.
PERHILITAN. 1996. Data Inventori Hidupan Liar di Kawasan Hutan Simpan di Daerah Hulu Langat, Sepang dan Kuala Langat, Selangor, 1996. (Unpublished).
PERHILITAN. 1998. Laporan Inventori Hidupan Liar di Kawasan Hutan Simpan di Daerah Kuala Langat, Selangor. Negeri Selangor.
Prentice, C. and Parish, D. 1990. Conservation of peat swamp forest: a forgotten ecosystem. Proceeding of the International Conference on Tropical Biodiversity "In Harmony With Nature". 12-16 June 1990. Kuala Lumpur, pp. 128-144.
Rapport, D.J., Regier, H.A. and Hutchinson, T.C. 1985. Ecosystem behavior under stress. American Naturalist 125: 617-640.
Reed, R.A., Johnson-Barnard, J. and Baker, W.L. 1996. Fragmentation of a forested rocky mountain landscape, 1950-1993. Biological Conservation 75: 267-277.
Saiful, A.A. and Nordin, M. 2001. Forest cover changes and its implication on wildlife diversity in Langat Basin, Malaysia. In: Ganeshaiah, K.N., Uma Shanker, R., Bawa, S. (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Tropical Ecosystems. Oxford-IBH, New Delhi, pp. 155-158.
Saiful, A.A. 2003. Forest areas and wildlife diversity in the Langat Basin: Indicators for assessing Langat Basin ecosystem health. In: Rapport, D.J., Lasley, B.L., Rolston, D.E., Qualset, C., Damania, A.B., Nielson, N.O. (Eds.), Managing for Healthy Ecosystems. CRC Press/Lewis Publisher, USA, pp. 1421-1430.
Seber, G. 1982. The Estimation of Animal Abundance and Related Parameters. Second Edition. MacMillan, New York.
Skole, D. and Tucker, C.J. 1993. Tropical deforestation and habitat fragmentation in the Amazon: satellite data from 1978 to 1988. Science 260: 1905-1910.
Supriatna, J., Yanuar, A., Martarinza, Tabah, H., Wibisono, Sinaga, R., Sidik, I. and Iskandar, Sofian. 1996. A preliminary survey of long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis and Macaca nemestrina) in Lampung Bengkulu and Jambi provinces Southern Sumatera, Indonesia. Tropical Biodiversity 3 (2): 131-139.
Turner, M.G. and Ruscher, C.L. 1988. Changes in landscape patterns in Georgia, USA. Landscape Ecology 1: 241-251.
van Dorp, D. and Opdam, P.F.M. 1987. Effects of patch size, isolation and regional abundance on forest bird communities. Landscape Ecology 1: 59-73.
Warburton, N.H. 1997. Structure and conservation of forest avifauna in isolated rainforest remnants in tropical Australia. In: Laurance, W.F., Bierregaard, R.O. Jr. (Eds.), Tropical Forest Remnants. Ecology, Management, and Conservation of Fragmented Communities. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 190-206.
Whitesides, G.H., Gates, J.F. Green, S.M. and Kluberdanz, R.P. 1988. Estimating primate densities from transects in a West African rain forest: a comparison of techniques. Journal oj Animal Ecology 57: 345-367.
Wilson, C.C. and Wilson, W.L. 1975. The influence of selective logging on primates and some other animals in East Kalimantan. Folia Primatology 23: 245-274.
Wilson, W.L. and Johns, A.D. 1982. Diversity and abundance of selected animal species in undisturbed forest, selectively logged foresl and plantations in East Kalimantan. Indonesia. Biological Conservation. 24: 205-218.
Yanuar, A., Bekti, D. and Saleh, C. 1993. The status of Karimata primates Presbytii rubicunda carimatae and Macaca fascicularis carimatensis in Karimata Island, Indonesia, Tropical Biodiversity 1 (3): 157-162.
