Biodiversity Data Journal :
Research Article
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Corresponding author: Kaviarasu Munian (kaviarasu@frim.gov.my)
Academic editor: Therese Catanach
Received: 18 Sep 2024 | Accepted: 13 Nov 2024 | Published: 18 Nov 2024
© 2024 Nur Aina Mahyudin, Nur Athirah Fauzi, Kaviarasu Munian
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Mahyudin NA, Fauzi NA, Munian K (2024) Avifauna diversity in the environmentally sensitive area: Alpha and Beta analyses in Kluang Forest Reserve, southern Peninsular Malaysia. Biodiversity Data Journal 12: e137367. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.12.e137367
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The Permanent Forest Reserve (PFR) is recognised as one of the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) in Malaysia`s spatial planning. Incorporating biological factors alongside existing physical attributes is crucial to improve the classification of ESAs. It is important to attain biological diversity information to formulate biological factors, which include vertebrates such as bird communities. Birds are highly sensitive to changes within ecosystems; hence, they play a pivotal role in reflecting the overall ecological condition. Therefore, the study focused on assessing bird species’ richness in the Kluang Forest Reserve (Kluang FR) and compared its bird diversity amongst five PFRs ESAs in southern Peninsular Malaysia. Methods such as mist netting, point count observations and call recording were deployed to calculate the alpha and beta diversity of the bird community. A total of 68 species comprised of 36 families were recorded and the white-rumped shama (Copsychus malabaricus) was the most abundant species in all reserves studied. Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) revealed that the bird diversity in Kluang FR is more similar to bird santuary Panti Forest Reserve compared to the other four forest reserves and indicates that diversification of species richness. However, the absence of published species information in forest reserves poses challenges for comparing bird assemblages amongst different reserves. More extensive studies are needed in Johor and throughout Malaysia to provide data that can effectively assist and support biodiversity conservation and management.
alpha diversity, beta diversity, bird, Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs), Kluang Forest Reserve, Johor
The Town and Country Planning Department of Malaysia (PLANMalaysia) has developed a comprehensive guideline on the conservation and development of environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs), which focuses on three crucial aspects: heritage value, elements of disaster risk and life support systems (
Amongst the identified integrated management areas including the PFRs, cover 54.58% of the land in Malaysia (
The State of Johor, comprising 23% forest, with 17% classified as PFRs, displays remarkable biodiversity despite its geographical isolation (
In this study, the birds in the Kluang Forest Reserve (Kluang FR) were documented by the Zoology Branch of Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) from March to July 2022. The primary objectives of this study were to assess bird species richness in the Kluang FR and to compare the differences in bird populations amongst five selected forest reserves classified as ESAs in the southern part of Peninsular Malaysia.
This study was conducted in the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia, specifically in the State of Johor. Gunung Belumut Eco Park is located within the Kluang (Fig.
Prior to sampling, a 400 m x 200 m main plot, covering a total of eight hectares, was established in Kluang Forest Reserve. We randomly built four subplots, each measuring 50 m x 50 m, within the main plot to conduct concurrent sampling on small mammals and herpetofauna. We introduced multiple approaches, including mist netting, bird call recording and point count observation, for the assessment of bird richness and abundance. A total of four sampling sessions, each consisting of five days of trapping, were conducted from March to July 2022. For mist netting, we deployed a total of 10 mist nets using 5- and 3-m poles. All of the nets were placed within or near the sampling plot along potential bird flight paths with a minimum distance of 50 m between nets. The mist nets were opened for 5 consecutive days and they were checked every two hours from 8.00 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. and from 5.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. All of the birds caught in the net were carefully removed and placed inside a cloth bag. All of the birds were thoroughly examined and their morphological characteristics were measured to identify them at the species level. We followed the field guide by
Point count observation was conducted for 3 consecutive days along five 100-m line transects. Within each line transect, ten points were established for observation with a minimum 15 minutes duration. The line transects were established from the lower to a higher elevation (encompassing both lowland and hill forest areas) within the sampling plot. For each line transect, one person observed and counted the number of birds, while the other person recorded the observations on a data sheet and identified the species using a reference book. All transects were located at least 50 m apart to avoid double counting. The observations were aided by the use of a DSLR camera and binoculars.
Bird call was also used to identify species. All of the calls of birds heard in the study plot were recorded from the start of the call until the end using two smartphones. Multiple call recordings of the same bird were recorded to ensure the same species were detected. The calls were analysed using BirdNET software (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) (
Alpha and beta diversities were calculated using the vegan package (
The Bray–Curtis dissimilarity and Jaccard distance indices were used to construct a distance matrix, based on the pairwise dissimilarities between samples in the measured PCoA. The Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index is a measure of the compositional dissimilarity between sample sets, which considers the presence and abundance of the species in a sample, but ignores the shared abundances. The Jaccard distance is a measure of the dissimilarity between sample sets that focus on the presence or absence of species; this index can be easily interpreted as a ratio of the number of species found in only one of the samples to the number of species found in either sample.
The survey conducted between March to July 2022 yielded records of 68 bird species spanning 36 families (Table
List of bird species recorded in Belumut Forest Reserve. Distribution status for recorded avifauna: R = Resident, M = Migrant. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: LC: Least Concern, NT: Near Threatened, VU: Vulnerable, EN: Endangered. Protection status based on Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (WCA, 2010): TP: Totally Protected, P: Protected, NP: Not Protected
Family | Common Name | Species Name | Status | IUCN Status | WCA |
Accipitridae | Changeable Hawk-eagle | Nisaetus cirrhatus | R | LC | TP |
Crested Serpent Eagle | Spilornis cheela | R | LC | TP | |
Alcedinidae | Blue-banded Kingfisher | Alcedo peninsulae | R | NT | TP |
White-throated Kingfisher | Halcyon smyrnensis | R | LC | TP | |
Bucerotidae | Wreathed Hornbill | Rhyticeros undulatus | R | VU | TP |
Camphepagidae | Scarlet Minivet | Pericrocotus flammeus | R | LC | TP |
Chloropseidae | Blue-winged Leafbird | Chloropsis cochinchinensis | R | EN | TP |
Cisticolidae | Yellow-bellied Prinia | Prinia flaviventris | R | LC | TP |
Columbidae | Emerald Dove | Chalcophaps indica | R | LC | P |
Green Imperial Pigeon | Ducula aenea | R | NT | TP | |
Thick-billed Green Pigeon | Treron curvirostra | R | LC | TP | |
Little Green Pigeon | Treron olax | R | LC | P | |
Coraciidae | Dollarbird | Eurystomus orientalis | R&M | LC | TP |
Cuculidae | Chestnut-breasted Malkoha | Phaenicophaeus curvirostris | R | LC | TP |
Raffles Malkoha | Rhinortha chlorophaea | R | LC | TP | |
Dicaeidae | Orange-bellied flowerpecker | Dicaeum trigonostigma | R | LC | TP |
Scarlet-breasted Flowerpecker | Prionochilus thoracicus | R | NT | TP | |
Yellow-breasted Flowerpecker | Prionochilus maculatus | R | LC | TP | |
Dicruridae | Ashy Drongo | Dicrurus leucophaeus | R | LC | TP |
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo | Dicrurus paradiseus | R | LC | TP | |
Eurylaimidae | Banded Broadbill | Eurylaimus javanicus | R | NT | TP |
Falconidae | Black-thighed Falconet | Microhierax fringillarius | R | LC | TP |
Hemiprocnidae | Whiskered Treeswift | Hemiprocne comata | R | LC | TP |
Irenidae | Asian Fairy-bluebird | Irena puella | R | LC | TP |
Megalaimidae | Red-throated Barbet | Psilopogon mystacophanos | R | NT | TP |
Meropidae | Blue-throated Bee-eater | Merops viridis | R | LC | TP |
Monarchidae | Black-naped Monarch | Hypothymis azurea | R | LC | NP |
Asian Paradise Flycatcher | Terpsiphone paradisi | R&M | LC | NP | |
Muscicapidae | Grey-chested Jungle-Flycatcher | Cyornis umbratilis | R | NT | TP |
Chestnut-naped Forktail | Enicurus ruficapillus | R | NT | TP | |
White-rumped Shama | Kittacincla malabarica | R | LC | P | |
Asian Brown Flycatcher | Muscicapa dauurica | M | LC | TP | |
Oriental Magpie Robin | Copsychus saularis | R | LC | P | |
Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher | Cyornis brunneatus | M | VU | TP | |
Nectariniidae | Little Spiderhunter | Arachnothera longirostra | R | LC | TP |
Purple-naped Sunbird | Kurochkinegramma hypogrammica | R | LC | TP | |
Oriolidae | Dark-throated Oriole | Oriolus xanthonotus | R | NT | TP |
Pellorneidae | Moustached babbler | Malacopteron magnirostre | R | LC | TP |
Black-capped Babbler | Pellorneum nigrocapitatum | R | LC | TP | |
White-chested babbler | Pellorneum rostratum | R | NT | TP | |
Phasianidae | Red Junglefowl | Gallus gallus | R | LC | P |
Phylloscopidae | Dusky Warbler | Phylloscopus fuscatus | M | LC | TP |
Picidae | Greater Flameback | Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus | R | LC | NP |
Checker-throated Woodpecker | Chrysophlegma mentale | R | NT | TP | |
Banded Woodpecker | Chrysophlegma miniaceum | R | LC | TP | |
Common Flameback | Dinopium javanense | R | LC | TP | |
White-bellied Woodpecker | Dryocopus javensis | R | LC | TP | |
Grey-and-buff woodpecker | Hemicircus sordidus | R | LC | TP | |
Buff-necked Woodpecker | Meiglyptes tukki | R | NT | TP | |
Crimson-winged Woodpecker | Picus puniceus | R | LC | TP | |
Psittacidae | Long-tailed Parakeet | Belocercus longicaudus | R | VU | TP |
Blue-crowned hanging parrot | Loriculus galgulus | R | LC | P | |
Pycnonotidae | Yellow-bellied Bulbul | Alophoixus phaeocephalus | R | LC | TP |
Red-eyed Bulbul | Pycnonotus brunneus | R | LC | TP | |
Cream-vented Bulbul | Pycnonotus simplex | R | LC | TP | |
Hairy-backed bulbul | Tricholestes criniger | R | LC | TP | |
Rhipiduridae | Pied Fantail | Rhipidura javanica | R | LC | TP |
Sittidae | Velvet-fronted Nuthatch | Sitta frontalis | R | LC | TP |
Strigidae | Collared Scops Owl | Otus lettia | R | LC | TP |
Barred Eagle-owl | Bubo sumatranus | R | NT | TP | |
Sturnidae | Javan Myna | Acridotheres javanicus | R | VU | NP |
Asian Glossy Starling | Aplonis panayensis | R | LC | NP | |
Common Hill Myna | Gracula religiosa | R | LC | P | |
Trogonidae | Red-naped Trogon | Harpactes kasumba | R | NT | TP |
Tytonidae | Barn Owl | Tyto alba | R | LC | TP |
Vangidae | Rufous-winged Philentoma | Philentoma pyrhoptera | R | LC | NP |
Vireonidae | White-bellied erpornis | Erpornis zantholeuca | R | LC | TP |
Zosteropidae | Hume's White-eye | Zosterops auriventer | R | LC | P |
A total of 250 mist-netting efforts were executed during the sampling sessions. As shown in Fig.
As shown by the IUCN status listed in Table
Secondary data on the birds in the five selected forest reserves in Johor were collected and analysed in conjunction with the data we obtained in this study. The five forest reserves were located within the State of Johor: Kluang Forest Reserve (KFR) (data from the current study and
In these studies, 204 bird species from 50 families were recorded. Panti FR had the largest number of species, at 179, followed by the KFR with 102 species, the US with 58 species, GL with 21 species and AHU with only 16. The Muscicapidae was the family with the most species (17), which was closely followed by the Pycnonotidae family with 15 species. For another 12 families, we only documented one species each. The White-rumped Shama (K. balabarica) was the only species found in all forest reserves; seven other species were recorded in four of the five forest reserves. Another 74 species were found in just one of the forest reserves.
According to the results of the SIMPER analysis, the species that contributed the most to the differences in the investigated assemblages was the White-bellied Woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis), being 70% significantly different from the other species. The Jaccard and Bray–Curtis indices were used for principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) to measure the dissimilarity in the bird composition amongst the five forest reserves. Amongst these reserves, KFR and GL were the most dissimilar (J = 95.7%, B = 90%) and the KFR and Panti FR were the most similar (Fig.
Species of the Picidae family were the most frequently observed in the Kluang FR. The prevalence of this woodpecker species could be attributed to the abundance of Dipterocarp trees and snags within the Kluang FR, which offer an ideal habitat for these birds. Woodpeckers prefer to nest within tall tree trunks and forage on the branches and trunks of dead or dying trees; one notable example of this is the White-bellied Woodpecker (Dryocopus javensis) (
Woodpeckers can harmoniously co-exist with other woodpecker species due to the differences in the foraging behavior of some of these species. They partition the available resources by foraging at different heights (
Notably, the mist net pole was not long enough to capture birds that inhabit the canopy level. The bird species list shows that most birds were identified through the point count method. This occurred because the sampling plots were surrounded by towering Dipterocarp trees with dense canopies. Some species primarily forage within the forest canopy and, thus, would rarely descend to the level of the nets, which reached only 3–5 m above the ground. Moreover, the results obtained through the point count method mainly featured bird species observed in higher and more open areas. However, the bird diversity and distribution patterns were similar for both methods.
This study uncovered a notable inconsistency in the bird assemblages within the Kluang FR, which was driven by its species richness, resulting in numerous individuals being documented from a wide range of species. Amongst the species observed, the largest number of individuals was recorded for the White-rumped Shama (K. malabarica), being recorded using all three methods (mist netting, point counting and calls). This suggests that the White-rumped Shama was the most prevalent in the area. Additionally, the White-rumped Shama is insectivorous, primarily foraging on the ground and in low vegetation for arthropods, worms and berries (
The PCoA results showed that the difference between the Kluang FR and Gunung Ledang was the largest amongst the considered forest reserves. This result may be biased as it could have been influenced by the available published data for Gunung Ledang, which only included a species list from a rapid assessment, whereas the Kluang FR data were collected from a series of sampling sessions. Conversely, the Kluang and Panti FRs were the most similar. When searching for secondary data on birds in the Johor forest reserves, we found that relatively few published papers were available. Considering the variety of bird species amongst the five forest reserves, one might expect some forest reserves to host more species than others. For instance, Gunung Ledang comprises different types of vegetation, including lowland and high-altitude Dipterocarp, montane and Arecaceous forests (
The species checklist presented here is still far from exhaustive, yet it should be treated with caution, as it is likely to expand with additional sampling effort. The observed similarity between the study site and the five examined forest reserves may also be influenced by potential inconsistencies in sampling effort and methodology across sites. Despite these limitations, this information remains crucial for developing and strengthening the classification of Environmentally Sensitive Areas in Malaysia, providing a valuable foundation for effective conservation planning.
In this study, we identified the bird species in the Kluang FR to determine the bird assemblages in the forest reserves in Johor. Different approaches for bird identification are recommended to increase the number and species of birds detected, including cryptic and rare bird species. Secondary data are crucial for any study; our results highlight the importance of documenting and publishing data, as well as the need to study more areas in Johor due to the lack of published species checklists in forest reserves. The information provided from this study will hopefully contribute to the development of a new classification guideline for ESAs in PFRs.
The data underpinning the analysis reported in this paper are deposited at GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, https://doi.org/10.15468/tb3snc.
The project was funded by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability under funds RMk-12, "Documentation and conservation of biodiversity for the well-being of forest and natural resources sustainability" (P23085100210003). The authors would like to thank Dato’ Haji Zahari Bin Ibrahim, Director General of Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia (JPSM), Director of Johor State Forestry Department for the permit given to assess the sites within the permanent Forest Reserve of Kluang (PHD.JH16/02/40(72)) and we would like to thank Dato’ Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim, Director General of Department of Wildlife and National Park (DWNP) Peninsular Malaysia for the wildlife research permit (B-00298-15-22). Special mentions also go to Dr. Lee Soon Leong, Director of Forest Biodiversity Division of Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), project leader of RMk-12 and all the supporting staff of the Zoology Branch for their contributions to this research. The authors acknowledge NRES and FRIM for providing the necessary funding, facilities and assistance.
RMk-12, Documentation and conservation of biodiversity for the well-being of forest and natural resources sustainability (P23085100210003).
K.M. conceived the original idea and contributed to the design of the study. K.M., N.A.A.M. and N.A.F. gathered the data, performed the analysis and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. K.M. aided with the interpretation of the results and provided critical feedback on the manuscript. K.M., N.A.A.M. and N.A.F. discussed and agreed on the final draft of the manuscript.