Diversity Pattern of Bats at Two Contrasting Habitat Types along Kerian River, Perak, Malaysia - Nur Juliani Shafie; Shahrul Anuar Mohd Sah; Nurul Salmi Abdul Latip; Nur Munira Azman; Nurul Liyana Khairuddin (Tropical Life Sciences Research, 2011)
We present an assessment of the diversity of Malaysian bats at two contrasting habitat types (secondary forest and oil palm plantation) along the Kerian River surveyed between February 2009 and February 2010. Three hundred and twenty nine individual bats from 13 species representing 4 families were recorded using 10 mist nets. The most commonly caught bat in the secondary forest was Cynopterus brachyotis (n=75), followed by Macroglossus minimus (n=10). Meanwhile, in the oil palm plantation, the most commonly caught bat was Cynopterus brachyotis (n=109), followed by Cynopterus horsefieldi (n=76). The netting efforts were equal for both habitat types. The total sampling nights for each habitat type was 5460. The oil palm plantation had a greater bat abundance that was significantly different from that of the secondary forest, with 209 and 120 individuals, respectively (Mann-Whitney U-test = 31.5, p<0.05). Our results suggest that there is no significant difference in species richness between the two sites. However, the invasion by disturbance-associated species of the secondary forest is indicative of negative effects on the forest and animal diversity in this area. Forest managers should consider multiple measures of forest fragmentation sensitivity before making any forest management decisions. Penilaian kepelbagaian kelawar di Malaysia di dua jenis habitat berbeza (hutan sekunder dan ladang kelapa sawit) telah dijalankan di Sungai Kerian antara bulan Februari 2009 dan Februari 2010. Tiga ratus dua puluh sembilan individu kelawar daripada 13 spesis dan 4 famili telah direkodkan dengan menggunakan 10 jaring kabut. Spesies kelawar yang paling kerap ditangkap di hutan sekunder ialah Cynopterus brachyotis (n=75), diikuti oleh Macroglossus minimus (n=10), sementara itu di ladang kelapa sawit, spesies kelawar yang paling kerap ditangkap adalah Cynopterus brachyotis (n=109), diikuti oleh Cynopterus horsefieldi (n=76). Kejayaan tangkapan adalah sama untuk kedua-dua jenis habitat. Keseluruhan tangkapan malam untuk kedua-dua jenis habitat adalah 5460. Ladang kelapa sawit menunjukkan kelimpahan yang lebih tinggi dan berbeza secara signifikan daripada hutan sekunder, dengan jumlah kelimpahan 209 dan 120 masing-masing (Mann-Whitney U-test = 31.5, p<0.05). Keputusan kajian ini menunjukkan tiada perbezaan yang signifikan dalam kekayaan spesies antara kedua-dua kawasan. Walau bagaimanapun, kemasukan spesies yang berkait dengan kawasan terganggu di hutan sekunder adalah petunjuk kepada kesan negatif ke atas hutan dan kepelbagaian haiwan di kawasan ini. Pengurus hutan perlu mempertimbangkan beberapa langkah yang sensitif terhadap fragmentasi hutan sebelum membuat sebarang keputusan tentang pengurusan hutan