Sains Malaysiana 50(3)(2021): 605-616

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2021-5003-04

Habitat Preferences Dictate Amphibian Assemblage and Diversity in Langkawi Island, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia

(Pemilihan Habitat Menentukan Himpunan dan Kepelbagaian Amfibia di Pulau Langkawi, Kedah, Semenanjung Malaysia)

NUR JOHANA JOHARI¹, AMIRRUDIN AHMAD^2,3, EHWAN NGADI⁴, MUZZNEENA AHMAD MUSTAPHA⁵, LARRY LEE GRISMER⁶ & NORHAYATI AHMAD⁷*

¹Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

²Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu Darul Iman, Malaysia

³Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu Darul Iman, Malaysia

⁴Kolej GENIUS Insan, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus, Malaysia

⁵Department of Earth Sciences and Environment, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

⁶Herpetology Laboratory, Department of Biology, La Sierra University, 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside, California, 92515-8247 U.S.A

⁷Langkawi Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

Received: 3 February 2020/Accepted: 17 August 2020

ABSTRACT

Various habitats found on Langkawi Island such as agricultural fields, peat swamps, lowland forests, upland forests, and riverine forests are occupied by many species of anuran fauna. These variations provide a platform to explore species diversity, distribution, and other ecological parameters to understand the distribution patterns and to facilitate the management of important species within particular areas. The objective of this study was to compare species richness of anuran species in different types of habitat on Langkawi Island, Malaysia. We surveyed seven types of habitat, namely agriculture (AG), coastal (CL), forest (FT), pond (PD), fisherman village near estuarine mangrove (FVM), riparian forest (RF), and river (RV). A total of 775 individuals were recorded, representing 23 species from 14 genus and six families known to occur on Langkawi Island. Forest (FT) and riparian forest (RF) (both forest habitats) indicated relatively high values of Shannon Index (H’), 2.60 and 2.38 respectively, compared to the other non-forest habitats, CL (1.82), RV (1.71), FVM (1.56), PD (1.54), and AG (1.53). Rank abundance curves showed that the majority of disturbed habitats displayed geometric series models and broken stick models, whereas forest habitat types (FT and RF) represented log normal models. The performance of species richness estimators varied but Chao 1 estimator performed well for many sampled habitat types and showed the tendency to coalesce with S_obs (Mao Tau) curves except for CL and FVM. As expected, the forested habitat (FT and RF) was more diverse in species diversity compared to those of non-forest groups. Nevertheless, non-forested species were found in abundance, highlighting the relevance of these habitats in supporting the amphibian fauna. This study highlights the importance of habitat types in structuring species diversity and community structures and suggest that the information may be useful to improve conservation practices of inland amphibian habitats.

Keywords: Abundance; anurans; commonness; distribution; rarity

ABSTRAK

Pulau Langkawi mempunyai kepelbagaian habitat, seperti ladang pertanian, paya gambut, hutan tanah rendah, hutan tanah tinggi dan aliran sungai di kawasan hutan. Kepelbagaian habitat ini menjadi perantara untuk meneroka kepelbagaian spesies, taburan dan parameter ekologi lain dalam memahami pola taburan dan memudahkan pengurusan spesies dalam sesuatu kawasan tertentu. Objektif kajian ini adalah untuk membandingkan kekayaan spesies anura dalam pelbagai jenis habitat di Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia. Tinjauan dilakukan terhadap tujuh jenis habitat iaitu pertanian (AG), pantai (CL), hutan (FT), kolam (PD), perkampungan nelayan (FVM), aliran sungai di kawasan hutan (RF) dan sungai (RV). Sejumlah 775 individu telah direkodkan, mewakili 23 spesies daripada 14 genus dan enam famili katak yang terdapat di Pulau Langkawi, semenanjung Malaysia. FT dan RF (kedua-duanya habitat hutan) masing-masing menunjukkan nilai Shannon Index (H ') yang tinggi, 2.60 dan 2.38, berbanding dengan habitat bukan hutan, CL (1.82), RV (1.71), FVM (1.56) PD (1.54) dan AG (1.53). Lengkungan kelimpahan menunjukkan sebahagian besar habitat yang terganggu mewakili model ‘log geometric series’ dan ‘broken stick’, manakala jenis habitat hutan (FT dan RF) mewakili model ‘log normal’. Terdapat pelbagai pengukur kekayaan spesies, namun, Chao 1 mempunyai kecenderungan lengkung S_obs (Mao Tau) hampir pada kebanyakan jenis sampel habitat kecuali di CL dan FVM. Seperti yang dijangkakan, habitat hutan (FT dan RF) mempunyai kepelbagaian spesies yang tinggi berbanding kumpulan habitat bukan hutan. Walau bagaimanapun, spesies bukan hutan dijumpai dalam kelimpahan individu yang tinggi, justeru menunjukkan kepelbagaian habitat ini menyokong kelestarian amfibia. Kajian ini menonjolkan kepentingan pelbagai habitat dalam menentukan kepelbagaian dan komuniti struktur, seterusnya mencadangkan maklumat data yang diperoleh sangat berguna dalam pemuliharaan habitat amfibia.

Kata kunci: Katak; kelimpahan; kesamaan; spesies langka; taburan

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*Corresponding author; email: norhayatiahmad@ukm.edu.my