Siri S, Ponpituk Y, Safoowong M, Marod D, Duengkae P. 2019. The natural forest gaps maintenance diversity of understory birds in Mae Sa-Kog Ma Biosphere Reserve, northern Thailand. Biodiversitas 20: 181-189. We compared the species composition and feeding guilds between under closed canopies and forest gaps in the low-elevation montane evergreen forest in Mae Sa-Kog Ma Biosphere Reserve. Monthly mist netting was used to capture birds from January 2015 to December 2017. In total, 958 individual birds belonging to 65 species were captured over 25,920 sampling hours. Of the total number of birds, 475 were from 51 species (Shannon-Wiener index: H' 2.974) under closed canopies and 483 were from 47 species (H' 2.985) in forest gaps. The number of bird species in gaps increased rapidly and constantly through 1 year following gap creation. Forest gap localities contained 48% of the understory birds in the area. Foliage–gleaning insectivores were the dominant bird feeding guild in both areas. Some species such as Erythrura prasina is a nomadic bird were found on first year of the forest gap only. Overall, we found that the forest gaps created by natural disturbances in the Mae Sa-Kog Ma Biosphere Reserve had no negative impact on the diversity of understory bird communities. The natural forest gap are created by intermediate disturbance promotes a relatively high biodiversity of birds in the ecosystem.
Captive breeding programs for endangered species can increase population numbers for eventual reintroduction to the wild. Captive populations are typically small and isolated, which results in inbreeding and reduction of genetic variability, and may lead to an increased risk of extinction. The Omkoi Wildlife Breeding Center maintains the only Thai captive Chinese goral (Naemorhedus griseus) population, and has plans to reintroduce individuals into natural isolated populations. Genetic variability was assessed within the captive population using microsatellite data. Although no bottleneck was observed, genetic variability was low (allelic richness = 7.091 ± 0.756, H e = 0.455 ± 0.219; H e < H o) and 11 microsatellite loci were informative that likely reflect inbreeding. Estimates of small effective population size and limited numbers of founders, combined with wild-born individuals within subpopulations, tend to cause reduction of genetic variability over time in captive programs. This leads to low reproductive fitness and limited ability to adapt to environmental change, thereby increasing the risk of extinction. Management of captive populations as evolutionarily significant units with diverse genetic backgrounds offers an effective strategy for population recovery. Relocation of individuals among subpopulations, or introduction of newly captured wild individuals into the captive program will help to ensure the future security of Chinese goral. Implications for future conservation actions for the species are discussed herein.
Abstract. Ponpituk Y, Siri S, Safoowong M, Suksavate W, Marod D, Duengkae P. 2020. Temporal variation in the population of bulbuls (Family Pycnonotidae) in lower montane forest, Northern Thailand. Biodiversitas 21: 3644-3649. Temporal variations in the population of bulbuls (Family Pycnonotidae) were studied over the course of four years in a 16-ha lower montane permanent plot, Northern Thailand. This study aimed to determine the relationship of the temporal variation of forest gaps with the population size of the bulbul, which plays a crucial role in seed dispersal and insect control in tropical forest ecosystems. This long-term monitoring study in a permanent plot was conducted monthly from January 2016 through October 2019. Data were collected using the mist-netting method for the capture-recapture protocol with individual bird banding. A total of 33,120 traps hour for 46 months,180 traps hour per day and 720 traps hour per month were recorded. The banding of a total of 94 individual bulbuls resulted in their classification into 5 species, consisting of Puff-throated Bulbul (Alophoixus pallidus), Mountain Bulbul (Ixos mcclellandii), Black-crested Bulbul (Pycnonotus flaviventris), Ashy Bulbul (Hemixos flavala) and Flavescent Bulbul (Iole virescens). The annual average density of bulbul for four years tended to decrease, but the difference was not significant. The highest average population occurred in 2016 and the lowest in 2018 with the changes being attributable to forest gap. Over time, monthly detection of bulbuls decreased gradually under closed canopy conditions, while in forest gaps, bird detection remained constant. As gap conditions so did detection probabilities. Our findings suggest that natural forest gaps can play an essential role as a temporal inhibitor to the rapid bird population decrease in the lower montane forest. This study will be useful for bird conservation and in balancing ecosystems for sustainability and providing interest in conservation initiatives requiring spatially explicit estimates of density.
The Great evening bat Ia io Thomas, 1902, previously considered as an endemic to the Indochinese subregion, is reported from the Sundaic subregion for the first time based on specimens collected from three localities in Surat Thani Province and Phang Nga Province, peninsular Thailand. It is described herein as a new subspecies based on its substantially larger body and skull size. The mitochondrial COI and cytochrome b genes reveal that the new subspecies has a genetic distance of 1.89% and 1.65%, respectively, from the nominate subspecies. Echolocation calls comprise four harmonics, with the maximum energy in the first harmonic (fmaxe) of 23.6-27.4 kHz. Notes on the population size as well as roosting and foraging behaviour are also provided.
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