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.

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.

Abstract. Yarnvudhi A, Leksungnoen N, Siri S, Ponpithuk Y, Sukmasuang R, Duengkae P, Pongcharoen C, Sutummawong N, Marod D, Wachrinrat C, Premashthira A, Tor-ngern P, Poungcharean S, Hermuk S, Kachina P. 2022. Monetary evaluation of supporting ecosystem services as a habitat provider for birds in Thailand urban park. Biodiversitas 23: 4747-4758. Supporting services are important services to maintain ecosystems by providing habitats for organisms and genetic diversity. In this study, the monetary value of supporting services for bird habitats in urban parks was evaluated based on the price for nursing each bird species and market value. Bird diversity was conducted using point count observation. We found total of 53 bird species, 27 families and 8 orders in the park. Total monetary benefit for bird habitats in this park was estimated to be around USD60,354.12 per individual bird with an average value of USD1,138.76 per bird per species. The top three species with the highest monetary value were the Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala), Asian Openbill (Anastomus oscitans), and Chinese Pond Heron (Ardeola bacchus). The species diversity index of the bird community (H') was 2.73 and the most abundant bird species were Eastern Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis), Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus), Eastern jungle crow (Corvus levaillantii), Oriental magpie robin (Copsychus saularis), and Coppersmith Barbet (Psilopogon haemacephalus). Among 4 microhabitats, birds were found the most in the trees, followed by lawn, grassland, and wetland areas. The small urban parks should be designed with diverse microhabitats to provide various ecological functions to attract and ensure adequate resources for organisms.

Abstract. Siri S, Ponpituk Y, Safoowong M, Nuipakdee W, Marod D, Duangkae P. 2020. Comparing morphological traits of legs of understory birds inhabiting forest areas with closed canopies and forest gaps. Biodiversitas 21: 1041-1048. Bird species exhibit different adaptations depending on their habitats. The morphological traits of each species represent adaptations that are impacted by environmental changes. We conducted a 3-year study from 2015 to 2017 to compare the leg morphology of understory birds that occur under closed canopies and in forest gaps in a hill evergreen forest in northern Thailand, with gaps in the natural forest representing forest disturbances. We captured 64 bird species over the study period and measured 11 leg morphological features for each individual. Ground-foraging birds were generally long-legged and climbing birds generally short-legged. Understory species living in dense forest areas were significantly associated with long claws, toes, and tibiae, whereas species occurring in gaps and open areas tended to have shorter leg structures. Results from classification tree analysis revealed that digit claw length is the most important trait for predicting which habitat a species is most likely to occupy. Our findings suggest that understory birds with long leg structures that live under closed canopies are most vulnerable to forest disturbances or the conversion of forests to large-scale open areas.

Abstract. Paansri P, Siri S, Ponpithuk Y, Suksavate W, Safoowong M, Nuipakdee W, Duengkae P. 2019. Sexual dimorphism of Hill Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis banyumas) in Hill Evergreen Forest, Mae Sa-Kog Ma Biosphere Reserve, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. Biodiversitas 20: 1544-1548. A sample consisting of 60 males and 39 females Cyornis banyumas captured in the Mae Sa-Kog Ma Biosphere Reserve was examined using 42 morphometric characters to assess sexual dimorphism. The results of the univariate analysis showed that there were ten morphometric traits (Ltail, TLF, C-middle, HB, C-outer, T-inner, C-digit, T-middle, DUTET and LG) that could be used for discrimination of sexual differences. The morphological data based on significant differences revealed that males were larger than females. The results of discriminant analysis based on the significant differences of nine raw morphometric data can be used to construct a sexual discrimination equation (D) where D = -22.051 + 0.368 (Ltail). The sexual discrimination equation can be directly used to identify both sexes with 79.6% of cross-validated grouped cases correctly classified, since positive D scores indicated males and negative D scores indicated females, with 81.4% of the males and 74.4% of the females being correctly assigned with a cutoff value between sexes = 0.