Understorey bird assemblages in selected environmentally sensitive areas (ESA) of Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia

A study reveals significant differences in the diversity, composition, and biomass of understorey bird assemblages among three Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) rank II permanent forest reserves in Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia. The research, conducted using mist-netting surveys across 400 m × 200 m plots, provides baseline data to enhance ESA classification by incorporating biological elements, which are currently lacking in the existing physical attribute-centric framework. Analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) indicated weakly diverged bird assemblages, while SIMPER analysis identified six key species contributing to 60% of the observed differences. This first-of-its-kind insight underscores the critical importance of conserving and preserving small, fragmented ESA forests, particularly in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services such as water purification and erosion regulation.

Munian, K., Mahyudin, N. A., & Azman, S. (2023). Understorey bird assemblages in selected environmentally sensitive areas (ESA) of Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia. Biodiversity Data Journal, 11. https://doi.org/10.3897/bdj.11.e95670