Species diversity of small mammals at Gunung Stong State Park,
Kelantan, Malaysia
Vijaya
Kumaran Jayaraj 1, Nurul Farah Diyana Ahmad Tahir 2, Noor
Amirah Udin 3, Noor Farahin Kamarul Baharin 4, Siti
Katijah Ismail 5 & Siti Noor Azwa Zakaria 6
1,2,3,4,5,6 Faculty of Agro Industry and Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia
Kelantan, Jeli Campus Locked bag No. 100, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia
Email: 1jayaraj_vijayakumaran@yahoo.com (corresponding author), 2 diyan_yana90@yahoo.com, 3 nooramirahudin@yahoo.com,
4 noorfarahin_kamarulbaharin@rocketmail.com,5 sitikatijah_ismail@yahoo.com, 6 azwa.zakaria@yahoo.com
Date of
publication (online): 26 June 2012
Date of
publication (print): 26 June 2012
ISSN
0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: Giovanni Amori
Manuscript
details:
Ms # o3015
Received 21
November 2011
Final
received 09 April 2012
Finally
accepted 08 May 2012
Citation:Jayaraj, V.K., N.F.D.A. Tahir, N.A.Udin, N.F.K.
Baharin, S.K. Ismail & S.N.A. Zakaria (2012). Species diversity of small
mammals at Gunung Stong State Park, Kelantan, Malaysia. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4(6): 2617–2628.
Copyright: © Vijaya Kumaran Jayaraj, Nurul Farah Diyana Ahmad Tahir, Noor Amirah
Udin, Noor Farahin Kamarul Baharin, Siti Katijah Ismail & Siti Noor Azwa
Zakaria 2012. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes,
reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and
the source of publication.
Author Contribution: VKJ is the corresponding author of this paper. He provided the
funding, led the field work and overall writing of the manuscript. NFDAT, NAU, NFKB, SKI and SNAZ was part
of the field survey team and they volunteered to co-author this paper and
produced the first draft of the paper including the tabulation of results.
Author Details: Vijaya Kumaran Jayaraj is Malaysian mammalogists currently attached to Universiti Malaysia
Kelantan who has regularly written and publish papers on small mammal diversity
in Malaysia. He is currently
pursuing his PhD on phylogeographic relationship of treeshrews in Peninsular
Malaysia at Universiti Sains Malaysia under the supervision of Associate
Professor Dr. Ahmad Sofiman Othman and Associate Professor Dr. Sharul Anuar
Mohd Sah.
Nurul Farah
Diyana Ahmad Tahir, Noor Amirah Udin, Noor Farahin Kamarul Baharin, Siti Katijah
Ismail and Siti Noor
Azwa Zakaria are all students pursuing their BSc (Hons) in Natural
Resource Management at Universiti Malaysia Kelantan.
Acknowledgements: The principle investigator Jayaraj Vijaya Kumaran would like to thank
Professor Dr. Mohd. Tajuddin Abdullah and Isham Azhar for their comments and
suggestions in improving the draft of this paper. He would also like to thank
Siti Hajar Muhamad Daud for her help in getting the GPS reading for Gua Ikan
and Miss Fong Pooi Har for the assistance during reexamination of specimens. We
extend our gratitude to Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) for various
administrative and logistic supports and we would also like to thank the
management of Gunung Stong State Park for their support and hospitality
throughout the survey. This study was actually a class activity for the subject
Park and Protected area Management and we would like to thank Mr. Mohamad
Rohanif Mohamed Ali, Mr. Muhammad Che Isa, Miss. Nur Aiashah Ibrahim,
Miss. Nur Izzati Salleh, Miss. Zalina Che Man, Natural Resource Science
students and all those who were involved for their effort in making this a
successful event. We would also like to thank the Department of Wildlife and National
Parks (PERHILITAN) for approval to conduct research on wildlife in Kelantan.
The quality of this paper has also been significantly improved by the critical
comments of an anonymous reviewer and we are grateful to him for his
contribution. This study was partially funded by two grants namely Ministry of
Higher Education Fundamental Research Grant (MOHE FRGS:
R/FRGS/A03.00/00481A/002/2011/000043) awarded to Jayaraj Vijaya Kumaran,
Zulhazman Bin Hamzah, Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah, Dr. Yuzine Esa,
Faisal Ali Anwarali Khan and Jeffrine Rovie Ryan Japning and Universiti
Malaysia Kelantan Short Term Grant (UMK SGJP: R/SGJP/A03.00/00481A/001/2010/000037) awarded to Jayaraj Vijaya Kumaran, Dr. Wong Yee Ching and Dr. Abdul
Rahman Aziz.
Abstract: A recent small mammal survey was conducted in Gunung Stong State
Park. Standard mist nets, harp
traps and cage traps were used to document diversity of small mammals in this
new protected area. This study
reports five new distributional records of bats in Gunung Stong State Park and
a first record of Myotis muricola in Kelantan. The study
also shows that Gunung Stong State Park is one of the three areas in Peninsular
Malaysia where all four Cynopterus species that can be found in Peninsular Malaysia coexist. This protected area also has Maxomys rajah, M. whiteheadi and Niviventer cremoriventer which are
currently listed as Vulnerable, highlighting this location as an important
conservation area for small mammals. Continuous surveys are needed as information of small mammal diversity
in Kelantan is still scarce, and this study is a part of a series of small
mammal surveys that have been carried out in Kelantan.
Keywords: Gunung Stong State Park, Kelantan, new record, small mammals, species
diversity.
For
figures, images, tables -- click here
Introduction
Gunung Stong State Park, Malaysia which
covers an area of 21,950ha, is situated north west of Kelantan in the district
of Kuala Krai (Maseri & Mohd-Ros 2005). This state park is strategically positioned as part of a
large forest block that includes the Titiwangsa Range, the Belum-Temenggor and
the Ulu Muda forests in Malaysia, and connects with the stretch of forests in
Hala Bala Wildlife Sanctuary and the Bang Lang National Park in southern
Thailand (Maseri & Mohd-Ros 2005). This positioning, coupled with the buffering effect of various forests
reserves around the area, is most suitable for fauna conservation as many
iconic large mammals such as tigers, elephants, deer and leopards are found
there (Zafir et al. 2005).
Gunung Stong State Park is also a good
area for ecotourism. Its center of
attraction is the Jelawang waterfall which is hailed as the highest waterfall
in Southeast Asia (Yusoff et al. 2005). This state park also has iconic flora and fauna, that appeal to nature
photographers, such as hornbills, banded leaf monkeys, colugo, the endemic Fan
Palm Licuda
stongensis, the
endemic Bamboo Holtummochloa
pubescens and Rafflesia kerrii (Latiff & Faridah-Hanum 2005). Together
with several mountain peaks such as Gunung Ayam, Gunung Tera and Gunung Stong,
this place is suitable for a variety of recreational activities and has been
listed in the 2006 Malaysian National Economic Plan as one of the top 10
special places for ecotourism.
According to Bourliere (1975), small
mammals have adult weights ranging from 2gm to 5kg. The majority of species in this category are from the high
diversity orders Rodentia and Chiroptera, and Lagomorpha, Insectivora and
Scandentia are also in this group. The importance of Rodentia and Chiroptera in the ecology of the tropical
rainforest in Southeast Asia is recognized, yet the small mammals of Kelantan
are not well known, with records of surveys from EIA surveys on certain
development projects such as the Pergau, Lebir and Negiri Dam Project (see Pue
& Latiff 2005) and surveys conducted by Zafir et al. (2005), Shukor et al.
(2005) and Mariana et al. (2005). The objective of this study was to survey the diversity and abundance of
small mammals in Gunung Stong State Park and add further information on the
biodiversity of small mammals in Kelantan, Malaysia.
Materials
and Methods
The main sampling areas of this study
were the Gunung Stong State Park headquarters and Gua Ikan (Image 1). Two trails near the park headquaters
were chosen as sampling stations for bats. The first sampling station was Stong
Trail 1 (5020.352’N & 101058.503’E, elevation 100–200
m) and the second sampling station was Stong Trail 3 (5020.353’N
& 101058.505’E, 100–200 m). The vegetation at the first sampling station was hill
vegetation with some bamboo plots, and the second sampling station was in the
vicinity of the forest ecotone. A
total of 10 mist nets and two harp-traps were used to capture bats. These nets
and traps were placed in presumed flyways of bats at the sampling stations for
four consecutive nights (2–4 March 2011). We also set up four additional nets near in Gua Ikan (05021.268’N
& 10201.5483’E, 97m) which are limestone caves that are found
near the forest reserve.
For non-volant small mammals, two sites
were chosen in the vicinity of the park headquarters (5020.352’N
& 101058.503’E, 100–200 m) and Gua Ikan (5021.268’N
& 10201.5483’E, 97m). The vegetation at the sampling stations were: site A) hill vegetation
with some bamboo plots and river vegetation (park headquarters), and site B)
limestone area (Gua Ikan). Non-volant small mammals were captured using cage traps and all traps
were placed on the ground to target forest floor small mammals. A total of 100 cage traps baited with
pineapple were used for this purpose and all traps were placed for four
consecutive days (2–4 March 2011).
Captured animals were identified using
keys from Francis (2008), and standard measurements were recorded. The diversity of small mammals for this
survey was presented as list of species recorded and abundance was
characterized by the capture rate of each species during this survey.
Results
The cumulative species graph over days
for bats is shown in Fig. 1. The
graph is yet to reach an asymptotic level indicating that in-terms of sampling,
there may still be species that are yet to be recorded. This also indicates that the
netting effort of 52 net-nights was not adequate to sample the total chiroptera
community in Kelantan. Table 1
shows the list of species caught, net-nights and capture rate of bats in this
study and further comparison with the data from Mariana et al. (2005) and
Shukor et al. (2005). This survey
recorded 11 species of bats and the highest number of individuals caught was Cynopterus horsfieldii, followed by C. sphinx and the lowest capture rate were from Rhinolophus affinis,
Tylonycteris robustulaand Myotis
muricola.
The species graph over days for
non-volant mammals is shown in Fig. 2. The graph reached an asymptotic level on the 2nd day –
3rd day but the number of species trapped increased on the 4thday of sampling indicating that the total trapping effort was not adequate to
document non-volant small mammals diversity on the forest floor in the sampling
stations. We recorded a total of
six species of non-volant small mammals in this study with the highest number
of individuals caught were Leopoldamys
sabanus (six individuals)
followed byMaxomys whiteheadi(two individuals).
Species accounts
Cynopterus brachyotis (Müller, 1838): This species has been recorded in open
areas and agricultural plots in southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and
Borneo (Abdullah 2003; Abdullah et al. 1997a,b,
2000; Anwarali et al. 2007; Hall et al. 2002, 2004; Karim et al. 2004; Azlan et
al. 2005; Jayaraj et al. 2011, 2012). In Borneo C.
brachyotis is one of
the most successful and dominant fruit bat in terms of capture rate and
distribution. We netted this
species near the forest fringe and near a small stream. This species is listed
as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Csorba et al.
2008) and Red List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
There has been ongoing research on the
presence of several distinct lineages in this species and in southern Thailand,
Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo a smaller form tentatively assigned as C. cf. brachyotis Forest has been identified (Abdullah 2003; Campbell et al.
2004, 2006, 2007; Jayaraj 2009; Fong 2011; Jayaraj et al. 2012). We took the liberty of separating the
new form C. cf. brachyotis Forest as a separate account for future reference using
methods described by Jayaraj et al. (2012).
Cynopterus cf. brachyotis Forest: This undescribed species has been known
to occur in primary forests and old secondary forests in contrast with the
habitat of C.
brachyotis(Abdullah 2003). We caught C. cf. brachyotis Forest in the forest fringes in the same nets that netted C. brachyotis, indicating that these two species
although occurs in contrasting habitats but may meet at forest fringes. This undescribed species (see Simmons
2005) is not listed in IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species (2008) and Red
List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Cynopterus horsfieldii Gray, 1843: This is a new record for Gunung Stong
State Park. This species is known
to be a forest dwelling Cynopterus, commonly caught at the ecotones and
may occur sympatric with C.cf. brachyotis Forest but there are records of this
species netted in oil palm plantations and in Pulau Tioman (Lim et al.
1999). The capture rate of this
species was the highest in this study, which was highly in contrast when
compared with trapping results in similar vegetations in Borneo (see Jayaraj et
al. 2011) whereas in Pahang the capture rate of this species is similar with C. brachyotis (see Lim et al. 2008). Individuals of this species were caught
in all three forms of habitat (ecotones, hill forest and limestone areas). Sexual dimorphism of skulls was
apparent, where in male skulls have more prominent sagittal crest compared to female
skulls (Image 2). This species is
listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Bates et
al. 2008a) and Red List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Cynopterus sphinx (Vahl, 1797): This is a new record for Gunung Stong
State Park. The social structure
of C.
sphinx was
previously studied by Storz et al. (2000) and they found out that this species
exhibits a polygynous mating system, with males having varying harem size from
six to 13 females. Lim et al. (2008) suggested that the distribution pattern ofC. sphinx should be investigated as little is
known about the current distribution of this species in Malaysia. Clinal variation in terms of size of
this species was discussed by Storz et al. (2001) and our observations
(unpublished data) indicate that C. sphinx is not highly adaptable in Peninsular Malaysia incongruent
with observations of Bates et al. (2008b). Although widespread the abundance of this species is
determined by the type of vegetation sampled (Campbell et al. 2006). In Gunung Stong State Park the forearm
length of this species was 74.52±3.87 mm and this species was netted in the
hill vegetation and near bamboo plots beside the forest fringe. Struebig et al. (2005) netted this
species near fruiting figs trees and this is commonly observed across Peninsular
Malaysia with other Cynopterans. This species is listed as Least Concern in the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Bates et al. 2008b) and Red List of
Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Penthetor lucasi (Dobson, 1880): This is a new record for Gunung Stong
State Park. Only one individual
was caught near the forest fringe throughout the survey. This cave dwelling
species normally roosts in large numbers and may have a population size up to 70,845
individuals [mark recapture model estimates in Wind Cave Nature Reserve
Sarawak, Malaysia by Barapoi (2004)]. A recent study by Rahman & Abdullah (2010) indicated that there are
two or more morphologically distinct forms of P. lucasi from different localities in Sarawak. It is quite possible that such a
distinct form also existed in Peninsular Malaysia. This species is listed as
Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Bates et al. 2008c)
and Red List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Eonycteris spelaea (Dobson, 1871): This is a new record for Gunung Stong
State Park. Five individuals of
this species were caught near the limestone area throughout the survey. Daytime survey in the cave revealed
that this species was abundant in the Gua Ikan. Previously, this species was
netted at Gua Musang, Kelantan (Shabrina 1991). Mariana et al. (2005) and Shukor et al. (2005) did not
record this species in their survey most probably because their nets were not
placed near the cave. Anwarali et
al. (2008) observed that individuals from Peninsular Malaysia versus Borneo had
a genetic distance of 1%. This
species is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
(Francis et al. 2008) and Red List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP
2010).
Macroglossus sobrinus K. Andersen, 1911: This species is common in many forest
types in Malaysia but has been associated with flowering banana plots and
mangrove areas. We collected five
individuals of M.
sobrinus near the
river and similarly Shukor et al. (2005) and Mariana et al. (2005) collected 19
individuals of this species in their expeditions. This species is listed as
Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Hutson et al. 2008).
Rhinolophus affinis Horsfield, 1823: Only one individual was caught in this
survey near Gua Ikan. This highly
adaptable and common species can be found in most protected areas in Malaysia
and are generally abundant in most sites sampled. However, Lim et al. (2008) and Kingston et al. (2008) stated
that this species is a common under-storey forest bat that is confined to
caves. Shukor et al. (2005)
collected 21 individuals of this species while Mariana et al. (2005) collected
29 individuals indicating high abundance of this species in Gunung Stong State
Park. Approximately 4% in cyt-b genetic distance observed between
Bornean individuals and a single individual from Thailand in Anwarali et al.
(2008) and this may have some significance in this study as this individual
from Gunung Stong State Park may have similar genetic difference with Bornean
samples. This species is listed as
Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Walston et al. 2008)
and Red List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Myotis muricola (Gray, 1846): This is a new record for Gunung Stong
State Park and Kelantan. We netted
this species near the bamboo plots but this species is generally netted in open
areas, heath forest, peat swamps, streams and rivers near forest, and
agricultural plots (Struebig et al. 2006; Francis 2008). The Red List of Mammals for Peninsular
Malaysia (DWNP 2010) indicates that this species is widely distributed in
peninsular Malaysia. Francis
(2008) mentioned that this species maybe a complex species based on genetic
analyses but diagnostic characters and appropriate names have yet to be
assigned (see Anwarali et al. 2008). Only one individual was recorded throughout the survey and this species
is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Bates et
al. 2008d) and Red List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Tylonycteris pachypus (Temminck, 1840): This species was netted near bamboo
plots and a total of four individuals were collected throughout the
survey. Shukor et al. (2005)
collected only two individuals in their survey but we believe that this species
maybe more abundant in Gunung Stong State Park based on the presence of many
bamboo plots and observations of slit in the internodes of the bamboos. This species is listed as Least Concern
in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Bates et al. 2008e) and Red List of
Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Tylonycteris robustula Thomas, 1915: This is a species of bat associated
with bamboos (Anwarali et al 2008; Francis 2008) and is a sister species with T. pachypus (Francis 2008). We collected only one individual of T. robustula in this survey, whereas Mariana et al.
(2005) and Shukor et al. (2005) collected four individuals in their
surveys. Similarly this species
was netted in the same net as T.
pachypus,
reinforcing the idea that this species does share roosting sites with T. pachypus (Francis 2008). Francis (2008) did mention that there
are differences in roost site selection of both species; T. robustula prefer large and dead bamboos whereas T. pachypus prefer live bamboo stems, but both
species may share the same roost hole. This species is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species (Bates et al. 2008f) and Red List of Mammals for Peninsular
Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Maxomys surifer (Miller, 1900): We collected only one individual of M. surifer near Gua Ikan, but previously Shukor
et al. (2005) collected three individuals of this species near the vicinity of
site A (sampling site of present study). This species is the most abundant small mammal
trapped in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, central Thailand (Walker &
Rabinowitz 1992). M.
surifer and M. rajah have rarely
been caught in the same area but Shukor et al. (2005) collected one M. rajahin this state park, indicating that both species may
co-occur in the same area but this needs further confirmation. This species is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species (Aplin et al. 2008a) and Red List of Mammals for
Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Maxomys whiteheadi (Thomas, 1894): We trapped two individuals of this
species near Gua Ikan (limestone area) but Francis (2008) stated that
generally, this species can be found in tall and old secondary forests and
occasionally encroaching disturbed areas in the vicinity of these forests. Wilson et al. (2006) trapped this
species in an acacia plantation and a fragmented forest in Borneo. There was also a record of this species
occurring in mangrove swamp and secondary forest at Kuala Selangor State Park
(Chuluun et al. 2005). This
species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
(Aplin et al. 2008b) due to significant population decline for the past 10
years but is listed as Least Concern in the Red List of Mammals for Peninsular
Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Sundamys muelleri (Jentink, 1879): This species has a wide distribution
and was normally caught near rivers (Francis 2008). Incidentally, this big rodent was caught in the limestone
area of Gua Ikan where there is a river flowing into the cave. Previously this species was caught by
Lim (1970) at Sungai Durian Forest Reserve and Mariana et al. (2005) in Gunung
Stong State Park. In Borneo this
species was caught on the ground or low trees (Wilson et al. 2006). Zakaria et al. (2011) found that this
species can survive in disturbed habitats. Ruedas et al. (2008a) assigned the status Least Concern for
this species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species which was congruent
with the Red List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Niviventer cremoriventer (Miller, 1900): Only one N. cremoriventer was caught in this survey at Site
A. This species has been recorded
in tall and secondary forests, forest area and lightly wooded areas (Francis
2008). Lim et al. (2008) trapped this species in a disturbed secondary forest
at Lakum Forest Reserve, Pahang. In Mount Nuang Hulu Langat, this species has been recorded right up to
1350m asl (Shukor et al. 2001; Batin et al. 2002) and Francis (2008) mentioned
that this species can be found up to 1900 m asl. This species is listed as
Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to significant
population decline for the past 10 years (Ruedas et al. 2008b) and is listed as
Least Concern in the Red List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Leopoldamys sabanus (Thomas, 1887): We collected a total of six individuals
from both trapping sites, dominating non-volant small mammal captures in this
study. This species is common in
many types of forests in Malaysia and is threatened by clearing of forests (Lim
et al. 2008). Individuals of this
species were found to be highly infested with ectoparasites and previously
Mariana et al. (2005) recorded ticks, Mesostigmatid mites and chiggers on individuals
trapped in this same area. It is
listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Lunde et
al. 2008) and Red List of Mammals for Peninsular Malaysia (DWNP 2010).
Discussion
This survey recorded 11 species of bats
and six species of non-volant small mammals with one new record for Kelantan (Myotis muricola) and four additional distributional
records for Gunung Stong State Park (Cynopterus horsfieldii, C. sphinx and Penthetor lucasi). Bats from
the family Pteropodidae dominated the captures as compared to Shukor et al. (2005)
and Mariana et al. (2005) who recorded more insectivorous bats. Leopoldamys sabanus (six individuals) dominated the
captures for non-volant small mammals followed by Maxomys whiteheadi (two individuals), while the remaining species (M. surifer, S. muelleri N.
cremoriventer and Callosciurus sp.) recorded only one individual
each. This in-turn increased the
total number of small mammals known to occur in Gunung Stong State Park from 28
species to 35 species.
The sampling effort for this survey was
not adequate in documenting total chiropteran community at Gunung Stong State
Park as the graph is yet to reach and asymptotic level. In Kuala Lompat, Krau Wildlife Reserve,
a total of 837 harp-trap nights and 1573 net hours (786 hours for ground nets,
606 hours for stacked nets, 147 hours for canopy nets and 34 hours for river
nets) were needed to document total insectivorous bat diversity (Kingston et
al. 2003). Hall et al. (2004)
showed that generally a total effort of 30 net nights was needed to document
total fruit bat composition in most areas in southern Thailand, Peninsular
Malaysia and Borneo. In this
study, the 54 net nights were not adequate in documenting total chiropteran
fauna and to compensate this inadequacy, further surveys can be done on a long
term basis.
The low trapping rate of harp traps in
this study (averaging one individual per night) contributed to the overall low
diversity of insect bats captured in this study. Nonetheless our positioning of the harp traps near the
forest edge and beside the river may not be effective if the bats do not use
the presumed flyways. The low
capture rate of non-volant small mammals and the absence of treeshrews and
squirrels may be caused by the choice of bait used and trap placement in this
study. Previous studies on
non-volant small mammals do indicate bait selection by small mammals, as
Bernard (2003) mentioned that the local banana variety ‘pisang emas’ (Musa acuminata) generally produces the best capture
rate. In this study, we used
pineapples as bait and the traps were placed on the forest floor which may be
selective for trapping rats and treeshrews.
The importance of Gunung Stong State
Park for conservation of small mammals is yet to be explored but this recent
survey revealed some major findings; First, Gunung Stong State Park is the
second known protected area in Malaysia where all four species of Cynopterus that can be found in Peninsular
Malaysia (C.
brachyotis, C. cf. brachyotis Forest, C. horsfieldii andsphinx)
co-exist. Previous records of such
occurrences in Malaysia were only in Perlis State Park and Taiping, Perak
(Campbell et al. 2004, 2006). Sungai Dusun may be another area where all four species co-exist but
this needs to be confirmed (Abdullah 2003; Hall et al. 2004). Other records of such observations
include Thaleban National Park, Thailand (Abdullah 2003; Hall et al. 2004;
Abdullah et al. 2007). Abdullah et
al. (2007) stated that having three species of Cynopterus netted in the same area was unusual,
and they relate their observation way back in 1997 as due to lack of resource
partitioning, diet overlap, or similar roosting, emergence time and flight
behavior of the species.
The results of this study show that all
four species of Cynopterus meet at the ecotones (based on netting
results) and such area may be the place where lack of space partitioning
between these congenerics occur. The habitat use of these four species can also be divided into open
areas and forested areas, thus we speculate that the existence of such areas
together with the ecotones in the vicinity and in Gunung Stong State Park may
contribute to the conservation of these fruit bats. Second, this area also recorded three species of Maxomys, with M. rajah and M.
whiteheadi listed
as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Aplin et al. 2008 a,b). N.
cremoriventeralso joins the list of Vulnerable species that can be found in this protected
area making Gunung Stong State Park an important area for the conservation of
these rodents in peninsular Malaysia. These animals are primarily forest dependent species and are not found
outside of forested areas (Aplin et al. 2008a,b; Ruedas et al. 2008b) and are
threatened by clearing of forests (Lim et al. 2008), thus protected areas are
the only areas where significant conservation planning and effort can be put in
place.
The conservation of bats and small
mammals are generally overlooked in many protected area management plans in
this country except enigmatic species such as the large flying fox Pteropus vampyrus and naked bats Chiromeles torquatus which have some form of economic or
aesthetic value. Conservation of
small mammals primarily depends on the establishment of protected areas and
controlling human activities or disturbance in the vicinity and the protected
area itself with good enforcement of local wildlife protection laws. Thus, it is important that knowledge on
the diversity of small mammals in protected areas are known for monitoring and
management purposes. Gunung Stong State Park as a newly established protected
area which requires more data on the diversity and abundance of various taxa
including small mammals and it is imperative that relevant institutions such as
Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK) support such work by contributing local
knowledge on biodiversity in Kelantan. This study is a part of a series of three papers about Kelantan small
mammals that will be published based on recent small mammal surveys in the
state.
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