Recovery of bird communities following the construction of a large-scale hydroelectric dam

Ecological Processes

Mohammad Saiful Mansor¹  Nor Adibah Ismail¹  Mohd Izzat-Husna¹  Affan Nasruddin-Roshidi¹  Farah Shafawati Mohd-Taib¹  Shukor Md Nor¹  Rahmah Illias²  Ehwan Ngadi³  Shahril Mod Husin⁴ 

[1] Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia;Department of Wildlife and National Parks (PERHILITAN), Km.10, Jln Cheras, 56100, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, Malaysia;Kolej GENIUS Insan, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Bandar Baru Nilai, 71800, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia;TNB Research Sdn Bhd, No. 1, Kawasan Institusi Penyelidikan, Jalan Ayer Itam, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia;

关键词: Dam construction;    Extinction;    Habitat recovery;    Recolonisation;    Turnover;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13717-021-00298-1

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundHabitat degradation is known to have a major impact on the composition of bird communities, yet how these communities recover following such disturbance is less understood. This study examined bird community changes from pre-logging to recovery over the course of habitat disturbance caused by the development of the Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Dam Project in Peninsular Malaysia, between 2007 and 2018. Bird surveys were conducted using point count observations and mist netting in the dam area from the pre-logging phase until the operation phase.ResultsIt was observed that while bird species significantly declined after large-scale habitat clearance between the pre-logging and construction phases, they showed positive signs of recovery from the inundation to operation phases. These findings indicate that the bird community is still recovering, and the permanent loss of habitat required by most of the original species has not occurred, as evidenced by recolonisation. Bird species composition differed across phases due to varying habitat conditions. The turnover rate and immigration rate (recolonisation and newly recorded species) were higher between the construction and operation phases. It was also observed that insectivorous birds were more heavily affected than others by changes to the landscape, which highlights the versatility, survivability and tolerance of certain species to extreme disturbance and habitat modification.ConclusionAlthough the operation phase showed an incremental change in bird species richness due to recolonisation and newly recorded species, this value remains far from that of the pre-logging phase. We predict that bird species recovery will continue to increase for some time before reaching a plateau among the newly created islands, reservoir and catchment area of the dam.

【 授权许可】

CC BY