Understorey bird species composition in primary and 10-year-old logged forest at Sungai Lalang forest reserve, Semenyih, Selangor

The major cause of forest disturbance in Malaysia is through logging activities. Logging has been thought to affect the distribution and abundance of forest foor resources that are necessary for wildlife existance. The objective of the study was to determine understorey bird species composition in two forest types, primary forest (Compartment VJR) and 10-year-old-logged forest (Compartment 33). The study was conducted at Sungai Lalang Forest Reserve, Semenyih, Selangor. The method used in the study was mist netting. A total of 10,000 netting hours was conducted in each study site. Result showed that 66 species of birds with 389 individuals were captured in 10-year-old logged forest. This suggested that birds species composition was higher in primary forest. The diversity analysis (e.g. species diversity, species richness and species eveness indices) also confirmed that the species composition of understorey birds was higher in the primary than logged forest. Most of the species that were absent in primary forest (e.g. bulbuls, and tailorbirds) but present in logged forest were considered secondary forest species. Vice versa, most most of the species that were present in primary forest (e.g. babblers and flycatchers) but absent in the logged forest were considered primary forest species. Arachnidae (spiderhunters) from the familyNectariniidae and Criniger, Hypsipetes and Pycnonotus (bulbuls) from the family Pcynonotidae were the most abundant species in the logged forest. In contrast, Malacopteron, Trichastoma and Stachyris (babblers) from the family Timaliidae and Criniger (bulbuls) from the family Pcynonotidae were the most abundant species in the primary forest. Even though the number of species was lower, the total number of individuals captured was higher in 10-year-old logged forest. This pattern was contributed mainly by the presence of super abundant species particularly bulbuls and spider hunters in the logged forest. Factors such as changes in the microclimate condition and sensitivity of the understorey primary forest birds to the microclimate change might have affected the species somposition. The study suggested that even after ten years, the birds species composition. The study suggested that even after ten years, the birds species composition in the logged forest has not fully recovered to as in primary forest.