Bidong Island: Natural History and Resources (Geography of the Physical Environment) 3030919234, 9783030919238

Table of contents :
Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
About the Editors
Contributors
Abbreviations
1 General Geology of Bidong Island, Terengganu
Abstract
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Tectonic Framework
1.3 Holocene Sea-Level Changes of Bidong Island
1.4 Rock Formation in Pulau Bidong
1.5 Geomorphology of Bidong Island
1.6 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
2 Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island
Abstract
2.1 Introduction: Sustainable Development Goal 2030 Development Planning, Terengganu
2.2 Driver for Sustainable Development
2.3 Data Collection and Research Approach
2.4 Addressing the Environment Issues of Bidong Island
2.5 State Government Sustainable Development Plan: The Economic Development Sphere
2.6 The First Phase
2.7 The Second Phase
2.8 The Impact of Bidong Sustainable Development on the Economics and Society (Social Sphere)
2.9 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
3 Historic Vietnamese Settlement of Bidong Island
Abstract
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Early Vietnamese Refugee
3.3 Settlement Vietnamese Refugee in Bidong Island
3.4 Vietnamese Relics in Bidong Island
3.5 Bidong Island as Eco-Tourism
3.6 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
4 Species Richness of Plants in Bidong Island
Abstract
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Data Collection and Species Identification
4.3 Tree Species Richness
4.4 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
5 Community Structure and Diversity of Trees in Coastal Forest of Bidong Island, Terengganu
Abstract
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Methodology
5.3 Floristic Composition
5.4 Species Diversity
5.5 Community Structure
5.6 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
6 Decapoda Crustaceans at the South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre in Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia
Abstract
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Identification Procedure
6.3 Results and Discussion
6.4 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
7 Checklist of Lichens from Bidong Island, Terengganu
Abstract
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Methodology
7.2.1 Study Site
7.3 Results and Discussion
7.3.1 Family Composition
7.4 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
8 Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island
Abstract
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Bidong Island
8.3 Field Surveys
8.4 Data Analyses
8.5 Species Composition and Relative Abundance
8.6 Diversity Indices
8.7 Species Richness
8.8 Performance Evaluation of Estimators
8.9 Species Composition and Relative Abundance
8.10 Performance Evaluation of Estimators
8.11 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
9 Rapid Assessment of Terrestrial Fauna in Bidong Island, Malaysia
Abstract
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Materials and Methods
9.3 Results and Discussion
9.3.1 Birds
9.3.2 Small Mammals
9.4 Updated Species Checklist
9.5 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Appendice
References
10 Impact of Tropical Storm Pabuk on Intertidal Gastropods in Bidong Island, Malaysia
Abstract
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Materials and Methods
10.2.1 Sampling Method
10.2.2 Study Area
10.2.3 Data Analysis
10.3 Results
10.4 Discussion
10.5 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
11 Lunar Cycle Drives Migration of Zooplankton in Coral Reef of Bidong Island
Abstract
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Materials and Methods
11.2.1 Study Site
11.2.2 Sampling and Analysis
11.3 Results
11.3.1 Environmental Data
11.3.1.1 Zooplankton Composition and Density
11.3.1.2 Diel Variation of Major Zooplankton Groups
11.4 Discussion
11.5 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
12 Modern Benthic Foraminifera in the Coral Reefs of Bidong Island, Terengganu
Abstract
12.1 Introduction
12.2 Morphological Characteristics of Foraminifera
12.3 Method
12.4 Foraminiferal Occurrences
12.5 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
13 Meiofauna from the Shipwrecks of Bidong Island, South China Sea
Abstract
13.1 Introduction
13.2 Materials and Methods
13.3 Results and Discussion
13.3.1 Total Meiofauna
13.3.2 Phylum Arthropoda
13.3.3 Phylum Nematoda
13.3.4 Phylum Annelida and Others
13.3.5 Shipwreck in the Marine Ecosystem Function
13.4 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
14 Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea Under Influence from Nearshore Sea Acidification
Abstract
14.1 Introduction
14.2 Design of Case Study
14.3 Data on Physicochemical Parameters of Water
14.4 Data on Fish
14.5 Discussions
Acknowledgements
References
15 Host Preferences and Colouration of Christmas Tree Worms, Spirobranchus corniculatus (Grube, 1862) from Bidong Island, South China Sea
Abstract
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Materials and Methods
15.3 Results
15.4 Discussion
15.4.1 Spirobranchus corniculatus Host at Pantai Pasir Cina
15.5 Colour Polymorphism of Spirobranchus corniculatus at Pantai Pasir Cina
15.6 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
16 Cellular Stress Response of Scleractinian Coral Acropora Robusta and Acropora Florida in Bidong Island
Abstract
16.1 Introduction
16.2 Sampling Site and Sample Collection
16.3 Enzyme Assays
16.4 Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) Activities
16.5 Catalase (CAT) Activities
16.6 Fluorescent Protein Labelling and SDS-PAGE Gel Electrophoresis
16.7 Results and Discussion
16.8 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
17 Effects of pH on the Early Life Histories of Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf Solaris) in Bidong Island, Terengganu, South Chine Sea
Abstract
17.1 Introduction
17.2 Sample Collection and Preparation for Spawning
17.3 Induce of Spawning and Fertilization
17.4 Early Life Stages Observation
17.5 Fertilization and Gastrulation in Lowered pH
17.6 Early Larvae Developmental Stages
17.7 Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
18 Metals Concentration in Coral Reef Fishes of Bidong Island During the 2017 to 2019 Marine Biology Fieldwork Course
Abstract
18.1 Introduction
18.2 Study Areas and Sampling Activity
18.3 Sample Preparation and Analysis
18.4 Metals Concentration in the Reef Fish Tissues
Acknowledgements
References
19 Heavy Metals in Surficial Sediment from Bidong Island, Southern South China Sea
Abstract
19.1 Heavy Metals Pollution
19.2 Bidong Island
19.3 Sediment Collection for Heavy Metals Determination
19.4 Sediment Samples for Heavy Metals Analysis
19.5 Heavy Metals Concentration in Bidong Island Surrounding Sediments
19.6 Assessment of Bidong Island Sediment Contamination
Acknowledgements
References
Appendix_1

Citation preview

Geography of the Physical Environment

Ong Meng Chuan Melissa Beata Martin Mohd Yusoff Nurulnadia Wahizatul Afzan Azmi   Editors

Bidong Island Natural History and Resources

Geography of the Physical Environment

The Geography of the Physical Environment book series provides a platform for scientific contributions in the field of Physical Geography and its subdisciplines. It publishes a broad portfolio of scientific books covering case studies, theoretical and applied approaches as well as novel developments and techniques in the field. The scope is not limited to a certain spatial scale and can cover local and regional to continental and global facets. Books with strong regional focus should be well illustrated including significant maps and meaningful figures to be potentially used as field guides and standard references for the respective area. The series appeals to scientists and students in the field of geography as well as regional scientists, landscape planners, policy makers, and everyone interested in wide-ranging aspects of modern Physical Geography. Peer-reviewed research monographs, edited volumes, advance and undergraduate level textbooks, and conference proceedings covering the major topics in Physical Geography are included in the series. Submissions to the Book Series are also invited on the theme ‘The Physical Geography of…’, with a relevant subtitle of the author’s/editor’s choice. Please contact the Publisher for further information and to receive a Book Proposal Form.

More information about this series at https://link.springer.com/bookseries/15117

Ong Meng Chuan • Melissa Beata Martin • Mohd Yusoff Nurulnadia Wahizatul Afzan Azmi

•

Editors

Bidong Island Natural History and Resources

123

Editors Ong Meng Chuan Faculty of Science and Marine Environment Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

Melissa Beata Martin Faculty of Science and Marine Environment Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

Mohd Yusoff Nurulnadia Faculty of Science and Marine Environment Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

Wahizatul Afzan Azmi Faculty of Science and Marine Environment Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

ISSN 2366-8865 ISSN 2366-8873 (electronic) Geography of the Physical Environment ISBN 978-3-030-91923-8 ISBN 978-3-030-91924-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover image by Sonja Weber, München This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Photo credit goes out to Mr. Idham Khalil using a drone to capture Bidong Island from UMT's research vessel, RV Discovery.

Preface

Bidong Island is located in the South China Sea with a 14 km distance from the mainland coast off Kuala Terengganu town, Peninsular Malaysia. This island and its archipelago boast of its richness in diversity of both terrestrial and marine organisms, and its undeniably pristine and thriving ecosystem in Malaysia. From 1975 to 1990, Bidong Island was listed under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for a quarter of a million Vietnamese “boat people” escaping the Vietnam War, which still holds great significance to their descendants. Due to its historical connotation, the Terengganu State government has taken the initiative to manage Bidong Island as a heritage tourism site and a new diving destination. In this book, we highlight the uniqueness of Bidong Island and its archipelago, with particular attention on the biological aspect (which includes marine and terrestrial organisms) and the pollution status surrounding the island. The biological aspect mainly focuses on organisms of the open water and benthic ecosystems such as plankton, fishes, corals reef communities, crustaceans and foraminifera (to name a few). The content also includes terrene-related topics, comprising tree diversity, lichens and birds and mammals of Bidong Island. The status of heavy metals was addressed in describing the pollution impacts which covers living (fish) and non-living (sediment) samples. The book should draw attention to readers in the field of environmental sciences, especially those who concentrated over the South China Sea region. This book will be a great benefit for students, researchers, as well as scientists, either as an academic book or textbook for teaching and learning activities pertaining to tropical environments and island ecosystems. We do hope that stakeholders that would partake in the future interest of Bidong Island (particularly in tourism) are equally aware of the current health status of the island and would engage in conserving and sustaining the diversity and heritage of the archipelago for the benefit of the community. August 2021 Terengganu, Malaysia

Ong Meng Chuan Melissa Beata Martin Mohd Yusoff Nurulnadia Wahizatul Afzan Azmi

vii

Acknowledgements

The editors and authors are very grateful for the numerous research grants and support provided by the many internal, national and international funders (please refer to the acknowledgement section for each chapter), particularly from the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MoHE) and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). Special thanks to the Center of Research and Field Services (CRaFS) for providing the research team from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu with sampling opportunities using their research vessels, equipment, laboratory space and accommodation within the islands of the Bidong Archipelago. This book would not be in its final form without the support of the Faculty of Science and Marine Environment (FSME) and Centre for Research and Innovation Management (CRIM). Special thanks go out to Dr. Aqilah Mohammad for her assistance and help with regard to the procedure and required documents for the completion of this book. We are eternally grateful to Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah, who dedicated his time to read and review all manuscripts, as well as guiding us vehemently during the preparation of this book. We are also grateful to the untiring staff members of Springer Publication for their support and engagements with the book editors. August 2021

Ong Meng Chuan Melissa Beata Martin Mohd Yusoff Nurulnadia Wahizatul Afzan Azmi

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Contents

1

General Geology of Bidong Island, Terengganu . . . . . . . . . . Muhd Nur Ismail Abdul Rahman, Azmiah Jamil, Rapidah Mat Stafa, and Nor Bakhiah Baharim

1

2

Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island . . . . . . Samsudin Hazman, Khatijah Omar, Norhayati Ab. Manaf, and Abi Sofian Abd Halim

15

3

Historic Vietnamese Settlement of Bidong Island . . . . . . . . . . Norhayati Ab Manaf, Muhammad Abi Sofian Abdul Halim, Khatijah Omar, Hazman Samsudin, Elia Syarafina Abdul Shakur, Siti Nor Adawiyah Azzahra Kamaruddin, and Nor Shakirah Mohd Sakari

31

4

Species Richness of Plants in Bidong Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . Salwa Shahimi, Jamilah Mohd Salim, and Muhamad Razali Salam

39

5

Community Structure and Diversity of Trees in Coastal Forest of Bidong Island, Terengganu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shahrudin Rohani, Siti Nabilah Othman, and Muhamad Razali Salam

6

Decapoda Crustaceans at the South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre in Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iqbal Harith Abd. Razak, Muammar Akilfadhli Shamsuddin, Azwarina Binti Mohd Azmi Ramasamy, Samuthirapandian Ravichandran, and Melissa Beata Martin

53

61

7

Checklist of Lichens from Bidong Island, Terengganu . . . . . Thilahgavani Nagappan, Nurun Najihah Abdul Latiff, and Muhammad Razali Salam

75

8

Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abdulmaula Hamza, Anuar Mcafee, and Amirrudin Ahmad

89

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9

Contents

Rapid Assessment of Terrestrial Fauna in Bidong Island, Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Muhamad Aidil Zahidin, Nur Farah Wahida Mohd Zakir, Nurin Nayli Mohamad Nasir, Nur Ashikin Samiran, Noor Hafifa Razali, Nur Khairunnisa Ismal Zulkarnain, Hasrulzaman Hassan Basri, Mohd Noor Afiq Ramlee, Mazrul Aswady Mamat, and Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah

10 Impact of Tropical Storm Pabuk on Intertidal Gastropods in Bidong Island, Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Noor Hamizah Mohamad Basir, Nursalwa Baharuddin, and Amirrudin Ahmad 11 Lunar Cycle Drives Migration of Zooplankton in Coral Reef of Bidong Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Roswati Md Amin and Gautham Raj Alangavan 12 Modern Benthic Foraminifera in the Coral Reefs of Bidong Island, Terengganu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Nur Asiyah Afika Jaafar, Sharunya Mahendran, Dayang Ezza Farhana Hamzah, Zazeela Ismasuraya Ismail, Muhammad Izzat Afiq Azizan, Rokiah Suriadi, Fatin Izzati Minhat, and Wan Nurzalia Wan Saelan 13 Meiofauna from the Shipwrecks of Bidong Island, South China Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Maizah M. Abdullah, Nur Sanim Azlan, Hasrizal Shaari, Asyaari Muhamad, Yusof Shuaib Ibrahim, and Izwandy Idris 14 Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea Under Influence from Nearshore Sea Acidification . . . . . 153 Muhammad Syamsul Aznan Ariffin, Mohd Noor Afiq Ramlee, Siddhartha Pati, Hisham Atan Edinur, and Bryan Raveen Nelson 15 Host Preferences and Colouration of Christmas Tree Worms, Spirobranchus corniculatus (Grube, 1862) from Bidong Island, South China Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Izwandy Idris, Nadia Azeera Mohd-Salleh, and Nur Dalia Natasya Ahmad Fadzil 16 Cellular Stress Response of Scleractinian Coral Acropora Robusta and Acropora Florida in Bidong Island . . . . . . . . . . 189 Nur Atiqah Maznan, Siti Nurtahirah Jaafar, and Chun Hong Tan 17 Effects of pH on the Early Life Histories of Crown-ofThorns Starfish (Acanthaster cf Solaris) in Bidong Island, Terengganu, South Chine Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Chun Hong Tan, Ju Yee Loh-Chuah, Hon Jung Liew, and Seng Chee Poh

Contents

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18 Metals Concentration in Coral Reef Fishes of Bidong Island During the 2017 to 2019 Marine Biology Fieldwork Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 Mohd Yusoff Nurulnadia, Nik-Nurasyikin Nik Mohmmad Azmi, Siti Nurtahirah Jaafar, and Yusri Yusuf 19 Heavy Metals in Surficial Sediment from Bidong Island, Southern South China Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Ong Meng Chuan, Adiana Ghazali, Noor Azhar Mohamed Shazili, Joseph Bidai, and Khairul Nizam Mohamed Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

About the Editors

Ong Meng Chuan is an Associate Professor in Marine Science at the Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. He holds a doctoral degree in Marine Pollution specifically in Metals Pollution from the University of South Brittany, France. His research focuses on the metallic elements content in sediment samples which can act as geo marker for pollution studies. He also studied the sediment characteristic and the relationship between particle size and the concentration of the metallic element. Apart from the sediment samples, his research also includes biota samples of fishes, crustaceans, bivalves, mollusks and plants such as seaweed and seagrass. From these biota samples, the suitability of using these organisms as bioindicators can be identified, which best reflects the environmental quality. Risk assessment towards human health by consuming these organisms can be estimated. He is actively involved in teaching and research as well as knowledge transfer programmes to communities and school children. He is actively engaged in research and formed a Research Interest Group, Ocean Pollution and Ecotoxicology (OPEC) Research Group among UMT researchers and other institutions in Malaysia. The group currently gathers all data from the Malaysian marine aquatic environment to be stored in the GIS database. With this database, these data can easily be referred by other researchers for their studies.

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About the Editors

Melissa Beata Martin is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Coordinator of the Marine Biology Programme of the Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). She received her Diploma in Fisheries and Bachelor of Science (Marine Biology) at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and her PhD in Fisheries Science from the University of Tasmania, Australia. Though specialising in taxonomy, phylogeny and systematics (with emphasis on parasitic isopods of the family Cymothoidae), she has expanded her interest in elucidating the diversity of crustaceans in Malaysian waters, parasites of aquatic organisms and symbiotic associates of marine organisms. Some of her current research is looking into co-invasive parasites of Peacock bass and native fish species in Terengganu waters, diversity of isopods, crustacean decapods and benthic crustaceans in Peninsular Malaysia, and even resolving the taxonomy of freshwater minnows in South Africa (one of her many collaborative initiatives). She has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, which include Zootaxa, Zookeys, Records of the Australian Museum, Crustaceana, Aquaculture, Thalassas and Data in Brief. She is also a recipient of the Tasmania Graduate Research Scholarship, Australian Museum Geddes Postgraduate Award and UMT’s Academic Service Award. Due to her first love of taxonomy, some of her many research networks include Australia Museum, Sydney; Museum of Tropical Queensland; Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, Hobart and the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity. In addition to her research responsibilities, she teaches undergraduate courses, which include biological classification of marine organisms, marine invertebrate biology, marine biology field sampling course, biological oceanography and marine ecology.

About the Editors

xvii

Mohd Yusoff Nurulnadia is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. She received her PhD in Aquatic Toxicology from the Kagoshima University, Japan; MSc from the International Islamic University Malaysia; BSc from the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia. Her research discipline is in applied toxicology specifically on fish. Specialising in toxicology, she actively pursued research that applies toxicity testing using fish embryos, juvenile fish and zooplankton to investigate the effects of endocrine chemicals as well as metals element. Currently, she is trying to develop the toxicity information using climbing perch, Anabas testudineus as a local test organism. In extension to toxicology-based research, she also works on the investigation of oxidative stress in aquatic animals through co-researcher in related field. She is keen to study the Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) while concerning aquatic and marine life productivity in Malaysia. Her interest was made possible after she was awarded a research grant from the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. In order to support this passion, she is working close with researchers from Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University via co-authorship of peer-reviewed journal such as Chemosphere, Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, and Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. She is a co-researcher for an international grant awarded by Japan government by this collaboration. Besides research, she teaches undergraduate student courses such as environmental toxicology, chemical oceanography, environmental sciences and method instrumentation in aquatic research.

xviii

About the Editors

Wahizatul Afzan Azmi research interests are mainly on the diversity and ecology of insects, pest and disease management and environmental biology. Her area of specialisation is analysing and quantifying biodiversity and community structure of insects, evaluating aquatic insects as bioindicator of water quality and also insects–plant interactions, especially on Coleopteran pests and stingless bees. Her current research involving the development of molecular, systematic and biology of new invasive coconut pest, Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) on coconut palms, and investigation on alternative control strategy of this pest weevil using proteomic profiling of digestive fluid and evaluation of nano-formulated entomopathogenic fungi as biocontrol agent. The key strategy in the research activities is to give a better understanding of the taxonomy, biology and ecology of the new pest weevil on coconut palms, as well as to investigate the potential of indigenous entomopathogenic fungi, which will be the first step to discover the potential control strategy of the species. The outcomes from this research will provide information for the effective formulation to control this new coconut pest using both biological and chemical pest management, so that necessary measures can be taken to prevent its further spread.

Contributors

The key contributors towards the conceptualisation of this book include the administrative, support staffs, laboratory assistants boat staffs of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), staffers of the Springer Publisher, postgraduate students from Faculty of Science and Marine Environment (FSME), Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology and Informatics (FTKKI), Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development (FPEPS), Faculty of Fisheries and Food Science (FPSM), Institute for Marine Biotechnology (IMB), Institute of Oceanography & Environment (INOS), Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (AKUATROP), Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development (Bio-D Tropika) and South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre. Two research interest groups, Ocean Pollution and Ecotoxicology (OPEC) Research Group, Research and Education on Environment for Future Sustainability (REEFS) also participated in the production of the idea of studies. A lot of this work was also greatly furnished by national contributors, particularly postgraduate students from the Centre for Fundamental Studies (Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin), Chemical and Petroleum Faculty of Engineering, Technology and Built Environment (UCSI), Faculty of Forestry and Environment (Universiti Putra Malaysia), Faculty of Science (Universiti Malaya), School of Medical Sciences (Universiti Sains Malaysia) and Faculty of Accountancy and Management (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman), and School of Health Sciences (Universiti Malaysia Kelantan). Members from the non-governmental organisation were also instrumental towards the embodiment of this book, which includes the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), Terengganu and fellows of Malaysia statutory body, and the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM). Two international collaborators from India, Annamalai University and the Association of Biodiversity Conservation & Research were involved in the analysis of two chapters in this book. Last but not least, the Research Publication Section and Corporate Communication Centre from UMT played a significant role in the overall support of researchers needs and compilation of articles in this book.

xix

Abbreviations

> < ± °C µg/g µg/L µm ‰ 1080p 1–D 1DE AAS ACE AKUATROP Al Apr Au BDL Bootstrap CaCO3 CAT CCB Cd CDNB Chao–1 Chl–a cm CO2 CO32– COTs Cr CRAFS CTW Cu D D’

More than Less than More or less Degree Celcius Microgram per gram Microgram per liter Micrometer Salinity unit 1080 progressive scan Simpson index One-dimensional electhrophoresis Absorption Spectroscopy Abundance‐based coverage estimator Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries Aluminium April Gold Below detection limit Bootstrap estimator of species richness Calcium carbonate Catalase Coomassie blue Cadmium 1–cloro–2, 4–dinitrobenzine Chao–1 richness estimator Chlorophyll–a Centimeter Carbon dioxide Carbonate Crown-of-Thorns starfish Chromium Centre of Research and Field Service Christmas Tree Worm Copper Simpson dominance index Simpson index xxi

xxii

DBH DHA DOLT–4 DVM DWNP E EF Ep’ EPA Fe FoI FORAM FTSC GF/C GSH GST H’ H’ HCl HCO3– HS HSPs IAF ICP–MS Igeo ind. INOS IPCC ITBSD IUCN IVi J’ Jack–1 km kph LBF LC m M m/s Ma Max Me MFR 1985

Abbreviations

Diameter at breast height Docosahexaenoic Acid Standard reference materials dogfish liver from National Research Council Canada Diel vertical migration Department of Wildlife and National Park East Enrichment factors Equitability index Eicosapentaenoic Acid Iron Frequency of incidence Foraminifera in Reef Assessment and Monitoring Fluorescein–5–thiosemicarbazide Glass fiber cellulose Reduced glutathione Glutathione S–transferase Shannon diversity index Shannon–Weaver index Hydrochloric acids Carbonate ion Hunted species Heat shock protein 5–iodoacetamidofluorescein Inductive Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry Index of geoaccumulation Individual Institute of Oceanography and Environment Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development International Union for Conservation of Nature Important value index Evenness index Jackknife richness estimator Kilometer Kilometers per hour Larger benthic foraminifera Least Concern Meter Migrant Metre persecond Margalef index Maximum Menhinick index Malaysia Food Regulation 1985

Abbreviations

xxiii

Mg mg/L MgCl2 Min mL mm MM Means MP MW N NBP NL nmi NO2– NO3– OHV p PAST Pb PCR PO43– PP VII PPC PPP Pt Ltd R Rc Rd RELA Rf RM ROS RRC S2– SBP SCUBA SDG SDS–PAGE SOD sp. Sx TP UMT UMT MaReSt UN

Magnesium Milligram per liter Magnesium Chloride Minimum Milliliter Millimeter Michaelis–Menten richness estimator Megapixel Molecular weight North National Biodiversity Policy Not listed in WCA 2010 Nautical Miles Nitrite Nitrate Orang Hanyut Vietnam Probability Paleontological statistics Lead Polymerase chain reaction Orthophosphate Federal VII Special Workforce Team Pantai Pasir Cina Pantai Pasir Pengkalan Private Limited Resident Relative coverage Relative density People’s Volunteer Corps Relative frequency Mixed populations of resident birds and migrant birds of the same species Reactive Oxygen Species South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre Sulphide Sub Bottom Profile Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus Sustainable Development Goal Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis Superoxidase dismutase Species Site of x number Totally Protected Universiti Malaysia Terengganu UMT Marine Research Station United Nation

xxiv

UNHCR US v. VIP WCA WoRMS WU x Zn

Abbreviations

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees United States Version Very Important People Wildlife Conservation Act World Register of Marine Specimens Weather Underground Magnification Zinc

1

General Geology of Bidong Island, Terengganu Muhd Nur Ismail Abdul Rahman, Azmiah Jamil, Rapidah Mat Stafa, and Nor Bakhiah Baharim

Abstract

Geological characteristic provides an understanding of the geological evolution of island's landscapes. The geology of Bidong Island is defined based on the tectonic framework, rock formation and geomorphology. The tectonic setting of Bidong Island is related to the subduction of Paleo-Tethys beneath East Malaysia and Indochina which form the mountains and hills in Peninsular Malaysia. The rock formation of Bidong Island is a granitic rock as part of the Eastern Granite Province of the Southeast Asian Tin Belt. It is characterized by non-porphyritic to porphyritic granodiorite thus illustrate significant plutonic events in the region. The geomorphology

features observed are rocky shore, headland, and sandy beach. Overall, this study suggested that Bidong Island presents a signature tectonic evolution that involved geological processes such as plutonism and volcanism, uplift and sea-level phenomenon. The geological value of Bidong Island provides scientific value for economic potential as an aspiring geopark for sustainable management of marine resources. Keywords




1.1 M. N. I. Abdul Rahman
N. B. Baharim (&) Faculty Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] M. N. I. Abdul Rahman e-mail: [email protected] A. Jamil Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia R. Mat Stafa Geopark and Geotourism Creative Solutions Sdn Bhd, 806A & 807A, Diamond Complex Bangi Business Park, Jalan Medan Bangi, 43650 Selangor, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected]




Plutonic-granitic rock Eastern Granite Province Holocene sea-level changes

Introduction

Geology is knowledge of Earth Science emphasis on natural processes on how the formation of the earth. The geological information plays an important role in interpreting the earth’s history based on the geological time scale record. The geological time scale represents the long-term Earth’s processes. This paper is prepared to elucidate the geological characteristic of Bidong Island. The geological characteristic is important in addressing the island landscape concerning the sustainability of marine biodiversity in Bidong Island. Bidong Island is one of the islands in the Bidong archipelago. Bidong Island coordinated at 5˚37’N and 103˚ 04’ E (Fig. 1.1). It is situated

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_1

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M. N. I. Abdul Rahman et al.

Fig. 1.1 Map of study area showing the field sites’ location in the small archipelago, situated 40 km from Kuala Terengganu, and the South China Sea surrounds the shoreline of 9 km

40 kms from Kuala Terengganu, and the South China Sea surrounds the shoreline of 9 km with a total land area of about 2.6 kms (260 hectares). It has four bays with sandy beaches and primary coastal forest cover on its West and Southeast fronts (Fig. 1.1). Known as “Hell Isle”, Bidong Island has been gazetted as a refugee camp from 1978–1991 to Vietnamese refugees that flee from Vietnam War in 1975. When the last refugees left the island in 1991, it was closed to the public. Only in 1999, the island opened to tourism, and it has regained its former pristine beauty, and many former refugees have revisited their old homes since then.

Nowadays, Bidong Island served as a natural laboratory for Universiti Malaysia Terengganu which located at Pantai Pasir Cina, 0.4 km on the southwest of the island since 2009. The natural laboratory supports the scientific discovery of life under the water in the South China Sea particularly in Bidong Island. In summary, there are few studies have been conducted on Bidong Island, mostly focus on habitat coral mapping (Muslim et al. 2019) and sediment distribution (Omar et al. 2018), sediment geochemistry (Ong et al. 2015) and groundwater chemistry (Xin et al. 2020). However, the geological information of Bidong Island is very limited (Montoi et al. 2006; Othman 2017). Therefore, this chapter

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General Geology of Bidong Island, Terengganu

discusses an overview of the general geology of Bidong Island. Here, the findings of this chapter are based on the integration of field trip data and existing data plus systematically elaborate the facts by the previous study.

1.2

Tectonic Framework

Metcalfe (1988) proposed that Peninsular Malaysia consisted of two continental 419 terranes, namely Sibumasu and Indochina or East Malaysia terranes. The Bentong-Raub suture zone separates those terranes, a highly deformed accretionary prism encompassing the PalaeoTethys Ocean's remnants, which divided them (Stauffer 1974; Hutchison 1989; Metcalfe 1988; Sengör et al. 1988). The Sibumasu terrane suggested by Metcalfe (1988) corresponds to the Western Belt, as presented by Khoo and Tan (1983). In contrast, the Indochina or East Malaysia terrane suggested by Metcalfe (1988) is corresponding to the Central and Eastern Belts, as indicated by Khoo and Tan (1983) (Fig. 1.2). According to Hutchison (2014), the Sibumasu terrane rifting away from Gondwanaland by the Late Permian (*259.1 ± 0.5 Ma to *254.14 ± 0.07 Ma) (Fig. 1.3), whereas, the Indochina or East Malaysia terrane had rifted from Gondwanaland in the Early Devonian (*419.2 ± 3.2 Ma to *393.3 ± 1.2 Ma). The separation of East Malaya–Indochina from Gondwanaland subsequently gave rise to the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean, which was eliminated by Late Triassic time (*237 Ma to *208.5 Ma) as Sibumasu collided with East Malaya–Indochina (Metcalfe 2000). According to Huang and Opdyke (1991), they recorded Upper Carboniferous rock's paleomagnetic data from the Yunnan part of Sibumasu. It showed that the rock had lain 43° south adjacent to or part of NW Australia. According to Sasajima et al. (1978), The Sibumasu subsequently underwent continental drift northwards closer to the paleo-equator during Late Permian to Early Triassic according to some rocks measure Sumatra. Meanwhile, no data of palaeomagnetism during Carboniferous and Permian rock

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were recorded for East Malaysia/Indochina, except Indochina and South China's combination to form Cathaysialand in the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous along the Song Ma Suture (Hutchison and Tan 2009). This event eventually brought to major colliding of Sibumasu with East Malaya and Indochina terrane in the Late Triassic (Hutchison 2014) (Fig. 1.3). This significant event causes crustal thickening along BentongRaub Suture and results in essential tin-bearing S-type granites. A simplified flow chart of entire geochronologic event can be seen in a Fig. 1.4. The Western, Central and Eastern Belts emergence due to this significant tectonic event and most of the concepts apply of fold division of Malay Peninsular based on stratigraphy and geological history, mineralisation, geological structure, and tectonic evolution. Pulau Bidong is a part of Eastern Belt, thus the discussion mainly focusing on tectonic evidence of the plutonicgranitic rock. The emergence of granite in the Pulau Bidong is generally related to the subduction of Paleo-Tethys beneath East Malaysia and Indochina (Eastern Belt) (Sone and Metcalfe 2008). According to Hutchison (2014), the final suturing created crustal thickening resulting in the extensive emplacement of S-type tin-bearing granites, notably as the Main Range, intruding into the suture rocks themselves.

1.3

Holocene Sea-Level Changes of Bidong Island

Sea level changes strongly imprinted biotic evolution in Southeast Asia through either isolation of once contiguous populations, the connection of once separated populations, or both (Li and Li 2018). Sea level fluctuations had farreaching consequences for biogeography in Southeast Asia. There are continental peninsula and more than 20,000 islands at the present climatic stage inclusive of Bidong Island. Besides, during the Cenozoic, Southeast Asia, including the Peninsula Malaysia, continued to experience dynamic climate changes characterized by the earth becoming cooler and drier in general and sea-level oscillations are mainly driven by the

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M. N. I. Abdul Rahman et al.

Fig. 1.2 Regional tectonic framework of Cenozoic of Southeast Asia. Modified after Searle and Morley (2011)

Milankovitch cycles (Tnah et al. 2013; Parham 2016). Fluctuating sea levels also periodically converted lowland mountains and hills into islands, as well as converting shallow continental shelves into lands. Global sea levels for most of the Neogene Period were above the present level, including some periods where they were more than 50 m above (Hansen et al. 2013). Later, during the late Pliocene when the sea level started to drop, sea-level oscillations’ frequency and

intensity increased during the Pleistocene with approximately one sea-level cycle per 40–120 thousand years the sea levels decreasing to as much as c. 120 m below the current level (Hansen et al. 2013; Parham 2016). Throughout the Pleistocene, the sea levels were usually lower than c. 25 m below the current level (Hansen et al. 2013; Parham 2016) suggesting that the Bidong “Island” was not an island but a small hill.

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General Geology of Bidong Island, Terengganu

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Fig. 1.3 An example of the tectono-stratigraphy of Tethys region showing the spreading of continental and ocean for South-East Asia (Hutchison 2014) based on Wakita and Metcalfe (2005) diagrams’

1.4

Rock Formation in Pulau Bidong

Bidong and the neighboring islands (Gelok, Tengkorak, Kapak, Yu Besar, and Yu Kecil) is located in the Eastern Belt. The rocks of the Eastern Belt, according to Foo (1983) are predominantly Carboniferous and Permian clastics and volcanic as well as plutonic (Cobbing et al.

1992; Ng et al. 2015). According to Hutchison (1977), the Eastern province's granites are characterized by equigranular to weakly porphyritic texture and contain orthoclase to intermediate alkali feldspar. Granite of Pulau Bidong is identified as part of the Eastern Granite Province of the Southeast Asian Tin Belt (Fig. 1.5). The Eastern Province extends from central-northern Thailand into the Indonesian’s Tin Islands (Cobbing et al. 1992; Ng et al. 2015). It is

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Fig. 1.4 A simplified geochronologic evidence prior to major colliding event between Sibumasu and Indochina or East Malaya Terrane during Late Triassic (*237 Ma to *208.5 Ma) leading to possible uplifted of Bentong

Raub Suture and onset of separation the Malaysia into three major tectonic belt (i.e. Western, Central and Eastern Belts)

covered by hill region made up mainly of granitic rock. The granite types are typically grey granite porphyry to pink granite equigranular. It displays an almost circular intrusive geometry and features covering one km square, elliptical steepsided pluton. Ng et al. (2017) has noted that granites represent the Eastern Granite Province with biotite ± hornblende. Previous detailed petrology studies suggested that Eastern Granite Province is subduction-related. It consists of Early Permian to Late Triassic “I-type” arcrelated biotite ± hornblende granites, associated with Cu-Au deposits, and subordinate hornblende-barren plutons hosting limited Sn-W deposits (Ng et al. 2015; Ghani 2009). The formation of rock in the Eastern Belt represented the plutonic events in Peninsular Malaysia. Thus the rock was characterized as smaller batholiths of zoned and unzoned plutons of mainly I-type composition.

The granite emplacement of Pulau Bidong is closely related to Maras Granite, Redang Granite, Perhentian Granite and Kapas Granite. The rock of these plutons (Bidong Granite) is essentially similar to the Kapal Granite, one of the largest granitic bodies in the Eastern Belt (Rajah et al. 1977). The rock consists predominantly of nonporphyritic to porphyritic granodiorite. Moreover, small dykes of microgranite and quartz porphyry are relatively common and quartz veins abundant. Bidong Island is an example of fractured island “arcs,” autochthonous geological systems, in which patterns of straight-line fractures with vertical and horizontal movement of blocks are the dominant structural feature. This condition showed by the plutonic rock outcrops exposed along the rocky beach area (Fig. 1.6). The major fault called the Kampung Buluh Fault was transected along Kapal Granite striking North-

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General Geology of Bidong Island, Terengganu

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Fig. 1.5 The South-East Asian Tin Belt with three granite provinces Ng et al. (2015) after Cobbing et al. (1992)

Northeast. This fault continues furthest offshore to the north end of the Malay Basin (Tjia 2000). The Bidong Granite is believed to be uplifted due to this major fault and equivalent to the age of rock unit (determined by Rb/Sr method) of Kampung Buluh Fault (Tjia 2000). The presence of an alluvium bed is observed at the southwest of the islands (Fig. 1.7). This

alluvium marked the recent sedimentation transportation from the small stream of the Pulau Bidong serve as water sources of the island (Xin et al. 2020). The sediment is not widely distributed, but the thicknesses are approximately 50 cm. The recent sediment commonly occurs as unconsolidated gravel, and poorly sorted coarse grain sand aligns horizontally on the granite rock.

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Fig. 1.6 The steep feature of granite’s outcrop exposed around Bidong Island. A parallel planar joint is predominantly abundant

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General Geology of Bidong Island, Terengganu

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Fig. 1.7 An illustration of sediment deposited along a stream. A stream come out from spring delivering water to the sea. Recent alluvium sediment exposed along the stream bank (a red dash-box). A man as a scale

1.5

Geomorphology of Bidong Island

Island geomorphology is characterized by the geological evolution and tectonic setting of the region. Bidong Island is typically covered with the lowland topography except for the land towards the interior part, which is relatively high and up to 300 m (Fig. 1.8). The geomorphology features of Bidong Island consist of rocky shore, headland, and sandy beach (Fig. 1.9). Another major geomorphological feature dominantly exposed in Bidong Island is a result of the physical weathering process. Weathering of granitic rocks results in the development of thick weathered profiles characterised by rounded boulders (corestone) set in weak matrix or clay material. This happens due to seawater (weathering agent) attacks the corner and edges of the

joint blocks, causing them to become rounded (Fig. 1.10). In addition, in some conditions where the granitic rocks have more discontinuities (plane of weakness) structure like joints and faults, it could be easy for seawater to penetrate down that discontinuities in the rock mass and then attack the faces of the joint-bounded blocks, penetrating the solid blocks. Weathering processes change the colour of original rock to orange-greyish due to the oxidation process of Iron (Fe) and Magnesium (Mg) (Fig. 1.11).

1.6

Conclusion

The general geology of Bidong Island has added to a better understanding of regional geological evolution in the Eastern Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. Overall, the tectonic framework, geological processes, rock formation and

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Fig. 1.8 Topographic map of study area showing the elevation increase towards the interior area

Fig. 1.9 The aerial view of Pulau Bidong

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General Geology of Bidong Island, Terengganu

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Fig. 1.10 The common weathering features of the granitic body exposed around the Bidong Island. The corestone appeared as a rounded rock ball—a man as a scale, 165 m

Fig. 1.11 The weathering process’s typical scenery on a granitic rock occurs in Bidong Island—a blue bag as a scale, about 20 cm

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geomorphology of Bidong Island has been updated. Those attribute has provided significant scientific findings of the tectonic events in this region which are plutonism and volcanism, uplift and sea-level. Also, based on the geological structure determine the occurrence of intrusive rock formation as a result of uplifting and the deformation of islands’ landform in the eastern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The geological structure also reveals that the fault zone cuts inevitably the Tertiary sedimentation of the Malay Basin. Additional research is suggested on the petrogenesis study of Bidong Island. This topic is very crucial in contributing to the Malaysia granitoid in relation to the Southeast Asian tin belt. Further, a detailed study of granitic rock based on the petrography and detrital zircon is required to evaluate the provenance and aging of Bidong Island. Overall, the geological characteristic is not only contributed to the earth's history but also the economic value of Bidong Island. Establishment as a geopark is one of the potential economic values for Bidong Island. The geopark symbolizes the sustainable management of natural resources encompassing geological heritage, biodiversity, marine ecosystem and community. Acknowledgements We appreciate the support of the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, UCSI University Cheras and Universiti Malaya in the book project. We thank the reviewers for their critical comments to improve the early draft of this manuscript.

References Cobbing EJ, Pitfield PEJ, Darbyshire DPF, Mallick DIJ (eds) (1992) The granites of South-East Asian Tin Belt. British Geological Survey. UK Foo KY (1983) The Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks of Peninsular Malaysia-Stratigraphy and correlation. Newslett Geol Soc Malays 2(5):223 Ghani AA (2009) Plutonism. In: Hutchison CS, Tan DNK (eds), Geology of Peninsular Malaysia. Published jointly by the University of Malaya and the Geological Society of Malaysia. 211–232 Hansen J, Sato M, Russel G, Kharecha P (2013) Climate sensitivity, sea level and atmospheric carbon dioxide. Philos Trans R Soc 371:20120294

M. N. I. Abdul Rahman et al. Huang K, Opdyke ND (1991) Paleomagnetic results from the upper carboniferous of the Shan-Thai-Malay block of western Yunnan, China. Tectonophysics 192(3–4):333–344 Hutchison CS (1977) Granite emplacement and tectonic subdivision of Peninsular Malaysia. Geol Soc Malays Bull 9:187–207 Hutchison CS (1989) Geological evolution of South-East Asia. Oxford Monographs on Geology and Geophysics, vol 13, Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp 368 Hutchison CS, Tan DNK (2009) Geology of Peninsular Malaysia. Published jointly by the University of Malaya and the Geological Society of Malaysia. 479 Hutchison CS (2014) Tectonic evolution of Southeast Asia. BullGeol Soc Malays 60:1–18 Khoo TT, Tan BK (1983) Geologic evolution of Peninsular Malaysia. Newslett Geol Soc Malays 2(5):234 Li F, Li S (2018) Paleocene-Eocene and Plio-Pleistocene sea-level changes as “species pumps” in Southeast Asia: evidence from Althepus spiders. Mol Phylogenet Evol 127:545–555 Metcalfe I (1988) Origin and assembly of Southeast Asian continental terranes. In: Audley-Charles MG, Hallam A (eds) Gondwana and Tethys. Geological Society, vol 37, London, Special Publications, pp 101–118 Metcalfe I (2000) The Bentong-Raub suture zone. J Asian Earth Sci 18:691–712 Montoi, JFS, Harun AR, Abdullah MP (2006) Siasatan sumber air tanah di Pulau Bidong Setiu, Terengganu. Laporan Jabatan Mineral dan Geosains Malaysia.1–19 Muslim AM, Chong WS, Mohd Safuan CD, Khalil I, Hossain MS (2019) Coral reef mapping of UAV: a comparison of sun glint correction methods. Remote Sens 11:2422 Ng SWP, Chung SL, Robb LJ, Searle MP, Ghani AA, Whitehouse MJ, Oliver GJH, Sone M, Gardiner NJ, Roselee MH (2015) Petrogenesis of Malaysian granitoids in the Southeast Asian tin belt: part 1 geochemical and Sr-Nd isotopic characteristics. Bulletin 127 (9–10):1209–1237 Othman NF (2017) Geology and water quality analysis of the Pulau Kapas and Pulau Bidong. Thesis of Bachelor Degree, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Terengganu Omar R, Faiz NN, Raoh MM (2018) Abundance and diversity of Benthic Ostracod in sediments around Pulau Bidong, Terengganu. Malays Appl Biol 47 (5):113–118 Ong MC, Joseph B, Shazali NAM, Ghazali A, Mohamad MN (2015) Heavy metals concetration in surficial sediments of Bidong Island, South China Sea off the East Coast of Peninsular malaysia. Asian J Earth Sci 8(3):74–82 Parham PR (2016) Late Cenozoic relative sea-level highstand record from Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo: implications for vertical crustal movements. Bull Geol Soc Malays 62:91–115 Rajah SS, Chand F, Santokh Singh D (1977) The granitoids and mineralization of the Eastern Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. Bull Geol Soc Malays 9:209–232

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Sasajima S, Otofuji Y, Hirooka K, Suparka S, Hehuwat F (1978) Palaeomagnetic studies on Sumatra Island and the possibility of Sumatra being part of Gondwanaland. Rock Magn Paleogeophysics 5:104–110 Searle MP, Morley CK (2011) Tectonic and thermal evolution of Thailand in the regional context of SE Asia. The Geology of Thailand. Geological Society, London, 539, 571 Şengör AMC, Altıner D, Cin A, Ustaömer T, Hsü KJ (1988) Origin and assembly of the Tethyside orogenic collage at the expense of Gondwana Land. Geol Soc London Spec Publ 37(1):119–181 Sone M, Metcalfe I (2008) Parallel Tethyan sutures in mainland Southeast Asia: new insights for PalaeoTethys closure and implications for the Indosinian Orogeny. CR Geosci 340:166–179 Stauffer PH (1974) Malaya and Southeast Asia in the pattern of continental drift. Bull Geol Soc Malays 7:89–138 Tnah LH, Lee SL, NG, KKS., Lee, CT., Bhassu, S. & Othman, RY. (2013) Phylogeographical pattern and evolutionary history of an important Peninsular Malaysian timber species, Neobalanocarpus heimii (Dipterocarpaceae). J Hered 104:115–126 Tjia HD (2000) Tectonic and structural development of Cenozoic basins of Malaysia. In:Proceedings Annual Geological Conference 2000, Geological Society of Malaysia, pp.3–15

13 Wakita K, Metcalfe I (2005) Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia. J Asian Earth Sci 24:679– 702 Xin TJ, Shaari H, Ghazali A, Ibrahim NB (2020) Monthly physicochemical variation of tropical island groundwater of Pulau Bidong, South China Sea. Groundwa-

ter Sustain Dev 10:100358

Nor Bakhiah Baharim Senior Lecturer (Geoscience), Faculty of Science and Marine Environment.

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Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island Samsudin Hazman, Khatijah Omar, Norhayati Ab. Manaf, and Abi Sofian Abd Halim

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goal 2030 is a global paradigm shift for the central theme of economic development to numerous environmental issues at local levels. This study highlights the role of the Terengganu State Government in promoting sustainable development through the Terengganu State Museums in managing Bidong Island after the occupation of the illegal migrants called the “Orang Hanyut Vietnam (OHV)” or refugee crises. Almost 80% resources of the island were demolished during the occupation and now it raises the challenge for the state government to rebuild the island. By taking a lesson learn from Redang and Perhentian

S. Hazman
K. Omar (&)
A. S. Abd Halim Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] S. Hazman e-mail: [email protected] A. S. Abd Halim e-mail: abi.sofi[email protected] S. Hazman
K. Omar
N. Ab. Manaf
A. S. Abd Halim Institutes of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected]

Islands tourism development that has jeopardizing its environmental aspects, the development planning of Bidong is done through a very different approach according to the Terengganu State Museums. By comparing with the sustainable development pillars, the state government planning has addressed two major issues that is the environmental and economics aspect while the social aspect is still lacking. It is believed if the current momentums are followed, sustainable development goals could be achieved in Bidong Island. Keywords




Economic development Sustainable development Orang Hanyut Vietnam




2.1

Introduction: Sustainable Development Goal 2030 Development Planning, Terengganu

Sustainable economic development is recognized as a modern proactive and practical development planning to strike a balance between development and environment conservation (Fien 1997; Hopkins and McKeown 2002; Sterlling 2003; Scoullos and Malotidi 2004; Moroye 2005; Hazura 2009; Huckle 2009; Joshi 2009). As

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_2

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pointed out by Mahat et al. (2013), failure to address environmental issues in any economic development planning may jeopardize the future of the next generations. A well-planned economic development needs to be carried out with mutual due diligence to strike the balance between economic development and environmental conservation. According to James et al. (2015), for any development to achieve the real definitions of sustainable development it should at least achieve to satisfy the triple bottom line approach that is the economy, society and environment. Within these three contexts of development, equitable, viable, bearable and sustainable must be addressed in any development plan to be considered as sustainable. As indicated by Fig. 2.1, the three pillars of sustainable development are made of economic, social and environmental components. The intersection between these three pillars may create the term sustainable development. These three pillars of sustainable development concept are first introduced by Barbier (1987) in UN World Commission on Environment and Development report ‘Our Common Future’ (the Brundtland Report) which call for a new era of economic growth by emphasizing on striking the balance between social and environmental issues. According to Mensah (2019), the first sphere is the social elements which carry the meaning of life quality, education, community development, equal opportunity and law & ethics. The author also stressed that the economic components underline the importance of long-term economic growth, efficiency, investments in research and development, and proper long-term planning. While environmental highlights the important of resource management, conservations and preservation thus the combinations of these three pillars will promote sustainable development. The intersection between social and economics must bring the equitable elements which address the fairness in the distribution of economic resources (taxation/subsidies policy, workers right and business ethics) in society. According to Brundtland (1987), sustainable development should meet the needs of present

S. Hazman et al.

Fig. 2.1 Sustainable development pillars introduced by Barbier (1987)

and future generations. On the other hand, the intersections between the economic sphere and environment create the viable elements in using the environmental resources. The viable elements may promote energy efficiency usage, carbon credits and subsidies/tax breaks to minimize economic resources wastage. Finally, the intersection between environmental and social may promote the bearable elements which emphasize on enacting fair environmental law, greater public involvement and reporting and publications. By addressing these sphere intersections, only then sustainable development could be achieved. As in this study, Bidong Island may serve as a good example of sustainable development planning. A lesson learned from the other surrounding islands such as Redang and Perhentian Islands, which neglected the tourism activity caring capacity of the islands, has gradually led to environmental devastation (Mohamad et al. 2016; Ramdas and Mohamed 2017). Undoubtedly tourism may boost local society economics well-being and generates millions of income to nations through the promotion of green economy, however excessive tourism booming and uncontrolled activities may reverse the effect on the environmental (Croall 1995, Archer et al. 2005, Haseeb and Azam 2020) and produce a reciprocal implication towards an economy. Certainly, the state government is very serious in

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Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island

preventing Bidong Island from following the illfated islands. Hence, careful development planning has been made for Bidong Island to strike the balance between economic development and the environment. This includes the development activities in the isle area which witnessed a fast growing economic development led by the burgeoning island tourism industry in Malaysia particularly. A proper planning and standardization on the number of activities allowed and maximum caring capacity of the island are needed to avoid unnecessary environmental effects in a fast growing economic development area. Based on the regularization of islands physical development planning in Malaysia, the policy divided the regularization into three categories of island namely; Development Island, Resort Island and Marine Park and Protected Island. Based on these categories, Bidong Island falls into the second category status (Department of Town and Rural Planning, Peninsular Malaysia 1996). Figure 2.2 shows the map of main islands tabulation in peninsular Malaysia by category. Among main planning agendas in the Kuala Terengganu District Local Planning (2008–2020) is to preserve the forest and coastal area of Bidong Island as a marine reserve and its terrestrial as a historical heritage precinct. Therefore, the Malaysia authority that has been given the mandate to develop the island, particularly under the Terengganu State Museum Authority has taken the path of the sustainable development approach. The agenda was mainly built according to its long history of the drifted “OHV”.

2.2

Driver for Sustainable Development

During the Vietnam—US war (1955 to 1975), many of its civilian decided to flee from the conflict zone and some of them taken the path to the sea which then labeled as the “OHV”. Some of the soul asylums were drifted to the Malaysian coastal area near Terengganu seeking for refuge. In the event, some of them flee with small boats overloaded with refugee which cause the boats to

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sink and kill its passenger due to drowning. Concern with the catastrophe event, Malaysia’s government grants their prayer by allocating them for temporary shelter at the Bidong Island (Thompson 2010). However, one of the major problems in the island is the limited resources compared to the numbers of the refugee. As a result, the flora, fauna and marine life in the island was exploited to near 80% after few years of “OHV” occupation which saw a critical need of forest ecology restoration (Bidong Development Plan 2019). By 1973, after the war ended and a few years later, they were sent back to their country and those who refused are allocated to other countries (UNHCR 2000). Shortly after the Vietnamese occupation was over, the island was left devastated with trees that are hardly to be seen and some of the flora, fauna and marine species were extinct from the island. Hence, pushing the urge to conserve and restore the ecology of the island by the government. By means of conservation, the government places a double barrel action policy, which is to promote conservation in the island and ecotourism at the same time. This may ensure a green economy to drive the economy of the state government of Terengganu. As pointed out by Schumpeter (1942), creative destruction, the condition of the island which has been left devastated provides a chance to the state government to redefine the island development towards a more innovative approach. Therefore, this study aims to assess whether the effort taken under the Terengganu State Museum Authority meets the sustainable development criteria proposed by Barbier (1987).

2.3

Data Collection and Research Approach

This study was conducted through face-to-face interviews with the Terengganu State Museums Authority officer, Mr. Azwan Harun and the museum director Mr. Hj Che Muhamad Ami Ngah as well as transcription of Bidong Development Plan report 2019 documentation provided by the agency. Not all of the information is

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Fig. 2.2 The map of main islands tabulation in peninsular Malaysia by category (PLAN Malaysia 2015)

available for public viewing due to its confidentiality and some of them may also not available at all as it is not recorded especially during the “OHV” occupancy on the island. Nonetheless, as this main study focuses on the sustainable development approach in developing the island, most of the development planning information is readily available and deemed sufficient. The interview was only with the Terengganu Museums Authority since the objectives of the study are to compare whether the development planning for the island is aligned with the sustainability pillars. As mentioned, the responsibility to develop the island is enacted to the Terengganu State Museums Authority; hence face-to-face interview with the officers and documentation

provided by the museums is deemed as sufficient. The analysis done in the study was only restricted to qualitative approach and document transcription since not many other data are available.

2.4

Addressing the Environment Issues of Bidong Island

Several actions have been taken by the state museums authority such as conservation through reforestation, coastal and drainage management, fisheries resources enhancement, fishermen’s station and jetty for tourism purposes, managing the ruins of “OHV” and safety aspects.

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Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island

(a) Conservation and biodiversity rehabilitation According to the state government, almost 80% of the forest areas in the island were devastated and left the land unsheathed which exposed the land with the risk of erosion caused by heavy rain and strong wind especially during the monsoon. An instant action of reforestation is necessary to preserve the land strata structured as well as rejuvenating its prosperity. In conducting the conservation act, the Terengganu Forestry Department was involved in succeeding the program. The reforestation program covers 80% of the island areas and the tree species planted on the island were not restricted to specific species. Most of the tree species are common species which can be found in east coast islands such as rhu and coconut trees. (b) Coastal and drainage management The coastal area of Bidong Island must be cleansed instantly after the occupation of “OHV”. Their remains were devastated which saw a declining number of marine life due to ecological unbalance. Among obvious ecological imbalances are the declining numbers of sea turtles that serve an important role in preserving the coral ecosystems. Unwanted debris such as plastics and micro wastes floating on the water surface and seabed need to be cleaned up in order to promote ecotourism activity. All of these activities are conducted through co-management with Kuala Nerus Land and District Office as well as the State Department of Agriculture. The unsheathed coastal line has been replanted with suitable coastal trees such as coconut and rhu trees which may serve as an important instrument to protect from coastal erosion and provide lush green scenery. The activities are still continuously supervised especially in managing the debris issues. (c) Fisheries resources enhancement During the occupation of the “OHV” in the island, the resources to feed them were limited and hence, turning them to be reckless along the way which negatively affects the

19

breeding of several fisheries species. In order to rectify the issue, the Terengganu Museum Authority with Terengganu Fisheries Department set up an artificial coral reef planting program and research activities. However, no coral species was specified in the 2019 Bidong development planning document and areas covered. (d) Fisherman base and tourists jetty The main aims of Bidong Island development are to support the livelihood of the local fisherman and promote the tourism industry at the same time. For this purpose, the island must be equipped with the right jetty facilities for both fisherman and tourists along with a buoy for marking and guiding boat paths for greater control on water traffic. With the facilities and systems in place, greater coral conservation can be achieved. At the moment, those jetty have been developed which is the current available and the next jetty is yet to be built. (e) Maintaining the remnants of “OHV” Preserving some of the buildings and structure of the “OHV” in the island is seen as an important aspect of the development. Even though it may be psychologically distressed, it may serve as a lesson for future generations and a source of heritage to attract tourists. For the “OHV” who reside on the island, the preservations of these buildings and structures may retain nostalgic memories when they pay a visit in the future. For these purposes, the department of public works and the Museum authority are given the task for site and structure identification. (f) Safety feature During the process of building conservation and preservation, the island is vulnerable against local trespassers who may look up some valuable items left by the “OHV”. It is part of the Vietnamese culture to bury the dead with valuable items such as gold and jewellery. Hence it must be protected from trespassers. For this purpose, the Terengganu Museums Authority gives the responsibility to the District and land office of Kuala

20

S. Hazman et al.

Terengganu and RELA (People’s Volunteer Corps) to have control on the issues.

2.5

State Government Sustainable Development Plan: The Economic Development Sphere

The Terengganu state government is committed to preserve and develop Bidong Island into a tourism destination filled with the historical context of “OHV” occupation. For that reason, the responsibility to develop the island was given to the Museum Authority, and the appropriate budget allocation was channeled to support the agenda. Initially, the discussion to rebuild the island was first discussed after the honorary deputy prime minister Tun Ghaffar Baba signed the memorandum of transfer of Bidong Island to the Terengganu state government. During the transfer of the memorandum, the honorary Dato’ Seri Amar DiRaja Tan Sri Haji Wan Mokhtar Ahmad had accepted the memo on behalf of the Terengganu state government on the 30th November of 1991. The transfer of memorandum is accompanied by the commitments of the federal government to distribute a budget allocation to the state government to rebuild the island. However, the commitments are yet to be fulfilled by the federal government until present. In developing Bidong Island, a special committee was initiated chaired by the state government exco and known as Bidong Island development planning committee. However, the Table 2.1 Tourists arrival at Bidong Island in 2017 and 2018

Months

failure to act accordingly and timely has led to the collapsed of the building one after another. One of the causes was due to the budget allocation that was never arrived as promised by the federal government. Clearly, a restoration act is needed with stronger material to be introduced in the construction. Even though the restoration works are hampered by the lack of promised budget allocation by the federal government, the ongoing effort and commitments of the Terengganu state government to continue the development of the island has changed the island landscape. By 1st January 2017 the state government has decided to announce the opening of the island for the public and visitors which could provide a means of economic contribution to the state tourism industry. Prior to this, the island was deemed too closed from the public due to safety issues and conservation measurements taken in the island. Since the opening of the island, it has sparked the interest of the public to visit the island and now the island is receiving visitors all year long. However, the numbers of activities and visitors are still limited as conservation works are still in progress especially relating to water activities. The visits are also restricted to only daily visits and no overnight stays are allowed at the beginning of its public opening. The island is also closed during the monsoon season from November to March each year. Even with restrictions in place, the island still received thousands of visitors yearly (Table 2.1). During the rebuilt of the island, among of the main aims of the state government is to

Tourist in 2017

Tourists in 2018

April

924

607

May

708

256

June

105

107

July

263

566

Augusts

512

416

September

363

896

October

987

868

3,862

3,716

Total of tourists

Source Terengganu Museum Board (2019)

2

Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island

rejuvenate the memory of Bidong Island in the context of international history on the “OHV”, preservation of their traces after 16 years of occupation in the island for the future generation’s conversance, as a resource center for researchers and developing the island into tourism destinations with emphasize on histo-tourism (Bidong Development Planning 2019). With this effort, the economic sphere of sustainable development could be achieved where the development of the island may contribute to the state economy through the tourism industry. To materialize the vision, the state government has given priority attention towards basic necessities of visitors such as upgrading the jungle track and clearing the surrounding bushes to ensure their safety and greater experience for a starter. Without this effort, the economic sphere could not be satisfied hence, sustainable development could not be materialized. At the moment, most

21

of the visitors received are among the transcendent of the Vietnamese who have occupied the island previously. Most of them came to pay tribute and respect to their ancestors every year and their relations to the island are very high due to the sentimental value they are holding onto. The Fig. 2.3 below shows the refugee map of the “OHV” camp on the island. This is where most of them spent their time when visiting the island. Hence, most of the development is concentrated in these areas which could trigger more economic activities in the future. Essentially the idea to develop Bidong Island is the first to be implemented in an island of no residents. It is a bit awkward when development is made in a place where no men’s reside. Therefore, the idea of developing the island is unique and hence it needs to be really specific in terms for whom the development was meant for and the target segment they try to capture for the

Fig. 2.3 The map of the “OHV” camp in the Bidong Island. Source Bidong Development Plan report (2019)

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S. Hazman et al.

Fig. 2.4 The proposed staff and VIP chalet. Source Bidong Development Plan report (2019)

Fig. 2.5 The proposed botanical garden and campsite. Source Bidong Development Plan report (2019)

development. In this essence, the development of the island is to attract more tourists to the island especially targeting eco-tourists and histotourists. It is expected that the Terengganu tourism industry could flourish with Bidong

Island development plan hence providing a double barrel approach where both environmental and economic importance could be achieved simultaneously. Among the development planning is to build an information hall, staff and VIP

2

Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island

Fig. 2.6 Hut and tracking path

Fig. 2.7 Toilets and generator store

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S. Hazman et al.

Fig. 2.8 Mosque

chalet, dive shop, botanical garden and campsite (Figs. 2.4 and 2.5). To realize the project, several activities and components were designed phase by phase.

2.6

The First Phase

The first phase took place in April 2015 with a budget allocation of around RM1.5 million from the state government and was completed a year later. During the phase, the development of basic necessities such as constructing the mosque, toilets, generator and pump store, hut (two units), water tank tower, jetty restoration, signage and a boat (Figs. 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 2.10 and 2.11). These developments are considered an investment to attract more tourists to the island to boost the tourism industry, hence fulfilling the economic sphere of sustainable development.

2.7

The Second Phase

During this phase, a tourist's information center, a gallery of the collection hall, restoration of “OHV” monuments and constructing the replica building model of the Vietnamese during their occupation are planned to be built. Meanwhile, the first phase projects were enlarged and continued in this phase, such as upgrading the track, land clearing, hut construction, rest area, public toilets, landscaping, signage, and dive shop. (a) Tourist’s information center A specified building will take the task as a tourist’s information center in assisting incoming tourists to the island. A Bidong gallery will be equipped within the center along with a mini library, theatre room, office area, mosque and toilets. (b) Gallery In order to establish a proper gallery hall, research activities, Vietnamese remains,

2

Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island

25

Fig. 2.9 Campsite

collections and other historical pieces related to the uniqueness of Bidong Island including photos of its beautiful coast line are gathered. At the moment, some of the information and remains relating to the island are in the possession of the museums and it is still an ongoing project. (c) Monument restoration Some of the monuments still remain in the island and the monuments are subjected to the central attraction by the heir of “OHV” when they visit the island. Normally, they will visit the island in April and May each year and therefore it is seen as a priority to preserve the monuments especially in the specified ‘religious hill’ to attract more tourists among the heir of the “OHV”. (d) Constructing the replicate building model Most of the remaining buildings in the island are devastated due to untimely action of

restoration. It is well known that the east coast of peninsular Malaysia is exposed to strong wind and rough weather during the monsoon and it has sped up the destruction process of the buildings. It is very important to preserve the remaining buildings and construct the model structure of the ruined buildings to bring back the nostalgic effect and to preserve the history for future generations. Among the buildings that has been given priority attention to be recreated is the longhouse of the “OHV”. This building will serve as the visitors’ facilities at the island which will bring the real experience on how the “OHV” has been living on the island. Among others to be developed as replicas are the Red Crescent Society office as they once had in the island, sewing and typing class. (e) Track upgrading

26

Fig. 2.10 Jetty

Fig. 2.11 Water tank tower

S. Hazman et al.

2

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)

Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island

The location of the monument and other structures in the island are scattered within the flat land while some of it are in the higher ground. The existing path must be preserved and maintained continuously to create a tourist friendly environment and ensure the visitors safety. A terrace or a guide rope will be prepared for a structure located in the higher ground for visitors safety. At the moment, there are several concrete stairways, however it is not in safe condition and restoration work is needed. Land clearing Currently, the site conditions around the monuments are filled with bushes and amusingly the place is only cleared when there are VIPs visiting. Hence, site clearing is suggested to be routinely scheduled if the island is to be promoted to the tourists. The cleanliness of the coastal area is also an important aspect to be considered for pollution control. For this reason, complete diving equipment must be prepared for underwater monitoring works. Besides that, conservation awareness programs are also expected to be initiated to educate them on the importance of having a clean environment. Essential facilities construction Even though these facilities have been constructed in the first phase, their amount to support the original idea of attracting more tourists is still short. The rest area, hut and toilets are still limited, especially when other areas of the island are further open to the public. Landscaping and signage works The landscape of the island is in need of a new touch as the places are now filled with bush areas. The idea of the landscape design should reflect the period of “Vietnamese occupation” in the island. The signage in the area is critically in need as it is largely lacking at the moment. Dive shop and kiosk In the development master plan, a specified dive shop is planned to be built in the island

27

to promote diving activities in the island. The underwater gallery is also on the card to be built in the area which may attract greater tourists attraction especially among divers. With this effort and planning, it is expected that the island are able to attract more tourists to the island and generate an economic return to the Terengganu state government. As documented in the master plan and figures, a sustainable development measurement has been adequately addressed by considering the island capacity building by not overcrowding the space with too many structures. Therefore, the economic sphere is fulfilled while the environmental sphere is not jeopardized which may promote sustainable development in the end.

2.8

The Impact of Bidong Sustainable Development on the Economics and Society (Social Sphere)

It is expected that the project may bring a positive impact on the economy especially on the local tourism industry along with preserving the remains of the “OHV” as a historical value. With regards to its potential tourism attraction, one of the greatest advantages that the island possesses is its distance to the world popular island destinations of Redang Island. Bidong Island could attract the large traffic of Redang Island and benefit from it. While the island is located somewhere between Redang Island and the mainland (about 20 min boat ride from Merang Jetty), it may ease the travelling time and boost the tourism industry. With greater accessibility, more tourists will visit the island, especially among the heirs of the “OHV” who once occupied the island. The preservation of their remains and historical context may add to the uniqueness of Bidong as a tourism destination which may boost the economic sphere.

28

At the same time, the economic development of Bidong through tourism industry promotion along with the conservation activities that have taken place may indirectly benefit the surrounding local communities hence addressing the social sphere in a sustainable development scheme. Despite the fact that the island is not inhabitant, the surrounding local communities rely heavily to the island as an escape route from bad weather while fishing in nearby areas and the island itself may serve as their fishing spot aside from its coral function for marine life breeding area which may guarantee a continuous supply of resources. Some of them are also working with the tourism operator to bring tourists to the island, which generates the interest of local communities on the island and is part of the island development. According to the Oxford Languages dictionary, communities is defined as “the condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common” while social is the term of a larger group of communities who share the same defined territory and culture. Therefore, despite the lack of inhabitants of Bidong Island at the moment, the term society can be referred to the surrounding community who has interest on the island to make a living. Hence, the involvement of the local communities and their interest should be controlled in order to achieve greater sustainable development. As highlighted by Brundtland (1987), the term sustainable development must not only be addressed equally for the current generations, but also for future generations of the society. In addressing the societal sphere in the sustainable development scheme, the indirect use value such as erosion control due to greater coral coverage (considering its short distance from mainland) may also provide a useful site of fish breeding area which benefited the surrounding fishing community. Secondly, the preservation of the area could also create a sense of educational value through the importance of having stable politics and preserving harmony in the society. Dispute in the society, which may lead to external interference, may only harm the country and leave the economy in imbalance. It is also

S. Hazman et al.

important to preserve the remains of the “OHV” in the island to provide a proves that Malaysian especially the Terengganu people are willing to sacrifice its own interests in the island just to lend a helping hand to the “boatman” and shows the true beauty of Muslims in Terengganu. Despite its slow development progress, this project needs to be hastened as it has been long put on hold. Undoubtedly, this project may boost the local economy through the arrival of tourists and its History-Tourism offering may provide a unique experience that others may not be able to offer. The remains of the monuments and building structure and its distance to the mainland may provide a greater advantage in terms of travelling time to visitors. This is not to mention its regular visitors from Vietnam, especially the heir of the occupants of the island. Its coastal beauty and marine life have always been the central attraction especially among divers and the underwater gallery could boost the industry to the next level. With all the effort and planning, if the state government could realize the imaginary and master plan, it is undoubtedly Bidong Island might be among the list of top destinations. However, in developing the island it seems that the approach of the government is somewhat unidirectional. In other words, it is more to the traditional top-down approach where the role of local communities is largely ignored. Since local communities may benefit from the project, a mutually co-management of the island could speed up the process and ease the burden of monetary obligations from the government. For example, a community based ecotourism where the surrounding community uses their own resources to support the tourism industry such as basic necessities can uplift the development of the island. Furthermore, it could create a sense of belonging among the local communities to preserve and fully utilise the facilities, promoting sustainable development. If this agenda could be fulfilled, Bidong sustainable development's impact could be greater than anticipated as it may induce the sense of belonging of local communities and heightened the conservation awareness.

2

Sustainable Economic Development of Bidong Island

2.9

Conclusion

The development of Bidong Island is seen as ideal for several reasons as mentioned earlier such as promoting economic of the state through the tourism industry, a medium of edu-tourism and histotourism, conservation awareness and nurturing the fisheries resource for the fisherman community and for the heir of “OHV” to pay a tribute of their late ancestors. Hence, the idea of developing the island may serve as a double barrel approach simultaneously and many parties may benefit from the project. However, it is not a straight line project in which the state government faces many obstacles and constraints in realizing the project. The stages where the developments are taking place at the moment are still low and in need of progress to achieve higher definitions of sustainable development. By taking into account the budget constraint faced by the government in achieving the higher stages of sustainable development perhaps a bottom-up approach could be a solution. Since the local community may benefit from the island development especially in tourism related economic activities, a co-management led by community based tourism initiatives could paves a way for speedy development. Overall, based on the scheme of sustainable development, the state government of Terengganu has well addressed two out of three spheres which is the economic aspect and the environmental issue. Nonetheless, the society aspects are still lacking and could be improved by initiating co-management activities and opening a room for a bottom-up approach. More programs related to the island should involve the local community such as land clearing activities, coral planting, and businesses led by the local communities to strike a balance between society, environment, and economics. Through this way, a more viable and sustainable development could be achieved. Acknowledgements Our appreciation to the Institute of Topical Biodeversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu who have conducted the scientific expedition of Bidong Island on the 1st April

29 2019 to 3rd April 2019. Assistance from the Terengganu State Museums is also highly acknowledged and recognised who have supplied with all of the information on the historical facts and island development planning and granting permission for the expedition.

References Archer B, Cooper C, Ruhanen L (2005) The positive and negative impacts of tourism. In: Global Tourism: The Next Decade, 3. Edited by: Theobald, W. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. 79–102 Barbier EB (1987) The concept of sustainable economic development. Environ Conserv 14:101 Bidong Development Planning Report 2019 (2019) pp 5 Brundtland GH (1987) See ‘Our Common Future: The Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. Oxford University Press, Oxford & New York: xv + 347 + pp 35 Croall J (1995) Preserve or Destroy?: tourism and the environment. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, London Fien J (1997) Stand up, stand up and be counted: undermining myths of environmental education. Aust J Environ Educ 13:21–26 Haseeb M, Azam M (2020) Dynamic nexus among tourism, corruption, democracy and environmental degradation: a panel data investigation. Environ Dev Sustain 23:5557–5575 Hazura AB (2009) Hubungan antara penghayatan agama, nilai hidup dan pengetahuan alam sekitar pelajar Muslim dengan sikap dan tingkah laku. PhD Thesis. Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia Hopkins C, McKeown R (2002) Environment education for sustainability: responding to the global challenges. In: Tilbury D, Stevenson RB, Fien J, Schreuder (eds) Education and sustainability: responding to the global challenge, (pp 13–24) Cambridge: IUCN (World Conservation Union) Huckle J (2009) Sustainable schools: responding to new challenges and opportunities. Geography 94(1):13–21 Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa Semenanjung Malaysia (1996) Piawaian Perancangan: Pembangunan Fizikal Pulau-Pulau. https://jpbd.johor.gov.my/ images/jpbdj_garispanduan/04_GP_Fizikal_Pulau_ Pulau.pdf. Accessed 01 Nov 2020 James P, Liam M, Andy S, Manfred B (2015) Urban sustainability in theory and practice: circles of sustainability. Routledge, London Joshi U (2009) Education for sustainable development: the role of university. Int Forum Teach Stud 5(1):62–69 Mahat H, Ngah MSYC, Idrus S (2013) Kesedaran pendidikan pembangunan lestari menerusi Program Sekolah Lestari dalam kalangan pelajar. https://www.

30 researchgate.net/publication/271966849_Kesedaran_ Pendidikan_Pembangunan_Lestari_Menerusi_ Program_Sekolah_Lestari_Dalam_Kalangan_Pelajar. Accessed 01 Nov 2020 Mensah J, Casadevall SR (2019) Sustainable development: meaning, history, principles, pillars, and implications for human action: literature review. Cogent Soc Sci 5:1 Mohamad D, Bahauddin A, Mohamed B (2016) Tourism development progress of two islands of Malaysia: the locals’ perspective towards climate change. Worldwide Hospitality Tourism Themes 8(5):534–548 Moroye CM (2005) Common ground: an ecological perspective on teaching and learning. Curriculum Teach Dialogue 7(1/2):123–129 Ramdas M, Mohamed B (2017) Perceptions of visitors and residents on impact of tourism activities towards quality of water in Redang and Perhentian Islands, Malaysia. Asian J Tech Vocat Educ 2:1–7 Ringkasan Eksekutif - Rancangan Tempatan Daerah Kerajaan Negeri Terengganu. (2008–2020). https:// www.yumpu.com/id/document/read/8892375/ rancangan-tempatan-daerah-kerajaan-negeriterengganu. Accessed 01 Nov 2020 Scerri A, James P (2010) Accounting for sustainability: combining qualitative and quantitative research in developing indicators of sustainability. Int J Soc Res Methodol 13(1):41–45 Schumpeter J (1942/1975) Capitalism, socialism and democracy, 1975, New York, NY: Harper Scoullos MJ, Malotidi V (2004) Handbook on methods used in environmental education and education for sustainable development. Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development, Athens Sterlling S (2003) Whole systems thinking as a basis paradigm change in education: exploration in the

S. Hazman et al. context of sustainability: Thesis PhD. University of Bath Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 13: Climate Action, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). https://sustainabledevelopment. un.org/topics/sustainabledevelopmentgoals Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 14: Life below Water, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). https://sustainabledevelopment. un.org/topics/sustainabledevelopmentgoals Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 15: Life on Land, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ topics/sustainabledevelopmentgoals The State of The World’s Refugees (2000) Fifty years of humanitarian action, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Thompson L (2010) Refugee workers in the Indochina exodus, 1975–1982. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company

Khatijah Omar Associate Professor (Human Resource Management), Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development.

3

Historic Vietnamese Settlement of Bidong Island Norhayati Ab Manaf, Muhammad Abi Sofian Abdul Halim, Khatijah Omar, Hazman Samsudin, Elia Syarafina Abdul Shakur, Siti Nor Adawiyah Azzahra Kamaruddin, and Nor Shakirah Mohd Sakari

Abstract

The American-led war in the 1960s in Indo-China had led to a mass exodus of migrants into Malaysia especially coastal areas at Terengganu State in the early 1970s. Bidong Island was known to be a destination for Vietnamese migrants in Terengganu. The position of Bidong Island is located 45 km off the coast of Terengganu in the South China

N. Ab Manaf
M. A. S. Abdul Halim (&)
K. Omar
H. Samsudin Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, 21030 Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: abi.sofi[email protected] N. Ab Manaf e-mail: [email protected] K. Omar e-mail: [email protected] H. Samsudin e-mail: [email protected] M. A. S. Abdul Halim
K. Omar
H. Samsudin
S. N. A. A. Kamaruddin
N. S. Mohd Sakari Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, 21030 Terengganu, Malaysia

Sea. Bidong Island is accessible from the coastal town of Merang in Setiu district. Vietnamese refugees or locally known as “Orang Hanyut Vietnam” or “boat people” have left many historical legacies that became a historical heritage in Bidong Island such as; foundation of school structures, houses, temples, cemeteries and water tanks are still visible till this day. There are also few monuments and memorial sites that enclose the names of refugee boats. These relics have become a treasure trove of Vietnamese refugees who build an interesting and distinctive heritage eco-tourism identity compared to their surrounding islands. To realize its historical heritage of the Vietnamese settlement on Bidong Island, several stakeholders such as the Kuala Terengganu District and the Kuala Nerus District and Land Office, Terengganu State Museum Board and Universiti Malaysia Terengganu all play an important role in transforming Bidong Island into a heritage island in the waters South China Sea. Keywords







History Vietnam war Orang Hanyut Vietnam South China Sea Malaysia







E. S. Abdul Shakur Faculty of Accountancy and Management, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Sungai Long, Bandar Sungai Long, Cheras, 43000 Kajang Selangor, Malaysia e-mail: syarafi[email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_3

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3.1

N. Ab Manaf et al.

Introduction

Bidong Island, located in the Northeast of the state of Terengganu, lies in its own history and identity compared to the surrounding islands such as Perhentian Island and Redang Island. This island covers an area of 260 ha and is located eight nautical miles from Merang Terengganu beach. Bidong Island is an unhabituated island and is known to the local people as a Vietnamese refugee settlement (Roslan et al. 2017). The historical of Vietnamese refugees has led Bidong Island to gain its own identity in building the eco-tourism image in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. In fact, the state of its natural environment and the relics of the Vietnamese site have also made this island suitable to be known as the historical island of the Vietnamese settlement. All of this will be able to make Bidong Island an attractive eco-tourism destination and the beauty of its own natural historical heritage to domestic and foreign tourists.

3.2

Early Vietnamese Refugee

The fall of the Democratic Government of South Vietnam into the Communist Government of North Vietnam based in 1975 had a major impact on the country’s political system (Baharuddin and Enh 2018). This political instability brought economic hardships and caused the Vietnamese citizens that feared for their lives starting to escape to other countries using the ocean as a route to reach countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. It was estimated that 2 million refugees left Vietnam while almost 800,000 boat people exit Vietnam and arriving safely in another country between 1975 and 1995 (Vu 2007). Meanwhile, according to Ahmad et al. (2016), it is assumed that most of the refugees did not survive the journey because they were suffering from overcrowded boats, facing risk from pirates and the monsoon.

3.3

Settlement Vietnamese Refugee in Bidong Island

In 1975, Vietnamese refugees or Orang Hanyut Vietnam (OHV) started to land in Malaysia. The first phase consisted of 47 refugees (Ahmad et al. 2016). After that, more and more refugees reached Malaysia since the conflict in Vietnam still progresses. This is a concern to Malaysian government because the total of OHV landing in Malaysia coastal area reached hundreds of thousand peoples (Buku Laporan 1991). The presence of Vietnamese refugees has induced the Malaysian government to take responsibility and offer humanitarian assistance. This action had been acknowledged to the eye of the world as a nation with compassion. The Malaysian government decided to locate Vietnamese refugees temporarily on an island called Pulau Bidong. The island officially opened as Vietnamese refugees’ settlement on August 8th, 1978 (Roslan et al. 2017). The first group consisted of professionals and traders. These groups are among people with higher education and are skilled with foreign languages, especially English. In the early stage, the welfare of OHV was managed by the local community itself, law enforcement agencies (police and military), and assisted by the Red Crescent Society of Malaysia (Terengganu State Museum Board, nd). From 1976 until 1977, the landing of OHV had become more active in Malaysia and the landing location had scattered across a few states of Malaysia. Apart from geographic factors, the treatment given by the village locals had been one of the main factors to bring in more OHV landing to Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia had been chosen by the OHV from Southern Vietnam and more asylums had been opened to manage the welfare of these refugees (Terengganu State Museum Board, nd). Before establishing as a temporary settlement for the Vietnamese refugees, Bidong Island was used as a shelter for the local fishing community during strong winds and monsoon season. Many

3

Historic Vietnamese Settlement of Bidong Island

fishermen congregate around the waters of the island because the area was rich in sea resources. However, through gazetting of P.U. (A) 227 in August 1978, the State Government had agreed to delegate the management to the Federal Government and declared Bidong Island as OHV settlements and converted it into a restricted area. The locals including fishermen were prohibited from being near the island within 183 m (Terengganu State Museum Board, nd). The Terengganu State Government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) were responsible for the welfare management of the refugees. In the early inception, the landings of these OHV were not considered as burdened to the country as they consisted of skilled professionals and entrepreneurs that were easily assimilated in third world countries. Unfortunately, the surge in landing activities had become a nuisance for the management of the refugees. On 9 November 1978, another event of 2,400 OHV had landed in Port Klang and further created distress among the 60 million Southern Vietnamese refugees that disagreed with communism. The climax of the landing event in Bidong Island occurred in 1979 where 40,000 OHV had inhabited this 12 hectare island. In connection with the prompt action by the Federal Government to form a Special Workforce Team (Pasukan Petugas Khas) and later known as Federal VII Special Workforce Team (Pasukan Petugas Khas VII Persekutuan—PP VII). PP VII was formed from federal staff, soldiers and police that were responsible directly under the Minister of Home Affairs. The main purpose of PP VII was to control the security, management and handling the relocation of OHV to third world countries. Foreign countries like the United States of America, France, Australia, Canada and a few more countries had given the security to assist Malaysia in handling this refugee matters (Terengganu State Museum Board, nd). In late December 1978, about 20,200 OHV had been relocated to the other countries and left about 50,000 OHV in Bidong Island. Although the event seemed to be active, there are still loopholes created because the leftover refugees

33

were mostly unskilful compared to the earliest group that consists of professionals and skilful people. They were mostly unable to translate foreign language and adaptation ability to third world countries. This had furthermore brought more burdens to Malaysia. To cope with these issues, Malaysia had prepared Training Plans to counter the issues; skill and language training, establishing Language School facilities, automobile workshops and sewing classes. Medicine aids, food and experts to make the plans a success came from the United States of America, Australia and Germany. However, these plans needed more time for execution among the remaining OHV in Bidong Island. Human development took place and transformed pristine Bidong Island into developed areas with new buildings such as hospitals, libraries, worship places, market and other public amenities (Terengganu State Museum Board, nd). These plans had taken a very long time to succeed and Malaysia had decided to take drastic measures by proposing a motion named as Comprehensive Plan of Action and a conference held in June 1989 in Geneva. Through this motion, an agreement was achieved to make sure each OHV to go through the status determination process; they will be grouped into two categories. The first category is political refugees that will be relocated to third world countries and the second category is economic refugees that will be sent back to their original country—Vietnam. The transit centre in Terengganu is at Kelulut, Marang before the refugees were transferred to another camp at Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur. On 15th November 1991, the last group of 227 OHV were relocated from Bidong Island to Sungai Besi camp. After the relocation process of OHV settled, the State Government had proposed a memorandum to the Federal Government for returning Bidong Island to the state and clearance of OHV from the island. On 21st November 1991, the Federal Government had agreed to close down Bidong Island from any OHV settlements and eventually on 30th November 1991, Bidong Island was officially handed over back to Terengganu State Government (Terengganu State Museum Board, nd).

34

N. Ab Manaf et al.

Terengganu State Government had reopened Bidong Island to the public in 2017 and was transformed into a new historical tourism and natural heritage product. On 20th August 2018, the Terengganu State Government had delegated Bidong Island to Terengganu State Museum to preserve the island properties from historical purposes and human heritage (Terengganu State Museum Board, nd). The early history of Bidong Island had been important information to further promote this island as an island with eco-tourism products that is different from its neighbouring islands. Figure 3.1 shows the UNHCR Refugee Centre establishment landmark that existed in Bidong Island.

were too many feeble remnants or structures that still can be seen in Bidong Island like school building foundations, houses, temples, churches, cemeteries and water tanks. Apart from that, there were monuments and memorial structures built by Vietnamese visitors come from family members’ settlements and refugee in Bidong Island as a tribute to the Malaysian hospitality towards the Vietnamese refugees. Hundreds of cement plaques inscribing the name of the refugees boat landed can be seen and preserved. Figures 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 showed the differences in present pictures and old pictures of OHV relics in Bidong Island.

3.5 3.4

Vietnamese Relics in Bidong Island

The result from Vietnamese refugees landing, many OHV remnants and relics considered as heritage and of historical value. Presently, there

Fig. 3.1 UNHCR Refugee centre establishment landmark

Bidong Island as Eco-Tourism

Currently, the development of eco-tourism products is not only focused on captivating natural environments and community activities but also the historical value which is among the elements that need to be considered to form an

3

Historic Vietnamese Settlement of Bidong Island

Fig. 3.2 Old picture and latest picture of Vietnam Monument in Bidong Island

Fig. 3.3 Old picture and latest picture of Vietnam Boat Monument in Bidong Island

Fig. 3.4 Old picture and latest picture of Vietnamese grave in Bidong Island

35

36

N. Ab Manaf et al.

Fig. 3.5 Old picture and latest picture of Vietnamese house base in Bidong Island

attraction to the eco-tourism destination. Each eco-tourism destination indeed has its own charm and exclusiveness, where its uniqueness rests on the social-cultural of local communities, the attractive environment and together with the richness of historical heritage resources. Undoubtedly, Bidong Island is an island rich with historical resources that can be used as an income in the ecotourism industry in the Terengganu state. The rich history of heritage and folklores of the island can be used as a different source of capital from other islands and at the same time build a distinct identity in ecotourism. Therefore, the uniqueness Bidong Island does not solely depend on the history of Vietnamese heritage but as well as its natural environment such as insects, reptiles, birds, bat, fish and coral. It is also a very endangered land of hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and there are fauna species of island lizards (Cnemaspis bidongensis) and island flying fox (Pteropus hypomelanus). Zakaria et al. (2017) said that apart from its historical value, the Bidong Island is home to various species of fauna especially reptiles such as Bronchocela cristatella, Eretmochelys imbricata, Dasia olivacea and Gekko gecko. The island also has of well-developed coral reef ecosystems that attract variety of coral and rocky reef associated fishes (Matsunuma et al. 2011). The island however was not classified as a marine park, which contribute to the many activities carried out at the island (Rumeaida et al. 2014). The rich biodiversity of

flora and fauna and historical records make Bidong Island a unique and must-visit ecotourism destination. The Terengganu State Government also allocation for the management and development of Bidong Island infrastructure to the Terengganu State Museum to oversee and implement research and preservation of all historical artefacts that had been abandoned before. Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) is also working together with the state government to preserve species of marine life. UMT had been awarded an area of two hectares by the Terengganu State Government to be utilised as a research station in line with its field of study that focuses on marine sciences. The finding from the UMT researchers has found the species of flora and fauna in Bidong Island. Cooperation of all stakeholders involved will be able to develop the uniqueness of Bidong Island as an eco-tourism destination based on the historical heritage of the Vietnamese settlement and biodiversity. The Vietnamese settlement in Bidong now has become something of a trip spot for former refugee in Bidong and their families, and also attracts local tourists. Former refugee and their families come to bidong to erect memorials to those who died in the exodus from Vietnam after 1975. The total number of tourist arrivals in 2017 and 2018 were 3,862 people and 3,716 tourists respectively which include former refugee family and local tourist. The details of the number of tourists by month are shown in Table 3.1.

3

Historic Vietnamese Settlement of Bidong Island

Table.3.1 Number of tourist to Bidong Island between 2017–2018

37

Month

Number of tourist 2017

Number of tourist (People) 2018

April

924

607

May

708

256

June

105*

107*

July

263

566

August

512

416

September

363

896

October Total

987

868

3862

3,716

Source Terengganu State Museum Board *show the fewest number of tourists coming to bidong island were in June 2017 and June 2018

Increase in tourism activities due to additional attraction in Bidong Island would also benefit the local coastal community of Terengganu in terms of providing more economical or employment opportunities particularly in transport and accommodation services. Other advantages include improving infrastructure and facilities and spreading awareness among the community regarding the preservation of natural resources.

3.6

Conclusion

Terengganu State Government has entrusted the Terengganu State Museum Board as a caretaker to manage Bidong Island as a historical heritage centre. The Terengganu State Government also allocation for the management and development of Bidong Island infrastructure to the Terengganu State Museum to oversee and implement research and preservation of all historical artefacts that had been abandoned before. Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) is also working together with the state government to preserve species of marine life. UMT had been awarded an area of two hectares by the Terengganu State Government to be utilised as a research station in line with its field of study that focuses on marine sciences. Cooperation of all stakeholders involved will be able to develop the uniqueness of Bidong Island as an eco-tourism destination based on the historical of

the Vietnamese settlement. Thus, key stakeholders in the tourism industry need to work together to promote the uniqueness and the beauty of Bidong Island history as a historical heritage island destination in the state of Terengganu. Acknowledgements Our gratitude to the Terengganu State Museum Board for providing us with information, data and old photographs on the History of Bidong Island as well as providing permission and excellent cooperation to our fellow researchers while conducting this study. A heartfelt thank you also to the Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu for invitation to conduct the Bidong Island Scientific Expedition on 1 April 2019 to 3 April 2019.

References Ahmad AA, Rahim ZA, Mohamed AMHB (2016) The refugee crisis in Southeast Asia: the Malaysian experience. Int J Novel Res Humanity Soc Sci 3 (6):80–90 Baharuddin SA, Enh AM (2018) Pelarian Vietnam: satu isu global dalam sejarah hubungan luar malaysia (Vietnamese Refugees: A global issue in the history of Malaysia foreign affairs). J Nusantara Stud 3(1):1–18 Buku Laporan (1991) Majlis penyerahan balik Pulau Bidong. Terengganu: Muzium Negeri Terengganu Matsunuma M, Motomura H, Matsuura K, Shazili NAM, Ambak MA (eds) (2011) Fishes of Terengganu-East coast of Malay Peninsula, Malaysia., National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Terengganu, and Kagoshima University Museum, Kagoshima, pp 251

38 Roslan A, David G, Pesiu E, Zahidin MA, Rosmidi FH, Izzati NI, Abdullah MT (2017) Promoting wildlife tourism as a conservation effort of the island flying fox in Pulau Bidong, Terengganu. Ecotourism Potentials in Malaysia, Malaysia, p 24 Rumeaida MP, Daud SMM, Badri FMI (2014) Fish diversity and abundance in Bidong Island, South China Sea. Malaysia. AACL Bioflux 7(3):176–183 Terengganu State Museum Board. (nd). Bidong dalam Lipatan Sejarah Vu QGN (2007) Journey of the abandoned: Endless refugee camp and incurable traumas. Journal of Women in Culture and Society 32(3):580–584 Zakaria AA, Rahim NAA, Abdullah MT (2017) Reptile diversity as an ecotourism attraction in Pulau Bidong. Ecotourism Potentials Malaysia 41

N. Ab Manaf et al.

Muhammad Abi Sofian Abdul Halim Associate Professor (Entrepreneurship), Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development.

4

Species Richness of Plants in Bidong Island Salwa Shahimi, Jamilah Mohd Salim, and Muhamad Razali Salam

Abstract

Forests not only function as habitat but also provides food sources to various terrestrial communities so that this ecosystem can sustain its function. With trees, forest ecosystems can support various flora, microbes, insects, birds, reptiles and mammals. Unfortunately, since in 1975, the trees of forested islands are suffering from land-clearing due to human inhabitation and this similar incidence is witnessed at Bidong Island. To update a checklist of plants on this island, a series of field surveys which includes new and former locations were held in 2009, 2015 and 2019. Bidong Island harbours a total of 201 plant species, representing 66 family and 142 genera. It includes shrub, medicinal plants, timber and plants that are heritage to Malaysia as food. To secure ecological functions of

S. Shahimi (&)
J. Mohd Salim
M. R. Salam Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] J. Mohd Salim e-mail: [email protected] M. R. Salam e-mail: [email protected] S. Shahimi
J. Mohd Salim Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

Bidong Island, particularly in forest conservation management, it is recommended that monitoring and legal protection of the remaining forested areas are needed. Keywords







Biodiversity Biogeography Dipterocarp Ecosystem service South China Sea Tropical island

4.1










Introduction

For a long time, island biogeography fascinated ecologist and biologist and therefore, they effortlessly focus on biogeographic ecology and evolutionary relationships. Meanwhile, being separated from the mainland, island plants can develop into sizeable patches of primary and secondary forests (Vitousek et al. 1996; Cronk 1997). In Malaysia, Bidong Island is consisted of mainly lowland secondary forest, composed of mixed dipterocarps trees and forest vegetation grew on sandy and rocky shores to form coastal forests (Adanan et al. 2016; Pesiu et al. 2016). In fact, a total of 102 tree species were identified in Bidong Island and Redang Island from which, Syzygium and Garcinia were most common (Pesiu et al. 2016). Succession events in Bidong Island have developed such vegetated contours to maintain the forest function as habitat for island

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_4

39

40

inhabitants such as insects, herpetofauna and small mammals (McGuire 2002; Suratman 2012). A cross examination between availability and adaptation has created an inquiry whether speciation and specialization are responsible for the continued persistence of plants in biogeographic ecosystem. For instance, Symplocos sp. not only occupies the islets of Pacific Sea (Shimizu & Tabata 1991) but was also discovered in Redang Island, South China Sea (Khairil et al. 2012). This comparison shows that geologic events are responsible for genetic separation but, since both environments are similar, this plant could occur on both islands. Yet, plant diversity in Bidong Island is still under-studied despite its location being only 14.82 km off adjacent Terengganu coastline. Bidong Island once housed some 40,000 Vietnamese refugees onward August 1978 and their departure from the island roughly two decades ago have made this island a heritage to Terengganu (Grismer et al. 2014). Therefore, any form of intrusion is strictly prohibited by the Terengganu Museum authorities. Terengganu has a total of 17 islands (Teh 2000) with promising ecotourism potential in east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. In fact, the presence of human inhabitants in Bidong Island and other islands is responsible for unregulated deforestation activities (McGuire 2002; Wan 2003). Moreover, for many years, tourism islands such as Perhentian Island, Redang Island and Kapas Island have seen extensive deforestation in the coastal region and this urged the local

S. Shahimi et al.

government to declare Redang Island as a Marine Park for the preservation of existing lowland, coastal and mangrove forests (Khairil et al. 2012). Thus, the present study evaluates the existence of plant species by using their species richness as an update to existing opinions on plant species distribution in Bidong Island (Terengganu), South China Sea.

4.2

Data Collection and Species Identification

Plant collection and observation were conducted to identify tree species at two beach area, i.e. Pantai Pasir Cina and Pantai Vietnam (‘Pantai’ is refer to beach) (Fig. 4.1) during field visit in April 2019. Data from pervious collection are also used as a reference. Voucher specimens for identification and verification were made especially for infertile plant and deposited at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu laboratory. Herbarium specimens are also used for the plant morphology identification. All plant species were identified based on relevant identification references (Burkill 1966; Turner 1995; Kiew et al. 2011, 2012).

4.3

Tree Species Richness

A total of 201 tree species, comprising of 66 families and 142 genera were recorded. Results from this study indicate that there were variety of

Fig. 4.1 Location Bidong Island on Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia. Sites at Bidong Island which were visited during field visit are marked by circles

Bidong Island

4

Species Richness of Plants in Bidong Island

tree species were found in Bidong Island and it is vital for ecosystem dynamics. There were few tree species from genus Aglaia, Calophyllum, Mesua and Psydrax can only identified until the species level. Therefore, unidentified species are named by using numbered morphospecies (e.g., Callophyllum sp.1) in order for numbering of tree taxa (Senterre et al. 2015). The vegetation from Bidong Island were thought to have resource value (e.g., food, timber and medicinal plants) (Table 4.1). The common genera that can be found in this island were Syzygium represented by eight species (Fig. 4.2), Garcinia (4 species), Dracaena (3 species) (Fig. 4.3), Ficus (4 species)

41

and Memecylon (3 species). Fifty-nine (59) species out of 201 tree species have the economic value as food, timber and medicinal purpose. The finding from this study also updates the checklist from the previous study done by Pesiu et al. (2016). Increase of sampling efforts to cover more terrain on Bidong Island gave an edge for increased number of plant species discovered. The abundance of vegetation indicated disparity for their distribution whereby 22 of the 66 plant families were sighted frequently (Fig. 4.4). Majority of trees species can be found in Bidong Island were from family Rubiaceae with highest number of species (19 species), followed by

Table 4.1 Taxonomic list of tree species recorded from Pantai Pasir Cina and Pantai Vietnam, Bidong Island, Terengganu, with their potential uses Family

Species

Adianthaceae

Adiantum latifolium Lam.

Anacardiaceae

Bouea macrophylla Griff.

Uses Food and timber

*Bouea oppositifolia (Roxb.) Meisn.

Food and timber

*Buchanania arborescens (Blume) Blume

Medicinal and timber

Buchanania sessilifolia Blume Conospermum squamatum *Dracontomelon dao (Blanco) Merr. & Rolfe

Food, medicinal and timber

Mangifera indica L.

Edible fruit, medicinal and timber

Mangifera pentandra Hook.f.

Edible fruit

Parishia maingayi Hook.f. *Swintonia schwenkii (Teijsm. & Binn.) Teijsm. & Binn. Ancistrocladaceae

Ancistrocladus tectorius (Lour.) Merr.

Annonaceae

Alphonsea curtisii King Fissistigma fulgens (Hook.f. & Thomson) Merr. Goniothalamus tapis Miq. Polyalthia jenkinsii (Hook.f. & Thomson) Hook.f. & Thomson

Apocynaceae

Alstonia angustiloba Miq.

Medicinal and timber

Alyxia reinwardtii Blume Cerbera manghas L.

Medicinal and Timber

Dischidia major (Vahl) Merr. Hoya coronaria Blume Hoya diversifolia Blume Hoya verticillata (Vahl) G. Don (continued)

42

S. Shahimi et al.

Table 4.1 (continued) Family

Species

Arecaceae

Areca catechu L.

Uses

Calamus sedens J.Dransf. Caryota mitis Lour. Licuala spinosa Thunb. Asteraceae

Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob.

Burseraceae

Dacryodes rugosa (Blume) H.J.Lam

Cannabaceae

Gironniera nervosa Planch

Calophyllaceae

Calophyllum inophyllum L.

Melanthera biflora (L.) Wild Santiria rubiginosa Blume Timber

*Gironiera sp. *Calophyllum rupicola Ridl. Calophyllum sp. 1 Calophyllum sp. 2 *Mesua sp. Casuarinaceae

Casuarina equisetifolia L.

Medicinal and timber

Celastraceae

Euonymus cochinchinensis Pierre

Timber

Kokoona ochracea Merr. Salacia chinensis L. Chrysobalanceae

*Licania splendens (Korth.) Prance Maranthes corymbosa Blume

Clusiaceae

Edible fruit and timber

*Garcinia eugeniifolia Wall. ex T. Anderson *Garcinia celebica L.

Edible fruit, medicinal and timber

*Garcinia nigrolineata Planch. ex T. Anderson

Edible fruit and timber

Garcinia scortechinii King Combretaceae

Terminalia catappa L.

Food, medicinal, tanning and dying

Compositae

Vernonia arborea Buch.-Ham. ex Buch.-Ham.

Medicinal and timber

Dilleniaceae

Tetracera indica (Christm. & Panz.) Merr. Tetracera macrophylla Wall. ex Hook. f. & Thoms.

Dipterocarpaceae

*Dipterocarpus chartaceus Symington.

Timber

Shorea glauca King. *Shorea materialis Ridl. Hopea odorata Roxb.

Medicinal and timber

*Vatica cinerea King. Vatica pauciflora (Korth.) Blume Vatica stapfiana (King) .Slooten Dracenaceae

Dracaena maingayi Hook.f. Dracaena conferta Ridl. Dracaena porteri Baker (continued)

4

Species Richness of Plants in Bidong Island

43

Table 4.1 (continued) Family

Species

Uses

Ebenaceae

Diospyros diepenhorstii Miq.

Timber

Diospyros ferrea (Willd.) Bak. Diospyros lanceifolia Roxb. Diospyros styraciformis King & Gamble Ericaceae

Styphelia malayana (Jack) Spr. Vaccinium bracteatum Thunb. Vaccinium littoreum Miq.

Erythroxylaceae

*Erythroxylum cuneatum (Miq.) Kurz

Euphorbiaceae

Croton oblongus Burm. f. *Suregada multiflora (Juss.) Baill. var. multiflora.

Fabaceae

Timber Medicinal and timber

Acacia mangium Willd. Archidendron bubalinum (Jack) I.C. Nielsen *Archidendron contortum (Martelli) I.C. Nielsen Archidendron kunstleri (Prain) I.C.Nielsen Callerya atropurpurea (Wall.) Schot

Edible leaves

Cassia nodosa Roxb. Cynometra ramiflora L.

Timber

Dendrolobium umbellatum (L.) Benth. Entada rheedei Spreng Fordia albiflora (Prain) Dasuki & Schot Ormosia sumatrana (Miq.) Prain Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre

Medicinal

Saraca declinata Miq. Tamarindus indica L. Fagaceae Gleicheniaceae

Dicranopteris linearis (Burm.f.)

Gnetaceae

Gnetum cuspidatum Blume

Goodeniaceae

Scaevola taccada (Gaertn.) Roxb.

Ixonanthaceae

Ixonanthes reticulata Jack

Lamiaceae

*Teijsmanniodendron coriaceum (C.B.Clarke) Kosterm Vitex pinnata L.

Lauraceae

Edible fruit

*Lithocarpus rassa (Miq.) Rehder

Medicinal

Medicinal

Actinodaphne borneensis Meisn Alseodaphne nigrescens (Gamble) Kosterm Neolitsea zeylanica (Nees & T. Nees) Merr.

Medicinal and timber

Loranthaceae

Dendrophthoe pentandra (L.) Miq.

Loganiaceae

*Norrisia malaccensis Gardner

Timber (construction)

Malvaceae

Heritiera littoralis Aiton

Food, medicinal and timber

Talipariti tiliaceum (L.) Fryxell

Food and medicinal (continued)

44

S. Shahimi et al.

Table 4.1 (continued) Family

Melastomataceae

Species

Uses

Sterculia oblongata R.Br.

Edible seed

Sterculia macrophylla Vent.

Medicinal and timber

Memecylon caeruleum Jack

Food and timber

Memecylon edule Roxb. var. edule Memecylon edule Roxb. var. ovatum (Sm.) C.B. Clarke

Medicinal

Melastoma sanguineum Sims. Meliaceae

Aglaia sp.

Moraceae

Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson) Fosberg Artocarpus integer (Thunb.) Merr.

Food

Artocarpus dadah Miq.

Food, medicinal and timber

Ficus callosa Willd Ficus fistulosa Reinw. ex Blume Ficus microcarpa L.f

Medicinal

Ficus superba (Miq.) Miq. Streblus taxoides (Roth) Kurz. Myristicaceae

Knema globularia (Lam.) Warb.

Timber

*Knema glauca (Blume) Warb. *Knema laurina (Blume) Warb. Myrtaceae

Edible fruit and timber (houses & beams)

Decaspermum parviflorum (Lam.) A.J. Scott. *Rhodamnia cinerea Jack

Food, medicinal and timber

Rhodamnia dumetorum (DC.) Merr. & L.M.Perry Rhodomyrtus tomentosa (Aiton) Hassk *Syzygium grande (Wight) Walp.

Shade trees, edible fruit and timber

Syzygium antisepticum (Blume) Merr. & L.M.Perry *Syzygium incarnatum (Elmer) Merr. & L.M.Perry. *Syzygium cinereum (Kurz) Chantaran. & J.Parn Syzygium claviflorum (Roxb.) Wall. ex A.M.Cowan & Cowan

Edible fruit and medicinal

Syzygium oblatum (Roxb.) Wall. ex A.M.Cowan & Cowan *Syzygium syzygioides (Miq.) Merr. & L.M. Perry *Syzygium zeylanicum (L.) DC

Edible fruit, medicine and timber

Tristaniopsis merguensis (Griff.) Peter G. Wilson & J. T. Waterh. Nepenthaceae

Nepenthes gracilis Korth.

Ochnaceae

Campylospermum serratum (Gaertn.) Bittrich & M.C. E. Amaral *Brackenridgea elegantissima (Wall.) Kanis

Oleaceae

Chionanthus ramiflorus Roxb. (continued)

4

Species Richness of Plants in Bidong Island

45

Table 4.1 (continued) Family

Species

Uses

Olea brachiata (Lour.) Merr.

-

Opiliaceae

Champereia manillana (Blume) Merr.

Medicinal and edible fruit

Pandanaceae

Pandanus atrocarpus Griff. Pandanus odorifer (Forssk.) Kuntze Pandanus tectorius Parkinson ex Du Roi

Pentaphylacaceae

Ternstroemia wallichiana Ridl

Peraceae

Chaetocarpus castanocarpus (Roxb.) Thwaites

Picrodendraceae

*Austrobuxus nitidus Miq.

Phyllanthaceae

Antidesma cuspidatum Müll.Arg.

Little timber

Antidesma leucopodum Miq. Aporosa octandra (Buch.-Ham. ex D.Don) Vickery Aporosa prainiana King ex Gage Polygalaceae

Xanthophyllum griffithii Hook.f. ex A.W.Benn

Polypodiaceae

Drynaria sparsisora (Desv.) T. Moore

Primulaceae

Ardisia crenata Sims

*Xanthophyllum sp. Pyrrosia longifolia (Burm. f.) C.V. Morton Food and medicinal

Rapanea porteriana (Wall. & A. DC.) Mez. Putranjivaceae

*Drypetes sp.

Rhizophoraceae

Bruguiera cylindrica (L.) Blume

Rubiaceae

*Aidia densiflora (Wall.) Masam

Food and charcoal

*Canthium glabrum Blume Chassalia curviflora (Wall.) Thwaites *Diplospora malaccensis Hook.f

Edible leaves and timber

Guettarda speciosa L.

Medicinal and timber

Gynochthodes sublanceolata Miq. Hydnophytum formicarum Jack Ixora concinna R.Br. ex Hook.f Kochummenia stenopetala (King & Gamble) K.M. Wong *Morinda citrifolia L.

Dye and medicine

Morinda umbellata L. Prismatomeris glabra (Korth.) Valeton Psychotria sarmentosa Blume *Psydrax nitida (Craib) K.M.Wong Psydrax sp. 9 Psydrax sp. 10 Timonius finlaysonianus (Wall. ex G.Don) Hook *Timonius wallichianus (Korth.) Valeton

Timber (continued)

46

S. Shahimi et al.

Table 4.1 (continued) Family

Species

Uses

Urophyllum griffithianum (Wight) Hook.f. Rutaceae

*Acronychia pedunculata (L.) Miq. Atalantia monophylla DC Paramignya scandens (Griff.) Craib.

Salicaceae

Scolopia macrophylla (W. & A.) Clos

Santalaceae

Dendrotrophe buxifolia (Blume) Miq.

Scolopia spinosa (Roxb.) Warb. Dendrotrophe varians (Blume) Miq. Scleropyrum pentandrum (Dennst.) Mabb. Sapindaceae

*Guioa bijuga (Hiern) Radlk.

Timber

Guioa pleuropteris (Blume) Radlk.

Medicinal and timber

Mischocarpus sundaicus Blume Xerospermum noronhianum Blume Sapotaceae

Madhuca malaccensis (C.B.Clarke) H.J.Lam *Madhuca longistyla (King & Gamble) H.J.Lam Madhuca longifolia (J.Koenig ex L.) J.F.Macbr *Palaquium obovatum (Griff.) Engl.

Gutta-percha and timber

Palaquium rostratum (Miq.) Burck *Planchonella obovata (R.Br.) Pierre

Edible fruit

Simaroubaceae

*Eurycoma longifolia Jack

Medicinal

Symplocaceae

*Symplocos adenophylla Wall. ex G. Don

Charms

Theaceae

Schima wallichii Choisy

Symplocos fasciculata Roxb. ex Vesque Medicinal

Ternstroemia wallichiana (Griff.) Engl. Thymelaeaceae

Wikstroemia indica (L.) C.A. Mey

Ulmaceae

Gironniera parvifolia Planch

Xanthorrhoeaceae

Dianella ensifolia (L.) DC.

Gonystylus brunnescens Airy Shaw.

Note The species with * indicate similar species presence in the checklist of Pesiu et al. (2016)

4

Species Richness of Plants in Bidong Island

47

Fig. 4.2 Syzygium incarnatum

Fabaceae, Myrtaceae and Anacardiaceae with 14, 13 and 11 respectively. Moraceae, Apocynaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Sapotaceae, Clusiaceae, Calophyllaceae, Annonaceae, Arecaceae, Ebenaceae, Malvaceae, Melastomataceae, Phyllanthaceae, Sapindaceae, Celasteraceae, Dracenaceae, Lauraceae, Rutaceae and Santalaceae were recorded to have moderate number of species while many others family were represented by unique and duplicate species were found at the study site. Bidong Island hosts 201 plant species on the island and this exclusive biogeography supports thirty-one (31) plants with conservation importance (Chua et al. 2010; IUCN 2021) (Table 4.2). Occurrence of timber like Shorea materialis, Dipterocarpus chartaceus, Shorea glauca, Hopea odorata, Vatica pauciflora, Vatica stapfiana, Vatica cinerea (Fig. 4.5) from family Dipterocarpaceae and other plant species such as Knema glauca, Ternstroemia wallichiana, Madhuca longistyla and wildflower plant like Cerbera manghas affirms that these plants are Fig. 4.3 Dracaena maingayi

48

S. Shahimi et al.

20

Number of species

18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0

Family Fig. 4.4 The composition of plant species for 22 highest family that was found in Bidong Island, Terengganu

limited to Bidong Island as segregated biogeographic vegetation. Being placed in isolation, these plant species are at risk of geographic extinction should Bidong Island befall victim to land degradation from climate impacts and sea temperature rise. Based on the IUCN (2021) and Chua et al. (2010), 20 species found in this study were categorized as Least Concern while the rest of species were not yet assessed.

4.4

Conclusion

A total of 201 taxa of tree species with 142 genera from 66 families, representing tree species richness in Bidong Island. The diversity is clear indication for pristine habitat that exists on isolated islands. Despite intrusion during the Vietnamese confrontation in early 1990s the

4

Species Richness of Plants in Bidong Island

Table 4.2 List of plants with conservation status according to IUCN

49

Family

Species

IUCN

Annonaceae

Alphonsea curtisii King

LC

Apocynaceae

Alyxia reinwardtii Blume

LC

Cerbera manghas L

NT

Arecaceae

Caryota mitis Lour

LC

Calophyllaceae

Calophyllum inophyllum L

LC

Chrysobalanceae

Licania splendens (Korth.) Prance

LC

Maranthes corymbosa Blume

LC

Clusiaceae

Garcinia scortechinii King

LC

Dipterocarpaceae

Dipterocarpus chartaceus Symington

EN

Shorea glauca King

EN

Shorea materialis Ridl

CR

Hopea odorata Roxb

VU

Vatica cinerea King

DD

Fabaceae Gnetaceae

Vatica pauciflora (Korth.) Blume

VU

Vatica stapfiana (King) Slooten

VU

Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre

LC

Tamarindus indica L

LC

Gnetum cuspidatum Blume

LC

Vitex pinnata L

LC

Malvaceae

Heritiera littoralis Aiton

LC

Myristicaceae

Knema globularia (Lam.) Warb

LC

Knema glauca (Blume) Warb

VU

Myrtaceae

Gomphia serrata (Gaertn.) Kanis

LC

Nephenthaceae

Nepenthes gracilis Korth

LC

Pandanaceae

Pandanus odorifer (Forssk.) Kuntze

LC

Pentaphylacaceae

Ternstroemia wallichiana Ridl

VU

Polypodiaceae

Drynaria sparsisora (Desv.) T. Moore

LC

Pyrrosia longifolia (Burm. f.) C.V. Morton

LC

Rhizophoraceae

Bruguiera cylindrica (L.) Blume

LC

Sapotaceae

Madhuca longistyla (King & Gamble) H.J.Lam

VU

Theaceae

Schima wallichii Choisy

LC

Note The IUCN status is abbreviated as DD = Data Deficient; LC = Least Concern; VU = Vulnerable; NT = Near Threatened; EN = Endangered and CR = Critically Endangered

vegetation of Bidong Island seem to flourish. With this Syzygium sp. from family Myrtaceae was the most common species in Bidong Island with eight species. The Rubiaceae was the most abundant family with the presence of 15 genera and 19 species of trees followed by family

Fabaceae, Myrtaceae and Anacardiaceae. Many other families were represented by unique and duplicate species. A further study is needed to increase more understanding and knowledge on plant diversity and their adaptation to island ecosystem.

50

S. Shahimi et al.

Fig. 4.5 Vatica cinerea (resak) one of the plant species at the risk of extinction

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Faculty of Science and Marine Environment and Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development for financial and logistical support in this study.

References Adanan NA, Basari N, Rosmidi FH, Pesiu E, Abdullah MT (2016) Preliminary studies on bees at Pulau Bidong and Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu. J Sustain Sci Manage 1:36–40 Burkill IH (1966) A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula, 2nd edn. Ministry of Agriculture, Kuala Lumpur Chua LSL, Suhaida M, Hamidah M, Saw LG (2010) Malaysia plant Red List: Peninsular Malaysian Dipterocarpaceae. Research Pamphlet-Forest Research Institute Malaysia (129) Cronk QCB (1997) Islands: stability, diversity, conservation. Biodivers Conserv 6:477–493 Grismer LL Jr, Wood PL, Ahmad AB, Sumarli ASI, Vazquez JJ, Ismail LHB, Nance R, Mohd-Amin MAB, Othman MNAB, Rizaijessika SA, Kuss M, Murdoch M, Cobos A (2014) A new species of insular rock gecko (Genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) from the Bidong Archipelago, Terengganu Peninsular Malaysia. Zootaxa 3755(5):447–456 IUCN (2021) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2019–2. http://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed 29 Apr 2021

Khairil M, Nashriyah M, Norhayati N, Shahril A, Fatihah N (2012) Tree species composition, diversity and above ground biomass of two forest types at Redang Island, Peninsula Malaysia. Walailak J Sci Technol 10(1):77–90 Kiew R, Chung RCK, Saw LG, Soepadmo E (2012) Seed plants. Flora of Peninsular Malaysia, Serie II, vol 3. Kepong: Forest Research Institute Malaysia, 385 pp Kiew R, Chung RCK, Saw LG, Soepadmo E, Boyce PC (2011) Seed plants. Flora of Peninsular Malaysia, Series II, vol 2. Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, 235 pp McGuire AD (2002) Ecosystem element cycling. In: ElShaarawi AH, Piegorsch WW (eds) Encyclopedia of Environmetrics. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, pp 614–618 Pesiu E, Abdullah MT, Salim J, Salam MR (2016) Tree species composition in Pulau Bidong and Pulau Redang. J Sustain Sci Manage Spec Issue 48–50 Senterre B, Chew MY, Chung RCK (2015) Flora and vegetation of Pulau Babi Tengah, Johor Peninsular Malaysia. Check List 11(4):1714 Shimizu Y, Tabata H (1991) Forest structures, composition, and distribution on a Pacific Island, with reference to ecological release and speciation! Pac Sci 45(1):28–49 Suratman MN (2012) Tree species diversity and forest stand structure of Pahang National Park, Malaysia. In: Lameed GA (ed) Biodiversity enrichment in a diverse world. Intech Open Publisher, pp 473–492 The T (2000) Sustainable development and environmental management of Malaysian islands. Islands in Malaysia: Issues and Challenges 319–340

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Turner IM (1995) A catalogue of vascular plants of Malaya. Garden Bull Singap 1 & 2:1–757 Vitousek PM, Loope LL, Adsersen H, D’Antonio CM (1996) Island ecosystems: do they represent natural experiments in biological diversity and ecosystems functions. In: Mooney HA, Cushman JH, Medina E, Sala OE, Schulze ED (eds) Functional role of biodiversity: a global perspective. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, pp 245–259 Wan EL (2003) Pulau Bidong: Vietnamese boat people in Malaysia. http://thingsasian.com/story/pulau-bidongvietnamese-boat-people-malaysia. Accessed 1 May 2019

Salwa Shahimi Senior Lecturer (Plant Taxonomy), Faculty of Science and Marine Environment.

5

Community Structure and Diversity of Trees in Coastal Forest of Bidong Island, Terengganu Shahrudin Rohani, Siti Nabilah Othman, and Muhamad Razali Salam

Abstract

Keywords

This study was carried out to determine the community structure and diversity of trees in Bidong Island, Terengganu. A plot with a size of 0.22 ha was established in coastal forest at the west side of the island. All trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH)
3 cm was enumerated and identified to species level. Our result showed a total of 1,027 trees representing 58 species, 45 genera and 27 families. The most dominant family according to the number of species was Myrtaceae, while Callophyllum rupicola was the dominant species with Important Value Index (IVi) of 29.63. The Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H’) of the trees in the plot indicates H’ = 3.19. Small stem trees were found dominated the study plot, which suggests the forest is in regenerating state after the disturbance of human settlement from 1975 to 1991.

Disturbance Myrtaceous

S. Rohani (&)  S. N. Othman  M. R. Salam Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] M. R. Salam e-mail: [email protected]

5.1

 Forest regeneration   Stand structure

Introduction

Plants in the island are adapted to the ecological environment of an island in order to survive in that area. Distribution pattern of plants in an island affected by climate, topography, soil, and other biological factors (Chen et al. 2014). Understanding the distribution pattern and the dynamics of the island plants is crucial since it offers the key answer to the complex interactions between biotic and abiotic elements in the ecosystem. Generally, vegetation in the island can be divided into four types which were coastal vegetation that dominated with the trees from the genus of Syzygium (Myrtaceae), mangroves with salt-tolerance species, lowland forest (300 m above sea level) that consists of non-dipterocarp forest species, and hill dipterocarp forest at up to 750 m above sea level that consists mostly by high canopy trees such as Shorea and Dipterocarpus (Latiff et al. 1999). Previous studies have recorded the tree composition at several forested islands in Malaysia, for example at Pangkor Island (Ghollasimood et al. 2011; Ahmad Fitri et al. 2019), Redang Island (Khairil et al. 2012;

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_5

53

54

S. Rohani et al.

Pesiu et al. 2016), Perhentian Island (Khairil et al. 2020), and Bidong Island (Pesiu et al. 2016). Bidong Island is a small (260 ha) island in Terengganu, Malaysia, that was once occupied by 252, 452 of Vietnamese refugees from 1975 to 1991 (Vu 2007). During the occupation, trees from the adjacent forest were harvested to build houses, school, church, and post office. This anthropogenic activity (tree harvesting) might impact the forest community in Bidong Island. Study on the tree structure of Bidong Island by Pesiu et al. (2016) revealed that the forest on this island was dominated by small to medium-sized trees. However, the study was focused in the inland area of Bidong Island. Therefore, this study was done to determine the community structure and species diversity of trees in the coastal forest on Bidong Island. Findings from this study are essential to understand the dynamic of forest ecosystem, particularly forest regeneration after disturbance.

5.2

Methodology

The study plot was established in the coastal forest of Bidong Island, which an area proximately after rocky shores at the west side of the island (5°37′06.50″ N, 103°03′24.73″ E) (Fig. 5.1). Sampling plot with the size 0.22 ha was established perpendicular to the beach. The plot then was divided into subplots with 5 m 10 m each. All trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH)
3 cm at 1.3 m height or above the buttress roots were measured and enumerated. Leaf samples were taken for identification using Tree Flora of Malaya (Whitmore 1972, 1973; Ng 1978, 1989).

5.3

Floristic Composition

Based on the inventory, we successfully enumerated a total of 1027 trees with DBH
3 cm, comprised of 58 species, 45 genera and 27 families (Table 5.1). For comparison, the number of taxa in the coastal forest (this study) is more or

less similar to the number of taxa that found in the inland forest of Bidong Island (Pesiu et al. 2016), which recorded a total of 55 species from 42 genera and 26 families (Table 5.2). These results reflect those of Khairil et al. (2012) who also found a moderate similarity for the number of taxa between costal forest (48 species) and inland forest (50 species) in Redang Island. Meanwhile, a higher number of species (93 species) was found at the coastal plot of Perhentian Island, Terengganu (Khairil et al. 2020). The most abundant family in this study was Myrtaceae (1356 ind/ha) followed by Calophyllaceae (578 ind/ha) and Symplocaceae (514 ind/ha) (Table 5.3). The dominance of family Myrtaceae is similar to the study of coastal forest in Tanjung Tuan, Negeri Sembilan (Mat Salleh et al. 2001). However, other studies in the coastal forest of several islands in Peninsular Malaysia revealed that the family of Dipterocarpaceae was dominant (Ghollasimood et al. 2011; Khairil et al. 2012, 2020; Ahmad Fitri et al. 2019). The high abundance of family Myrtaceae probably due to the habitat type, which is a coastal ecosystem. The dominance of family Myrtaceae is in line with the suggestion by Whitmore (1982) that coastal ridges habitat would dominate by the genus of Syzygium (Myrtaceae). At the species level, Rhodamnia cinerea had the highest density, with 573 ind/ha followed by Calophyllum rupicola, 496 ind/ha, and Symplocos adenophylla with 496 ind/ha (Table 5.3). The high density of R. cinerea in Bidong Island was not surprising since R. cinerea was the species that always can be found in the secondary or disturbed forests (Shono et al. 2006).

5.4

Species Diversity

Species diversity was analyzed using three diversity indices; Shannon diversity index (H’), Richness Index used Margalef’s Index (R1), and Shannon Evenness Indices (E’), following Magurran and McGill (2011). The data were analyzed using PAST version 3.15 software (Hammer et al. 2001). The value for Shannon Diversity index (H′) in this study was 3.19,

5

Community Structure and Diversity of Trees in Coastal Forest …

55

Fig. 5.1 Map of Peninsular Malaysia shows the location of Bidong Island (circle) and the location of the transect (horizontal line) on Bidong Island, Terengganu

which lower than the recorded values from other coastal forest studies, i.e. Pangkor Island, Perak, recorded value H′ = 3.99 (Ghollasimood et al. 2011), Redang Island, Terengganu, H′ = 3.40 (Khairil et al. 2012), while Perhentian Island recorded H′ = 3.94 (Khairil et al. 2020). Many factors influence the species diversity, and one of the factors is the size of the island, where the larger islands may have higher tree species diversity because they receive a higher number of colonists and, as a result, they accumulate more species than small islands (Burns et al. 2010). The Evenness index (E′) recorded in this study was 0.38. The low evenness indicates an unequal abundance of the species or the dominance of single species.

5.5

Community Structure

The tree community structure was described using taxonomic composition, species abundance and species diversity. Species abundance was determined using relative density (Rdi), relative frequency (Rfi), relative coverage (Rci) and Importance Value Index (IVi). In this study, Calophyllum rupicola was the most important species with Important Value Index of 29.63% (Table 5.4). The other important species was Rhodamnia cinerea (IVi = 21.27%) followed by Symplocos adenophylla with Important Value Index of 19.46%. For a comparison, Khairil et al. (2012) found Shorea glauca (Dipterocarpaceae)

56 Table 5.1 List of taxonomic composition of trees in Bidong Island, Terengganu

S. Rohani et al. Family

Genus

Species

Anacardiaceae

5

5

59

Calophyllaceae

1

2

127

Celastraceae

1

1

3

Chrysobalanaceae

1

1

97

Clusiaceae

1

4

19

Dipterocarpaceae

4

4

85

Euphorbiaceae

3

3

47

Fabaceae

1

1

2

Fagaceae

1

1

1

Lamiaceae

1

1

10

Lauraceae

1

1

4

Leguminosae

1

1

12

Loganiaceae

1

1

2

Melastomataceae

1

2

4

Meliaceae

1

1

1

Myristicaceae

1

1

5

Myrsinaceae

1

1

8

Myrtaceae

2

9

298

Ochnaceae

2

2

42

Oleaceae

1

1

14

Opiliaceae

1

1

1

Rubiaceae

5

5

26

Rutaceae

1

1

2

Sapindaceae

2

2

10

Sapotaceae

3

3

28

Simaroubaceae

1

1

2

Symplocaceae

1

2

113

Unidentified

Table 5.2 Comparison the number of tree species found between this study and other islands in Terengganu

Individuals

0

0

5

Total

45

58

1027

Study

Study site

Number of species

This study

Bidong Island (0.22 ha)

58

Pesiu et al. (2016)

Bidong Island (0.25 ha) Redang Island (0.25 ha)

55 55

Khairil et al. (2012)

Redang Island (coastal forest, 0.1 ha) Redang Island (inland forest, 0.1 ha)

48 50

Khairil et al. (2020)

Perhentian Island (0.36 ha)

93

5

Community Structure and Diversity of Trees in Coastal Forest …

57

Table 5.3 Family and species of trees with highest density in the study area of Bidong Island, Terengganu Family

Ind/ha

Species

Ind/ha

Myrtaceae

1356

Rhodamnia cinerea Jack

573

Calophyllaceae

578

Calophyllum rupicola Ridl

569

Symplocaceae

514

Symplocos adenophylla Wall. ex G. Don

496

Chrysobalanaceae

441

Licania splendens (Korth.) Prance

441

Dipterocarpaceae

387

Syzygium gratum (Wight) S.N. Mitra

319

Anacardiaceae

268

Dipterocarpus chartaceus Symington

218

Euphorbiaceae

214

Buchanania arborescens (Blume) Blume

205

Ochnaceae

191

Austrobuxus nitidus Miq

177

Sapotaceae

127

Campylospermum serratum (Gaertn.) Bittrich & M.C.E. Amaral

155

Rubiaceae

118

Vatica cinerea King

150

Table 5.4 List of five dominant species and family based on Important Value Index (IVi) in the study area of Bidong Island, Terengganu

Species

IVi (%)

Family

IVi (%)

Calophyllum rupicola

29.63

Myrtaceae

75.58

Rhodamnia cinerea

21.27

Anacardiaceae

44.49

Symplocos adenophylla

19.46

Calophyllaceae

30.70

Syzygium grande

19.46

Dipterocarpaceae

26.77

Licania splendens

18.42

Ochnaceae

13.97

was the most important species at the coastal forest in Redang Island (IVi = 10.5%). Meanwhile, a study in the coastal forest in Tanjung Tuan showed Syzygium grande (Myrtaceae) was the most important species (IVi = 21.2%) (Mat Salleh et al. 2001). In term of family, Myrtaceae had the highest IVi (IVi = 75.58%), while Anacardiaceae was the second important family in the study area with IVi = 44.49% followed by Calophyllaceae with IVi = 30.70%. The community of trees in this study site can be said dominated by the trees from the family of Myrtaceae and Anacardiaceae since value IVi more than 40% could be considered as having total dominance in a given community (Curtis and Macintosh 1951). The tree structure in Bidong Island was described within five DBH classes with an interval of 10 cm. The diameter of trees in the study plot was ranged between 3 cm to 59.2 cm. Syzygium sp. was found as the most prominent tree with DBH of 59.2 cm. Most trees fell under

DBH Class I (3–12.9 cm), which 95.6% from the total trees in the studied plot (Fig. 5.2). The result is similar to the DBH distribution in the inland forest of Bidong Island despite the bigger DBH selection (DBH
5 cm) (Pesiu et al. 2016). This indicates that there is no difference in tree stand structure either for inland or coastal hill forest. The pattern of stand structure for trees in the studied area is follow inverted J-shape. This pattern suggests that the uneven-aged tree community in Bidong Island is stable and undergoing a regeneration process. Regeneration status of a forest is considered good when the number of seedlings, saplings and young trees is higher than adult trees (Malik & Bhatt 2016). However, the distribution of trees in our plot seems extremely un-even, where a high proportion of small trees occurred in the plot, and only six trees had large stem (DBH
23.0). For comparison, the proportion of trees at coastal hill forest in Pangkor Island comprised of 54% in DBH class I, followed by 21% in class II, and

58

S. Rohani et al. 990

Fig. 5.2 Distribution of trees according to DBH classes in coastal forest of Bidong Island, Terengganu NUMBER OF TREES

980 40 30 20 10 0 (Class I) 3-12.9

2.5% in the DBH
65 cm (Ghollasimood et al. 2011). Meanwhile, in our study, 95.6% of trees were under DBH class I, while 3.8% under DBH class II followed by 0.6% under the DBH class III, IV and V. This might reveal the effect of the disturbance in the area, which trees extraction for refugee’s settlement. The extraction created gaps in the forest that provided space for trees recruitment, and more light intensity could reach the forest floor, hence resulted in a high density of small trees (Do et al. 2016).

5.6

Conclusion

The results from this study suggest that trees in Bidong Island are high species diversity, even after experienced a substantial disturbance from 1975 to 1991. However, the significant high proportion of small trees indicate that the trees are in generating state. Therefore, our results suggest that 30 years period is still not sufficient for a disturbed forest on the island to recover. Further research should be carried out to determine a suitable forest rehabilitation activity for Bidong Island. This is important to restore the capacity of the degraded forest to deliver forest products and services, which will be of significant benefit for animals, as well as humans.

(Class I) 13-22.9

(Class III) 23-32.9 DBH (CM)

(Class IV) 33-42.9

(Class V) ≥ 43

Acknowledgements We want to express our gratitude to Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, UMT, for providing lab and equipment, and to Center of Research and Field Service (CRAFS), UMT, for providing boat transportation and accommodation on the island. We also thank Baizul Hafsyam Badli Sham for helping us preparing the map.

References Ahmad Z, Faridah-Hanum I, Nurul S, Norazlinda M, Nik NA, Latiff A, Rosni L, Kamarulizwan K, Nik NH (2019) Floristic composition, community structure, diversity and biomass of tree species in three forest reserves at Pulau Pangkor, Perak Malaysia. Malay Forest 82(1):134–158 Burns KC, Berg J, Bialynicka-Birula A, Kratchmer S, Shortt K (2010) Tree diversity on islands: assembly rules, passive sampling and the theory of island biogeography. J Biogeogr 37(10):1876–1883 Chen Y, Yang X, Yang Q, Li D, Long W, Luo W (2014) Factors affecting the distribution pattern of wild plants with extremely small populations in Hainan island, China. PloS ONE 9(5):e97751 Curtis JT, Macintosh RP (1951) An upland continuum in the prairie-forest border region of Wisconsin. Ecology 32:476–496 Do TV, Cam NV, Sato T, Binh NT, Kozan O, Thang NT, MitlÖhner R (2016) Post-logging regeneration and growth of commercially valuable trees species in evergreen roadleaf forest Vietnam. J Trop for Sci 28 (4):426–435 Ghollasimood S, Faridah-Hanum I, Nazre M, Kamziah AK (2011) Tree species composition and structure of a coastal hill forest in Pulau Pangkor Malaysia. J Agric Sci 3(4):172–187

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Community Structure and Diversity of Trees in Coastal Forest …

Hammer Ø, Harper DA, Ryan PD (2001) PAST: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol Electron 4(1):1–9 Khairil M, Nashriyah M, Norhayati N, Amin S, Fatihah N (2012) Tree species composition, diversity and above ground biomass of two forest types at Redang Island, Peninsula Malaysia. Walailak J Sci Technol 10(1):77–90 Khairil M, Noor Ain A, Salmah M, Nur A, Moneruzzaman K, Nornasuha A, Nur A, Azimah I, Noor- R, Mohd S (2020) Tree species composition, diversity and aboveground biomass of two forest types at Perhentian Island Peninsular Malaysia. Biosci Res 16(4):3834–3845 Latiff A, Faridah-Hanum I, Ibrahim AZ, Goh MWK, Loo AHB, Tan HTW (1999) On the vegetation and flora of Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia. Raff Bull Zool 47(6):11–72 Magurran AE, McGill BJ (eds) (2011) Biological diversity: frontiers in measurement and assessment. Oxford University Press Inc., New York, NY Malik ZA, Bhatt A (2016) Regeneration status of tree species and survival of their seedlings in Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary and its adjoining areas in Western Himalaya India. Trop Ecol 57(4):677–690 Mat- K, Tami R, Latiff A (2001) Ecology and conservation value of Tanjung Tuan, the Myrtaceae-dominated coastal forest reserve of Malaysia. J Trop for Sci 15 (1):59–73 Ng FSP (ed) (1978) Tree flora of Malaya, vol 3. Longman, Kuala Lumpur Ng FSP (ed) (1989) Tree flora of Malaya, vol 4. Longman, Kuala Lumpur Pesiu E, Tajuddin MA, Jamilah S, Mohd Razali S (2016) Tree species composition in Pulau Bidong and Pulau Redang. J Sustain Sci Manage (1):48-60 Shono K, Davies SJ, Kheng CY (2006) Regeneration of native plant species in restored forest on degraded lands in Singapore. For Ecol Manage 237:574–582

59

Vu QGN (2007) Journey of the abandoned: endless refugee camp and incurable traumas. Signs: J Women Cult Soc 32(3):580–584 Whitmore TC (ed) (1972) Tree flora of Malaya, vol 3. Longman, Kuala Lumpur Whitmore TC (ed) (1973) Tree flora of Malaya, vol 3. Longman, Kuala Lumpur Whitmore TC (1982) Tropical rain forest of the far east, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, London

Shahrudin Rohani Senior Lecturer (Plant Ecology), Faculty of Science and Marine Environment.

6

Decapoda Crustaceans at the South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre in Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia Iqbal Harith Abd. Razak, Muammar Akilfadhli Shamsuddin, Azwarina Binti Mohd Azmi Ramasamy, Samuthirapandian Ravichandran, and Melissa Beata Martin Abstract

This study provides a list of decapod crustacean families from Bidong Island retrieved from the collections of South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre (RRC), Institute of Oceanography and Environment. Three infraorders are present based on the collections, namely Anomura, Brachyura, and Caridea, and are constituted by 15 families. Based on the collections, the most abundant family within the infraorder Anomura is mainly composed of the porcelain crabs Porcellanidae (28%). Of the three infraorders, nine families were listed for the Brachyura (the true crabs) with the highest representation from the coral crabs Xanthidae (14%) and

I. H. Abd. Razak
M. A. Shamsuddin
M. B. Martin (&) Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] I. H. Abd. Razak
M. A. Shamsuddin
A. B. Mohd Azmi Ramasamy
M. B. Martin South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre, Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] S. Ravichandran Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai 608 502, India

swimming crabs Portunidae (11%). Five families that were recorded for the infraorder Caridae, (caridean shrimps) based on dominance are Alpheidae, Pasiphaeidae, Thoridae, Palaemonidae, and Pandalidae. This infraorder of shrimp contains most of the commercial shrimp species from Family Palaemonidae and Pandalidae. This research is one of the many efforts to provide a baseline study for future identifications on decapods of Malaysia that can aid in future research with regards to conservation, population genetics, phylogenetics, biogeography and ecological understanding. This available inventory from RRC well serves as a platform for accessibility of specimens that has the perspective of being new species and new records, deeming it necessary for future investigations. Keywords








Anomura Bidong Island Familial checklist Malaysia Terengganu

6.1




Introduction

Bidong Island (locally known as Pulau Bidong) is located nearly 15 km off Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia, with an approximate size of 260 ha. It is one of the largest of the six islands of the Bidong Archipelago, which also comprises Yu

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_6

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Besar Island, Yu Kechil Island, Gelok Island, Batu Tengkorak Island, Bidong Island and Karah Island. The island was formerly a Vietnamese refugee camp (Zaleha et al. 2016), where the Vietnamese fled its motherland to escape communist occupation during the Vietnam War. At the peak of the refugee camp status, the island could accommodate 250,000 people, but was later closed in 1991. Since then, the island was not inhabited, allowing the island’s terrestrial and marine biodiversity to recover over time. To date, some aspects of the archipelago’s marine biodiversity have been studied (Mohd et al. 1999; Morton and Blackmore 2001; Siti Shazlina et al. 2009; Shamsuddin et al. 2010; Matsunuma et al. 2011; Rumeaida et al. 2014; Alqudah et al. 2015; Boo et al. 2017), yet many remain unexplored, further justifying the need for constant cataloguing to ensure sustainable management of resources in the long run. This study focuses on enhancing available knowledge of crustacean Decapoda from Bidong Island. In the past three decades, the field of crab taxonomy has become more challenging to maintain a linear level of discovery without the availability of updated checklists and catalogs that record these changes (Ng et al. 2008). In addition, most literature on Malaysian brachyurans are predominantly on freshwater and mangrove crabs (Ng 1992; Tan and Ng 1994; Ashton et al. 2003), attributing to the commercial value of most of these species for aquaculture purposes. This is well reflected on the mud crab of the genus Scylla, considered of high economic importance in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors in Malaysia (Kosuge 2001). As such, this research aims to document brachyurans from Bidong Island, deposited at The South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre (RRC) at the Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS).

6.2

Identification Procedure

This study was conducted using specimens collected from field work and expeditions in Bidong Island. All specimens were preserved in 70–75% ethanol, and sampling locations within the

island’s parameter were recorded and completed sporadically under several sampling trips by various collectors and donors, available from the records of the South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre. Crustaceans were examined and photographed using Canon PowerShot G12 digital camera and Olympus SZX-16 microscope. The taxonomic identification and verification follow Debelius (2001), Ng et al., (2008), Naderloo (2017), Crab Database (2016), The Biodiversity of Singapore (2017), whereas nomenclature verification follow WoRMS (2020).

6.3

Results and Discussion

This list presents available decapod specimens deposited in RRC (refer to Table 6.1), accounting for decapods of the infraorder Brachyura, Anomura and Caridae. Out of the 15 families listed in the above infraorders, nine families are accounted for in the Brachyura (65%), followed by 33% caridean crabs from five families, and 7% of anomuran crabs are represented from the sole family Porcellanidae. As we have concerns over the loss of fresh coloration and pigmentations (long term preservation in ethanol) and certain morphological characteristics that are not readily identifiable, we have omitted species identification for certain specimens until fresher specimens are made available. The families from Brachyura are listed from most to least abundant based on the collections of RRC: Xanthidae, Portunidae, Leucosiidae, Inachoididae, Matutidae, Dorippidae, Parthenopidae, Macrophthalmidae and Ocypodidae. Members of the family Xanthidae listed in RRC are representatives from the genus Xanthias. It is a shallow water crab (0–100 m of depth), commonly observed in depths of 6 m on hard bottom rocks and rubbles (Legall and Poupin 2013). Most members have a body width of 5–10 cm, are colourful or strikingly patterned, likely to ward off predators. The group is known to have toxins that cannot be destroyed by heat or cooking, causing Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning if consumed (Gopalakrishnakone 1990).

Infraorder

Brachyura (Latreille 1802)

Suborder

Pleocyemata (Burkenroad 1963)

Matuta victor (Fabricius 1781) Dorippe quadridens (Fabricius 1793)

Leucosiidae (Samouelle 1819)

Inachoididae (Dana 1851) Matutidae (De Haan 1833) [in De Haan, 1833–1850] Dorippidae (MacLeay 1838) Parthenopidae (MacLeay 1838) Macrophthalmidae (Dana 1851) Ocypodidae (Rafinesque 1815)

Leucosioidea (Samouelle 1819)

Majoidea (Samouelle 1819)

Calappoidea (De Haan 1833) [in De Haan, 1833–1850]

Dorippoidea (MacLeay 1838)

Parthenopoidea (MacLeay 1838)

Macrophthalminae (Dana 1851)

Ocypodoidea (Rafinesque 1815)

UMTCrus01069 UMTCrus01070

Arcania sp. Arcania brevifrons (Chen 1989)

Ocypode sp.

Macrophthalmus sp.

Aulacolambrus hoplonotus (Adams and White 1849)

UMTCrus01065

UMTCrus01064

UMTCrus01063

UMTCrus01067

UMTCrus01071

UMTCrus00941

UMTCrus01068

Cyclax sp.

UMTCrus01061 Ilia nucleus (Linnaeus 1758)

UMTCrus01060

Monomia argentata (A Milne Edwards 1861) Pseudophilyra melita (de Man 1888)

UMTCrus01058 UMTCrus01059

UMTCrus01057

Portunus sp.

Portunus sp.

UMTCrus01056

Portunus sp.

Thalamita sexlobata (Miers 1886)

UMTCrus01055

UMTCrus01066

UMTCrus00957

UMTCrus00951

UMTCrus00944

UMTCrus00932

UMTCrus00931

UMTCrus00922

UMTCrus00913

Specimen ref. no.

Xiphonectes tuberculosus (A. MilneEdwards 1861)

Portunidae (Rafinesque 1815)

Portunoidea (Rafinesque 1815)

Xanthias sp.

Species name

Xanthidae (MacLeay 1838)

Family

Xanthoidea (MacLeay 1838)

Superfamily

Table 6.1 The current list of Bidong Island decapod crustacean specimens in RRC

Figure 6.14

Figure 6.13

Figure 6.12

Figure 6.11

Figure 6.10

Figure 6.9

Figure 6.8

Figure 6.7

Figure 6.6

Figure 6.5

Figure 6.4

Figure 6.3

Figure 6.2

Figure 6.1

Figures

6 Decapoda Crustaceans at the South China Sea Repository … 63

Palaemonidae (Rafinesque 1815)

Pasiphaeidae (Dana 1852)

Pandalidae (Haworth 1825)

Pasiphaeoidea (Dana 1852)

Pandaloidea (Haworth 1825)

Thoridae (Kingsley 1879)

Alpheidae (Rafinesque 1815)

Porcellanidae (Haworth 1825)

Family

Palaemonoidea (Rafinesque 1815)

Alpheoidea (Rafinesque 1815)

Caridea (Dana 1852)

Pleocyemata (Burkenroad 1963)

Superfamily Galatheoidea (Samouelle 1819)

Infraorder

Anomura (MacLeay 1838)

Suborder

Species name

Specimen ref. no.

Pandalus sp.

Pasiphaea sp.

Philarius sp.

Eualus sp.

Betaeus sp.

Alpheus sp.

UMTCrus00947

UMTCrus00962

UMTCrus00960

UMTCrus00939

UMTCrus00930

UMTCrus00929

UMTCrus00956

UMTCrus00917

UMTCrus00918

UMTCrus00961

UMTCrus00954

UMTCrus00938

UMTCrus00927

UMTCrus00919

UMTCrus00953

UMTCrus00948

UMTCrus00920

UMTCrus00943

Polyonyx sp. Synalpheus sp.

UMTCrus00925

UMTCrus00966

UMTCrus00964

UMTCrus00958

UMTCrus00950

UMTCrus00949

UMTCrus00945

UMTCrus00934

UMTCrus00933

UMTCrus00926

UMTCrus00924

UMTCrus00923

UMTCrus00916

UMTCrus00915

UMTCrus00914

Petrolisthes sp.

Pachycheles sp.

Figures

Figure 6.24

Figure 6.23

Figure 6.22

Figure 6.21

Figure 6.20

Figure 6.19

Figure 6.18

Figure 6.17

Figure 6.16

Figure 6.15

64 I. H. Abd. Razak et al.

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Fig. 6.1 Xanthias sp. crab specimen from Xanthidae (UMTCrus00913)

The second most diverse family of the infraorder goes to Portunidae (see Figs. 6.2, 6.3, 6.4 and 6.5). Portunidae, or the swimming crabs, are one of the most widely distributed crabs that exist in most record of the brachyuran checklist (Hendrickx 1995; Ng et al. 2001; Ng and Davie 2002; Naderloo et al. 2015). Crabs from this family are mainly of commercial importance such as the genus Scylla or mud crab. The species listed in RRC includes Xiphonectes tenuipes, Portunus pubescens, Thalamita sexlobata, Monomia argentata and Portunus sp. The family Leucosiidae is represented by the genera Pseudophilyra Miers, 1879; Ilia Leach, 1817 and Arcania Leach, 1817 within the collections of RRC (Figs. 6.6, 6.7 and 6.8). Members of this family are diagnosed based on the following characteristics: carapace pyriform with variety to oval, circular, subcircular, or pentagonal; flat to convex, usually glabrous, smooth or with teeth and spine; head forms a blunted point tip, eyes and orbit small; third maxillipeds elongate covering buccal cavern (except for crevice in front) with long triangular merus and broad exopod (Guinot et al. 1995; Naderloo 2017). These crabs resemble tiny pebbles (hence pebble crabs) and are sometimes seen near silty, sandy areas, buried under the sand (Ng and Sivasothi 1999). The remaining families of the infraorder Brachyura (Inachoididae, Matutidae, Dorippidae, Parthenopidae, Macrophthalmidae and Ocypodidae) are represented by a single species respectively (Figs. 6.9, 6.10, 6.11, 6.12, 6.13 and 6.14). Spider crabs of the superfamily Majoidea (family Inachoididae) have legs and bodies that resemble

roots or other bits of debris to blend with their surroundings. The body is usually triangular, tapering to a point at the head with the small eyes on the sides of the tip. The body is often covered with spines, knobs and hooked hairs. Matutidae representatives are known as moon crabs, which look pale and circular as a full moon. They are more active at night and are rarely seen during the day as they are then often buried in the sediments. The species listed in RRC is Matuta victor, which has a wide distribution along the Indo-Pacific region. Dorripid crabs are known as leaf porter crabs, and quite noted in mangrove ecosystems, sea grasses and also on shores near reefs, even under jetties in calm waters. As their name suggests, they are always carrying living and dead objects on their carapace (Guinot et al. 1995). Their highly elongated pincers that stick way out from the sides of its body, while others have less obvious ‘elbows’ identifies Parthenopidae members. The family comprises nearly 40 genera, divided into two subfamilies, with three genera incertae sedis (Grave et al. 2009; Davie and Türkay 2011). The family Macrophthalmidae includes three subfamilies: Macrophthalminae Dana, 1851, Ilyograpsinae Števcic, 2005, and Tritodynamiinae Števcic, 2005. Species of Macrophthalmus Desmarest, 1823, mainly occur in soft bottom intertidal habitats of tropical and subtropical regions (Komai et al. 1995; Naderloo et al. 2011). Ng et al. (2008) listed 55 extant species under Macrophthalmus, falling into eight subgenera. Family Ocypodidae consist of semi-

66

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Fig. 6.2 Xiphonectes tuberculosus crab specimen from Portunidae (UMTCrus01055)

Fig. 6.3 Portunus sp. crab specimen from Portunidae (UMTCrus01056)

Fig. 6.4 Thalamita sexlobata crab specimen from Portunidae (UMTCrus01058)

terrestrial crabs that live in intertidal areas inside burrows. They are also known as fiddler crabs and ghost crabs. They have asymmetrical chelipeds, quadrate body, elongated eyestalk that is erected upwards. They construct burrows ranging from simple to complex burrows (Naderloo 2017).

Despite the morphological similarities between Brachyura and Anomura, the latter have different characteristics, which distinguish it from being identified as Brachyura. Anomura usually have only three to four pairs of walking legs (e.g. porcelain crabs and the hermit crabs), whereas a true crab would have five pairs of

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Fig. 6.5 Monomia argentata from Portunidae (UMTCrus01060)

Fig. 6.6 Pseudophilyra melita crab specimen from Leucosiidae (UMTCrus01061)

Fig. 6.7 Ilia nucleus crab specimen from Leucosiidae (UMTCrus01068)

walking legs. Anomurans have undergone convergent evolution; hence do not share the same ancestor with the brachyuran despite developing similar traits. The evolution of these crabs that resembles the morphology of the true crabs is called carcinization (McLaughlin and Lemaitre

1997). For example, King crabs (Paralithodes sp.) were proven to evolve from an ancestry line of hermit crabs, despite looking similar to Brachyura crabs (Cunningham et al. 1992). The anomurans in the RRC collection comprises mainly porcelain crabs of the family

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Fig. 6.8 Arcania brevifrons crab specimen from Leucosiidae (UMTCrus01070)

Fig. 6.9 Cyclax sp. crab specimen from Inachoididae (UMTCrus00941)

Fig. 6.10 Matuta victor crab specimen from Matutidae (UMTCrus01071)

Porcellanidae Haworth, 1825. The family is represented by three genera: Pachycheles Stimpson, 1858, Petrolisthes Stimpson, 1858 and Polyonyx Stimpson, 1858. Porcelain crabs can be distinguished from true crabs by the apparent number of walking legs (three instead of four

pairs; the fourth pair is reduced and held against the carapace), and the long antennae originating on the front outside of the eyestalks (Poore and Ahyong 2004). The abdomen of the porcelain crab is long and folded underneath it, free to move (Poore and Ahyong 2004). Species within

6

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Fig. 6.11 Dorippe quadridens crab specimen from Dorippidae (UMTCrus01067)

Fig. 6.12 Aulacolambrus hoplonotus crab specimen from Parthenopidae (UMTCrus01063)

Fig. 6.13 Macrophthalmus sp. crab specimen from Macrophthalmidae (UMTCrus01064)

the family are known to inhabit intertidal zones, crevices of rocks or dead corals and muddy bottoms (Werding and Hiller 2004), while occasionally associated with other invertebrates such as sea urchin, soft corals, sponges and hydrozoans in sub-tidal regions.

Carideans are found in every kind of aquatic habitat, with the majority of species being marine. Around a quarter of the described species are found in freshwater, however, including almost all the members of the species-rich family Atyidae De Haan, 1849 [in De Haan 1833–1850] and

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Fig. 6.14 Ocypode sp. crab specimen from Ocypodidae (UMTCrus01065)

Fig. 6.15 Pachycheles sp. crab specimen from Porcellanidae (UMTCrus00914)

Fig. 6.16 Petrolisthes sp. crab specimen from Porcellanidae (UMTCrus00925)

the Palaemonidae subfamily Palaemoninae Rafinesque, 1815 (Grave et al. 2008). This comes to no surprise as Palaemonidae is ranked in RRC’s collection the second most diverse anomuran family in Bidong Island, after Alpheidae. Alpheidae is a family of caridean snapping shrimp characterized by having asymmetrical claws, the larger of which is typically

capable of producing a loud snapping sound. Other common names for animals in the group are pistol shrimp or alpheid shrimp. Most snapping shrimp dig burrows and are common inhabitants of coral reefs, submerged seagrass flats, and oyster reefs, thus it is not uncommon to find species of the family in Bidong Island evidently being a coral reef ecosystem.

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Fig. 6.17 Polyonyx sp. Shrimp specimen from the family Porcellanidae (UMTCrus00943)

Fig. 6.18 Synalpheus sp. Shrimp specimen from the family Alpheidae (UMTCrus00953)

Fig. 6.19 Alpheus sp. Shrimp specimen from the family Alpheidae (UMTCrus00919)

During the course of this overview, we encountered a number of obstacles that hinder detailed identification of the specimens such as (1) poor quality or long-term preservation of old specimens reducing the accuracy of the colouration of the specimens; (2) damaged/ broken/missing specimen appendages and registration details that hampers species identification; and (3) no fresh specimens were provided for

Fig. 6.20 Betaeus sp. Shrimp specimen from the family Alpheidae (UMTCrus00918)

Fig. 6.21 Eualus sp. Shrimp specimen from the family Thoridae (UMTCrus00956)

comparison of specimens before and after preservation. As this is the first attempt to document the crustacean specimens within RRC, we further request future interest of the many keen crab enthusiasts to deliver good specimens and provide quality images that could aid curators could keep track as reference points and comparison for before and after ethanol preservation or fixatives.

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Fig. 6.22 Philarius sp. Shrimp specimen from the family Palaemonidae (UMTCrus00930)

Fig. 6.23 Pasiphaea sp. Shrimp specimen from the family Pasiphaeidae (UMTCrus00962)

the top four representations in order of most to least abundant are Xanthidae, Portunidae, Leucosiidae, and Ocypodidae. The most abundant family in the infraorder Anomura is composed of porcelain crabs from the family Porcellanidae. Caridean shrimps of the infraorder Caridae are represented (from most to least abundant) by families Alpheidae (9 specimens), Palaemonidae (3 specimens), Thoridae (2 specimens), Pasiphaeidae (2 specimens) and Pandalidae (1 specimen). Acknowledgements This paper was conceived with the financial support of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance “Ocean Solutions” Microgrant (B032Rh), the Research Intensive Grant Scheme (RIGS Vot 55192/1), and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant Scheme (SoTL Vot 55199/8), of which the latter two grants were funded by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. (We would like to acknowledge the laboratory assistants of the Biodiversity Laboratory, Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, particularly to Mr. Che Mohd Zan bin Husin, Mr. Yuzwan Bin Mohamad and Ms. Mardiah Hayati binti Yahaya for the technical support; South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre, particularly to Ms. Noratikah Binti Ab. Manaf and Ms. Nur Amalina Binti Razikin for the guidance and use of their research facilities. We acknowledged the critical comments by Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah, Dr. Ong Meng Chuan (editor) and reviewers (anonymous) to improve all drafts of this manuscript.

References

Fig. 6.24 Pandalus sp. shrimp specimen from the family Pandalidae (UMTCrus00943)

6.4

Conclusion

Three infraorders are present (Anomura, Brachyura, and Caridea) and are constituted by 15 families. Of the three infraorders, the Brachyura listed the most abundant and diverse families, with

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Melissa Beata Martin Senior Lecturer (Systematics [Taxonomy & Phylogeny]; Marine Parasitology), Faculty of Science and Marine Environment.

7

Checklist of Lichens from Bidong Island, Terengganu Thilahgavani Nagappan, Nurun Najihah Abdul Latiff, and Muhammad Razali Salam

Abstract

Lichen is a composite organism lives in symbiotic relationship between algae and cyanobacteria. Lichens are plant-like, can be found living on plant, rocks and buildings. On plants, lichens can be found on barks, leaves and roots. This study aimed to create a checklist of lichen species found on trees at Bidong Island, Terengganu and to determine the relationship between lichens species with its host tree species. Observation of lichens’ characteristics was done using stereomicroscope and identification of lichens was done based on their morphological characters by referring to the key lichen genera. All the data obtained were sorted in family composition in order to build a checklist. Results showed that 76 lichens species was found but only 55 were positively identified based on their morphological features. A total of 55 lichens speci-

T. Nagappan (&)
N. N. Abdul Latiff
M. R. Salam Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] T. Nagappan Institute of Marine Biotechnology, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus Terengganu, Malaysia

men were collected from eight host plants were classified into 21 families. Keywords







Bioindicator Tree host Microlichens South China sea Malaysia

7.1







Introduction

Lichens are biologically different and diversely found from the tropics to the polar region (Brodo et al. 2001). Approximately 18,500 species of lichens (Boustie and Grube, 2005; Feuerer and Hawksworth 2007) had been described globally. Ahmadjian (1995) reported that 8% of lichens covers the earth’s land surface. Lichen creates beneficial interaction between different organism fungus and algae or cyanobacterium by giving rise to a simple structure known as thallus. In lichen symbioses, the fungus makes up the majority of the lichen’s structure and assimilates water and nutrients from surrounding to protect its photosynthetic partner. On the other hand, lichens are regard as an example of controlled parasitism as the fungus gains most of the advantages and the photobiont (symbiosis with fungi in lichen) may grow in the lichenized state, slowly. Lichens are commonly found growing on soil, tree bark, leaves, mosses, rocks and on synthetic

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_7

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substrates is categorized into two types, macrolichens and microlichens. The macrolichens are generally large, with various shapes while microlichens are normally in the form of crusts covering rock or soil, grows on upon moss or old bones (Dahl 1954; Gjerde et al. 2005; Halici et al. 2014). Lichens is classified based on its habitat subsets; saxicolous (inhabit rocks and stones), corticolous (grow on tree barks), terricolous (inhabit soil), ramicolous (grow on twigs), muscicolous (grow on mosses) and omnicolous (grows on different substrates and synthetic structures) (Shukla et al. 2013). Among the six habitat subsets, corticolous and terricolous are great indicators of environment quality (WillWolf et al. 2002). Lichens may reproduce asexually and sexually by several methods. Asexual dispersal is more frequent and widely spread compared to lichens that are produced thru sexual spores (Bannister et al. 2004). However, according to Rai et al. (2014) phycolichens (green algal lichens) can initiate their photosynthesis in the presence of water vapour and cyanobacteria in cyanolichens (blue-green algal lichens) requires liquid water for survival while some cyanolichens with polysaccharides containing thalli and phycolichens with cushiony water-storing thalli are able to extend their metabolism activities. As lichens are not plants, it does not have roots to absorb water and nutrients however it ‘obtained’ food by photosynthesis via daylight vitality utilizing carbon dioxide, water and minerals (Hyde 1990; Lisci et al. 2003). It is also discovered that lichens do not harm the host plant as it grows but only utilizes the host plant as substrate to grown. Morphologically, lichens are small in size with flat leaf-like structure or flakes leaf-like structures, which attached on surface or leaves. According to Rai et al. (2014), there are three genera with most successive photobionts in lichens are Trebouxia, Trentepohlia and Nostoc. Trebouxia and Trentepohlia are eukaryotic in nature and belong to the green algae while Nostoc belongs to the oxygenic photosynthetic microbes. For years, mankind had used lichens for various purposes. Some lichen species are used as folk medicine to cure diseases. Extract of

T. Nagappan et al.

Peltigera is utilized as liver tonic, laxative and as vermifuge, Parmeliaceae is used to treat stomach disease, lung, kidney and bladder infections (Bann 1997; Bown 2001; Malhotra et al. 2007; Martins et al. 2010). In Arabian medicine, Aloectoria usneoides is used to treat splenomegaly while Usnea sp. is used as homeopathy medicine in Pacific islands, New Zealand and China. The reindeer lichens (Cladonia rangifera) were utilized as a poultice to treat ligament joints pain, fever, jaundice, constipation, convulsions, coughs and tuberculosis in the colder region. Bioactive compounds from lichens were also demonstrated differential affectability on different cancer cells with Usnic acid showed strong proapoptotic action in various cell-based assays (Bown 2001). Ecologically, lichens are excellent bioindicators of atmospheric pollution due to their ability to response to environmental changes using morphological and physiological characteristics (Boumakhleb et al. 2020). According to Mulgrew and Williams (2000), lichens are rootless epiphytes, absorbing nutrients directly from the atmosphere acts as good accumulators of metals as it demonstrates tolerance to high metal concentrations in tissues through their thallus surface. Although lichens grow in moderate rates, few species can rapidly react to changes in air pollution, allowing even annual changes to be detected. Since tree bark has a low buffering capacity compared to rock, soil or concrete, epiphytic lichens are particularly sensitive to air pollution and are essentially used for checking the environmental health (Lisowska 2011; Benitez et al. 2019). The hardy lichens are useful bioindicators for air pollution, especially sulphur dioxide pollution. Studies by Nimis et al. (2009) found that when the air is extremely polluted with sulphur dioxide, there will be presence of green algae. Increase in air pollution is found to damage the lichen thallus leading to retarded growth and death of lichen population. While in the presence of cleaner air, shrubby, hairy and leafy lichens to grow in abundant (Ikingura and Akagi 2002; Rai and Bergman 2007). Hence, as East coast of Malaysia is blessed with terrestrial and marine biodiversity particularly Terengganu,

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Checklist of Lichens from Bidong Island, Terengganu

we attempt to record and establish the first report on the diversity of microlichen species found in Bidong Island, Terengganu.

7.2

Methodology

7.2.1 Study Site Bidong Island (Fig. 7.1) is one of the islands off coast of Terengganu archipelago in South China Sea covered by secondary forest covering almost 260 hectares of land (Pesiu et al. 2016). Sampling plot establishment was done at the coastal forest near Pantai Pasir Cina, closer to the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) research station as this being the only area accessible with 4 km hilly trail for hiking. It is documented that this area had been cleared for establishment of Vietnamese refugees camps to settle in the island in 1978 (Pesiu et al. 2016). In the designated plot, 3–5 standard trees of the same species with the girth of more 40 cm were selected. A quadrat of 10  50 cm was

77

placed on straight, well-exposed trunks and specimen was collected using pen-knife and hand-lens. Specimens were placed on paper towel to prevent the damage of morphological structures prior being placed in a paper pocket. Each specimen and its host tree were labeled respectively and kept in the dry cabinet at optimum temperature (30 °C) to prevent molding and desiccation. Microscopic observation of lichens’ characteristics was carried out using dissecting microscope with magnification of 20x, 40x and 60x in Central Laboratory, UMT. Identifications of lichens were carried out based on their morphological characters by referring to the key of lichens’ genera (Moreno and Halffter 2000; Nimis et al. 2009; Shukla et al. 2014; Mercado-Diaz et al. 2015). There are five general lichen growth forms which are crustose, squamulose, foliose, fructicose and leprose. Crustose lichen is crust-like and closely attached to the substrate. Squamulose lichen is composed of small flakes of thallus and foliose lichen is flat leaf-like lobed thallus while fructicose lichen is branched with a bushy appearance,

Fig. 7.1 The map of Bidong Island, Terengganu, Malaysia. Sampling plot establishment was done at the coastal forest near Pantai Pasir Cina, closer to the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) research station

78

T. Nagappan et al.

attached to the substratum by a basal disc. Lastly, leprose lichen is minute lichen attached superficially to the substrate (Will-Wolf et al. 2004). The identification of the host tree species was done by En. Muhammad Razali Salam, Botanist from Ecological Laboratory of Faculty of Science and Marine Environment based on morphological features of leaves, field pictures and other morphometric data collected from field.

7.3

Results and Discussion

7.3.1 Family Composition A total of fifty-five lichens specimens were collected from eight host trees (Shorea materialis Ridley., Vatica cinerea King., Buchanania arborescens Blume., Palaqium obovatum (Griff.) Engl., Garcinia nigrolineata Planch., Lithocarpus rassa (Miq.) Rehder., Syzygium cinereum (Kurz) Merrill and L. M. Perry and Terminalia catappa L.). The lichens were further classified into were 21 families (Arthoniaceae, Fissurinaceae, Gomphillaceae, Lecanoraceae, Lecideaceae, Melaspileaceae, Monoblastiaceae, Mycoporaceae, Ochrolechiaceae, Parmeliaceae, Pertusariaceae, Physciaceae, Psilolechiaceae, Pyrenulaceae, Ramalinaceae, Rocellaceae, Sagiolechiaceae, Scoliciosporaceae, Stereocaulaceae, Telochistaceae) and carefully categorized and recorded to 25 genera (Acrocordia, Arthonia, Bacidia, Caloplaca, Cresponea, Fissurina, Flavoparmelia, Graphis, Hertelidea, Hyperphysica, Jamesiella, Lecanora, Lecidella, Melaspilea, Mycoporum, Ochrolechia, Opegrapha, Pertusaria, Platythecium, Porpidia, Psilolechia, Pyrenula, Rinodina, Sagiolechia, Scoliciosporum and Thelotrema). Composition of lichen family associated to host tree species is shown below in Fig. 7.2. The dipterocarp, Shorea materialis being one of the common tree species in rainforest, records the highest lichens’ family associated compared to other host tree species. About six colonies of lichen from Roccellaceae; two colonies from Ramalinaceae, Pyrenulaceae, Lecanoraceae, Graphidaceae and Arthoniaceae, each respectively while single colony of Melaspileaceae,

Monoblastiaceae, Pertusariaceae, Psilolechiaceae, Sagiolechiaceae, Scoliciosporaceae and Stereocaulaceae, respectively was recorded. In contrast, host trees Buchanania arborescens and Syzygium cinereum had the least number of lichen associated. For both of this host trees, there was only one lichen species associated from different family. The ‘wild beaked kandis’ tree, Garcinia nigrolineata recorded second highest number of lichens associated with twelve species documented. About three colonies from Graphidaceae; two colonies from Telochistaceae and Ramalinaceae, respectively; one colony from Rocellaceae, Psilolechiaceae, Pyrenulaceae, Physciaceae, and Arthoniaceae each, respectively were recorded. Known as “Resak Laut” tree, Vatica cinerea hosted eight colonies from various lichens’ family and they was each single colony from Pyrenulaceae, Psilolechiaceae, Physciaceae, Parmeliaceae, Ochrolechiaceae, Mycoporaceae, Lecideaceae and Graphidaceae, respectively. Lichens associated on the Lithocarpus rassa (Mempening tree) were six species from five different families; two colonies from Ramalinaceae, single colony from Rocellaceae, Monoblastiaceae, Fissurinaceae and Arthoniaceae, respectively. There were only three lichen species collected from Sapotaceae tree species, Palaquium obovatum consisting of different families (single colony of Physciaceae, Lecanora, Gomphillaceae). Lastly, the “sea almond” tree, Terminalia catappa hosted only two species of lichens associated which were each one colony from Parmeliaceae and Graphidaceae, respectively. The total number of lichen species found on their respective host tree is presented on Table 7.1. A total of 76 lichen species were recorded with 55 species positively identified based on their morphological features. Based on our observation, Shorea materialis hosted highest species of lichen with 27 species followed by Gracinia nigrolineata with 16 species and least were on Syzygium cinereum with one species. This could be due to the diameter, age and sunlight on S. materialis compared to other host

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Checklist of Lichens from Bidong Island, Terengganu

79

Fig. 7.2 Composition of lichen family associated with the host tree species

Table 7.1 The number of lichen species found on tree host species from Bidong Island, Terengganu LICHEN FAMILY & SPECIES

S. materialis

V. cinerea

B. arborescens

P. obovatum

G. nigrolineata

L. rassa

S. cinereum

T catappa

Monoblastiaceae Acrocordia gemmata

/

/

Arthoniaceae Arthonia caribaea

/

Arthonia spadicea

/

Arthonia vinosa

/

/

Ramalinaceae Bacidia incompta Bacidia inundata

/ /

Bacidia rubella Bacidia saxenii Bacidia sulphurella

/ /

/ / (continued)

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T. Nagappan et al.

Table 7.1 (continued) LICHEN FAMILY & SPECIES

S. materialis

V. cinerea

B. arborescens

P. obovatum

G. nigrolineata

L. rassa

S. cinereum

T catappa

Teloschistaceae Caloplaca obscurella

/

/

Roccellaceae Cresponea premnea

/

Cresponea premnea 2

/

Cresponea proximate

/

Graphidaceae Fissurina tachygrapha Graphis elegans

/ /

/

Graphis glaucescens Graphis scripta

/

Thelotrema lepadinum Platythecium sp.

/

/

/

/

/

/

Parmeliaceae Flavoparmelia caperata

/

Flavoparmelia soredians

/

Stereocaulaceae Hertelidea botryosa

/

Physciaceae Hyperphyscia adglutinata

/

Rinodina roboris

/

/

Gomphillaceae Jamesiella anastomosans Sagiolechia protuberans

/ /

Lecanoraceae

/

Lecanora dispersa

/

Lecanora saligna 2

/ (continued)

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Checklist of Lichens from Bidong Island, Terengganu

81

Table 7.1 (continued) LICHEN FAMILY & SPECIES

S. materialis

V. cinerea

Lecidella elaeochroma

B. arborescens

P. obovatum

G. nigrolineata

L. rassa

S. cinereum

T catappa

/

Melaspileaceae Melaspilea atroides

/

Mycoporaceae Mycoporum lacteum

/

Ochrolechiaceae Ochrolechia androgyna

/

Opegraphaceae Opegrapha astraea

/

Opegrapha herbarum

/

Opegrapha prosodea

/

Opegrapha subelevata Opegrapha varia

/ /

Grapidion Pertusaria lacteal

/

Propidiaceae Porpidia nadvornikiana

/

Pilocarpaceae Psilolechia lucida

/

/

/

/

/

Pyrenulaceae Pyrenula chlorospila Pyrenula sp. Pyrenula sp. 2

/ /

Scoliosporaceae Scoliciosporum umbrinum

/

Unidentified Species 1 Species 2 Species 3

/

/ / (continued)

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T. Nagappan et al.

Table 7.1 (continued) LICHEN FAMILY & SPECIES

S. materialis

V. cinerea

B. arborescens

Species 4

P. obovatum

G. nigrolineata

L. rassa

/

Species 6

/

Species 7

/

Species 8

/

Species 9

/

Species 10

/ /

Species 12

/

Species 13 Species 14

/ /

Species 15

/

Species 16

/

Species 17

/

Species 18

/

Species 19

/

Species 20

/

Species 21 Total

T catappa

/

Species 5

Species 11

S. cinereum

/ 27

13

2

6

16

8

1

3

*

S.materialis: Shorea materialis; V.cinerea: Vatica cinerea; B.arborescens: Buchanania arborescens; P.obovatum: Palaqium oboratum; G.nigrolineata: Gracinia nigrolineata; L.rassa: Lithocarpus rassa; S.cinereum: Syzygium cinereum; T.catappa: Terminalia catappa

plants. These postulation are supported by Sarma and Hyde (2001) that suggested the difference in diameter of host plant influence the species composition. According to Johansson et al. (2007), the diameter should correlate with number of species present as the greater age means a longer time for colonization of a lichen species. Figures 7.3, 7.4, 7.5 and 7.6 displays the selected lichen species that were found on their host tree in Bidong Island. There are several factors that influence the composition and distribution of lichen on its host trees such as size of barks, types of roots, height and the age of the host trees (Johansson et al. 2007). For examples, lichens species like Graphis pinicola, Dirinaria picta, Tapellaria epiphylla and Tricharia vainoi were found to exclusively grow on leave surfaces while Arthonia radiata,

Bacidia inundata, Caloplaca aurantia and Flavoparmelia soredians were found only on barks (Sriwongkorakot and Mongkolsuk 2014; Mokni et al. 2015). The environmental factors such as climate, temperature, light and humidity does influence the composition and distribution of lichen species (Weckesser et al. 2007; Nayaka et al. 2013). Some lichen occurs commonly on one or more host plants or trees. The most common lichen families that were found with frequent occurrences are from Pyrenulaceae, Ramalinaceae, Roccellaceae, Graphidaceae and Psilolechiaceae (Duke et al. 2010). Tree species, Syzygium cinereum and Buchanania arborescens was observed to host only single lichen species, Bacidia sulphurella from family Ramalinaceae and Caloplaca obscurella from family Telochistaceae on the latter

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Checklist of Lichens from Bidong Island, Terengganu

83

a

b

C

d

e

f

g

h

Fig. 7.3 Lichens associated on Shorea materialis under magnification of 40x. a Cresponea premnea 2, b Scoliciosporum umbrinum, c Opegrapha herbarum, d

i

Graphis elegans, e Arthonia vinosa, f Hertelidea botryosa, g Lecanora saligna 2, h Graphis scripta, i Platythecium sp

j

k

l

m

n

o

Fig. 7.4 Lichens associated on Vatica cinerea under magnification of 40x. i Rinodina roboris, k Mycoporum lacteum, l Porpidia nadvornikiana, m Ochrolechia androgyna, n Pyrenula chlorospila, o Flavoparmelia caperata

84

T. Nagappan et al.

p

q

r

s

t

u

v

w

x

Fig. 7.5 Lichens associated on Buchanaia under magnification of 40x. p Caloplaca Palaqium obovatum, q Rinodina roboris, elaeochroma and Garcinia nigrolineata,

arborescens obscurella), r Lecidella s Arthonia

vinosa, t Graphis glaucescens, u Thelotrema lepadinum, v Caloplaca obscurella, w Psilolechia lucida, x Hyperphyscia adglutinata

host tree. This is probably due to lichens more favorable to grow on leaves of Syzygium cinereum. Our observation was also supported by Sriwongkorakot and Mongkolsuk (2014) that Syzygium cinereum hosted foliicolous lichen mostly, compared to corticolous lichen and ramicolous lichens. They also concluded that hot and humid environments are favourable for lichens to grow on upper surface of leaves. According to Arup et al. (2013), family Telochistaceae is one of the largest families of lichen with estimated thousands of species. Most of Telochistaceae members are crustose lichen (Siljo et al., 2018). Crustose lichen grows completely attached to the substrate and found abundantly growing on bark compared to foliose and fructicose lichens (Nash 2008; Sethy et al. 2012). The dipterocarp tree, Shorea materialis recorded the highest lichens’ associate with some species were exclusively found growing on bark such as Arthonia spadicea, Bacidia saxenii and

Graphis scripta. All of lichen present on S. materialis is crustose lichen were found abundantly on barks compare to other parts (Mokni et al. 2015). Interestingly, presence of species from Roccellaceae family was found to be highest on S. materialis compared to other host trees. According to Tehler et al. (2004), Roccellaceae is fructicose lichen that has distinct morphology with physical characteristics possessing fusiform, circular apothecia with a black hypothecium, grey or grey-brownish thallus and filiform conidia. Hence, it can be deduced that members from this family were very visible to be sampled by naked eye during the sampling. Nayaka et al. (2010) also stated that members from Roccellaceae family is the highly identified to species level with about 200 species documented, prominently macrolichen. It is apparent that forest subjected to silvicultural thinning have reduced tree species richness and decreased lichen diversity (Richardson

7

Checklist of Lichens from Bidong Island, Terengganu

85

y

z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

Fig. 7.6 Lichens associated on Garcinia nigrolineata, Syzygium cinereum and Terminalia catappa under magnification of 40x. y Opegrapha subelevata, z Platythecium sp., A Bacidia inundata, B Bacidia rubella),

Lithocarpus rassa, C Bacidia incompta, D Opegrapha astraea, E Acrocordia gemmate, F Bacidia sulphurella, G Flavoparmelia soredians

and Cameron 2004). This is could be another reason why we might probably have lost few species of lichens undocumented in Bidong Island as the land were cleared before for Vietnamese refugee settlement in 1978. Gauslaa et al. (2001) also stated that fragmentation of habitat could creates a series of interconnected factors, predominantly as a result of increment in sun irradiance and exposure that can lead to diminishing or even elimination of lichens population. The size, shape and edge impacts of forest fragments do influence the habitat heterogeneity and lichen diversity (Gignac and Dale 2005; Anand et al. 2005; Magurran 2003).

present to be the dominant lichen family. Highest diversity of lichens was found on barks of Shorea materialis. Based on our study, abiotic factors such as light, space, temperature and humidity might influence the occurrence of lichens species on host trees. Further specific studies pertaining to bioindicator lichens species is planned to be carried out to monitor the environmental health changes in vicinity of Bidong Island, specifically in the area of Pantai Pasir Cina. The potential possibility of replanting host trees which host medicinal microlichens will also be proposed to the local authorities.

7.4

Conclusion

This present study had documented 56 species of lichen associated on various host trees in Bidong Island, Terengganu. Overall, 21 lichens families were successfully identified with Ramalinaceae

Acknowledgements With highest appreciation, authors would like to extend their thanks to Ministry of Education Malaysia for the financial support (RAGS 57134), Mr. Yuzwan Mohamad from Remote sensing and GIS lab for assisting with the map, Center for research and field services for microscope availability, Laboratory of Ecology, Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu for providing the research labs and consumables to conduct this study. Our gratitude to the editors and reviewers for their critical comments which further elevates the quality of this manuscript.

86

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Pesiu E, Abdullah MT, Salim J, Salam MR (2016) Tree species composition in Pulau Bidong and Pulau Redang. J Sustain Sci Manag (1):48–60 Rai AN, Bergman B (2007) Cyanolichens. Biol Environ 102:19–22 Rai H, Khare R, Upreti DK (2014) Lichenological studies in India with reference to terricolous lichens. Springer Science, pp 1–20 Richardson DHS, Cameron RP (2004) Cyanolichens: Their response to pollution and possible management strategies for their conservation in Northeastern North America. Northeast Nat 11(1):1–22 Sarma VV, Hyde KD (2001) A review on frequently occurring fungi in mangroves. Fungal Divers 8:1–34 Sethy PP, Pandit GS, Sharma BO (2012) Lichens on mangrove plants in Andaman Islands, India. Mycosphere 3(4):476–484 Siljo J, Nayaka S, Sinha GP (2018) Bibliography to the Indian lichens from the year 2010 onwards. Cryptogr Biodivers Assess 207–231 Shukla V, Patel DK, Upreti DK, Yunus M, Prasad S (2013) A comparison of heavy metals in lichen (Pyxine subcinerea), mango bark and soil. J Environ Sci Technol 10:37–46 Shukla V, Upreti DK, Bajpai R (2014) Lichen diversity in different lichenogeographical regions of India. Lichens Biomonit Environ 61–96 Sriwongkorakot N, Mongkolsuk PH (2014) Foliicolous lichen in mangrove forest at Chantaburi and trat provinces. In: Proceedings of the 40th congress on science and technology of Thailand (STT40). Thailand, 28 pp Tehler A, Dahlkild Å, Eldenäs P, Feige GB (2004) The phylogeny, taxonomy of Macaronesian, European and Mediterranean Roccella (Roccellaceae, Arthoniales). Symbiosis Botanic 34(1):405–428

87 Weckesser S, Simon-Haarhaus B, Wittmer A, Schempp CM (2007) Screening of plant extracts for antimicrobial activity against bacteria and yeasts with dermatological relevance. Phytomedicine 4:508–516 Will-Wolf S, Esseen PA, Neitlich P (2002) Methods for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem: forests. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Netherlands, p 203 Will-Wolf S, Hawksworths DL, McCune B, Sipman HJM, Rosenteter R (2004) Assessing the biodiversity of lichenized fungi. Biodiversity of fungi: standard methods for inventory and monitoring. Elsevier, San Diego, USA, pp 175–190

Thilahgavani Nagappan Senior Lecturer (Conservation Biology & Pharmacognasy). Faculty of Science and Marine Environment.

8

Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island Abdulmaula Hamza, Anuar Mcafee, and Amirrudin Ahmad

Abstract

Bidong Island is one of the least known islands in terms of birds; very few surveys have been conducted on this island. The island is part of a small archipelago called Bidong Laut, located to the northwest of Kuala Terengganu, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. A total count of 30 bird species, from 19 families and 25 genera were found on this island between 2006 and 2020. Collected data (nine days) were analysed for biodiversity indices. Alpha diversity indices showed

variations among sampling years, Simpson 1-D range 0.76–0.89; Shannon (H) range 1.74–2.48; species richness 8–16 species; dominance (D) range 0.11–0.24. Species richness estimators indicate that more species can be added with additional sampling and better coverage of the island area. The relatively low avian species richness compared to other east coast islands is discussed. Further surveys during migration season can reveal the importance of this island as a stop over site for several migratory species. Keywords

A. Hamza (&) Biology Department, Faculty of Education, University of Tripoli, University Post, PO Box 13793, Tripoli, Libya A. Hamza
A. Mcafee Malaysian Nature Society Terengganu Branch, 1926, Bkt Kubang Jambu, 20050 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia A. Mcafee Centre for Fundamental Studies, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 21300 Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia A. Ahmad Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia A. Ahmad Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, Malaysia




Bidong Island Bird diversity Malaysia South China sea




8.1


Island


Introduction

Islands have been the focus of biological research for many years. Island bird fauna was the primary model of several ecological theories, such as the Origin of Species, and the Island Biogeography theory (Valente et al. 2017). Due to cover area and habitat limitations, islands host much smaller diversity compared to the mainland, which can be explained by several factors, such as the limited habitat diversity and consequently lower niche capacity of islands. Resources for feeding and breeding are less

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_8

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compared to the mainland (Lack 1970) as the area available for each species’ establishment on islands is limited, making the conservation of large-area islands much worth it in terms of longterm planning (Koh et al. 2002). However, this should not reduce the importance of small islands, as they can serve as fuelling stations for migratory bird species, and be centres of endemism for other species, as previously found on similar forested islands in Southeast Asia (Turner et al. 2002). Along the Malaysian coast, several small, heavily forested islands can be found. These islands have a significant ecological role (Cronk 1997). The state of Terengganu has some 17 islands of different sizes and morphology (Teh 2000). Some of them are inhabited such as Redang Island and Perhentian Island, while others are mainly used for tourism (e.g. Lang Tengah Island and Kapas Island). In contrast, other islands of the Bidong Island archipelago are uninhabited. Information on the biological diversity of birds on Malaysian islands varies greatly. Extensive floral and faunal research was conducted for some islands, such as Langkawi Island (Abdullah 2006) and Tioman Island (Ng et al. 1999; Sodhi et al. 1999), and Perhentian Island (Tamblyn et al. 2005; David et al. 2016). Other islands lack such coverage, except for a few old reports of short expeditions by foreign researchers (Bonhote 1901; Gibson-Hill 1952). Islands located off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia have received very little research effort on avifauna. However there have been some surveys conducted on other organisms and plants on Bidong Island, for example, algae (Armugam 1981; Khor 2002), butterflies (Rosmidi et al. 2017), dipterocarp trees (Pesiu et al. 2016), bats (Roslan et al. 2016), crustaceans (Nakajima et al. 2013), fish (Jeropakal 1998; Lorenzo et al. 2016) and reptiles (Grismer et al. 2014). European explorers used to shoot and collect bird specimens and skins for private or museum collections during the nineteenth century. First surveys of birds at Bidong Island date back to the Skeat Expedition during December 1899 (Gibson-Hill 1952). They collected six bird

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specimens of five species. Later the Kloss Expedition spent two days on the island in August 1910, collecting four additional bird species. Nearly four decades later, Gibson-Hill visited Bidong Island on August 9th, 1949 and added three other bird species to the previous lists (Gibson-Hill 1952). Since then, there have been no updates on the birds of Bidong Island. Furthermore, birds on Bidong Island have not been mentioned anywhere in the previously published literature on the birds of Peninsular Malaysia (e.g. Wells et al. 1999; Wells 2007; Jeyarajasingam and Pearson 2012), clearly due to scarcity of data. Recent seabird surveys were conducted on several east coast islands (Hamza et al. 2016a, b; Hamza and Ho 2020), but these surveys did not include Bidong Island. This paper presents an annotation of bird species present on Bidong Island between 2006 and 2020. Biodiversity conservation strategies require a full understanding of the diversity patterns. Alpha diversity describes diversity at a local scale, while beta diversity tackles a more regional scale; this is to compare species diversity variation among communities. Understanding these two diversity measures can help in providing a comprehensive reference for protecting biodiversity on a regional level (Jamoneau et al. 2018).

8.2

Bidong Island

Bidong Island is the largest island within a small archipelago called Bidong Laut, historically known as Little Redang (Fig. 8.1), with a surface area of a one-kilometre square, and an elevation of 321 m above sea level. It is located 18 nautical miles (later nmi) to the northeast of Kuala Terengganu, and 8 nmi southeast of Redang Island, Terengganu. Less than 1 nmi to the south, there is a smaller islet called Kapak Island and over 1.8 nmi to the north another islet called Gelok Island, while at over 8 nmi to the east of Bidong Island lie two other islets of Yu Besar Island and Yu Kecil Island. All of these islands are much smaller in size that Bidong Island.

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Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island

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Fig. 8.1 Location of Bidong Island, Terengganu, Malaysia (A), Bidong Island (B), Pantai Pasir Cina (1) and Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (2)

8.3

Field Surveys

Surveys were conducted using 8  40 binoculars to identify bird species (and vocalisations when birds could not be seen) during May 2006, August 2014, May and August 2015, August 2016 and July 2020 (Table 8.1). These surveys took place at the two beach areas and adjacent forest (point count, three points each), with 100 m between each two stations. Data were also collected in 2006 along the Bidong hiking trail (line transect). Vocalisations of some species were used as a record for that species. The Bidong hiking trail was selected as it connects the two beach areas of the island, extending through dense forest. Surveys were conducted during early morning (0700–1000 h) and late afternoon (1700–1900 h), when bird activity is optimal. Two mist-nets on 3 m poles were erected for four full days in May 2006 and May 2015 at the Pantai Pasir Cina and near the Pantai Pasir Pengkalan beach in July 2020, covering the understory level of the canopy. Mist-nets were

checked every two hours and closed before dusk. Birds were identified using Jeyarajasingam and Pearson (2012), then released immediately. The sampling effort is shown in Table 8.1.

8.4

Data Analyses

Diversity indices (Dominance, Simpson's index, Shannon index) were calculated using PAST v.4.03 (Hammer et al. 2001). Species richness indices and species accumulation rates were assessed by species richness estimators and rarefaction curve analysis, respectively, using row data in estimate S software v9.0.1. The then obtained indices were plotted using MS Excel 2019. The Menhinick's and Margalef indices were selected as measures for species richness measurement. Additionally, five nonparametric species richness estimators (based on abundance data) were computed using EstimateS Version 9.1 (Colwell 2013) to detect changes in species richness estimates and select which estimators are best depending on the collected dataset.

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Table 8.1 Sampling effort, number of bird species and diversity indices in Bidong Island May 2006

August 2014

May 2015

August 2015

August 2016

July 2020

No. sampling days

2

3

3

3

3

1

No. observers

2

1

2

1

1

3

No. sampling hours

8

12

12

12

12

4

No. species

16

9

8

8

16

14

No. bird Individuals

61

51

40

61

79

81

No. bird individuals/hour

7.6

4.25

3.34

5.08

6.58

20.25

Dominance (D)

0.11

0.22

0.24

0.20

0.16

0.23

Simpson index (1-D)

0.89

0.78

0.76

0.80

0.84

0.77

Shannon index (H)

2.48

1.74

1.74

1.80

2.22

1.96

Menhinick index

2.05

1.26

1.27

1.02

1.80

1.56

Margalef index

3.65

2.04

1.90

1.70

3.43

2.96

These estimators are Chao1, Jack1 (i.e. first‐ order Jackknife), ACE (abundance‐based coverage estimator), Bootstrap richness estimator (mean among runs), and Michaelis–Menten Means estimator (MMMeans). Bias, precision and accuracy were calculated for each estimator and ranked from small to large. Then the ranks were summed up for each estimator for Bias, Precision and Accuracy ranking. The lowest total of ranks was considered as the best estimator of species richness. Species were divided into three categories based on their encountering among sampling years. The categories are “unique species” (species only found at a single time), “duplicates” (species present at two samplings), and “common” (species present at three or more surveys). Furthermore, the species were also classified into three statuses, M = Migrant, R = Resident and RM = mixed populations of resident birds and migrant birds of the same species.

species was the Black-naped Tern (n = 96, 25.7%). Eighteen families represented the birds of Bidong, the most abundant in terms of species richness was Nectariniidae (n = 5 species, 27.8%), followed by Sternidae and Apodidae (n = 3 species, 16.7%), and Ardeidae, Columbidae, Hirundinidae, (n = 2 species, 11.1%), and the remaining families with one species each: Sturnidae, Accipitridae, Scolopacidae, Charadriidae, Cuculidae, Alcedinidae, Coraciidae, Motacillidae, Sylviidae, Dicaeidae, Oriolidae, Dicruridae (n = 1 species, 5.55%). Species accounts were published earlier in Hamza et al. (2018). During the July 2020 sampling, an additional three species were added to the checklist, namely the Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), the Emerald Dove (Chalcophaps indica) and an unidentified species of Drongo (Dicrurus sp.) The Common Tern is a resident/migrant mixed species, while both Emerald Dove and Drongo are resident species.

8.5

8.6

Species Composition and Relative Abundance

A total of 373 bird occurrences, belonging to 30 species have been recorded during the six sampling times (Annex 1). The most observed

Diversity Indices

Table 8.1 shows diversity indices used to define the assemblages of the birds of Bidong Island. In relation to the sample size, dominance was relatively low in May 2006 (0.11) and in August

8

Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island

2016 (0.16) due to high sample size (# observed = 61, # species = 16 for May 2006 and # observed = 79, # species = 16). In May 2015 and July 2020 it was as high as = 0.24 and 0.23 respectively, due to lower species richness (# observed = 40, # species = 8 in Aug 2015 and # observed n = 81, # species 14 in July 2020). This shows the interrelation between sample size, species richness and dominance. Simpson's 1-D diversity index increases wherever dominance is low. Most diverse samples were in May 2006 and August 2016 with 0.89 and 0.85, respectively. A similar trend was observed in Shannon_ H′ values, as May 2006 showed the highest H′ value (2.48) and May 2015 showed the lowest H′ value (1.66).

8.7

Species Richness

Species richness varied between eight species (in both May and August 2015) and 16 species (in May 2006 and August 2016), with an overall average of 11.83 ± 3.92 species/year. The Menhinick index showed that the highest species richness (D = 2.05), was reported in May 2006, while the lowest D = 1.02 was in August 2015. A similar trend was obtained for the Margalef index (Table 8.1).

Fig. 8.2 The number of unique, duplicate and common species according to residential status; resident (R), migrant (M), resident and migrant (R/M)

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The surveys resulted in a total of 17 (56.7%) “unique species” (species only found at a single time), two species (6.7%) were “duplicate” (species present at two samplings), while the remaining 11 species (36.7%) were “common” (species present at three or more surveys). Based on the species status in Malaysia (Resident, Migrant, Resident or Migrant), results showed that 17 species (63.3%) of birds in Bidong Island were resident, while five species (16.67%) were migratory and six species (20%) belong to the Resident or Migrant mixed population group (Fig. 8.2). Based on species division into unique, duplicate and common, 8 out of 19 resident species (42.1%) were unique, two species were duplicates (10.53%), and nine species were common (47.37%). In the migratory species group, there were five unique species, while both duplicates and common were not represented. In the mixed populations of both migratory and resident species, four species were unique (66.67%) whilst two species were common (33.33%), with no duplicates detected. Duplicate species gradually decreased towards the last sampling whilst unique species still showed increments, although in smaller numbers (Fig. 8.3).

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Fig. 8.3 Species accumulation and Cole rarefaction curve for bird species richness and their unique and duplicate occurrence during six samplings (years) at Bidong Island

8.8

Performance Evaluation of Estimators

The Chao-1 estimator was the least biased and most accurate or precise estimate for species richness in Bidong Island birds, followed by the abundance‐based coverage estimator (ACE) and Bootstrap (Fig. 8.4). Meanwhile, both MMMeans and Jack-1 showed higher bias and lower accuracy and precision; therefore, they

Fig. 8.4 Observed sampling accumulation curve (with lower and upper bounds) and nonparametric estimator performance of birds in Bidong Island, from the three least bias, most accurate and precise estimators (Chao-1, ACE and Bootstrap)

were less suitable to estimate the real species richness of birds at Bidong Island. Chao-1 estimated the total species richness of birds in Bidong to reach 35.32 species, i.e. five more species than the observed species in this study. Bootstrap was 35.92 and ACE estimated 36 species, in close similarity to the bootstrap estimator. On the other hand, the Jack-1 estimate was 44.17 and MMMeans was 40.99, leaving these two estimates the least accurate and most biased among the five estimators used.

8

Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island

8.9

Species Composition and Relative Abundance

The species composition of bird fauna at Bidong Island is 30 species. Other islands have a much higher species count. For example, 148 species at Tioman Island, and 46 species at Redang Island (Tamblyn et al. 2005). Bidong Island belongs to lower diverse islands, similar to Perhentian Island that has 31 bird species (Tamblyn et al. 2005). The diversity of birds in Terengganu state is 463 species (McAfee 2017). The species accumulation curve in the present study did not reach an asymptote; therefore the sampling was considered incomplete because the number of unique species was still increasing, adding new species to the total diversity (Azman et al. 2019). A further long-term survey is needed to obtain complete bird species richness at Bidong Island. A notable anthropogenic effect on Bidong ecosystems happened between 1978 and 1991, pas the island became a refugee camp, with a population of as many as 40,000 Vietnamese refugees at one time. With the need for timber to build houses and other structures, a change of vegetative cover can drive some species to abandon the island (birds and bats) or cause local extinctions to others. A set of recent surveys reported, for example, five species of wild bees (Adanan et al. 2016), ten species of butterflies (Rosmidi et al. 2017), 13 species of reptiles (Zakaria et al. 2017), and ten species of bats (Roslan et al. 2016). Bird species counts at Bidong Island are much lower than those from Redang and Perhentian Island. When it comes to tree species, both Bidong and Redang support 56 species each (Pesiu et al. 2016), however, there are only ten plant species shared between the two islands. This differences in tree composition can produce differences in bird species composition (Hořák et al. 2019). Furthermore, the small surface area of Bidong Island (one square

95

kilometre), should also be taken into account, when comparing this island with larger islands in the area, a small area can support a limited number of species (The Theory of Island Biogeography). With no long-term data in the past 100 years, it would be challenging to choose which hypothesis is more accurate. Is this lower bird diversity on Bidong a result of smaller surface area/ habitats diversity and resources, or it was drastically affected during the Vietnamese refugee crisis. Bidong is located not too far apart from other islands, thus relocation and colonisation are still possible, which explains why the species accumulation curve does not reach asymptotic in this study. Species composition, therefore, reflects the present diversity of habitats and feeding guilds available on the island. Most of the surveyed area was a growing secondary forest with understory plant cover. This habitat can increase bird species richness and abundance of some bird species (Nájera and Simonetti 2010), particularly the understory bird communities (insectivorous, frugivorous, granivorous, and nectarivorous birds). These make up the majority of the birds in Bidong Island. Eleven species were insectivores (36.67%), and five species were nectarivores (16.67%), while other species were frugivores (two Pigeon species). Habitat changes can influence the community structure of understorey birds (Ramli et al. 2010). Therefore, the present composition of the understory bird community can be different from other undisturbed islands in Malaysia. The total recovery of forest specialist birds in regenerated forest increases with time when the regenerated forests are left untouched for about 20–40 years (Dent and Write 2009). The sample size of birds in the present study caused lower dominance in both 2006 and 2016, whilst when species richness is lower, dominance was higher in May 2015 and July 2020. A similar

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trend was observed for species diversity, where 2006 had the highest species diversity while in 2015, the lowest diversity was recorded. This finding can also be attributed to individual differences in observation and sampling effort. Species richness of many organisms’ changes over time (Hillebrand et al. 2018; McGlynn 2010) as the artefact of habitat or environmental changes. This is also true for bird species on Bidong Island. Species richness is changing continuously but remains in equilibrium with other food sources (Duffy 2002; Wiens 2011). In 2006, four days of two daily surveys yielded a higher diverse species list than two days sampling in 2014–2016 and one day in 2020. Thus, higher species richness was noted in 2006 compared to the other years, from both Menhinick and Margalef indices (Table 8.1). Unique species represented the highest proportion of reported species (56.7%), due to the continuous recording of new species at each sampling, which gradually contributed to the incremental increase of the species accumulation curve. Only 6.7% of the species were seen twice (duplicates), and 36.7% of species were encountered at three or more samplings

(common). This situation also reflects the island's topography, as several areas were inaccessible due to dense canopy and altitude, with no suitable trails to cover the whole island. Therefore when we used the limited area near the coast, newer species were added each time, as those species do forage at the lower, more open area of the island. The remaining species that were more common and seen at each survey, such as the Pied Imperial Pigeon, Black-naped Tern, Whitebellied Sea Eagle and White-nest Swiftlet, were all open area species that can be easily spotted. Bidong Island was found to harbour a total of 30 bird species, which represent 62.13% more species than previously collected by Bonhote (1901), Kloss (1911) and Gibson-Hill (1952). An additional nine species were observed by either the historical studies mentioned above or from recent observations by Bruce (2018) and Rahman (2019), both retrieved from the eBird database. Details of species reported by all studies including the present study is detailed in Table 8.2. Nearly two-thirds of Bidong Island birds (19 species) were resident species. Migrant and resident/migrant species were five and six species

Table 8.2 Taxonomic composition of Bidong Island bird species, based on published data, and the results of the present study No

Common name

Latin name

1

Cattle egret

Bubulcus ibis

2

Pacific reef egret

Egretta sacra

3

White-bellied sea eagle

Haliaeetus leucogaster

4

Common sandpiper

Actitis hypoleucos

5

Greater sand plover

Charadrius leschenaultii

6

Kentish plover

Charadrius alexandrines

7

White-breasted waterhen

Amaurornis phoenicurus

Bonhote (1901)

Kloss (1911)

GibsonHill (1952)

Bruce (2018)

Rahman (2019)

This study X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X X

X X (continued)

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Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island

97

Table 8.2 (continued) No

Common name

Latin name

Bonhote (1901)

Kloss (1911)

GibsonHill (1952)

Bruce (2018)

8

Black-naped tern

Sterna sumatrana

X

X

X

9

Bridled tern

Onychoprion anaethetus

X

X

10

Common tern

Sterna hirundo

11

Great crested tern

Sterna bergii

X

12

Lesser frigatebird

Fregata ariel

X

13

Emerald dove

Chalcophaps indica

14

Pied imperial pigeon

Ducula bicolour

X

15

Asian Koel

Eudynamis scolopacea

X

16

House swift

Apus affinis

X

17

Silver-rumped Needletail

Rhapidura leucopygialis

X

18

Black-nest swiftlet

Aerodramus maximus

X

19

White-nest swiftlet

Aerodramus fuciphagus

X

20

Collared Kingfisher

Todiramphus chloris

X

21

Dollarbird

Eurystomus orientalis

22

Barn swallow

Hirundo rustica

23

Pacific swallow

Hirundo tahitica

X

24

Grey wagtail

Motacilla cinerea

X

25

Eastern yellow wagtail

Motacilla tschutschensis

26

Arctic warbler

Phylloscopus borealis

27

Purple-throated sunbird

Nectarinia sperata

Rahman (2019)

This study

X

X X

X

X X

X X

X X

X

X

X X X

X (continued)

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Table 8.2 (continued) No

Common name

Latin name

Bonhote (1901)

Kloss (1911)

28

Brown-throated sunbird

Anthreptes malacensis

X

29

Olive-backed sunbird

Nectarinia jugularis

X

30

Little spiderhunter

Arachnothera longirostra

X

31

Ruby-cheeked sunbird

Anthreptes singalensis

X

32

Orange-bellied flowerpecker

Dicaeum trigonostigma

X

33

Black-naped oriole

Oriolus chinensis

X

34

Asian glossy starling

Aplonis panayensis

35

Drongo sp.

Dicrurus sp.

36

The crowbilled drongo

Dicrurus annectens

X

37

Sunda crow

Corvus compilator

X

38

Tiger shrike

Lanius tigrinus

X

GibsonHill (1952)

Bruce (2018)

X

Rahman (2019)

This study

X

X

X X

respectively, indicating the island's importance for migratory species. Similar results were obtained from Peninsular Malaysia rice fields, where resident species also are dominant (Azman et al. 2019). The migrant species at Bidong were spotted at the start of the migration season in mid-August. All migrant species encountered in the present study (5 species) were unique species (i.e., observed once for each). At the same time,

X

four of the mixed resident/migrant species were also unique species, and two were duplicate. Additional species are expected to be added if other surveys cover the peak migration season in October and November. It is also predicted that duplicate species would continue to decrease, while unique species would meet at a point with duplicate species and decrease gradually with completion of species richness.

8

Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island

8.10

Performance Evaluation of Estimators

Given the present data from 2006, 2014–2016, and 2020 surveys, three nonparametric species richness estimators (Chao-1, ACE and bootstrap) were the least biased, most accurate and precise estimators of avian species richness in Bidong Island. All three estimators suggesting an additional 5–6 species to be added to the birds of Bidong if more sampling were conducted. However, we cannot assume that the total species richness of birds at Bidong Island is 36 species, as this estimate isn’t built on saturated sampling (i.e., the species accumulation curve did not reach asymptote). After this estimate, we have added data collected by two professional birders, Neil Bruce and Abdul Jalil Rahman, during 2018 and 2019, respectively. These additions make the total number of species observed 39, close to the statistical estimators used here. These estimates are extrapolating the final species richness estimate based on available data. Nonetheless, species richness estimators give us a good estimation of local diversity with limited data. This information will be helpful in biodiversity assessment and help conservation managers to assign management tools to safeguard avifauna on the islands.

99

nectarivores and frugivores, with a limited number of insectivores and piscivores. The presence of Vietnamese refugees between 1978 and 1991 can be one of the factors which may have influenced the lower species richness of birds and other vertebrates on the island compared to the nearby islands in the region, due to the overcrowded population and major changes to plant cover and landscape at both coastal sites of this study. An assessment of native and introduced flora and fauna should be conducted in both Bidong Island and the nearby islands to quantify that impact. More systematic surveys during the migration season, and extended point counts and mist-netting to other sides of Bidong Island and the nearby smaller islands would undoubtedly add more bird species that were not reported in the present study. The use of modern acoustic stations and camera traps for long term data collection can expose the full potential of Bidong Island Faunal diversity. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to Universiti Malaysia Terengganu for providing logistics during field surveys at Bidong Island. Thanks to students of the field course at Bidong who assisted in data collection, and to the reviewers for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this chapter.

Annex 1 8.11

Conclusion

Diverse habitats on this island allowed resource partitioning among avian species. Each species is restricted to a specific feeding guild, such as

A collage of selected species of birds from Bidong Island, numbers corresponding to species name at Table 8.3. Photo credits Anuar McAfee and A Hamza

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A. Hamza et al.

Apodidae

Apodidae

Alcedinidae

Coraciidae

14

15

16

17

Cuculidae

11

Apodidae

Columbidae

10

Apodidae

Columbidae

9

12

Laridae

8

13

Laridae

Laridae

Charadriidae

5

6

Scolopacidae

4

7

Ardidae

Accipitridae

2

Ardidae

1

3

Family

No

Dollarbird

Collared Kingfisher

White-nest swiftlet

Black-nest swiftlet

Silver-rumped Needletail

House swift

Asian Koel

Pied imperial pigeon

Emerald dove

Common tern

Bridled tern

Black-naped tern

Greater sand plover

Common sandpiper

White-bellied sea eagle

Pacific reef egret

Cattle egret

Common name

Eurystomus orientalis

Todiramphus chloris

Aerodramus fuciphagus

Aerodramus maximus

Rhapidura leucopygialis

Apus affinis

Eudynamis scolopacea

Ducula bicolour

Chalcophaps indica

Sterna hirundo

Onychoprion anaethetus

Sterna sumatrana

Charadrius leschenaultii

Actitis hypoleucos

Haliaeetus leucogaster

Egretta sacra

Bubulcus ibis

Latin name

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC (pop decreasing)

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

IUCN red list status

TP

TP

NL

NL

TP

TP

NL

TP

HS

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

WCA 2010

0

3

6

0

2

2

1

15

0

0

1

5

0

0

3

6

0

May2006

0

1

10

0

0

2

0

15

0

0

2

15

1

0

2

3

0

Aug2014

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

17

0

0

0

0

0

0

3

4

0

May2015

0

2

15

0

0

4

0

10

0

0

0

19

0

0

3

4

0

Aug2015

1

2

18

0

0

0

0

8

0

0

2

22

0

1

2

5

1

Aug2016

0

1

10

10

0

0

0

5

1

2

2

35

0

0

3

3

0

Jul2020

1

9

59

10

2

8

1

70

1

2

7

96

1

1

16

25

1

R, M

R, M

R

R

R

R

R, M

R

R

R, M

R

R

M

M

R

R

R, M

Status

Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island (continued)

Total

Table 8.3 List of bird species from Bidong Island and its status, according to IUCN Red List and Wildlife Conservation Act (WCA2010). LC = Least Concern; TP = Totally Protected species; HS = Hunted species, NL = Not listed in WCA 2010

8 101

Motacillidae

Sylviidae

Nectariniidae

Nectariniidae

Nectariniidae

Nectariniidae

Nectariniidae

Dicaeidae

Oriolidae

Sturnidae

Dicruridae

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Hirundinidae

Hirundinidae

18

19

Family

No

Drongo sp.

Asian glossy starling

Black-naped oriole

Orange-bellied flowerpecker

Ruby-cheeked sunbird

Little spiderhunter

Olive-backed sunbird

Brown-throated sunbird

Purple-throated sunbird

Arctic warbler

Grey wagtail

Pacific swallow

Barn swallow

Common name

Table 8.3 (continued)

Dicrurus sp.

Aplonis panayensis

Oriolus chinensis

Dicaeum trigonostigma

Anthreptes singalensis

Arachnothera longirostra

Nectarinia jugularis

Anthreptes malacensis

Nectarinia sperata

Phylloscopus borealis

Motacilla cinerea

Hirundo tahitica

Hirundo rustica

Latin name

NL TP

LC

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

TP

WCA 2010

–

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

LC

IUCN red list status

0

3

3

0

0

1

2

0

6

2

0

0

0

May2006

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Aug2014

0

0

0

2

2

0

0

3

7

0

0

2

0

May2015

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

4

0

Aug2015

0

0

5

0

0

1

0

0

5

0

1

2

3

Aug2016

1

0

2

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

0

5

0

Jul2020

1

3

10

2

2

2

3

3

18

2

1

13

3

Total

R

R

R, M

R

R

R

R

R

R

M

M

R

M

Status

102 A. Hamza et al.

8

Diversity of Birds in Bidong Island

References Abdullah F (2006) Diversity of beetles in the North East Langkawi Islands, Malaysia. Malay Nat J 57:419–431 Adanan NA, Basari NO, Rosmidi FH, Pesiu EL, Abdullah MT (2016) Preliminary studies on bees at Pulau Bidong and Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu. J Sustain Sci Manag (1):36–40 Armugam P (1981) Algal distribution in a Malaysian coral reef at Pulau Bidong Laut. Pertanika 4(1):99–102 Azman NM, Sah SAM, Ahmad A, Rosely NF (2019) Contribution of rice fields to bird diversity in Peninsular Malaysia. Sains Malaysiana 48(9):1811–1821 Bonhote JLJ (1901) On the birds collected during the “Skeat Expedition” to the Malay Peninsula, 1899– 1900. Zoological Society of London Bruce N (2018) eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/ australia/checklist/S48900603. eBird: an online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Ithaca, New York. http://www.ebird. org. Accessed 9th May 2021 Colwell RK (2013) EstimateS: statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. Version 9.1.0. User's guide and application. http:// purl.oclc.org/estimates. Accessed 10th Aug 2021 Cronk QCB (1997) Islands: stability, diversity, conservation. Biodivers Conserv 6:477–493 David G, Roslan A, Mamat M, Abdullah MT, Hamza A (2016) A brief survey on birds from Pulau Perhentian Besar, Terengganu. J Sustain Sci Manag Int Sem Straits Malacca South China Sea 11–18 Dent DH, Wright SJ (2009) The future of tropical species in secondary forests: a quantitative review. Biol Conserv 142(12):2833–2843 Duffy JE (2002) Biodiversity and ecosystem function: the consumer connection. Oikos 99:201–219 Gibson-Hill CA (1952) Ornithological Notes from the Raffles Museum 15, Notes on the Avifauna of Great Redang Island (Terengganu). Bullet Raffles Museum 24:220–240 Grismer LL, Wood PL Jr, Ahmad AB, Sumarli AS-I, Vazquez JJ, Ismail LH, Nance R, Mohd-Amin MAB, Othman MN, Rizaijessika SA (2014) A new species of insular Rock Gecko (genus Cnemaspis Strauch 1887) from the Bidong Archipelago, Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia. Zootaxa 3755:447–456 Hammer Ø, Harper DAT, Ryan PD (2001) PAST: Paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontol Electron 4(1):1–9 Hamza A, Ho WC (2020) Updates on seabirds of the northern Seribuat Islands, Pahang, Malaysia. Mar Ornithol 48:1–7 Hamza A, David G, Mcafee A, Tajuddin M (2018) Annotated checklist of avifauna in Pulau Bidong, Malaysia. J Sustain Sci Manag 13(1):105–118 Hamza A, Wong CH, Ahmad A (2016) Pulau Ling: an important seabird hotspot on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. J Asia-Pacific Biodiv 9:437–442

103 Hamza AA, Wong CH, Ahmad A (2016) Rediscovery of least known breeding sites for seabirds in East Coast Peninsular Malaysia. Malay Nat J 68:121–129 Hillebrand H, Blasius B, Borer ET, Chase JM, Downing JA, Eriksson BK, Filstrup CT, Harpole WS, Hodapp D, Larsen S, Lewandowska AM (2018) Biodiversity change is uncoupled from species richness trends: consequences for conservation and monitoring. J Appl Ecol 55(1):169–184 Hořák D, Ferenc M, Sedláček O, Motombi FN, Svoboda M, Altman J, Albrecht T, Djomo Nana E, Janeček Š, Dančák M, Majeský Ľ (2019) Forest structure determines spatial changes in avian communities along an elevational gradient in tropical Africa. J Biogeogr 46(11):2466–2478 Jamoneau A, Passy SI, Soininen J, Leboucher T, TisonRosebery J (2018) Beta diversity of diatom species and ecological guilds: response to environmental and spatial mechanisms along the stream watercourse. Freshw Biol 63(1):62–73 Jeropakal AJ (1998) A study on clownfish (Amphiprion sp.) diversity and associate with sea anemone in some selected sites in Pulau Bidong and Pulau Redang. B. Sc. Thesis. Fakulti Perikanan dan Akua-Industri. Kolej Universiti Sains dan Teknologi Malaysia (KUSTEM) Jeyarajasingam A, Pearson A (2012) A field guide to the birds of Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Oxford University Press, London, UK Khor HM (2002) Composition and distribution of corals and macroalgae in Pulau Bidong and the island's proposed management plan. Master thesis. Fakulti Sains dan Teknologi, Kolej Universiti Sains dan Teknologi Malaysia (KUSTEM) Kloss C (1911) On a collection of mammals and other vertebrates from the Terengganu Archipelago. J Fed Malay States Museums 4:175–212 Koh LP, Sodhi NS, Tan HTW, Peh KSH (2002) Factors affecting the distribution of vascular plants, springtails, butterflies and birds on small tropical islands. J Biogeogr 29(1):93–108 Lack D (1970) Island birds. Biotropica 2(1):29–31 Lorenzo B, Kochzius M, Cardenosa D, Borsa P, Ambak MA, Joseph J (2016) Connectivity and population structure of Blacktip reef sharks, Carcharhinus melanopterus, in two islands in Terengganu, Malaysia. Book of Abstracts: Vliz Marine Scientist Day Vives, Brugge. http://pure.ilvo.vlaanderen.be/portal/files/ 4227992/VLIZ_2016_Book_of_asbtracts.pdf#page= 32. Accessed 11th Aug 2017 McAfee A (2017) Birds of Terengganu: Burung-burung Di Negeri Terengganu. Penerbit Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin. pp157 McGlynn T (2010) Effects of biogeography on community diversity. Nat Educ Knowl 1(8):32 Nájera A, Simonetti JA (2010) Enhancing avifauna in commercial plantations. Conserv Biol 24(1):319–324 Nakajima R, Yoshida T, Azman BAR, Yamazaki H, Toda T, Othman BHR, Effendy AWM (2013) A preliminary study of small scavenging crustaceans

104 collected by baited traps in a coral reef of Bidong Island Malaysia. Malaysian J Sci 33(2):59–66 Ng PK, Yong HS, Sodhi NS (1999) Biodiversity research on Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia: a historical perspective. Raffles Bull of Zool 6:5–10 Pesiu E, Abdullah MT, Salim J, Salam MR (2016) Tree species composition in Pulau Bidong and Pulau Redang. J Sustain Sci Manag (1):48–50 Rahman A (2019) eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/ malaysia/checklist/S54472874. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Ithaca, New York. http://www.ebird. org. Accessed 9th May 2021 Ramli R, Ya’cob Z, Aimi F, Ezyan NH (2010) A survey of avifauna in Bachok District, Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. Malaysian J Sci 29:121–130 Roslan A, David G, Ahmad NI (2016) Notes of Bats in Pulau Bidong and Pulau Perhentian Besar, Terengganu, Malaysia. J Sustain Sci Manag Int Sem Straits Malacca South China Sea 2016:2026–2035 Rosmidi FH, Zahidin MA, Adanan A, Azizah A, Pesiu E, Abdullah MT (2017) Checklist of butterflies in Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Bidong, Terengganu. J Sustain Sci Manag 12(1):40–48 Sodhi NS, Briffett C, Lee BPY, Subaraj R (1999) An annotated checklist of the birds of Pulau Tioman, Peninsular Malaysia. Raffles Bull Zool 6:125–130 Tamblyn A, Turner C, O’Malley R, Hughes T, Hardingham S, Roberts H (2005) Malaysian tropical forest conservation project. Report of the Perhentian Phase, London, United Kingdom Teh T (2000) Sustainable development and environmental management of Malaysian islands. In: Islands in Malaysia: issues and challenges. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya, , pp 319–340 Turner C, King T, O'Malley R, Cummings M, Raines P (2002) Danjugan Island Biodiversity survey: terrestrial. final report. Coral Cay Conservation Ltd., London, unpublished report. https://silo.tips/ download/2-nd-danjugan-island-biodiversity-surveyterrestrial. Accessed 10th Aug 2021

A. Hamza et al. Valente L, Illera JC, Havenstein K, Pallien T, Etienne RS, Tiedemann R (2017) Equilibrium bird species diversity in Atlantic islands. Curr Biol 27(11):1660–1666 Wells D, Round PD, Treesucon U (1999) The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula: covering Burma and Thailand south of the eleventh parallel. Academic Press, San Diego, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore Wells DR (2007) The birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula Passerines of Passerines, vol 2. Christopher Helm, London, UK Wiens JJ (2011) The causes of species richness patterns across space, time, and clades and the role of “ecological limits.” Q R Biol 86(2):75–96 Zakaria AA, Noor Aisyah AR, Abdullah MT (2017) Reptile diversity as an ecotourism attraction in Pulau Bidong. In: Mariapan M, Evelyn LAL, Isa SS, Karim MS, Hakeem KR (eds) Ecotourism potentials in Malaysia. Universiti Putra Malaysia

Abdulmaula Hamza Associate Professor (Ornithology and Marine Biology). Biology Department, Faculty of Education, University of Tripoli, Libya

9

Rapid Assessment of Terrestrial Fauna in Bidong Island, Malaysia Muhamad Aidil Zahidin, Nur Farah Wahida Mohd Zakir, Nurin Nayli Mohamad Nasir, Nur Ashikin Samiran, Noor Hafifa Razali, Nur Khairunnisa Ismal Zulkarnain, Hasrulzaman Hassan Basri, Mohd Noor Afiq Ramlee, Mazrul Aswady Mamat, and Mohd Tajuddin Abdullah Abstract

Rapid assessment of Bidong Island, Terengganu was conducted from 26 August to 2 September 2019 to document species diversity of birds and mammals. Mist nets and harp traps were used throughout the sampling period. Despite unfavourable weather, we managed to record three birds: Todiramphus sanctus, Chal-

M. A. Zahidin (&)
N. K. I. Zulkarnain
H. H. Basri
MohdN. A. Ramlee Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia M. A. Zahidin Department of Hematology, School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia (Health Campus), 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia N. F. W. Mohd Zakir
N. N. Mohamad Nasir
N. A. Samiran
N. H. Razali
M. A. Mamat Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia M. T. Abdullah (&) Faculty of Fisheries and Food Science, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia M. T. Abdullah Fellow Academy of Sciences Malaysia, MATRADE Tower, Jalan Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah, Level 20, West Wing, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

cophaps indica and Haliaeetus leucogaster; and four small mammals: Cynopterus brachyotis, Hipposideros bicolor, Callosciurus notatus and Rattus argentiventer. We highlighted that T. sanctus, C. indica, H. bicolor and R. argentiventer are the new locality records for Bidong Island. Our data were pooled with previous findings on selected taxa (e.g., bees, butterflies, reptiles, birds and small mammals) to update the terrestrial faunal checklist on the island. Overall, Bidong Island has 69 species from 35 families, of which Cnemaspis bidongesis is endemic to the island. Forty-nine species of Bidong Island have been listed in the various schedules of the Malaysian Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716), while none of the total species recorded are listed as threatened species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List Species. The ongoing study should be conducted to determine the contribution of regenerated forests in the conservation of terrestrial fauna as in line with Malaysia’s National Biodiversity Policy (NBP) 2025 and United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030. Keywords




Biodiversity Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 National Biodiversity Policy Sustainable development goals South China Sea Terengganu







© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_9







105

106

9.1

M. A. Zahidin et al.

Introduction

Bidong Island is one of the islands of the coast of Terengganu, Malaysia. The island has only a surface area of 1 km2 with the highest elevation of approximately 321 a.s.l. (Hamza et al. 2018). It is surrounded by the South China Sea on the shallow shelf and formed a small archipelago with the nearest small islands, such as Pulau Kapak, Pulau Gelok, Pulau Yu Besar and Pulau Yu Kecil. Among the islands, Bidong Island is considered the largest island within a small archipelago. Bidong Island is also known as Little Saigon when it served as home to approximately 40,000 Vietnamese refugees from 1975 to 1991 (Roslan et al. 2016). At that time, the island is considered the most populated island globally, and temporary buildings such as a market, clinic, worship house and school were constructed to provide shelter to refugees. Due to the massive refugee population, food and supplies were scarce, and as a result, the island is believed to have suffered a great biodiversity loss and resulted in local extinction. There is no authentic document and proof evidence that say the species extinction occurred on the island. In 1991, Bidong Island was closed for Vietnamese refugees, and the island was virtually abandoned with little maintenance work. Presently, Bidong Island is covered with secondary forest and dominated by the tree species from the family myrtaceae, rubiaceae and anacardiaceae (Pesiu et al. 2016). The presence of those dominating flowering plants extensively made up the current island forest formation. The first study on terrestrial fauna of Bidong Island was dated back to 1952 which Gibson-Hill (1952) published a record of bird species. Since then, no studies have been conducted on other fauna until recently. Grismer et al. (2014) described Cnemaspis bidongesis, a new and endemic lizard species to the island. The studies were then focused on selective taxon, which is insects (Adanan et al. 2016; Rosmidi et al. 2017), reptiles (Zakaria et al. 2017; Fatihah-Syafiq et al.

2020), birds (Hamza et al. 2018) and small mammals (Roslan et al. 2016; Rahim 2019). To our knowledge, the information on the terrestrial fauna on Bidong Island is deficient compared to great biodiversity discoveries in neighbouring east-coast islands such as Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Redang (Tamblyn et al. 2005; David et al. 2016; Rahim et al. 2016; Roslan et al. 2016; Abdullah et al. 2017; David et al. 2017; Rosmidi et al. 2017; Abdullah et al. 2019; Ahmad et al. 2020). Thus, making the Bidong Island area virtually unexplored and lack of documentation. Therefore, this study aims to document birds and small mammals of the island. This study also includes previous findings to provide baseline data and an updated checklist of terrestrial faunal of Bidong Island.

9.2

Materials and Methods

Field sampling on birds and small mammals were conducted between 26 August and 2 September 2019. The sampling events mostly took place at the Bidong Island Marine Nature Research Station and old regenerated forest trails near the Pantai Pasir Cina (Fig. 9.1). A total of 10 understorey mist nets were set at bird flyways. Each net was checked for two-hour intervals between 0700 and 1900 (David et al. 2016; 2017; Nelson et al. 2018; Shafie et al. 2018; Mohd Taib et al. 2019). The captured birds were removed from the mist nets. Bodyweight and standard morphological measurements were taken to aid in species identification. The birds were identified based on key identification provided by Robson (2000) and were released back to their habitat. Ten mist nets and two sets of four-bank harp traps were set at the forest opening, small stream and tunnel-shaped space in the understorey forest to capture bats (Zahidin et al. 2016; Omar et al. 2019). The mist nets and traps were checked every 30-min intervals between 1830 and 2200 and at 0630 on the following day (Mohd Azlan et al. 2005; Khan et al. 2007; Morni et al. 2016; Pounsin et al. 2018).

9

Rapid Assessment of Terrestrial Fauna in Bidong Island, Malaysia

107

Fig. 9.1 A 50 years old regenerated forest in Bidong Island. Mist-netting was set at 100 m (above) and 500 m (below) along the forest trail

108

M. A. Zahidin et al.

The bodyweight and external morphological measurements of captured bats were taken to aid in species identification (Kingston et al. 2006; Francis 2008). Fifty banana baited standard cage traps were set along the nature trails to capture non-volant small mammals. The cage traps were checked twice daily at 0800 and 1800 (Mohd Azlan 2006; Rahim et al. 2016). Morphological measurements of captured individuals (Abd Khalib et al. 2018; Muhammad Noor et al. 2019) were taken and identified using key characterisation (Francis 2008). The conservation status of the species recorded is based on Malaysian Wildlife Conservation Act (WCA) 2010 (Act 716) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species webpage.

9.3

Results and Discussion

9.3.1 Birds We observed a white-bellied sea eagle, Haliaeetus leucogaster flying around the island. Meanwhile, two emerald doves, Chalcophaps indica (Fig. 9.2) and a sacred kingfisher, Todiramphus sanctus were caught along the forest trail near the UMT research station (Table 9.1). Both species remark the new locality record in Bidong Island. Chalcophaps indica (Linnaeus, 1758) is a frugivorous bird that forages on the lower storey in broadleaved evergreen, semi-evergreen and mixed deciduous forest (Robson 2000). In Peninsular Malaysia, C. indica has been reported to occur in the island insular forests (Tamblyn et al. 2005; David et al. 2016; David and Mamat 2019), fragmented forests in Tasik Kenyir (David et al. 2017, 2019; Ramlee et al. 2020), foothill forest (Omar et al. 2019), plantation (Mohd Jamil et al. 2020) and urban forest (Yusop et al. 2021). Chalcophaps indica is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Besides, it is one of the wildlife species listed in the Sixth Schedule (Sect. 51) of WCA 2010. In this schedule, Orang Asli, indigenous to the

country, can hunt and consume the listed wildlife to sustain their livelihood (Abdullah et al. 2016; Bartholomew et al. 2021). An adult T. sanctus (Vigors and Horsfeld, 1827) has a few similar morphological characteristics with an adult collared kingfisher (T. chloris), except small in size, has blackish-green at the sides of the head, nape and flanks with washed buff (Robson 2000). This species was previously recorded in Setiu Wetland, Terengganu (David, unpublished report). However, this vagrant species is also presented in the mangrove, coastal habitats, cultivation, garden and lowland areas (Robson 2000). The water-body that present in those habitats becomes the primary habitat for the piscivore alcedinid that primarily feeds on fish and small crustaceans. Todiramphus sanctus is listed as Least Concern and totally protected species in IUCN Red List and WCA 2010 respectively. A H. leucogaster (Gmelin, 1788) was observed soaring up and circling in the sky. The identification was made on the flying bird characterised by bulging secondary and relatively narrow outer wing, and the white coverts contrast sharply with the blackish remainder of underwing (Robson 2000). Haliaeetus leucogaster is commonly found in coastal areas (Khaleghizadeh and Anuar 2014; Jien et al. 2021), offshore islands (David et al. 2016; Hamza et al., 2018; Mohd Taib et al., 2019) and inland water-bodies (McAfee 2017; Ramlee et al. 2020). The species is totally protected in WCA 2010 and listed as Least Concern in IUCN Red List.

9.3.2 Small Mammals Throughout field sampling, we also recorded four species of small mammals from the family chiroptera, scandentia and rodentia. A total of 22 individuals lesser dog-faced fruit bat (Cynopterus brachyotis), one bicoloured roundleaf bat (Hipposideros bicolor), two plantain squirrel (Callosciurus notatus) and one ricefield rat (Rattus argentiventer) were recorded near to the UMT’s research station and along the forest trails (Table 9.2). Hipposideros bicolor and R.

9

Rapid Assessment of Terrestrial Fauna in Bidong Island, Malaysia

109

Table 9.1 Taxonomic checklist of birds recorded in Bidong Island Species

Common name

Hamza et al. (2018)

Dollarbird

This study

WCA 2010

IUCN

x

TP

LC

x

TP

LC

TP

LC

TP

LC

Coraciidae 1

Eurystomus orientalis

Alcedinidae 2

Todiramphus chloris

Collared kingfisher

3

Todiramphus sanctus

Sacred kingfisher

x

Cuculidae 4

Eudynamys scolopaceus

Asian koel

x

Apodidae 5

Aerodramus fuciphagus

Edible nest swiflet

x

LC

6

Rhaphidura leucopygialis

Silver-rumped needletail

x

TP

LC

7

Apus affinis

House swift

x

TP

LC

Columbidae 8

Chalcophaps indica

Emerald dove

P

LC

9

Ducula bicolor

Pied imperial pigeon

x

x

TP

LC

Common sandpiper

x

TP

LC

Greater sand plover

x

TP

LC

Scolopacidae 10

Actitis hypoleucos

Jacanidae 11

Charadrius leschenaultii

Laridae 12

Sterna sumatrana

Black-naped tern

x

TP

LC

13

Onychoprion anaethetus

Bridled tern

x

TP

LC

White-bellied sea eagle

x

TP

LC

Accipitridae 14

Haliaeetus leucogaster

x

Ardeidae 15

Egretta sacra

Pacific reef egret

x

TP

LC

16

Bubulcus ibis

Cattle egret

x

TP

LC

17

Oriolus chinensis

Black-naped oriole

x

TP

LC

Asian glossy starling

x

Sturnidae 18

Aplonis panayensis

LC

Hirundinidae 19

Hirundo rustica

Barn swallow

x

TP

LC

20

Hirundo tahitica

Pacific swallow

x

TP

LC

Arctic warbler

x

TP

LC

x

TP

LC (continued)

Phylloscopidae 21

Phylloscopus borealis

Dicaeidae 22

Dicaeum trigonostigma

110

M. A. Zahidin et al.

Table 9.1 (continued) Species

Common name

Hamza et al. (2018)

This study

WCA 2010

IUCN

Orange-bellied flowerpecker Nectariniidae 23

Anthreptes malacensis

Brown-throated sunbird

x

TP

LC

24

Anthreptes singalensis

Ruby-cheeked sunbird

x

TP

LC

25

Nectarinia sperata

Purple-throated sunbird

x

TP

LC

26

Nectarinia jugularis

Olive-backed sunbird

x

TP

LC

27

Arachnothera longirostra

Little spiderhunter

x

TP

LC

TP

LC

Motacillidae 28

Motacilla cinerea

Grey wagtail

x

Total no. of species

26

3

Total no. of family

16

3

WCA 2010-Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, IUCN-International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species x-present; P-protected species, TP- totally protected species; LC- Least Concern

Table 9.2 Taxonomic checklist of butterflies recorded in Bidong Island Species

Common name

Roslan et al. (2016)

Rahim (2019)

This study

WCA 2010

IUCN

P

LC

Pteropodidae 1

Pteropus hypomelanus

Island flying-fox

x

2

Cynopterus brachyotis cf. “Forest”

Lesser dog-faced fruit bat

x

3

Cynopterus brachyotis cf. “Sunda”

Lesser dog-faced fruit bat

x

LC

Lesser false vampire bat

x

LC

x

LC

Megadermatidae 4

Megaderma spasma Hipposideridae

5

Hipposideros bicolor

Bicolored roundleaf bat

x

LC

x

LC

Sciuridae 6

Callosciurus notatus

Plaintain squirrel

x

Muridae 7

Rattus tiomanicus

Malaysian wood rat

x

8

Rattus exulans

Pacific rat

x

9

Rattus argentiventer

Ricefield rat

LC LC x

Total no. of species

4

3

4

Total number of family

2

2

4

LC

WCA 2010-Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, IUCN-International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species x-present; P-protected species, TP-totally protected species; LC- Least Concern

9

Rapid Assessment of Terrestrial Fauna in Bidong Island, Malaysia

Table 9.3 Checklist of terrestrial fauna in Bidong Island

Family

Species

Bees

1

5

Butterflies

4

9

Reptiles

9

18

16

28

5

9

35

69

Birds Small mammals Total

argentiventer are the new locality record in Bidong Island. Sixteen male and six female of C. brachyotis (Müller, 1838) were captured along the forest trail near the UMT research station. None of the captured individuals was recaptured. A high number of species recorded probably due to the netting area was surrounded by flowering plants. We observed that some flowering plants from the family Ebenaceae, Combretaceae and Malvaceae were in the stage of flowering. Previously, Pesiu et al. (2016) stated that Diospyrus sp. and Terminalia catappa were underwent heavy fruiting while Hibiscus tiliaceus experienced heavy flowering in mid-September. The phenology of these flowering plants was associated with the abundance of C. brachyotis, where Roslan et al. (2016) recorded a total of 57 individuals near to research station and along the forest trails. Single male H. bicolor (Temminck, 1834) was captured on 27 August near the rocky area. At dusk, flying insects were abundant at the trapping area and probably attracted H. bicolor to prey. This insectivorous bat is a manoeuvrabletype and slow-flying bat that preys in confined areas and makes several capture attempts on one pass through a patch of prey (Mohd Hanif et al. 2015).

9.4

111

Updated Species Checklist

Throughout the sampling periods, we experienced heavy rainfall from 28 August until 1 September 2019. Heavy rainfall was recorded on five consecutive nights, affecting total species and individuals captured until the next day. Despite the low number of species and individuals recorded,

we were able to record four new locality records in Bidong Island. With these new records, we updated the species checklist by combining with studies done on birds (Hamza et al. 2018) and small mammals (Roslan et al. 2016; Rahim 2019) (Table 9.3). We also included a species checklist from the bees (Adanan et al. 2016), butterflies (Rosmidi et al. 2017) and reptiles (Grismer et al. 2014; Zakaria et al. 2017; Fatihah-Syafiq et al. 2020) in Tables 9.4, 9.5 and 9.6 to provide a checklist of total fauna recorded in Bidong Island. We updated 28 and nine species of birds (16 families) and small mammals (five families) were recorded in Bidong Island. In general, 35 families and 69 species of selected terrestrial fauna were recorded in Bidong Island between 2016 and 2019. Of the total numbers, none were listed as threatened species, while 29 species were only scheduled in the WCA 2010.

9.5

Conclusion

Bidong Island harbours a total of 69 species of terrestrial fauna. The current species richness in the island shows that the uninhabited island of regenerating forest positively contribute to the conservation of terrestrial fauna. From our knowledge, there is no biodiversity documentation conducted before- and after-occupational by the Vietnamese refugees on the island. The early scientific record only started in the 2010s. The great biodiversity loss around that time remains unknown. Besides, the island is not gaining much research attention compared to the tourist and populated neighbouring islands. The continuous study should be conducted to determine if the current regenerating forest could support

112

and contribute to terrestrial conservation consistent with Malaysia’s National Biodiversity Policy (NBP) 2025 and United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 (Goal 15). Bidong Island has island attractiveness, cultural linkages, endemism and reliability of wildlife sighting elements. Therefore, the island itself is highly potential for one of the edu-tourism and ecotourism in Terengganu. Acknowledgements We thank Associate Professor Dr Nobuyuki Yamaguchi from the Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development (ITBSD),

Fig. 9.2 An Adult Chalcophaps Indica caught in Bidong Island

M. A. Zahidin et al. UMT for his insightful comments on various versions of this manuscript. We also thank to UMT for the administrative, accommodation, field equipment and logistic supports. Special thanks to the Department of Wildlife and National Park (DWNP) for the permission and research permit. We acknowledged financial support from the Niche Research Grant Scheme (NRGS/2015/53132) awarded to MT Abdullah and colleagues.

Appendice See Fig. 9.2 and Tables 9.4, 9.5 and 9.6.

9

Rapid Assessment of Terrestrial Fauna in Bidong Island, Malaysia

Table 9.4 Taxonomic checklist of bees recorded in Bidong Island (Adanan et al. 2016)

Table 9.5 Taxonomic checklist of butterflies recorded in Bidong Island (Rosmidi et al. 2017)

113

Species

Common name

1

Xylocopa aestuans

Carpenter bee

2

Xylocopa varipuncta

Carpenter bee

3

Tetragonula fuscobalteata

Stingless bee

4

Tetragonula laeviceps

Stingless bee

5

Apis dorsata

Giant honey bee

Total no. of species

5

Total no. of family

1

Apidae

Species

Common name

1

Papilio memnon agenor

Great mormon

2

Papilio polytes romulus

Common mormon

Eurema sari sodalis

Chocolate grass yellow

Papilionidae

Pieridae 3

Nymphalidae 4

Elymnias panthera panthera

Tawny palmfly

5

Euploea core graminifera

Common crow

6

Hypolimnas bolina

Great eggfly

7

Ideopsis juventa sitah

Glassy tiger

8

Ideopsis similis persimilis

Blue glassy tiger

Lycaenidae 9

Arhopala sp Total number of species

9

Total number of family

4

114

M. A. Zahidin et al.

Table 9.6 Taxonomic checklist of reptiles recorded in Bidong Island (Grismer et al. 2014; Zakaria et al. 2017; Fatihah-Syafiq et al. 2020) Species

Common name

Grismer et al. (2014)

Zakaria et al. (2017)

Fatihah-Syafiq et al. (2020)

WCA 2010

IUCN

Microhylidae 1

Kaloula pulchra

Banded bullfrog

x

LC

2

Microhyla heymonsi

Chorus frog

x

LC

Disk-toed tree frog

x

LC

Rhacophoridae 3

Polypedates leucomystax

Agamidae 4

Bronchocela cristatella

Green crested lizard

x

x

NE

Scincidae 5

Dasia olivacea

Olive dasia

x

x

LC

6

Eutropis multifasciata

Common mabuya

x

x

LC

x

x

LC

x

x

NE

x

Gekkonidae 7

Cnemaspis bidongensis

Pulau Bidong rock gecko

x

8

Gekko cicakterbang

9

Gekko gecko

Tokay gecko

x

10

Gekko monarchus

Spotted house gecko

x

11

Hemidactylus frenatus

Common house gecko

x

12

Hemidactylus garnotii

Garnot's house gecko

x

13

Hemidactylus platyurus

Flat-tailed house gecko

x

x

NE

14

Lepidodactylus lugubris

Mourning gecko

x

x

NE

Common water monitor

x

x

LC

Common wolf snake

x

LC

Reticulated python

x

P

LC NE

x

LC NE

Varanidae 15

Varanus salvator

Colubridae 16

Lycodon capucinus

Pythonidae 17

Malayopython reticulatus

P

NE

Typhlopidae (continued)

9

Rapid Assessment of Terrestrial Fauna in Bidong Island, Malaysia

115

Table 9.6 (continued)

18

Species

Common name

Indotyphlops braminus

Common blind snake

Grismer et al. (2014)

Zakaria et al. (2017)

Fatihah-Syafiq et al. (2020) x

Total no. of species

1

12

16

Total no. of family

1

4

9

WCA 2010

IUCN NE

WCA 2010-Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, IUCN-International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species x-present; P-protected species; NE-Not Evaluated, LC-Least Concern

References Abd Khalib NK, Shafie NJ, Hassan Basri H, Nelson BR, Abdullah MT (2018) Non-volant small mammal data from fragmented forests in Terengganu state. Data Brief 21:1514–1520 Abdullah MT, David G, Ariffin MSA (2019) The mesmerising Pulau Redang: an introduction to its ecology and biodiversity. Penerbit Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus Abdullah MT, Abdullah MF, Bartholomew CV, Jani R (2016) Kelestarian masyarakat Orang Asli. Penerbit Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus Abdullah MT, Rahim NAA, Pesiu E (2017) The enchanting Pulau Perhentian. Penerbit Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus Adanan NA, Basari N, Rosmidi FH, Pesiu E, Abdullah MT (2016) Preliminary studies on bees at Pulau Bidong and Pulau Perhentian, Terengganu. J Sustain Sci Manag 1:36–40 Ahmad NII, Rahim NAA, Roslan A, Adrus M, Ahamad M, Hassan M, Lola MS, Ramlee MNA, Zahidin MA, Abdullah MT (2020) Data on ectoparasites infestation on small mammals from different habitats in east-coast Peninsular Malaysia. Data Brief 30:105621 Bartholomew CV, Zainir MI, Nor Zalipah M, Husin MH, Abdullah MT (2021) Wildlife hunting practices by the indigenous people of Terengganu Peninsular Malaysia. In: Abdullah MT, Bartholomew CV, Mohammad A (eds) Resource use and sustainability of Orang Asli: indigenous communities in Peninsular Malaysia. Springer, 137–153pp David G, Mamat MA (2019) A brief survey of birds in Pulau Sibu. Malay Nat J 71(3):325–331 David G, Roslan A, Mamat MA, Abdullah MT, Hamza AA (2016) A brief survey on birds from Pulau Perhentian Besar, Terengganu. J Sustain Sci Manag 1:11–18 David G, Roslan A, Mamat MA, Hamza AA, Abdullah MT (2017) An annotated checklist of migratory

birds in Kenyir, Setiu and Pulau Perhentian Besar, Terengganu, Malaysia. J Sustain Sci Manag 12 (2):135–160 David G, Roslan A, Pesiu E, Abdullah MT (2019) A brief survey on the birds in Belukar Bukit, Kenyir, Terengganu, Malaysia. In: Abdullah MT, Mohamad A, Zalipah MN, Lola MS (eds) Greater Kenyir landscapes. Social development and environmental sustainability: from ridge to reef. Springer, 143–157 pp Fatihah-Syafiq M, Badli-Sham BH, Fahmi-Ahmad M, Aqmal Naser M, Rizal SA, Azmi MSA, Grismer LL, Ahamd A (2020) Checklist of herpetofauna in the severly degraded ecosystem of Bidong Island, Peninsular Malaysia, South China Sea. ZooKeys 985:143– 162 Francis CM (2008) Field guide to the mammals of Southeast Asia. New Holland Publisher, London Gibson-Hill CA (1952) Ornithological notes from the Raffles Museum 15, notes on the avifauna of great Redang Island (Terengganu). Bull Raffles Museum 24:220–240 Grismer LL, Wood PL, Ahmad A, Sumarli ASI, Vazquez JJ, Ismail LH, Nance R, Mohd-Amin MA, Othman MNA, Rizaijessika SA, Kuss M, Murdoch M, Cobos A (2014) A new species of insular rock gecko (genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) from the Bidong Archipelago, Terengganu Peninsular Malaysia. Zootaxa 3755(5):447–456 Hamza A, David G, Mcafee A, Abdullah MT (2018) Annotated checklist of avifauna in Pulau Bidong, Malaysia. J Sustain Sci Manag 13(1):103–116 Jien LT, Abdul-Halim NS, Hasmi NA, Norazlimi NA (2021) Potential of avitourism in Tanjung Laboh, Johor. In: IOP conference series: earth and environmental science, vol 736, no 1. IOP Publishing, 012028 pp Khan FAA, Sazali SN, Jayaraj VK, Aban S, Zaini MK, Ketol B, Ryan JR, Julaihi AM, Hall LS, Abdullah MT (2007) Bats of Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. Sarawak Museum J 63(84):268– 300. https://doi.org/10.1038/185581b0

116 Khaleghizadeh A, Anuar S (2014) Breeding landscape and nest spacing of two coastal raptors (accipitriformes: white-bellied sea eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster and brahminy kite Haliastur indus) in Peninsular Malaysia. Ital J Zool 81(3):431–439 Kingston T, Lim BL, Akbar Z (2006) Bats of Krau Wildlife reserve. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi McAfee A (2017) Birds of Terengganu. Penerbit Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu Mohd Azlan J (2006) Mammal diversity and conservation in a secondary forest in Peninsular Malaysia. Biodivers Conserv 15:1013–1025 Mohd Azlan J, Neuchlos J, Abdullah MT (2005) Diversity of chiropterans in limestone forest area, Bau, Sarawak. Malaysian Appl Biol J Appl Biol J 34 (1):59–64 Mohd Hanif RMD, Nur Aida MT, Zahininisa AR, Mohd Ridwan AR, Abdullah MT (2015) Contribution of regenerated forest in conservation of bats in Peninsular Malaysia. J Trop for Sci 27(4):506–516 Mohd Jamil NN, Ibrahim H, Zain HHM, Musa NHC (2020) Species diversity and feeding guilds of birds in Malaysian agarwood plantations. J Threat Taxa 12 (14):16954–16961 Mohd Taib FS, David G, Lee A, Low KH, Lee KS, Yusoff MF, Yaacob AR (2019) Checklist of birds in Pulau Pangkor, Perak Malaysia. Malaysian Forest 82 (1):215–224 Morni MA, Ahmad Tahir NFD, Rosli QS, Dee JW, Azhar I, Roslan A, Zahidin MA, Abdullah MT, Khan FAA (2016) New record of Rhinolophus chiewkweeae (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) from the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia with new information on their echolocation calls, genetics and their taxonomy. Raffles Bull Zool 64:242–249 Muhammad Noor NAA, Rahim NA, Ahmad NII, Abdullah MT (2019) Taxonomic composition of non-volant small mammal assemblages in Tasik Kenyir, Hulu Terengganu, Terengganu. In: Abdullah MT, Mohamad A, Zalipah MN, Lola MS (eds) Greater Kenyir landscapes. Social development and environmental sustainability: from ridge to reef. Springer, 181–189 pp Nelson BR, David G, Mokhtar AF, Mamat MA, Rahman AJA (2018) Avian data from Kenyir rainforest trail. Data Brief 21:2633–2637 Omar NI, Abd Latif M, Shamsul N, Sharif Katullah MI, Hassan Basri H, Mazlan AA, Azmi NF, Ering R, Abdullah S, Anuar H, Ismail NA, Ahmad MH,

M. A. Zahidin et al. Mohammad Shah MN, Mohd Johan KB, Abdullah MT (2019) Rapid assessment and taxonomic checklist of vertebrates at the foot of Gunung Tebu Forest Reserve, Terengganu. In: Abdullah MT, Mohamad A, Zalipah MN, Lola MS (eds) Greater Kenyir landscapes. Social development and environmental sustainability: from ridge to reef. Springer, 201–207 pp Pesiu E, Abdullah MT, Salim J, Salam MR (2016) Tree species composition in Pulau Bidong and Pulau Redang. J Sustain Sci Manag 1:48–60 Pounsin G, Wahab NS, Roslan A, Zahidin MA, Tamrin NA, Abdullah MT (2018) Diversity of bats in contrasting habitats of Hulu Terengganu dipterocarp forest and Setiu Wetland BRIS forest with a note on preliminary study of vertical stratification of pteropodid bats. Trop Life Sci Res 29(1):51–69 Ramlee MNA, Hussin MF, Roslan A, Rosmidi FH, Pesiu EA, Rahim NA, Ahmad NII, David G, Zakaria AA, Adanan NA, Hassan Basri H, Ariffin MSA, Bartholomew CV, Zahidin MA, Lola MS, Abdullah MT (2020) Conspectus of flora, fauna and micro-climate data in Tasik Kenyir from Mac 2015 to February 2016. Data Brief 29 Rahim NAA (2019) Vertical stratification and diversity of small mammals in contrasting habitats in Terengganu. Thesis of Master Degree, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Malaysia Rahim NAA, Ahmad NII, Zakaria AA, Pesiu E, Salam MR, Mamat MA, Abdullah MT (2016) Brief survey of non-volant small mammals on Pulau Perhentian Besar, Terengganu, Malaysia. J Sustain Sci Manag 1:19–25 Robson C (2000) A field guide to the birds of Southeast Asia. New Holland Publisher, London Roslan A, David G, Ahmadi NIIA, Rahim NA, Pesiu E, Zahidin MA, Rosmidi FH, Hassan Basri H, Kamaruzzaman MA, Mohamed NZ, Abdullah MT (2016) Notes of bats in Pulau Bidong and Pulau Perhentian Besar, Terengganu, Malaysia. J Sustain Sci Manag 1:26–35 Rosmidi FH, Zahidin MA, Adanan NA, Zakaria AA, Pesiu E, Abdullah MT (2017) Checklist of butterflies in Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Bidong, Terengganu. J Sustain Sci Manag 12(1):40–48 Shafie NJ, Ahmad A, Ismail NA, David G, Abdullah MT (2018) Bird assemblages in lowland dipterocarp forests of Tasik Kenyir and Setiu, Terengganu. J Sustain Sci Manag 13(2):43–56

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Tamblyn A, Turner C, Malley RO, Weaver N, Hughes T, Hardingham S, Roberts H (2005) Malaysia Trop Forest Conserv Proj: Rep Perhentian Phase 44:105 Yusop MYM, Ibrahim Z, Hamzah MH, Mamat I, Isa JM, Salikan S, Hussein SZ (2021) A survey of birds in an urban tropical rainforest Park: Kuala Lumpur ecoforest park Bukit Nanas. Malaysian Forest 84(1):114– 119 Zahidin MA, Roslan A, Marni W, Kombi M, Abdullah MT (2016) Biodiversity assessment and updated checklist of faunal diversity in Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. J Sustain Sci Manag 11 (1):53–72 Zakaria AA, Rahim NAA, Abdullah MT (2017) Reptile diversity as an ecotourism attraction in Pulau Bidong. In: Mariapan M, Lin ELA, Isa SS, Karim MS, Hakeem KR (eds) Ecotourism potentials in Malaysia. Faculty of Forestry Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, pp 42–47

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Muhamad Aidil Zahidin Postgraduate Student (Molecular Genetics). Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development.

10

Impact of Tropical Storm Pabuk on Intertidal Gastropods in Bidong Island, Malaysia Noor Hamizah Mohamad Basir, Nursalwa Baharuddin, and Amirrudin Ahmad

Abstract

Malaysia was hit by the after-effects of tropical storm Pabuk, which originated in the North-western Pacific Ocean between late December 2018 and early January 2019. The storm caused severe damage to the intertidal ecosystem on the Bidong Island. This study explored the composition, distribution and abundance of marine intertidal gastropods following tropical storm Pabuk. A series of transect lines (16 m
15 m) were laid out perpendicular to the shore and zonation from the low, middle, and high tide with a total of 18 quadrats of 0.25 m2 was used at Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC) and Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (PPP) in August 2019. The results revealed that a total of 14 species were found at both

N. H. Mohamad Basir  N. Baharuddin (&)  A. Ahmad Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] N. H. Mohamad Basir e-mail: [email protected] A. Ahmad e-mail: [email protected] N. Baharuddin  A. Ahmad Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

sites, comprised of three subclasses and eight families from a total of 498 individuals. The most commonly found gastropods were Littoraria strigata with a FoI of 83%, which were adaptive to the environmental condition. Analysis results showed the Shannon diversity index, H’ had a value less than two, indicating low diversity. In contrast, the Simpson Index, D’ had a value of almost one, indicating high dominance. The Evenness index, J’ and Equitability index, Ep’ also had a moderate value of almost one for the gastropods in the study sites. Diversity t-test recorded t (496.23) = 6.7683, p < 0.05, which indicates both sites have a significant difference. Furthermore, SHE analysis showed a log series distribution pattern. Strong winds from the storm created strong waves that struck the coral ridge areas causing branching coral to break and die. An increasing percentage of dead coral that covered up the intertidal area was observed. A future study that includes spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability coupled with a monitoring programme will be helpful to assess the wellness of this intertidal ecosystem. Keywords







Cyclonic Disaster Mollusca Diversity indices South China Sea Terengganu



© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_10



119

120

10.1

N. H. Mohamad Basir et al.

Introduction

Intertidal ecosystems are among one of the harshest yet diverse ecosystems that serve as crucial development phase for certain marine organisms. The community that lives in the intertidal ecosystem are strongly affected by the vertical and horizontal gradient caused by tide and wave action (Little et al. 2009). The structural complexity of intertidal ecosystems affects the density of the gastropod community in the intertidal area and shows that gastropods were the only organism directly associated with the surface of the habitat (Beck 1998). In general, an intertidal ecosystem that is exposed and submerged following a tidal cycle usually is covered by vegetation at the high intertidal zone or having one or more rows of natural dunes. Having vegetations and dunes allows this ecosystem to absorb and protect against erosion as well as the impact of sea ravages such as storms (pers. obs). Storms are a phenomenon that rarely happens in Malaysia as it is situated on the southern region of the South China Sea and near the equator, which has a weak Coriolis force that prevents air rotation. Because of this tropical storms rarely form or cross near this area (Chang et al. 2003; Zaki and Lupo 2008). Tropical storm Pabuk happened during the monsoon season. Monsoon seasons in Malaysia are common phenomena occurring along the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia such as Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang. These seasons occur annually between November to February each year with a higher rate of precipitation compared to other months. Higher rainfall with times of heavy rains can cause flash floods and can sometimes lead to unfortunate events such as loss of properties and human life. However, during December 2018 and early January 2019, Malaysia was hit by residues of tropical or cyclonic storm Pabuk. This tropical storm formed as the tropical depression built up its strength on 4 January 2019. It further built strength that formed a tropical cyclone until 5 January 2019 before it gradually dissipated in the Bay of Bengal (Sivaprasad et al. 2020). This

storm resulted in ecosystem damages that been recorded from the intertidal area up to coral reefs fringe areas in Bidong Island. Past studies have shown that storms can directly or indirectly affect intertidal communities through the action of waves. Underwood (1998) discovered that storms have an indirect impact on whelks and other invertebrates through the removal of canopies (e.g. algal coverage) in the intertidal ecosystem. Natural disturbances such as warming and an increase in storm activity in a particular area can lead to a reduction in primary productivity (Thompson et al. 2002). Another study by Shariful et al. (2020) found that significant wave height recorded from the numerical model (MIKE-21) during the Pabuk storm caused major changes in the beach dune as discovered during a subsequent beach profile survey. A recent study assessed tropical storm Pabuk’s damages to a coral reef in the shallow water of Bidong Island and discovered that there was a significant change in terms of live and dead coral cover at different depths (Safuan et al. 2020). The researchers estimated a huge reduction in terms of live coral cover of up to 60% at 3 m depth, whereas a deeper depth like 8 m recorded a 30% decline (Safuan et al. 2020). However, the status of gastropods affected in the intertidal area due to the pile-up of dead coral remains unknown. Hence, this study was aimed to determine the composition, distribution, and abundance of marine intertidal gastropods (Mollusca; Gastropoda) after tropical storm Pabuk.

10.2

Materials and Methods

10.2.1 Sampling Method Transect lines of 16 m (width)
15 m (length) were laid out perpendicular to the shore and placed according to low, middle and high tide zonation. The sampling line transect method was used following Long et al. (2014) but was modified to fit the study site. Each zonation was

10

Impact of Tropical Storm Pabuk on Intertidal …

differentiated by identifying the key species in each zonation or by measuring the physical height from the mean low water level (Doty 1946). A total of 18 quadrats of 0.25 m2 were used in each zonation (low tide zone, middle tide zone, high tide zone). The quadrats were placed approximately about 1 m from each other. The total area covered for each zonation is 4.5 m2 and the sampling effort was equal in each zonation. In each quadrat, all of the gastropod individuals were counted, and a representative sample of 10 individuals from each species was randomly taken and put into a labelled plastic zip-lock bag for further identification purposes. All data collection was done during the lowest tide, and pictures for each quadrat were taken for counting and reference purposes. Identification of gastropods was made until the most subordinate possible taxa according to WoRMS (World Register of Marine Species), MolluscaBase, a pictorial guide from Baharuddin and Marshall (2014); Abbot and Dance (2000); and Shabdin and Rosniza (2010).

121

26.2’’) and Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (N 05° 36′ 45.7’’ E 103° 03′ 32.4’’). Both study sites consisted of rocky and sandy shore ecosystems that are slightly elevated from the sea. PPC can be considered to have fewer disturbances from human activities since this area is located near UMT Marine Research Station (UMT MaReSt). Nonetheless, PPP is easily accessible by the public and tourists because there is a museum gallery with associated road access and facilities. Both beaches are moderately sheltered by vegetation; however, in high tide zonation, the rocky area is mostly dry and free from encrusting algae as it is exposed to direct sunlight. Nevertheless, at the low tide zone of PPC, algae encrusts had covered rocks, boulders, and dead corals creating a greenbelt (Fig. 10.2a). Sandy areas are mostly covered by dead coral that washed up along the shoreline and created a sand dune or coral cay (Fig. 10.2a). Rocks along low tide areas were fully covered or partially covered with dead coral, especially in PPC compared to PPP, because it filled up the empty spaces between rocks, cracks and crevices (Fig. 10.2b).

10.2.2 Study Area 10.2.3 Data Analysis Sampling was carried out in August 2019 at two study sites of the intertidal zone of Bidong Island, Terengganu (Fig. 10.1), which are Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC) (N 05° 37′ 20.5″ E103° 03′ Fig. 10.1 A map of study sites, Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC) and Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (PPP) at Bidong Island, Terengganu, Malaysia

Ecological indices used were the Shannon Index (H’), and Simpson Index (D) for diversity, Margalef Index (Ma) and Menhinick Index (Me)

122

N. H. Mohamad Basir et al.

b

a

Fig. 10.2 a The intertidal zone of Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC) where dead coral that washed up created sand dune or coral cay, and b Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (PPP) near to

museum gallery and dead corals has been observed filled up cracks, crevices and spaces between rocks

for richness. Evenness Index (J’) and Equitability index (Ep) were calculated by using PAST (Paleontological Statistics version 3.23). Diversity t-tests for both sites were also performed to see whether there is a significant difference among samples in terms of diversity. SHE analysis examines the relationship between species richness (S), species diversity (H), and evenness (E) in the samples for testing the goodness-of-fit following three models, which are broken stick, log normal and log series. The parameters in SHE analysis changes with the increasing sampling effort. Both diversity t-test and also SHE analysis were analysed using PAST v.3.23 (Hammer et al. 2001).

recorded. Echinolittorina malaccana had the most individuals collected with 224 individuals at both beaches (Table 10.1, Fig. 10.3). The Shannon Index, H’ for both sites showed a value of less than two, which indicates low diversity. The highest value recorded was H’ = 1.607 at the mid-tide zone of PPC with the lowest value of H’ = 0.362 at the high tide zone of PPP (Table 10.2). In contrast, for the Simpson Index (D), all results show a value of almost one, which indicate a high dominance, except low values at high tide zonation with 0.274 and 0.208 at PPC and PPP respectively (Table 10.2). Margalef Index (Ma) and Menhinick Index (Me), which is the abundance of species per unit area at low tide zonation in both beaches, are higher compared to middle and high tide zonation (Table 10.2). The Evenness Index (J’) recorded variation in values with the highest recorded at PPP with J’ = 0.946 at the low tide zone. In contrast, the lowest value was at PPC with J’ = 0.375 at the high tide zone (Table 10.2). The same pattern can be observed in Equitability index (Ep) where low tide zonation in PPP recorded the highest value of Ep = 0.917, and the lowest value was also at the same beach, PPP, with Ep = 0.355 at mid-tide zone (Table 10.2). Analysis of diversity t-tests revealed that both beaches have a significant difference in terms of diversity recorded with t (496.23) = 6.7683,

10.3

Results

A total of 498 individuals comprising 14 species from eight families (Cerithiidae, Columbellidae, Littorinidae, Nassariidae, Muricidae, Planaxidae, Neritidae and Trochidae) represented by three subclasses (Caenogastropoda, Neritimorpha and Vetigastropoda) were recorded (Table 10.1). Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC) recorded 12 species, whereas Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (PPP) recorded eight species only (Table 10.1, Fig. 10.3). Only one species, Littoraria strigata, can be found at all tide zonations with a Frequency of Incidence (FOI) of 83% from a total of 81 individuals

10

Impact of Tropical Storm Pabuk on Intertidal …

123

Table 10.1 The abundance of marine gastropods in Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC) and Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (PPP) according to subclass, family and species at intertidal zonation Subclass

Family

Species

Study sites PPC

PPP

Zonation PPC

FoI (%)

PPP

No. of individuals

H

M

L

H

M

L

–

–

–

1

Caenogastropoda

Cerithiidae

Cerithium sp.

–

1

–

–

Caenogastropoda

Columbellidae

Pyrene sp.

3

–

1

2

–

–

–

–

33

Caenogastropoda

Littorinidae

Echinolittorina malaccana (Philippi 1847)

101

123

74

27

–

105

18

–

67

Caenogastropoda

Littorinidae

Littoraria intermedia (Philippi 1846)

36

87

–

36

–

–

85

2

50

Caenogastropoda

Littorinidae

Littoraria strigata (Philippi 1846)

62

19

12

50

–

14

2

3

83

Caenogastropoda

Littorinidae

Echinolittorina vidua (Gould 1859)

–

1

–

–

–

–

1

–

17

Caenogastropoda

Muricidae

Morula uva (Röding 1798)

1

1

–

–

1

–

–

1

33

Caenogastropoda

Nassariidae

Nassariidae sp.

30

–

1

29

–

–

–

–

33

Caenogastropoda

Planaxidae

Planaxis sulcatus (Born 1778)

13

–

–

13

–

–

–

–

17

Neritimorpha

Neritidae

Nerita albicilla (Linnaeus 1758

3

2

–

–

3

–

2

–

33

Neritimorpha

Neritidae

Nerita balteata (Reeve 1855)

1

–

–

–

1

–

–

–

17

Neritimorpha

Neritidae

Nerita undata (Linnaeus 1758)

8

–

–

–

8

–

–

–

17

Neritimorpha

Neritidae

Nerita sp.

1

–

–

1

–

–

–

–

17

Vetigastropoda

Trochidae

Monodonta labio (Linnaeus 1758)

1

4

–

–

1

–

2

2

50

260

238

88

158

14

119

110

9

4

7

5

2

6

5

Total individual (s) Total Species

17

L = lower tide, M = middle tide, and H = high tide; The total number of individual (n) and Frequency of Incidence (FoI) contributed by each species; “–” indicates absent

p < 0.05 (Table 10.3). SHE analysis showed log series wherewith with the increasing of sample number, species richness (S) curve was slightly increasing and stabilised whilst Shannon, H’ diversity remained constant, and evenness (E) curve decreased (Fig. 10.4).

10.4

Discussion

The number recorded for post-tropical storm Pabuk showed a reduction of almost half of all individuals (498), with one family and five

124

Fig. 10.3 Apertural and abapertural view of intertidal marine gastropods of Bidong Island. a Pyrene sp., 10 mm, b Echinolittorina malaccana, 7 mm, c Littoraria intermedia, 6 mm, d Littoraria strigata, 6 mm, e Echinolittorina vidua, 8 mm, f Nassariidae sp., 9 mm g Morula uva, 20 mm, h Planaxis sulcatus, 20 mm, i Nerita

N. H. Mohamad Basir et al.

albicilla, 21 mm, j Nerita balteata, 32 mm, k Nerita undata, 24 mm, l Nerita sp., 6 mm, m Monodonta labio, 33 mm. (*Apertural and abapertural view for Cerithium sp. is not available since the sample were sent to Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM) for verification

10

Impact of Tropical Storm Pabuk on Intertidal …

125

Table 10.2 Ecological indices of intertidal gastropods in Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC) and Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (PPP) following intertidal zones at high, mid and low tide Zonation

Ecological indices H’

D

Ma

Me

J’

Ep

PPC

PPP

PPC

PPP

PPC

PPP

PPC

PPP

PPC

PPP

PPC

PPP

High tide

0.519

0.362

0.274

0.208

0.670

0.209

0.426

0.183

0.375

0.523

0.420

0.718

Mid tide

1.607

0.757

0.778

0.375

1.185

1.064

0.557

0.572

0.826

0.422

0.713

0.355

Low tide

1.215

1.523

0.612

0.765

1.516

1.820

1.336

1.667

0.755

0.946

0.674

0.917

Table 10.3 Diversity ttest using shannon index of Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC) and Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (PPP)

Site

H’

Variance

t

df

p

PPC

1.6775

0.003387

6.7683

496.23

3.69E-11*

PPP

1.1112

0.003615

*

indicate significant difference with 95% confidence limit (a: 0.05)

Fig. 10.4 The SHE analysis of Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC) and Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (PPP) that showed a log series pattern. (Ln S = natural logarithm for species richness, Ln E = natural logarithm for evenness and H = Shannon Index)

species short compared to the previous year (Baharuddin et al. 2019). A total of 1326 gastropod individuals were recorded from the predisaster event (August 2018) and had 19 species representing eight families, namely Littorinidae,

Muricidae, Planaxidae, Siphonariida, Neritidae, Nacillidae, Patellae and Trochidae. Five subclasses from Ceanogastropoda, Heterobranchia, Neritimorpha, Pattellogastropoda and Vetigastropoda were recorded (Baharuddin et al. 2019).

126

Certain species such as Nodilittorina pyramidalis and Planaxis sulcatus were almost and totally wiped out during the disaster compared to their greater abundance in 2018 (Baharuddin et al. 2019). These storms resulted in certain species being either drifted away or crushed due to high and strong storm waves. Such natural phenomena can have knock-on effects on local biodiversity as a result of changes in the type and extent of biological habitat provision (Seed 1996; Thompson et al. 1996). Gastropods are one of the crucial and vital classes of organisms that play dynamic roles in the intertidal ecosystem and can be considered to be one of the formidable ecosystems with fluctuation of temperature and physicochemical factors. Organisms that live in this type of ecosystem usually have a very flexible adaptation ability to cope with the unstable environmental conditions that shape intertidal assemblages as well as controlling the structure of intertidal communities (Underwood and Chapman 1989). Despite adaptation, environmental factors such as temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen (DO) affects the distribution of gastropods in the intertidal area (Rumahlatu and Leiwakabessy 2017). Despite this adaptive hardiness, tropical storm Pabuk caused damage among malacofauna communities within this island ecosystem. Overall, the community structure was drastically changed within a one-year period. However, caution is needed as a result of the impacts tropical storms can contribute to the reduction in the number of gastropods. This issue requires further monitoring and study. According to the study by Corte et al. (2017), storms do not directly affect the organism but affect the surrounding area by altering physicochemical properties in the ecosystem, which were measured in this study: sediment temperature, water salinity, wave height and wave power. Changes to these indirectly result in a lower density of organisms for a period of time after the storm. In a normal period, seasonal wind variation, precipitation and wave direction are factors driven by changes in current circulation near Bidong Island (Daud and Akhir 2015; Shariful et al. 2020). However, Polsomboon and

N. H. Mohamad Basir et al.

Sriariyawat (2019) reported maximum wind speed was at 75 km/h as it passed through the Gulf of Thailand on 4 January 2019 and Malaysia received residues of the storm, especially the area of Bidong Island. The effects can be observed at both beaches where rocky shores and sandy regions were covered by dead coral, except for high and middle tide zonations not affected given higher sea elevation. These dead corals that were washed up had created a sand dune or coral cay, thus filling up the intertidal ecosystem. In addition, the Evenness index, J’ and Equitability index, Ep during 2018 indicated complete evenness (Baharuddin et al. 2019) in comparison to a post-tropical storm that showed moderate evenness. Following Krebs (1972), evenness criteria at Pantai Pasir Cina (PPC), especially at low tide, showed relatively equal uniformity in community structures with the categorisation of ‘poor’. This is further supported by SHE analysis that showed contradiction with the previous year that recorded a lognormal pattern (Baharuddin et al. 2019), and post-tropical storm Pabuk showed a log series distribution. In log series distribution, although with a larger sample number, Shannon, H’ diversity remained constant, whilst the evenness (E) curve decreased. This can be explained due to physical changes of the coral reef ecosystem where percentages of live coral significantly dropped from 50 to 30%, whilst the percentage of dead coral increased from 30 to 70% (Safuan et al. 2020). The consequences of these changes caused dead corals to accumulate. Subsequently, fewer gastropods were found in the low tidal zonation and, finally, altered this zonation. This not only affected the abundance of gastropods, but their distribution was also uneven compared to data reported by Baharuddin et al. (2019) the year prior. Despite a reduction in the total number of individuals and the altered distribution and abundance of marine gastropod populations, there are still few species that have thrived and remained resilient to disaster. For instance, Littorinidae, or whelks, can be found at almost all tidal zonations in both beaches with a Frequency of Incidence (FOI) between 50 to 80%. This can

10

Impact of Tropical Storm Pabuk on Intertidal …

relate to their ability to cope with extreme environmental heat based on their morphological characteristic and adaptive behaviour (Chapperon et al. 2017). They can be found in high abundance by the crack and crevices of rocky areas that act as a microhabitat for these gastropods (Silva et al. 2015). In addition, with small body sizes, they adapt to inhabit these narrow places and make them successful to shelter against disaster. Moreover, under certain conditions that pressure these gastropods to be near or already reaching physiological limits, they showed behavioural changes that can make a difference between survival and mortality (Miller and Danny 2011). For example, they can regulate their body temperature by minimizing their foot contact surface area with hot rocks (Chapperon et al. 2017) while some other gastropods can close the operculum and remain attached to a substrate with a mucous holdfast to moist their internal body (Vermeiji 1971; Garrity 1984; Miller and Danny 2011). The findings from Corte et al. (2017) also suggested that most species from the sedimentary zone are able to recover and cope with the changes in waves energy after storms. Another situation observed by Underwood (1998) found the indirect effect were storms that resulted in lesser canopy cover had affected the prey-predation interaction between whelk and barnacle as the algal canopy act as a shelter and responsible for the observed pattern and changes in both species.

127

rehabilitation to cut the number of visitors accessing this area to ensure that a complete recovery process is possible. Future research that includes spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability plus annual or biannual monitoring programmes will be useful to assess its recovery and the wellness of this intertidal ecosystem. Future research would also be more easily executed if the state government and other related authorities could assist the local scientist in conducting a systematic monitoring program, assessment, and report so that robust data that would be useful could be collected. Aside from that, the state government could also initiate a program that involves the local community to act as citizen-scientists to collaborate with local scientists to ensure the well-being of the area. This, in return, will also be beneficial towards the state government in terms of management or policy-making of eco-tourism on the offshore island in the future. However, for Bidong Island, these initiatives cannot be applied since Bidong Island is uninhabited, but the same concept can be applied to another offshore, inhabited island like Perhentian Island or Tioman Island. Acknowledgements This study was funded and supported by the Faculty of Science and Marine Environment (FSME) and Centre of Research and Field Services (CRAFS), UMT to NHMB.

References 10.5

Conclusion

The results from this study demonstrated a reduction in the number of species and individuals and the diversity of gastropod communities recorded compared to past published research. The strong winds generated during a storm caused strong waves to form, affecting the coral ridge areas near the study sites. Dead coral then washed away to the shoreline, piling up and resulting in some of the lower tide area being covered by dead coral. Since this is the first preliminary report made to access malacofauna communities at post-tropical storm Pabuk, it is anticipated that this intertidal ecosystem needs

Abbott RT, Dance SP (2000) Compendium of seashells, 4th edn. Odyssey Publishing, California, p 424 Baharuddin N, Marshall DJ (2014) Common aquatic gastropods of Brunei. Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei, Education and Technology Centre, p 20 Baharuddin N, Basir NHM, Zainuddin SNH (2019) Tropical intertidal gastropods: insights on diversity, abundance, distribution and shell morphometric of Pulau Bidong, Malaysia. AACL Bioflux 12(4):1375– 1387 Beck MW (1998) Comparison of the measurement and effect of habitat structure on gastropods in rocky intertidal and mangrove habitat. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 165:178–178 Chang CP, Liu CH, Kuo HC (2003) Typhoon Vamei: an equatorial tropical cyclone formation. Geophys Res Lett 30(3):1–4

128 Chapperon C, Studerus K, Clavier J (2017) Mitigating thermal effect of behaviour and microhabitat on the intertidal snail Littorina saxatilis (Olivi) over summer. J Therm Biol 67:40–48 Corte GN, Schlacher TA, Checon HH, Barboza CAM, Siegle E, Coleman RA, Amaral ACZ (2017) Storm effects on intertidal invertebrates: increased beta diversity of few individuals and species. PeerJ 5: e3360. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3360 Daud NR, Akhir MFM (2015) Hydrodynamic modelling of Bidong Island Vicinity Waters. Open J Mar Sci 5:306–323 Doty SM (1946) Critical tide factors that are correlated with the vertical distribution of marine algae and other organisms along the Pacific coast. Ecology 27:315–328 Garrity SD (1984) Some adaptations of gastropods to physical stress on a tropical rocky shore. Biol Soc Am 65(2):559–574 Hammer Ø, Harper DA, Ryan PD (2001) PAST: Paleontological statistic software package for education and data analysis. Paleontol Electronica 4(1):9 Krebs CJ (1972) Ecologically methodology. Harper Collins Publisher, New York, p 624 Little C, Williams GA, Trowbridge CD (2009) The biology of rock shores. Oxford University Press, New York, p 356 Long SM, Abdullah AAFA, Ab Rahim SA (2014) Marine gastropod and bivalves of Sampadi Island, Lundu, Sarawak. In: Monograph Aquatic Science Colloquium, pp 75–87 Miller LP, Denny MW (2011) Importance of behaviour and morphological traits for controlling body temperature in littorinid snails. Biol Bull 220:209–223 MolluscaBase (eds) (2020) Gastropoda. http://www. molluscabase.org. 12 Jul 2020 Polsomboon P, Sriariyawat A (2019) Application of SWAN model for simulate wave height in Gulf of Thailand during tropical storm Pabuk. In: The 24rd National Convention on Civil Engineering (pp 1–10). Udonthani, Thailand Rumahlatu D, Leiwakabessy F (2017) Biodiversity of gastropoda in the coastal waters of Ambon Island, Indonesia. Aquac Aquarium Conserv Legislation-Int J Bioflux Soc 10(2):285–296 Safuan CDM, Roseli NH, Bachok Z, Akhir MF, Xia C, Qiao F (2020) First record of tropical storm (Pabuk January 2019) damage on shallow water reef in Pulau Bidong, south of South China Sea. Reg Stud Mar Sci 101216 Seed R (1996) Pattern of biodiversity in the macroinvertebrate fauna associated with mussel patches on rocky shores. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 76(1):203–210 Shabdin ML, Rosniza R (2010) Kekunci Siput dan Kerang-kerangan Perairan Pantai Malaysia Timur (1st ed). Penerbit UMT, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. pp 21–110

N. H. Mohamad Basir et al. Shariful F, Sedrati M, Ariffin EH, Shubri S, Akhir MF (2020) Impact of 2019 tropical storm (Pabuk) on beach morphology, Terengganu Coast (Malaysia). J Coastal Res 95:346–350 Silva ACF, Mendonc V, Paquete R, Barreiras N, Venire C (2015) Habitat provision of barnacle tests for overcrowded periwinkles. Mar Ecol 36:530–540 Sivaprasad P, Samah AA, Babu CA, Fang Y, Nor MFFM, Chenoli SN, Cheah W, Mazuki MYA (2020) Simulation of the atmospheric parameters during passage of a tropical storm over the South China Sea: a comparison with MetOcean buoy and ERA-Interim data. Meteorol Appl 27:e1895 Thompson RC, Wilson BJ, Tobin ML, Hill AS, Hawkins SJ (1996) Biologically generated habitat provision and diversity of rocky shore organisms at a hierarchy of spatial scales. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 202:73–84 Thompson RC, Crowe TP, Hawkins SJ (2002) Rocky intertidal communities: past environmental changes, present status and prediction for the next 25 years. Environ Conserv 29(2):168–191 Underwood AJ, Chapman MG (1989) Experimental analyses of the influences of topography of the substratum on movement and density of an intertidal snails, Littorina unifasciata. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 134:175–196 Underwood AJ (1998) Physical disturbance and their effect on an indirect effect: responses of an intertidal assemblages to a severe storm. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 232(1999):125–140 Vermeiji GJ (1971) Substratum relationships of some tropical Pacific intertidal gastropods. Mar Biol 10:315–320 WoRMS Editorial Board (2020) World register of marine species. http://www.marinespecies.org. 12 Jul 2020 Zuki ZM, Lupo AR (2008) Interannual variability of tropical cyclone activity in the southern South China Sea. J Geophys Res Atmos 113(D6)

Nursalwa Baharuddin Senior Lecturer (Malacology), Faculty of Science and Marine Environment.

11

Lunar Cycle Drives Migration of Zooplankton in Coral Reef of Bidong Island Roswati Md Amin and Gautham Raj Alangavan

Abstract

To understand the effect of lunar phase on nocturnal variation of zooplankton from coral-reef of Bidong Island, zooplankton was obtained during full moon (31th, August–3 September 2016) and new moon phases (17– 20th September 2016) at three hour intervals for a 72 period. The zooplankton was hauled vertically with a Kitahara net (mesh size of 100 µm). The variation pattern of zooplankton density showed a significant nocturnal increase with the highest peak in abundance at 3 a.m and the lowest density observed at 3 p.m (p < 0.05). Overall zooplankton density was higher during the new moon compared with that of the full moon (p < 0.05). The density difference between lunar phases has significant difference (p < 0.01) during night-to-night comparison while no significant difference noted during day-to-day comparison which indicates variability during the night and suggesting lunar phase would likely

R. Md Amin (&) Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] G. R. Alangavan Alchemy Laboratory & Service Sdn Bhd, Mukim Losong, 20300 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia

induce such variation. In addition, the migration pattern of zooplankton is suggested to be driven by adult copepods which show significant differences in density between day and night (p < 0.05) due to their ability for strong active movement. Future research on the differences in zooplankton density at genus or species level at different depth depending on lunar light level and seasonal variation should be carried out to provide further insights on the mechanism of zooplankton migration occurring in Bidong Island. Keywords







Diel migration Full and new moon Nocturnal Zooplankton South China Sea




11.1




Introduction

Zooplankton diel vertical migration (DVM) is ubiquitous in the marine environment and can vary remarkably between and within species, and under different environmental conditions. In the most common DVM pattern is nocturnal migration, the pattern of increasing zooplankton density during night time and decreasing zooplankton density during the daytime, is observed in many studies (Yahel et al. 2005b; Nakajima et al. 2008; 2009; Last et al. 2016; Cohen et al. 2015). DVM plays a significant role

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_11

129

130

in maintaining the balance between the role of zooplankton as a prey and predator, maintaining its population size and its trophic level (Hays 2003; Heidelberg et al. 2004; Brierley 2014). Moreover, studies have shown that DVM plays a vital role in maintaining the carbon cycle in the ocean as the offshore zooplankton, pulled by the current, sinks to deeper waters, hence, aiding in carbon sequestration. This is the key to combating the increasing carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere and in sea water (Brierley 2014). Nocturnal migration is concluded to be primarily caused by predator-avoidance behaviour which is dependent on light cue (Benoit-Bird et al. 2009; Ringelberg 2009). Light is one of the strongest environmental cues available to migrating animals and is hypothesized to serve as a proxy for the risk of predation by visual predators. This is because zooplankton tend to escape visual-based predator during daytime by sinking to the bottom of the water column, but when predator vision is impaired during night time, zooplankton surface to feed on phytoplankton (Hays 2003; Holzman and Genin 2003). Besides that, nocturnal migration or emergence can also be part of the escape mechanism from sessile predator such as coral polyps which feed on zooplankton at night (Sebens et al. 1996; Yahel et al. 2005a). The lunar cycle, as the major source of natural light in the oceanic region, is also known to influence the migration of zooplankton, other invertebrates and fish (Båtnes et al. 2013; Cohen et al. 2015; Last et al. 2016). However, the extent of the migration varies with the moon phases or degree of moonlight during the lunar cycle (Lowry et al. 2007). Although a number of studies have recognized the role of light changes at sunset and sunrise and the role lunar phase in initiating zooplankton migration (Benoit-Bird et al. 2009; Last et al. 2016), relatively few examining the interaction in Malaysia water. To date, studies were only concentrated on zooplankton taxonomic, ecology and biodiversity in Straits of Malacca and east coast of Peninsular Malaysia (Zaleha et al. 2006; Othman and Morino 2006; Lim et al. 2010; Tan et al. 2014). Study on migration of different trophic structure in

R. Md Amin and G. R. Alangavan

coral reef zooplankton has only been documented at Pulau Redang and Pulau Tioman, but in the absence of lunar phase influence (Nakajima et al. 2008, 2009). Thus, the present study was aimed to examine the lunar influence; full moon and new moon, on the migration of zooplankton at coral reef of Bidong Island. Coral reefs possess unique assemblages of zooplankton which live in association with the benthic substrate by day and migrate into the water column at night (Nakajima et al. 2008). The migration behavior of zooplankton often produces density peaks at various times throughout the night (van Haren 2007; Nakajima et al. 2008, 2009; Bandara et al. 2016), sometimes near dusk and down. Hence, investigation with short time intervals allows unequivocal interpretation of variation patterns. It was hypothesized in this study that in pristine coastal waters with high transparency, nocturnal migration will be less pronounced during a full moon which will illuminate the whole water column.

11.2

Materials and Methods

11.2.1 Study Site The study was conducted at Bidong Island, Terengganu in the South China Sea (Fig. 11.1). Bidong Island is covered with fringing reef which is considered to be in ‘good’ coral condition.

11.2.2 Sampling and Analysis Samples were taken on 31st August to 3rd September 2016 during the new moon and from 17 to 20th September 2016 during the full moon. Zooplankton samples were collected at every 3 h intervals starting from 12 p.m on the first day to 9 a.m on the last day. A total of 24 samples were collected per sampling session corresponding to the two lunar phase with 12 samples for daytime and 12 samples for night time. Prior to each sampling interval, Hydrolab Quanta multiprobe was used to obtain the physical parameter data profile at the surface and bottom water. The

11

Lunar Cycle Drives Migration of Zooplankton …

131

Fig. 11.1 Map of Bidong Island in Peninsular Malaysia (D refers to sampling station)

water depth was also obtained to measure the tide levels. Zooplankton samples were collected using a Kitahara Net (mesh size, 100 µm; diameter, 30 cm; length, 100 cm) attached with flowmeter by conducting three gentle vertical tows from 1.5 m above the sea floor to the surface. Samples were immediately fixed with 4% formaldehyde for further analyses of zooplankton composition in the laboratory. Total chlorophyll as a proxy for phytoplankton biomass was analysed according to the one described by Jeffrey and Humphrey (1975). 10 L of seawater sample was collected from seawater surface (2 m) on the final day of sampling and immediately analysed within 5 h

after collection. Samples were then extracted in 90% acetone at 4 °C within 8 to 24 h and analysed using a spectrophotometer. For counting, Sedgewick-Rafter was used and observation was done under 100  magnification (Olympus light microscope) estimated from an aliquot (5– 10 mL; with a minimum of ± 350 individuals) for statistical precision at 95% confidence interval. Identification was done following Richardson et al. (2013). The statistical difference between zooplankton at every 3 h interval for each day and between each daytime (9 a.m–6 p.m) and night time (9 p. m–6 a.m) was calculated using Mann–Whitney’s U test. Similarly, zooplankton density between

132

R. Md Amin and G. R. Alangavan

new moon and full moon sessions and difference of zooplankton at a diel interval according to moon phase (daytime full moon and new moon; at night time the full moon and new moon) were tested for statistical significance using Mann Whitney’s U test too. Kruskal–Wallis test was used to study the statistical difference in zooplankton density for the two high and two low tides per day.

11.3

Results

11.3.1 Environmental Data Overall, there was no difference between the temperature and salinity of both the surface and the bottom of the water column and between sampling sessions. Mean temperature during the new moon and full moon sessions were between 29.64 to 31.30 °C with an overall average of 30.0 ± 0.3 °C and 29.9 ± 0.2 °C, respectively (Table 11.1). Mean salinity during new moon was 32.4 to 32.8 ppt with an overall average of 32.6 ± 0.1 ppt while during full moon session was 32.5 to 32.7 ppt with an overall average of 32.6 ± 0.1 ppt. During both sampling sessions, the lowest water depth was observed between 12 to 3 a.m at 3 m while the highest water depth was observed at 9 a.m up to 6.4 m. Chlorophylla concentration for full and new moon sessions was 0.116 mg m−3 and 0.199 mg m−3, respectively.

11.3.1.1 Zooplankton Composition and Density A total of 18 zooplankton group from 10 phyla (Arthropoda, Annelida, Ciliophora, Cnidaria, Chaetognatha, Chordata, Echinoderm, Foraminifera, Mollusca and Radiozoa) were identified with copepods under phylum Arthropoda contributed the highest abundance up to 82% of the total zooplankton. At both occasions, zooplankton community consisted mostly of holoplanktonic taxa (copepods including copepodites,

naupliar copepods, siphonophores, chaetognaths, and appendicularians) and a few meroplanktonic groups (e.g. barnacle nauplius, echinoderm larvae, polychaetes, fish egg). The five most dominant groups were naupliar copepods, comprised the highest (36% and 48% during new moon and full moon, respectively) followed by adult copepods (mainly cyclopoid; Oithona spp., and calanoid; Parvocalanus sp.; average of 34% and 24%, respectively), copepodites (average of 9%), larvacean and radiolarian (average of 7% and 5%, respectively). The density of zooplankton collected at every 3 h interval was compiled for both the full moon and new moon sessions (Fig. 11.2). Overall, the density of zooplankton was higher during night time (9 p.m–6 a.m) compared with daytime (9 a. m–6 p.m). During new moon session, there was a significant pattern of diel variation observed (P < 0.01) with the highest density of zooplankton at 3 a.m for two consecutive days (15,497.9 ± 918.7 ind. m−3) and 12 a.m on the last day of sampling (20,223.0 ind. m−3). As for the lowest density during new moon session, all three days showed 3 p.m as the lowest density time (2,970.2 ± 101.4 ind. m−3). During full moon session, no significant variation between days was observed (p > 0.05) with the highest density at night time for three days of observation was at 9 p.m, 12 a.m and 3 a.m respectively. As for the lowest density during full moon, it was observed to be at 3 p.m (3,816.3 ± 1,735.9 ind. m−3) for all three days of observation. Overall, the total zooplankton density at night time (9 p. m–6 a.m) during new moon and full moon phase showed significant difference between sampling days (p < 0.05), whereas no significant difference was observed in the daytime (9 a.m–6 p.m) (p > 0.05).

11.3.1.2 Diel Variation of Major Zooplankton Groups During full moon and new moon sessions, adult copepods mainly Parvocalanus sp. and and Oithona spp. showed significant increase in

11

Lunar Cycle Drives Migration of Zooplankton …

Table 11.1 Average physical data (Temperature (°C), Salinity (ppt), Tide; times and actual depth (m); L: lowest, H: highest) from three days observations during new moon and full moon at different depths (surface; 0.5 m from the surface, bottom; 0.5 m above the bottom)

Moon phase

133

Temperature

Salinity

Surface

Bottom

Surface

Bottom

Time (L)

Tide Depth

Time (H)

31-Aug

30.7

30.4

32.5

32.7

1200

3.0–5.0

2100

01-Sep

30.4

30.3

32.6

32.6

0000

4.5–6.3

0900

02-Sep

30.3

30.2

32.7

32.7

2100

4.8–6.4

0900

03-Sep

30.2

30.2

32.6

32.6

0300

5.0–6.1

0900

17-Sep

30.2

30.1

32.6

32.7

2100

3.3–5.5

1200

18-Sep

29.6

29.7

32.6

32.6

0300

5.1–6.3

0900

19-Sep

30.1

30.0

31.9

31.9

0300

5.1–6.1

0900

20-Sep

29.9

29.9

32.6

32.6

0300

5.3–6.0

0900

New moon

Full moon

Fig. 11.2 Zooplankton density at every 3 h interval of the full moon and new moon session. Shaded bars indicate night time

density at night time and it was the same for copepodite (p < 0.01). Naupliar, on the other hand, showed a significant increasing trend in density at night during new moon session (p < 0.05) but no significant variation during full moon session was observed. There was no significant difference observed in copepodite and nauplii between different moon phases but adult copepods showed significant higher density during new moon than full moon (p < 0.01; Fig. 11.3). No clear trend was seen for both

radiolarian and larvacean between day and night times of difference moon phases except for larvacean during new moon session.

11.4

Discussion

Our result demonstrated noctunal migration in zooplankton community which is commonly considered as adaptation for feeding and avoidance of predators. In the study, the total

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R. Md Amin and G. R. Alangavan

Fig. 11.3 Diel variation of five dominant groups of zooplankton density during full moon and new moon (*P < 0,05; **P < 0.01; significant difference between day and night; different letter indicate significant different with each other)

zooplankton density increased to a peak at night time between 12 a.m to 3 a.m. A similar result was observed in Pulau Tioman and Pulau Redang, Malaysia (Nakajima et al. 2008, 2009), with the highest zooplankton density was observed was at 3 a.m and 11 p.m at night, respectively (Table 11.1). Similar observation was confirmed by Heidelberg et al. (2004) in coral reef area of the Flourida Keys suggesting that the number and times of zooplankton peaked varies and is site-specific or geographic specific to zooplankton migration pattern. No tidal effect was observed from day/night differences in our zooplankton data because all night samples were coincidently taken at low tides for both sessions, except on the first day of sampling during new moon (Table 11.2). Intense daytime predation by fish may be the major factor determining diel variation of zooplankton in coral reef (Yahel et al. 2005a; Heidelberg et al. 2010). Zooplankton experience a greater susceptibility to planktivorous fishes throughout the water column and hence spend the daytime on, or within substrata. Although the above behaviors indirectly indicate that visual predation during the night is important, no direct, in situ measurements of predation rates are available. Most of our knowledge of in situ zooplanktivory by nocturnal fishes is based on stomach contents (Holzman and Genin 2003; Palardy et al. 2006). In this study, an approximately 2–3 times greater in zooplankton density was observed during new moon session with less zooplankton migrate upward after the setting of a full moon at

night. Variable effects of lunar cycle on zooplankton emergence have been previously documented. In the Phosphorescent Bay, southwestern Puerto Rico, all zooplankton taxa had greater emergence mainly at full moon (Rios-Jara 2005), while Palardy et al. (2006) showed differently with 3rd quarter of moon phase significantly affect the zooplankton concentration in the 200–400 µm size fraction. On the other hand, Hernández-León et al. (2002) has demonstrated that changes in zooplankton biomass were correlated with lunar phase; decreased dramatically after the full moon where moonlight was attributed to driving predatory grazing. Some species such as the sergestid shrimp, Acetes intermedius in coastal waters offsouthwestern Taiwan, show migratory responses to changing lunar phase (Chiou et al. 2003), and Benoit-Bird et al. (2009) showed vertical and horizontal migrations correlated with lunar phase in micronekton off Hawaii, with animals remaining further offshore in deeper waters during night near and during full moon. These results suggest the moonlight may be a cue in the process of migration rather than a direct cause. However, Last et al. (2016) reported that moonlight plays a central role in structuring predator prey interactions during wintertime across the entire Arctic Ocean. The response was modulated by both the moon’s altitude and phase with mass sinking of zooplankton from the surface waters to the deeper layer, coincident with the periods of full moon. This movement of zooplankton behaviour is hypothesized to be

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Table 11.2 Table shows previous zooplankton migration studies data in Malaysia in comparison with current study Author

Location

Water depth (m)

Mesh size (µm)

Peak time

Nakajima et al. (2008)

Pulau Tioman, Malaysia

6.5–11.0

100–200 200–335 >335*

3 a.m

Nakajima et al. (2009)

Pulau Redang, Malaysia

2.8–4.0

100–200* 200–335* >335*

9 p.m

This study

Bidong Island, Malaysia

3.0–6.4

100

3 a.m (New moon) 12–3 a.m (Full moon)

*indicates size fraction showing significance difference

avoidance of visual predators capable of utilizing the lunar illumination to hunt (Prihartato et al. 2016). Moreover, it is apparent that the effect of lunar phase on zooplankton daily migrations are most likely related with a biorhythm that is perhaps originally induced by (sun and moon) light variations on species (van Haren 2007). In the present study, major zooplankton did show a positive response to lunar phase, generally increasing in number during new moon whereas others did not show a significant response to migrate during the lunar phase. Adult copepods, copepodites and naupliar collected in the 100 µm mesh net showed higher and more variable abundance at night but more pronounced during new moon. Similar results were also observed where larger zooplankton showed strong significant difference in density occurring at night time lower during the day, suggesting that the vertical abundance were related to relevant changes in light throughout the diel cycle (Nakajima et al. 2008, 2009; Cohen and Forward 2009). According to Cohen et al. (2015), the krill Thysanoessa inermis able to cue upon light ambient from the upper 20–30 m of the water column while copepod Calanus spp. may respond to irradiance from the moonlight down to 120–170 m (Båtnes et al. 2013), suggesting that zooplankton were negatively phototactic, and perform diel vertical migration when intensity and diurnal variation of ambient irradiance is

low. However, the variation in the response to diel migration is presumably driven by taxonomic, life stage, or size differences of the organisms (de Robertis 2002; Kaartvedt et al. 2009). Adult copepods that have well-developed appendages compared to copepodite and nauplii, are generally on the larger spectrum for size compared with the other major groups which make it more discernible under the light, thus having higher predation intensity by sizepreference feeding such as predatory planktivorous fish and coral (Holzman and Genin 2003; Palardy et al. 2006). To reduce predation, seeking refuge in habitats which are non-accessible to predators would be more effective for these small and rather slow animals (Pasternak et al. 2006). A decrease in activity (feeding, metabolism, reproduction, movement), residing in deeper layers is an ultimate attempt by copepods to move away from their predators (Prihartato et al. 2016), both in time and space thus supporting the lower abundance of zooplankton during full moon and daytime, expecting from higher level of nocturnal light and day light intensity, respectively. On the other hand, larvacean and naupliar showed significant increase between day and night during new moon session but no variation was observed during full moon. Studies have shown that different zooplankton has different behaviour towards the light. For instance, migration may not have evolved solely in

136

response to visual predator but can be attributed to reproductive cycle such as mating and preparing for ecdysis which causes an increase in density at certain times (Hassett and BladesEckelbarger 1995, Rios-Jara 2005). Moreover, several zooplankton were selective to only one lunar phase indicating the use of lunar phase as a cue for movement (van Haren 2007) thus showing the variability of zooplankton community response towards lunar cycle. In Gulf of Panama, the quantity of crab zoea, isopods and amphipods varied significantly over the lunar cycle (Palardy et al. 2006), a pattern which may be related to their reproductive cycles. The availability of food has also been reported to have caused a higher density of zooplankton (Lewis and Boers 1991). For instance, the vertical distribution of later developmental stages of Calanus spp. in Arctic coastal water, Norway, was inversely associated with fluorescence, indicating that they descended from the shallower region while it was still relatively productive, and ascended before the primary production had started to increase (Bandara et al. 2016). In the present study, chlorophyll-a concentration as a proxy to phytoplankton biomass, although measured once, did show higher in concentration during new moon compared to full moon. Nevertheless, other factors can override primary causal factors depending on environment such as the monsoon season (Yoshida et al. 2006), the individual zooplankton physiological response (Cresswell et al. 2011; Litchman et al. 2013) and light sensitivity in the daytime (Martin et al. 2000; Rhode et al. 2001). Harpacticoid copepod (Martin et al. 2000; Rhode et al. 2001) and cladoceran (Johnsen and Widder 2001) species avoid UV stress by descending to the deeper water in daytime. Some crustaceans have evolved biochemical methods of avoiding the UV-induced stress, including pigmentation more colored shrimps, Sergestes arcticus tend to occur in deeper water layers ((Rhode et al. 2001; Vestheim and Kaartvedt 2009).

R. Md Amin and G. R. Alangavan

11.5

Conclusion

The major drives of the diel variation in Bidong Island, Malaysia during full and new moon phases were copepods which were always the most abundant group, averaging 82% of the total zooplankton. Moreover, variation in zooplankton density was observed between night time of full moon and new moon which indicated the possibility of lunar phase causing differences in the migration of zooplankton. This study should be regarded as a preliminary study since other factor such as seasonal variation or other weather effects should be studied or at least rendered statistically insignificant by repeating the study over a longer period of time. Future research on identification of zooplankton up to genus level and sampling of zooplankton at different depth level depending on lunar light level could provide further insights on the mechanism of zooplankton migration occurring in Bidong Island. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu with the help of Merdeka Dive UMT, 2016 crews. Sincere thanks to Othman Haji Ross, Rozanah Ibrahim and anonymous reviewers for critical comments and constructive suggestions on earlier draft of this manuscript.

References Bandara K, Varpe Ø, Søreide JE, Wallenschus J, Berge J, Eiane K (2016) Seasonal vertical strategies in a higharctic coastal zooplankton community. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 555:49–64 Båtnes AS, Miljeteig C, Berge J, Greenacre M, Johnsen G (2013) Quantifying the light sensitivity of Calanus spp. during the polar night: potential for orchestrated migrations conducted by ambient light from the sun, moon, or aurora borealis? Polar Biol 38(1):51–65 Benoit-Bird K, Au WW, Wisdoma DW (2009) Nocturnal light and lunar cycle effects on diel migration of micronekton. Limnol Oceanogr 54:1789–1800 Brierley AS (2014) Diel vertical migration. Curr Biol 24 (22):1074–1076 Cresswell KA, Satterthwaite WH, Sword GA (2011) Understanding the evolution of migration through

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empirical examples. In: Milner-Gulland EJ, Fryxell JM, Sinclair ARE (eds) Animal migration a synthesis. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp 7–17 Chiou WD, Cheng LZ, Chen CT (2003) Effects of lunar phase and habitat depth on vertical migration patterns of the sergestid shrimp Acetes intermedius. Fishery Science 69:277–281 Cohen JH, Forward RB (2009) Zooplankton diel vertical migration—a review of proximate control. Oceanogr Mar Biol 47:77–109 Cohen H, Berge J, Moline MA, Sørensen AJ, Last K, Falk-Petersen S et al (2015) Is ambient light during the high arctic polar night sufficient to act as a visual cue for zooplankton? PLoS ONE 10:e0126247 de Robertis A (2002) Size-dependent visual predation risk and the timing of vertical migration: an optimization model. Limnol Oceanogr 47:925–933 Hassett RP, Blades-Eckelbarger P (1995) Diel changes in gut-cell morphology and digestive activity of the marine copepod Acartia tonsa. Mar Biol 124(1):59–69 Hays GC (2003) A review of the adaptive significance and ecosystem consequences of zooplankton diel vertical migrations. In: Migrations and dispersal of marine organisms (pp 163–170). Springer Netherlands Heidelberg KB, O’neil, KL, Bythell JC, Sebens KP (2010) Vertical distribution and diel patterns of zooplankton abundance and biomass at Conch Reef, Florida Keys (USA). J Plankton Res 32(1):75–91 Heidelberg KB, Sebens KP, Purcell JE (2004) Composition and sources of near reef zooplankton on a Jamaican forereef along with implications for coral feeding. Coral Reefs 23(2):263–276 Hernández-León S, Almeida C, Yebra L, Arístegui J (2002) Lunar cycle of zooplankton biomass in subtropical waters: biogeochemical implications. J Plankton Res 24:935–939 Holzman R, Genin A (2003) Zooplanktivory by a nocturnal coral-reef fish: Effects of light, flow, and prey density. Limnol Oceanogr 48(4):1376–1387 Jeffrey SW, Humphrey GF (1975) New spectrophotometric equations for determining chlorophyll a, b, and c in higher plants, algae and natural phytoplankton. Biochem Physiol Pflanz 167:191–194 Johnsen S, Widder EA (2001) Ultraviolet absorption in transparent zooplankton and its implications for depth distribution and visual predation. Mar Biol 138:717– 730 Kaartvedt S, Røstad A, Klevjer TA, Staby A (2009) Use ofbottom-mounted echo sounders in exploring behavior ofmesopelagic fishes. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 395:109 −118 Last KS, Hobbs L, Berge J, Brierley AS, Cottier F (2016) Moonlight drives ocean-scale mass vertical migration of zooplankton during the Arctic Winter. Curr Biol 26 (2):244–251 Lewis JB, Boers JJ (1991) Patchiness and composition of coral reef demersal zooplankton. J Plankton Res 13 (6):1273–1289 Lim JHC, Azman BAR, Othman BHR (2010) Melitoid amhipods of the genera Ceradocus Costa, 1853 and

137 Victoriopisa Karaman and Barnard, 1979 (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Maeridae) from the South China Sea, Malaysia. Zootaxa 2348(1):23–39 Litchman E, Ohman MD, Kiørboe T (2013) Trait-based approaches to zooplankton communities. J Plankton Res 35:473–484 Lowry M, Williams D, Metti Y (2007) Lunar landings– relationship between lunar phase and catch rates for an Australian gamefish-tournament fishery. Fish Res 88:15–23 Malaysia RC (2015) Status of coral reefs in Malaysia Martin GG, Speekmann C, Beidler S (2000) Photobehavior of the harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus californicus and the fine structure of its naupliar eye. Invertebr Biol 119:110–124 Nakajima R, Yoshida T, Othman BHR, Toda T (2008) Diel variation in abundance, biomass and size composition of zooplankton community over a coral-reef in Redang Island, Malaysia. Plankton Benthos Res 3 (4):216–226 Nakajima R, Yoshida T, Othman BHR, Toda T (2009) Diel variation of zooplankton in the tropical coral-reef water of Tioman Island, Malaysia. Aquat Ecol 43 (4):965–975 Othman BHR, Morino H (2006) Listriella longipalma sp. nov., a new amphipod species (Crustacea: Liljeborgiidae) from the Straits of Melaka, Malaysia. Zootaxa 1305:21–32 Palardy JE, Grottoli AG, Matthews KA (2006) Effect of naturally changing zooplankton concentrations on feeding rates of two coral species in the Eastern Pacific. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 331(1):99–107 Pasternak AF, Mikheev VN, Wanzenböck J (2006) How plankton copepods avoid fish predation: From individual responses to variations of the life cycle. J Ichthyol 46:220–226 Prihartato PK, Irigoien X, Genton MG, Kaartvedt S (2016) Global effects of moon phase on nocturnal acoustic scattering layers. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 544:65–75 Rhode SC, Pawlowski M, Tollrian R (2001) The impact of ultraviolet radiation on the vertical distribution of zooplankton of the genus Daphnia. Nature 412:69–72 Richardson AJ, Davies C, Slotwinski A., Coman F, Tonks M, Rochester W, Murphy N, Beard J, McKinnon D, Conway D, Swadling K (2013) Australian marine zooplankton: taxonomic sheets. pp 294 Ringelberg J (2009) Diel vertical migration of zooplankton in lakes and oceans: causal explanations and adaptive significances. Springer, Netherlands Ríos-Jara E (2005) Effects of the lunar cycle and substratum preference on zooplankton emergence in a tropical, shallow-water embayment, in southwestern Puerto Rico. Carib J Sci 41(1):108–123 Sebens KP, Vandersall KS, Savina LA, Graham KR (1996) Zooplankton capture by two scleractinian corals, Madracis mirabilis and Montastrea cavernosa, in a field enclosure. Mar Biol 127:303–317 Tan HS, Azman BAR, Othman BHR (2014) Taxonomic status of mysid shrimps (Crustacea) from Peninsular Malaysia waters. Malay Nat J 66(3 & 4):103–116

138 Vestheim H, Kaartvedt S (2009) Vertical migration, feeding and colouration in the mesopelagic shrimp Sergestes arcticus. J Plankton Res 31:1427–1435 Yahel R, Yahel G, Genin A (2005a) Near-bottom depletion of zooplankton over coral reefs: I: diurnal dynamics and size distribution. Coral Reefs 24(1):75–85 Yahel R, Yahel G, Berman T, Jaffe JS, Genin A (2005b) Diel pattern with abrupt crepuscular changes of zooplankton over a coral reef. Limnol Oceanogr 50 (3):930–944 Yoshida T, Toda T, Md Yusoff F, Othman BHR (2006) Seasonal variation of zooplankton community in the coastal waters of the Straits of Malacca. Coast Mar Sci 30:320–327 van Haren H (2007) Monthly periodicity in acoustic reflections and vertical motions in the deep ocean. Geophys Res Lett 34(12) Zaleha K, Sathiya BM, Iwasaki N (2006) Zooplankton in east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. J Sustain Sci Manage 1(2):87–96

R. Md Amin and G. R. Alangavan

Roswati Md Amin Senior Lecturer (Plankton Ecophysiology), Faculty of Science and Marine Environment.

Modern Benthic Foraminifera in the Coral Reefs of Bidong Island, Terengganu

12

Nur Asiyah Afika Jaafar, Sharunya Mahendran, Dayang Ezza Farhana Hamzah, Zazeela Ismasuraya Ismail, Muhammad Izzat Afiq Azizan, Rokiah Suriadi, Fatin Izzati Minhat, and Wan Nurzalia Wan Saelan Abstract

An assessment of modern benthic foraminiferal species occurrences was carried out in the coral reefs environment of Bidong Island, Terengganu. Foraminiferal samples were collected by SCUBA divers at 12 transects around the island. Rose Bengal dye was mixed into formalin (10%) during the preservation process. It was used to distinguish living specimens from empty tests in the samples. There were 32 species of benthic foraminifera found in the study area. These species belong to two orders (Rotaliida and Miliolida), ten families and 15 genera. Amphistegina was the most dominant genus that occurred in all sampling stations. This study is the first record of benthic foraminif-

eral occurrence in Bidong Island, Terengganu. Fossil benthic foraminifera are used as proxies in interpreting past environments especially in the fields of paleobathymetry, paleoenvironment and paleoclimate. Modern benthic foraminiferal assemblages are useful in aiding the interpretations of past environments using these proxies. Modern benthic foraminifera can also be applied as bioindicators in environmental monitoring studies. Keywords




12.1 N. A. A. Jaafar
S. Mahendran
D. E. F. Hamzah
Z. I. Ismail
M. I. A. Azizan
F. I. Minhat
W. N. Wan Saelan (&) Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] F. I. Minhat e-mail: [email protected] R. Suriadi
F. I. Minhat
W. N. Wan Saelan Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia










Bidong Island Coral reefs Distribution Malay basin Modern benthic foraminifera

Introduction

Benthic foraminifera are protozoans found throughout the marine environment, secreting a test of calcium carbonate (Corliss 1985). These small-sized organisms, usually 0.1 to 1 mm are very abundant and there are tens of thousands of living specimens per square meter. Since the Cambrian, they are present in a wide range of environment from shallow brackish water to the deepest parts of the ocean (Van der Zwaan et al. 1999). Modern and fossil foraminifera are vital as they can reveal important information on the environmental history and contribute to the

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_12

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N. A. A. Jaafar et al.

understanding of paleoclimatic condition ever since the Cambrian which occurred 540 million years ago. Modern benthic foraminifera can also be used as bioindicators of environmental stresses, both natural and anthropogenic. Their mineralized tests (shells) will undergo taphonomic processes after their death and may comprise a major part of many modern or fossil sediments. The distribution of modern foraminifera can be used as a model in determining environmental changes through time (Culver et al. 2012). The majority of modern foraminifera are dominated by the benthic species and only 40–50 are planktonic (Gupta et al. 2003). The recent suprageneric classification (Debenay 2012), except for agglutinated (Textularia) foraminifera classification following Kaminski (2004), foraminifera belong to Kingdom Protista in Phylum Granuloreticulosa, Class Foraminifera (Debenay 2012; Vickerman 1992). An estimated 10,000 extant foraminiferal species are still living in the modern ocean (Gupta et al. 2003). Distribution of benthic foraminifera is influenced by substrate type. The density of living larger foraminifera is different between hard and soft substrate (Hohenegger 1994). Community composition is controlled by substrate preference and competition for space (Hottinger 1983). Different substrates produce different biosystems which are inhabited by different species of benthic foraminifera. Grain size distribution is an indicator of water energy; coarse sand indicates high water energy and contrarily distribution of fine sand indicates low water energy (Hohenegger et al. 1999).

12.2

Morphological Characteristics of Foraminifera

Foraminifera is classified primarily by examining the composition and morphology of the test which is a key feature in identifying the foraminiferal species. Major importance of the chemistry, mineralogy and structure of the foraminiferal test wall in the ordinal classification had been described by Loeblich and Tappan

(1988). Since its early studies, the wall structure is considered as the basis for foraminiferal taxonomy. The characteristics of test wall is described into the orders such as: (a) organic wall, Order Allogromiida; (b) agglutinated with proteinaceous or mineralized matrix, Orders Astrorhizida, Lituolida and Trochamminida; (c) agglutinated with low-Mg calcific cement, Order Textulariida, (d) micro-granular calcite, Order Fusulinida (extinct); (e) elongate with high-Mg calcite, Order Miliolida; (f) elongate with low-Mg calcite forming large spicules, Order Carterinida; (g) one or a few crystals of elongate with low-Mg calcite, Order Spirillinida; (h) numerous crystals of elongate with low-Mg calcite, forming mono-lamellar wall, Order Lagenida; (i) numerous crystals of elongate with low-Mg calcite, forming bi-lamellar wall, Orders Buliminida, Rotaliida, and Globigerinida (all extant and most extinct genera); (j) aragonite, Orders Involutinida, Robertinida and Globigerinida (a few extinct genera); (k) silica, Order Silicoloculinida (Gupta et al. 2003).

12.3

Method

Sampling transects were set up around the island which were laid perpendicularly from the shore until deeper coral reef beds. There were twelve transects altogether (Fig. 12.1), four transects in the west (W1–W4), three transects in the north (N1–N3), three transects in the south (S1–S3) and lastly two transects in the east (E1 and E2). Each transect was 100 m in length with five sampling stations established at each transect. Altogether there were 60 foraminiferal samples collected by SCUBA divers in the coral reefs of Bidong Island at depths ranging between 5.1 m to 26.3 m. The samples were stored in plastic bottles whilst being preserved in a mixture of solution, formalin 10% and Rose Bengal dye. The sediment samples were washed by using a 63 lm sieve and dried in an oven at 50 °C for 24 h or until the samples became completely dried. The samples were examined by using a dissecting microscope (Leica Zoom 2000) with at least 300

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Fig. 12.1 Map of Peninsular Malaysia showing the location of Bidong Island in the South China Sea. Map of Bidong Island showing the locations of sampling transects around the island as indicated by the small red rectangulars

individuals that needed to be picked from each sample. Foraminiferal identification was conducted by following Loeblich and Tappan (1994) and Debenay (2012).

12.4

Foraminiferal Occurrences

The foraminiferal specimens that have been collected from the twelve transects were identified to highest possible taxa, up to the species level. The foraminifera collected from the site were classified into 32 species, 15 genera, ten families and two orders namely, Rotaliida (Fig. 12.2) and Miliolida (Fig. 12.3). Most of the foraminifera found in the study area belong to the larger benthic foraminifera (LBF) group. LBF inhabiting the euphotic zone have shown depth dependence distribution (Hallock 1984; Hohenegger 1994).

Illumination is the functional factor which influences LBF distribution in the euphotic zone (Hallock 1981; Hohenegger et al. 1999; Hohenegger 2000). Intensity of illumination decreases exponentially with increasing depth (Kirk 1994). Adaptation to illumination is handled by specialized wall structure of the tests. Highly illuminated region is dominated by larger foraminifera with porcelaneous tests (Miliolida). Reduced illumination at the base of the euphotic zone is dominated by hyaline (Rotaliida) larger foraminifera. Distribution of larger foraminifera is also influenced by hydrodynamics (Hohenegger 2000). Coarse grains dominating the shallow water region are caused by strong water movement. Calmer water is associated with finer sediment grains caused by weak water movement. Shallow euphotic zone experiences strong water movement therefore the larger foraminifera must

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Fig. 12.2 Scanning Electron Microscope images of selected foraminiferal species (Order Rotaliida) from the Bidong Island, Terengganu. Scale bars = 100 µm. 1 Ammonia parkinsoniana a dorsal b ventral c lateral; 2 Elphidium fichtelianum; 3 Elphidium sp.; 4 Cibicides

sp. a dorsal b lateral; 5 Heterostegina depressa a dorsal b lateral; 6 Assilina ammonoides a dorsal b lateral; 7 Amphistegina lessonii a dorsal b lateral; 8 Eponides repandus; 9 Calcarina hispida; 10 Calcarina mayori; 11 Neorotalia calcar a dorsal b ventral

build strong tests to counteract the effect of strong water movement.

should be used as the basis for further investigations, i.e., depth dependence distribution, substrate dependence distribution, taphonomy and assessment of coral reefs health using FORAM Index. This study is the first record of foraminiferal occurrences for Bidong Island, Terengganu. Benthic foraminifera are the best microfossil group for studying benthic processes due to their wide distribution range in space and geological time. Fossil benthic foraminifera have been widely used in the interpretations of geological record, i.e., stratigraphy, paleoceanography and paleoecology, while the modern counterparts are very useful in monitoring the marine environment.

12.5

Conclusion

There were 15 genera and 32 species of benthic foraminifera belonging to two orders of Rotaliida and Miliolida that have been found in the investigation area. The most dominant benthic foraminiferal species in the study area was Amphistegina lessonii. Rare species with low abundance is quite diverse but the distribution is limited only to certain stations of the study area. Benthic foraminiferal data gained from this study

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Fig. 12.3 Scanning Electron Microscope images of selected foraminiferal species (Order Miliolida) from the Bidong Island, Terengganu. Scale bars = 100 µm. 1 Pyrgo williamsoni a dorsal b aperture; 2 Pyrgo compressioblonga; 3 Pyrgo denticulata a dorsal b aperture; 4 Miliolinella circularis a dorsal b aperture; 5 Spiroloculina cf. S. corrugata a dorsal b aperture; 6 Spiroloculina cf. S.

manifesta a dorsal b aperture; 7 Triloculina tricarinata a dorsal b aperture; 8 Quinqueloculina parkeri; 9 Quinqueloculina cf. Q. bicarinata a dorsal b ventral; 10 Agglutinella agglutinans a dorsal b aperture; 11 Triloculina sp. A a dorsal b aperture; 12 Falsagglutinella sp.; 13 Quinqueloculina sp.; 14 Sorites orbiculus a dorsal b lateral

Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the laboratory technicians (Syed Ahmad Rizal Tuan Nek and Syed Shahrul Afzan Syed Bidin) and research assistants (Nur Syazwani Hashim and Muhammad Izzat Afiq Azizan) for assistance during field work. We are also thankful

to Norita Abdul Shukor from INOS for assisting us with the scanning electron images. This project was funded under the Talent and Publication Enhancement Research Grant (TAPE-RG) vote no. 55178.

144

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N. A. A. Jaafar et al. Loeblich AR, Tappan H (1988) Foraminiferal Genera and their classification, 1st edn. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, USA Loeblich AR, Tappan H (1994) Foraminifera of the Sahul Shelf and Timor Sea. (Special Publication). In: Culver SJ (ed) Cushman Foundation for Foraminiferal Research Inc Van der Zwaan GJ, Duijnstee IAP, den Dulk M, Ernst SR, Jannink NT, Kouwenhoven TJ (1999) Benthic foraminifers: proxies or problems? A review of paleocological concepts. Earth Sci Rev 46:213–236 Vickerman K (1992) The diversity and ecological significance of Protozoa. Biodivers Conserv 341:334–341

Wan Nurzalia Wan Saelan Senior Lecturer (Micropaleontology), Faculty of Science and Marine Environment.

Meiofauna from the Shipwrecks of Bidong Island, South China Sea

13

Maizah M. Abdullah, Nur Sanim Azlan, Hasrizal Shaari, Asyaari Muhamad, Yusof Shuaib Ibrahim, and Izwandy Idris

Abstract

Shipwreck creates a unique hydrodynamic and sedimentology on the bare soft bottom substrate by preventing soft-substrate ecosystems from being disturbed by strong currents, thus allowing organisms such as meiofauna to fully develop. This study describes the abundance of meiofauna collected by scuba divers at a shipwreck site in Bidong Island, Terengganu in October 2017. Surface sediments (up to

M. M. Abdullah (&)
N. S. Azlan
H. Shaari
Y. S. Ibrahim Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, 21030 Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] N. S. Azlan e-mail: [email protected] H. Shaari e-mail: [email protected] Y. S. Ibrahim e-mail: [email protected] A. Muhamad Institut Alam Dan Tamadun Melayu (ATMA), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] I. Idris South China Sea Repository and Reference Centre, Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Nerus, 21030 Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected]

5 cm deep) from 10 sampling points were randomly scooped into plastic bags and brought back to the research station for identification. A total of seven different phyla were collected namely Arthropoda, Nematoda, Annelida, Mollusca, Ciliophora, Platyhelminthes, Foraminifera, Kinorhyncha and Tardigrada with a total meiofaunal density ranged from 51 individual/ 10cm2 to 604 individual/10cm2. The high density of meiofauna found in this study suggests that shipwreck could be a hotspot for meiofauna colonization. Keywords








Meiobenthos Biodiversity Maritime archaeology Artificial reefs Ecosystem function South China Sea




13.1




Introduction

Research on biological components at the underwater archaeological site is new in Malaysia compared to other countries such as Brazil (Amaral et al. 2010) and Poland (Balazy et al. 2019). The nearest and recent study on benthic organisms at shipwrecks in this region was at the Andaman Sea (Mondal and Raghunathan 2017). Hence, information on the effects of shipwrecks on the tropical benthic ecosystem especially in this region is insufficient. Understanding the

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_13

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benthos community and responses on the presence of artificial habitat, particularly shipwreck is important not only for the ecosystem but also towards a better management including the preservation of significant shipwrecks with historical values. The present study focused on meiobenthic organisms at a shipwreck site called Bidong Shipwreck. The ship most likely originated from central Thailand such as Sukhothai and Chonburi. The ship was made almost entirely from wood because its structure above the sediment could not be found, leaving the ceramic artefacts exposed. Most of the artefacts found were made of porcelain and stoneware ceramics (Sawankhalok type) originating from Thailand in the 15th until seventeenth century AD (Asyaari Muhamad 2016). The ship was sunk due to either stormy weather or technical issues. Nevertheless, the discovery of Bidong Shipwreck has widened the opportunity for Malaysian researchers to conduct scientific studies in the shipwreck area, both in archaeology and ecology. Meiofauna is defined as a group of organisms by their size which is larger than microfauna but smaller than macrofauna. In practice, meiofauna refers to metazoan (some researchers include protozoan) animals that can pass unharmed through a 0.5 or 1 mm mesh but retained on the 63 µm sieve. Despite being relatively smaller in size, meiofauna are higher in numbers and have a metabolic rate five times higher than macrofauna. In the benthic ecosystem, meiofauna are important food sources for smaller fishes such as juvenile snapper (Lohrer et al. 2018), improve the oxygen level in the sediment and also an excellent sentinel of disturbance (Coull 1999; Schratzberger and Ingels 2018). They also stimulate bacterial growth and subsequently mineralize the organic matter. Mineralization of organic matter is a basic yet an important ecosystem process as it sustains the sediment food web and aquatic primary production as a whole through (i) breakdown of detrital particles to allow increased bacterial action, (ii) excretion of nutrients by meiofauna which can be used by microbes, (iii) mucus or slime produced by

M. M. Abdullah et al.

meiofauna which will draw bacteria and sustains their growth and (iv) bioturbation of sediment (Schratzberger and Ingels 2018). Meiofauna represent an important link between microalgae primary production and higher trophic level, either directly or indirectly. The transfer of primary production to higher trophic level is direct when meiofauna are fed directly on the microalgae and/or bacteria and indirect when meiofauna are fed on the secretions from the primary producers or use microorganisms that grow on the faecal pellets or the faecal pellets as food (De Troch et al. 2005). Meiofauna are also important for the purpose of pollution monitoring through the change of (i) taxon diversity of the meiofauna, (ii) relative abundance of the higher taxa of meiobenthos such as the nematode to copepod ratio, (iii) species diversity of dominant taxa in the area by indices and/or graphical methods, and (iv) species distribution patterns. Due to their small size, there are some obstacles or limitations in studying the meiofauna. First, the references to identify the species are limited. Other than that, the process to extract and sort the meiofauna especially nematodes from the sediment are timeconsuming and labour intensive (Somerfield and Warwick 1996), thus explaining the limited studies on meiofaunal assemblages in Malaysia.

13.2

Materials and Methods

The shipwreck is located approximately two nautical miles southwest from Bidong Island and 30 nautical miles from Kuala Terengganu at 18 m depth. Figure 13.1 shows that the archaeology objects were found at the position of 05° 36.9021′ N and 103° 02.38995′ E. The estimated size of the ship is approximately 25 m long and 10 m wide (Fig. 13.2). Sediment samples containing meiofauna were collected via scuba diving in the area within the shipwrecks marked perimeter in October 2017, during an underwater excavation expedition co-organised by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Department of Heritage and UZMA Archaeological Research Pt Ltd. Surface sediments (up to 5 cm deep) from 10

13

Meiofauna from the Shipwrecks of Bidong Island, South China Sea

sampling points were randomly scooped using a shovel into the plastic bags and brought back to the research station. All samples were fixed using 5% buffered formalin. In the laboratory, bulk sample from each sampling point was subsampled (triplicate) using a modified syringe with inner diameter of 2.67 cm. The organisms were decanted from the sediment and sorted into different groups and all samples were stored in 90% ethanol. Images of each taxa were captured using Dino-Eye microscope camera (brand Dino-Lite, model AM4023X) to show the distinct characteristics between the groups.

13.3

Results and Discussion

13.3.1 Total Meiofauna Meiofauna collected in this study belong to nine different groups, namely Arthropoda, Nematoda, Annelida, Mollusca, Platyhelminthes, Ciliophora, Foraminifera, Kinorhyncha and Tardigrada. Three phyla dominated the composition (99%), led by Arthropoda, Nematoda and Annelida as shown in Fig. 13.3. Total meiofaunal density ranged from 51 individual/10cm2 to 604 individual/10cm2 (Table 13.1), which is about three-fold higher

Fig. 13.1 Ceramic artefacts on the surface of sediments at the shipwreck site. Most of the artefacts found were made of porcelain and ceramics. Image credit to Baharim Mustapha

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compared to the meiofaunal density collected from the intertidal and subtidal areas in Bidong Island (Ibrahim et al. 2006; Zaleha et al. 2016) and Sarawak waters (Chen et al. 2012). Phylum Arthropoda recorded the highest total abundance of the meiofauna, followed by Nematoda and Annelida.

13.3.2 Phylum Arthropoda Phylum Arthropoda were mostly comprised of harpacticoids or also known as benthic copepod with fewer occurrence of amphipods, tanaids and ostracod as shown in Table 13.1 and Fig. 13.3. In this study, Order Harpacticoida, or also known as harpacticoid, is the most dominant group with more than 95% abundance compared to other orders in the phylum (Fig. 13.4). Harpacticoid copepods are nutritious food for juvenile fishes, attributing to a high level of essential fatty acids which is vital for fish growth. It offers high docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ratio which is proven to increase the survival rate of marine fish larvae (Nanton and Castell 1998). Hence, this group of meiofauna has been widely used as live feed in the aquaculture industry. In general, there are at least 3,000 described species in the Order Harpacticoida (Lehman and Reid 1993), but

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Fig. 13.2 Sunken shipwreck image (top view) captured from sub bottom profile (SBP) using a side scan sonar survey with a measurement of the archaeology site as marked with the grey lines. Image credit to Azizi Ali

Fig. 13.3 Percentage abundance of meiofauna from the shipwreck site. Others consist of Ciliophora, Frominifera and Kinorhyncha

OTHERS 1% NEMATODA 30% ARTHROPODA 42%

ANNELIDA 27% taxonomical studies on Malaysian species have been very limited. In this case, Zaleha (2000) provided a detailed description of 40 harpacticoid species from coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia.

13.3.3 Phylum Nematoda Phylum Nematoda or also known as nematodes is normally the dominant and widely distributed taxon amongst meiofauna. However, approximately 86% of the existing species of free-living marine nematodes remain to be discovered (Appeltans et al. 2012). Unlike harpacticoid copepod which normally swims on the sediment

surface, nematodes belong to infauna group as they are normally buried under the sediment. Therefore, different types of predators may be targeting nematodes as compared to harpacticoids. In Malaysia, Chen et al. (2012) and Shabdin et al. (2013) described the free-living nematodes from Sarawak coastal waters while Samad et al. (2018) focused on the northern Straits of Malacca.

13.3.4 Phylum Annelida and Others Phylum Annelida found in this study were dominated by interstitial polychaetes, with small occurrence of oligochaetes. Interstitial

S1

S2

S3

17

111

Subtotal

246

5

253

Order Harpacticoida

Class Ostracoda

Subtotal

(54)

(1)

(52)

(1)

(28)

(8)

(20)

(36)

138

3

135

0

77

9

68

158

(9)

(2)

(6)

(21)

(3)

(18)

(17)

10

1

9

0

9

2

7

32

(6)

(1)

(5)

(2)

(2)

(13)

133

2

131

0

108

14

94

86

S4

2

0

1

3

2

0

530

Platyhelminthes

Mollusca

Ciliophora

Foraminifera

Cephalorhyncha

Tardigrada

Total meiofauna

(110)

(1)

(3)

(1)

(1)

380

1

2

4

0

1

1

(17)

(2)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

51

0

1

1

1

0

0

(15)

(1)

(1)

(1)

331

1

2

1

1

1

0

Detailed abundance for the Others (Minor group of meiofauna)

2

Order Tanaidacea

Phylum Arthropoda

94

Class Oligochaeta

161

Class Polychaeta

Phylum Annelida

Phylum Nematoda

Detailed abundance for the dominant group of meiofauna

Taxa

(18)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(9)

(1)

(8)

(21)

(4)

(17)

(27)

605

0

0

2

1

2

1

333

26

306

1

130

38

92

138

S5

(77)

(1)

(1)

(2)

(2)

(50)

(22)

(27)

(1)

(26)

(4)

(22)

(20)

347

2

1

2

2

2

0

102

2

97

3

97

17

80

141

S6

(81)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(2)

(1)

(27)

(1)

(25)

(1)

(17)

(3)

(9)

(53)

167

0

2

1

0

1

2

82

2

80

0

73

38

35

35

S7

(35)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(14)

(1)

(13)

(23)

(15)

(8)

(9)

386

0

1

2

1

3

1

159

2

157

0

140

44

96

79

S8

(67)

(1)

(2)

(2)

(2)

(2)

(31)

(1)

(30)

(31)

(13)

(18)

(15)

229

1

1

1

0

0

1

79

3

75

1

58

20

38

91

S9

(54)

(2)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(33)

(3)

(29)

(1)

(12)

(3)

(9)

(19)

384

1

1

1

0

2

0

139

3

135

1

155

15

140

88

S10

(80)

(2)

(1)

(2)

(1)

(18)

(2)

(15)

(1)

(38)

(7)

(31)

(29)

341

1

1

2

1

1

1

143

5

137

1

96

21

74

101

(163)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(92)

(7)

(86)

(1)

(43)

(14)

(39)

(47)

Mean density

Table 13.1 Mean density (individual/10cm2) and standard deviation (in parenthesis) of meiofauna collected from 10 sampling points (S1–S10) at the shipwreck off Bidong Island, South China Sea

13 Meiofauna from the Shipwrecks of Bidong Island, South China Sea 149

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Fig. 13.4 Major groups of meiofauna collected from the shipwreck site at Bidong Island, South China Sea a Nematoda, b Polychaeta, c Oligochaeta, d Harpacticoida, e Ostracoda, and f Tanaidacea

polychaetes are the frequent and constant components of meiofaunal associations in sandy beaches (Westheide 1990; Domenico et al. 2009). The heterogeneity of interstitial environment making up its microhabitats are vital for group survival (Villora-Moreno 1997; Domenico et al. 2014). Recent data reveals that polychaetes are represented by more than 12,000 valid species from over 80 families (Read and Fauchald 2021). Interstitial polychaetes can be either temporarily or permanently belong to meiofaunal group. Some polychaetes belong to meiofaunal groups during their juvenile stage and turn into macrofauna when they reach adult size but some interstitial polychaetes permanently belong to meiofaunal group. However, interstitial polychaetes are much less described compared to macrofaunal polychaetes. Although oligochaetes belong to the same phylum with polychaetes, they are lacking the anterior appendages and parapodia; a vital remark to distinguish them from the former. There are approximately 10,000 known species of oligochaetes distributed into various habitats, of which 1,700 of them belongs to the aquatic environment. In the marine sediment,

oligochaetes are usually present in low densities (Zaleha et al. 2009). This study discovered other low-density types of meiofauna namely Mollusca, Platyhelminthes, Ciliophora, Foraminifera, Kinorhyncha and Tardigrada.

13.3.5 Shipwreck in the Marine Ecosystem Function Generally, the shipwreck has a similar structure to that of the reefs which can influence the infauna of the natural nearby soft-sediments (Fig. 13.5) by changing the hydrodynamic regime and physical characteristics of the sediments (Stieglitz 2013; Hamdan et al. 2021). It provides a complex structural integrity for the settlement and development of coral and faunal communities. It may also alter the distribution and/or composition of the available food sources within the natural area, thus consequently changing the biological interactions between different parts of the food web such as predatorprey interaction (Ambrose and Anderson 1990; Danovaro and Fraschetti. 2002). The complex structure of shipwreck attracts fishes for

13

Meiofauna from the Shipwrecks of Bidong Island, South China Sea

151

Fig. 13.5 Shipwreck creates complex microhabitat structure out of barren sand, attracting many live forms including macro and meiobenthos, fishes and corals and therefore, forming a complex functional marine ecosystem underwater. Image credit Baharim Mustapa

protection and foraging ground. As meiofauna constitute a major food source for larger biota, the abundance of different meiofaunal group like infauna and epifauna have attracted different fish groups with different feeding preferences.

provided by the Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE—66928), Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia, and the Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. We acknowledged the contributions of editors and reviewers for critical comments and helps to improve the initial drafts.

13.4

References

Conclusion

Results from this study served as a baseline data for further understanding on the microhabitat ecology caused by artificial reefs, particularly shipwrecks. High abundance of harpacticoid copepods, which is a nutritious food especially for the juvenile demersal fishes recorded in this study, has also supported the structure as a new microhabitat for the meiofauna. Nevertheless, further identification and taxonomical work are yet to be done. It is worth to find out if the meiofaunal diversity at the shipwreck is similar with the meiofauna from the adjacent natural soft sandy substrate, so that the uniqueness of this habitat in terms of species composition and its ecosystem function could be better understood. Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Baharim Mustapa, Borhanudin Mohd Yusof @ Mohamed, Dato’ Kamarul Redzuan Muhamed and Centre of research and Field services UMT for technical and field assistance, and Nur Hidayatul Ain Saidi for laboratory analysis. Financial support for the laboratory work was

Amaral FMD, Farrapeira CMR, Lira SMA, Ramos CAC, Dom R (2010) Benthic macrofauna inventory of two shipwrecks from Pernambuco coast, northeastern of Brazil. Revista Brasileira De Zoologia 4:24–41 Ambrose RF, Anderson TW (1990) Influence of an artificial reef on the surrounding infaunal community. Mar Biol 107:41–52 Appeltans W, Ahyong ST, Anderson G, Angel MV, Artois T, Bailly N, Bamber R, Barber A, Bartsch I, Berta A, Błażewicz-Paszkowycz M (2012) The magnitude of global marine species diversity. Curr Biol 22:2189–2202 Muhamad A (2016) Arkeologi maritim di kawasan perairan Pulau Bidong, Terengganu: pra-tinjauan. J Waris 1:1 Balazy P, Copeland U, Sokołowski A (2019) Shipwrecks and underwater objects of the southern Baltic-Hard substrata islands in the brackish, soft bottom marine environment. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 225:106–240 Chen CA, Long SM, Rosli NM (2012) An ecological study of free-living marine nematodes in Teluk Awar, Sarawak, Malaysia. Borneo J Resour Sci Technol 2:1–10 Coull BC (1999) Role of meiofauna in estuarine softbottom habitats. Aust J Ecol 24:327–343 Danovaro R, Fraschetti S (2002) Meiofaunal vertical zonation on hard-bottoms: comparison with soft bottom meiofauna. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 230:159–169

152 De Troch M, Steinarsdóttir MB, Chepurnov V, Ólafsson E (2005) Grazing on diatoms by harpacticoid copepods: species-specific density-dependent uptake and microbial gardening. Aquat Microb Ecol 39:135–144 Di Domenico M, da Cunha Lana P, Garraffoni AR (2009) Distribution patterns of interstitial polychaetes in sandy beaches of southern Brazil. Mar Ecol 30:47–62 Di Domenico M, Martínez A, Lana P, Worsaae K (2014) Molecular and morphological phylogeny of Saccocirridae (Annelida) reveals two cosmopolitan clades with specific habitat preferences. Mol Phylogenet Evol 75:202–218 Hamdan LJ, Hampel JJ, Moseley RD, Mugge LR, Ray A, Salerno LJ, Damour M (2021) Deep-sea shipwrecks represent island-like ecosystems for marine microbiomes. Int Soc Microb Ecol J 1–9 Ibrahim S, Hussin WMRW, Kassim Z, Joni ZM, Zakaria MZ, Hajisamae S (2006) Seasonal abundance of benthic communities in coral areas of Karah Island, Terengganu, Malaysia. Turk J Fish Aquat Sci 6:129–136 Lehman PS, Reid JW (1993) Phyllognathopus viguieri (Crustacea: Harpacticoida), a predaceous copepod of phytoparasitic, entomopathogenic, and free-living nematodes. Soil Crop Sci Soc Fla Proc 52:7882 Lohrer AM, McCartain LD, Buckthought D, MacDonald I, Parsons DM (2018) Benthic structure and pelagic food sources determine post-settlement snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) abundance. Front Mar Sci 5:427 Mondal T, Raghunathan C (2017) Shipwrecks in Andaman and Nicobar Islands: an artificial habitat for corals. J Mar Biol Assoc India 59(2):92–101 Nanton DA, Castell JD (1998) The effects of dietary fatty acids on the fatty acid composition of the harpacticoid copepod, Tisbe sp., for use as a live food for marine fish larvae. Aquaculture 163:251–261 Read G, Fauchald K (ed) (2021) World polychaeta database. http://www.marinespecies.org/polychaeta. Accessed 03 May 2021 Samad S, Mohammad M, Salleh S, Darif A (2018) A checklist of free-living marine nematodes at different ecosystem in northern Straits of Malacca Malaysia. Scr Biol 5(1):1–5 Schratzberger M, Ingels J (2018) Meiofauna matters: the roles of meiofauna in benthic ecosystems. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 502:12–25 Shabdin ML, Rosli NM, Chen CA (2013) Free-living nematodes in Sarawak coastal waters. Penerbit UMT, Kuala Terengganu

M. M. Abdullah et al. Somerfield PJ, Warwick RM (1996) Meiofauna in marine pollution monitoring programmes. A laboratory manual. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Directorate of Fisheries Research, Lowestoft, 71 Stieglitz TC (2013) Habitat engineering by decadal-scale bioturbation around shipwrecks on the Great Barrier Reef mid-shelf. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 477:29–40 Villora S (1997) Environmental heterogeneity and the biodiversity of interstitial polychaeta. Bull Mar Sci 60:494–501 Westheide W (1990) Polychaetes, interstitial families: keys and notes for the identification of the species (No 44). Balogh Scientific Books Zaleha K (2000) Taxonomy and some ecological aspects of meiobenthic harpacticoid copepods in coastal water of Peninsular Malaysia. Doctoral dissertation, Universiti Putra Malaysia Zaleha K, Farah MF, Amira R, Amirudin A (2009) Benthic community of the Sungai Pulai seagrass bed, Malaysia. Malays J Sci 28:143–159 Zaleha K, Nasiratul MN, Siang HY, Kamaruzzaman BY (2016) Trend of meiobenthos density and composition in Karah Island, South China Sea. Sains Malays 45:1019–1024

Maizah M. Abdullah Senior Lecturer (Marine Ecology), Faculty of Science and Marine Environment.

Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea Under Influence from Nearshore Sea Acidification

14

Muhammad Syamsul Aznan Ariffin, Mohd Noor Afiq Ramlee, Siddhartha Pati, Hisham Atan Edinur, and Bryan Raveen Nelson Abstract

Sea acidification is in par with global temperature increase. Hence, we limit our research to an island biogeography with periodic human contact. Subject to incidence of coral bleaching, our exploration during the inter-monsoon observed surface waters (1–3 m) were heated (28–31 °C) and, water pH was between 6.6 and 8.0. This, created different environments in Bidong Island, South China Sea where shallow and deep waters (2.8–16.2 m) were having nitrate (2.18–3.13 mg/L) and nitrite (0.2–1.1 mg/L) and, Chlorophyll-a (0.34–0.39 ug/L) in reduces concentrations if compared to

M. S. A. Ariffin
M. N. A. Ramlee
S. Pati
B. R. Nelson (&) Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] M. N. A. Ramlee Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Ocean Engineering Technology and Informatics, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030, Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia S. Pati
B. R. Nelson Association of Biodiversity Conservation and Research, Devine Colony, Balasore 756001, Odisha, India

shallow water (0.5–2.2 m) having nitrate (2.95–3.18 mg/L) nitrite (0.3–0.4 mg/L) and, chlorophyll-a (0.55–0.73 ug/L) becoming enriched. An interesting observation is fish distribution where gobies, damselfish and wrasse are available in sedimented sea floor whereas deeper waters have fish from pelagic (pomfret, barracuda, sergeant major and needlefish) and benthic (butterfly fish, angelfish, moray eel, wrasse, damsel, snapper and gobies) zones. Since the 16.2 m waters at Bidong are euphotic, the coral abundance covers most of the sea bottom if compared to shallow depths where sediment and coral rubble distributes from shore to 50 m seaward. This brief overview describes situations of coral bleaching where euryhaline fish are discovered in nearshore zones onward whereas stenohaline fish are limited to deeper waters (>5 m) where water pH reaches 7.8– 8.0. An extensive investigation covering longer periods of investigation throughout changing monsoon seasons might reveal further insights on seawater conditions that resulted to fish distribution in shallow and deep waters in an island biogeography. Keywords







Ecology Island biogeography Reef community Euphotic Nutrient







H. A. Edinur School of Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, 16100 Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_14

153

154

14.1

M. S. A. Ariffin et al.

Introduction

Seas and oceans are large and interconnected water bodies that surround land masses. This system serves as large reservoir with potential to neutralize effluents and discharges from landbased activities (Kerton et al. 2013; Saha et al. 2017). In broader scope, global emergency occurs after events of heat discharge that manipulate the geological cycles and result to deleterious amount of earth element retention (nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and carbon) in the form of dissolved nutrients (Veron 2011; Gilbert 2020). In short, an event of nutrient and heat magnification in shallow waters will shift the tropic tiers in food chains after sensitive organisms disperse. The resultant succession produces an environment serviced by specialized organisms. Hence, the climate emergency (permanent 1.5–2.0 °C increase in air temperature) and sea oscillation (El Nino) favours zooxanthellae (symbiotic dinoflagellates) to detach from corals and bloom while the corals starve and die (Heenan et al. 2015; Sealey-Huggins 2017; Pendall 2019). Meanwhile, in sea beds, eutrophic conditions followed by bleached corals that act as substrate would experience the growth of filamentous algae (Perry and Morgan 2017). The collection and availability of algae attracts grazers whereas the accumulation of dead matter becomes a template for bacterial degradation processes (Feitosa and Ferreira 2015). Bacterial action generates heat and together with climatic action, environment conditions can become harsh and limit distribution of organisms in shallow waters. Grazer and detritus feeding communities are known to specialized and able to coexist along with primary producers in extreme water temperature and salinity (Berger et al. 2018; Enochs and Glynn 2017). In some environments with minimal predators, grazer population lifespan is the determinant for resource and oxygen competition (episodes of algal blooms) (Alexanridis et al. 2017). Yet in open waters, a different scenario takes place because water oxygenation is prompt by events of current dispersal as long as atmospheric and biosphere have

gaseous exchange between their regimes (Wu et al. 2019). Coral structures composing of calcite or calcium carbonate (CaCO3) though stable, take toil from abrasion by beating currents. This is evident with Acropora sp. after events of mass bleaching where these hard structures collect on shores in the form of rubble (Masucci et al. 2019). In the event of reducing coral structures into rubble, hydrophilic components are introduced into shallow water to create an environment magnified by carbonate (CO2 3 ) ions (Lantz et al. 2017; Häder 2018). Since carbonate ions reduce into bicarbonate (HCO 3 ), it becomes a reservoir for the bioavailability of carbon dioxide (CO2) and this, creates weak acid conditions in marine systems (Albright 2018; Yusuf et al. 2019). Addition of carbon dioxide aside from geologic cycle results to acidic waters or in short, causes events of sea acidification. Sea acidification occurs after increased acidic solutes in water (Leis 2018) and can become momentary after an episode of algal bloom in shallow waters reduces available dissolved carbon dioxide (Azanza et al. 2018; Sarkar 2018). Should episodes of bloom occur, the marine debris stimulates bacteria degradation and this process is responsible for the cycling of nutrients in the coastal waters. Yet, algal blooms and coral bleaching are detrimental to reef communities because acidic waters induce hypercapnia stress which can alter their spawning behaviour, survival, growth and recruitment (Griffith et al. 2011; Heuer and Grosell 2014; Lopes et al. 2016). Coral bleaching can result from sea oscillation, climate emergency and monsoon and effect nearshore communities with habitat changes, but our understanding on fish in island biogeography perspective remains negligible aside from concerns on Mediterranean reef communities (Zunino et al. 2019) and reef communities in Indian Ocean, Great Barrier Reef and Coral Triangle (Speers et al. 2016). By far, literature concerning South China Sea are limited to algal bloom (Wu et al. 2017; Xu et al. 2017), mass coral bleaching (Tong et al. 2017; Tkachenko et al. 2020), impacts to marine food chains (Qiu and Wang 2016; Yan et al. 2019),

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Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea …

fisheries exploit (McManus 2017; Chang et al. 2019) and artificial reef construction (Chen et al. 2019). Unfortunately, these studies did not investigate on causality of sea acidification and its impact to reef fish in an island biogeography dimension. Moreover, the relationship between acidic nearshore waters and marine fish distribution were not explored in Malaysia aside from postulations (c.f. Mustafa et al. 2013; Shahbudin et al. 2017; Nyanti et al. 2018). The absence of relevant information for Malaysia is concerning because fish can experience hypercapnia (Munday et al. 2009) and change their behaviour (Munday et al. 2010; Galaz et al. 2012) in the modified habitat (acidic waters) that now changes their post-settlement, feeding ecology and sizefrequency distribution (Nagelkerken et al. 2016).

14.2

Design of Case Study

Coral bleaching and their mass die-off in inaccessible Malaysian islands are worrying because these ecosystems host the less-disturbed reef communities (Chan and Sukarno 2016; Safuan et al. 2020). This is particular with Bidong Island, situated in east coast of Peninsular Malaysia (Fig. 14.1) where an opportunity to investigate on biotic relationships arise in the event of coral bleaching and artificial reef development. Adopting skin diving survey within a 2500 (50 m  50 m) m2 area, physicochemical evaluations in surface water were possible using multiparameter probe (YSI 556 MPS) for temperature, salinity and pH, handheld anemometer for air temperature (Extech, USA), Suunto core as depth sensor and, Shimadzu spectrophotometer to evaluate nitrate (Method 8039), nitrite (Method 8507), orthophosphate (Method 8048), carbonate (Method 8203), sulfide (Method 8131) and chlorophyll-a (Parson’s Method) from water samples filtered through 1.2 µm GF/C filter paper (Nelson et al. 2015, 2016). Reef fish in each transect are limited to fish which adopted the buddy system of 3 persons (Fig. 14.2) while recording the observations using handheld high-resolution optical devices (GoPro Hero 7, 12 MP, 1080p; Huawei P30 Pro,

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40 MP) with infra-red filters. Each survey was limited to 40 min observation time conforming to placement of measuring tape within 50 m line and the video camera operating time of 40 min. All fish images were extracted from video frames using GoPro v.2.7.0 and HiSuite 9.1.0.305 and edited (background, sharpened, colour tone and shadow) in Adobe Photoshop v.2014.2.2. Statistical validation was prepared using Bray-Curtis for Resemblance that followed with Pearson’s Correlation using Bio-env Stepwise Test in Primer v.6.1.

14.3

Data on Physicochemical Parameters of Water

In the three-day expedition during 1–3 April 2019, surging currents during high tide prohibited the procedures of the study to be carried out efficiently. Therefore, the observation time covered periods of residing tide and lasted approximately 50 min per site including periods of physicochemical parameter attaining, water sample collecting and the video recording time. In addition, the assigning of transects (using measuring tape) was random so that we do not disturb the schooling behaviour of fish. Adopting a buddy swimming system (Fig. 14.2) allowed us advantage with time and area of coverage because swimmers were 25 m distance from each other. With depth of no more than 16.2 m, it was difficult to collect samples from water column and deep sections because the bottom time lasted no more than 20 s. Hence, we resorted to only report on surface water conditions which showed disparity between all results despite carried out in the same locality. While coral farm and museum jetty terrain appears cove-like, shoreward tides were weakened by coral rubble and sediment on the sea floor. Since it was the month of April, where Terengganu is known to experience Intermonsoon period with ±150 mm rain (Weather Underground 2020), the weather was in transition with some breeze (8–12 kph winds) followed by periodic rainfall lasting no more than 15 min. However, the periods of data collection were during good weather as indicated with air

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Fig. 14.1 Location map and organization of transects in the study area. A = location of Bidong Island in Peninsular Malaysia, B = bearings for the sites in Bidong Island and C = design of virtual transects at each location on the island

Fig. 14.2 The swimming pattern implemented at each virtual transect in Bidong Island

temperature between 30.5 and 32.6 °C (Table 14.1). The impact of temperature was evident in shallow areas of 0.7–1.7 m where water and air temperatures were having 0.5 µg/L if compared to other areas having retention of fertilizerassociated nutrients like nitrate (NO 3 ) and 3 orthophosphate (PO4 ).

Table 14.1 Physicochemical parameters of surface water at Bidong Island Criteria

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station

Coral farm

Museum jetty

S1

S2

S3

S1

S2

S1

S2

Bearing

N 5°37′ 15.97″ E 103°3′ 26.26″

N 5°37′ 18.39″ E 103°3′ 23.71″

N 5°37′ 16.64″ E 103°3′ 23.53″

N 5°36′ 42.80″ E 103°3′ 40.11″

N 5°36′ 38.93″ E 103°3′ 40.18″

N 5°36′ 47.52″ E 103°3′ 33.12″

N 5°36′ 46.43″ E 103°3′ 30.77″

Date (time)

01-April19 (1405)

01-April19 (1505)

03-April19 (1030)

02-April19 (1040)

02-April19 (1150)

02-April19 (1315)

02-April19 (1420)

Depth (m)

0.5–2.2

10.5– 14.4

5.6–16.2

1.2–1.5

2.8–13.7

0.7–1.7

3.5–6.3

Air temperature (°C)

32.2

32.6

30.3

30.5

31.1

32.5

32.2

Water temperature (° C)

31.4

30.7

28.4

29.9

29.5

31.8

30.5

pH

7.4

8.0

7.9

6.9

7.8

6.6

6.8

Alkalinity (mg/L)

107.56

116.27

114.83

100.29

113.37

95.93

98.83

Salinity (‰)

33.8

33.3

32.7

34.6

33

34.5

33.9

NO 3 (mg/L)

2.95 3.03 3.18

2.59 2.66 2.84

2.18, 2.34 2.46

0.42 0.45 0.46

2.94 3.07 3.13

2.55 2.67 2.84

2.31 2.33 2.37

NO 2 (mg/L)

0.3 0.4 0.4

0.3 0.3 0.5

0.1 0.1 0.2

0.3 0.4 0.5

0.8 1.0 1.1

0.6 0.8 0.9

0.3 0.5 0.6

PO3 4 (mg/L)

0.29 0.32 0.33

0.16 0.19 0.21

0.12 0.13 0.15

0.25 0.27 0.27

0.21 0.23 0.25

0.21 0.23 0.24

0.23 0.28 0.30

CO2 3 (mg/L)

5.57 5.59 5.62

5.13 5.15 5.16

5.22 5.24 5.25

5.92 5.95 5.97

5.28 5.28 5.30

6.23 6.24 6.24

6.04 6.06 6.07

S2− (µg/L)

0.28 0.29 0.30

0.25 0.28 0.31

0.13 0.15 0.16

0.58 0.63 0.66

0.23 0.25 0.26

0.51 0.54 0.57

0.49 0.52 0.53

Chl-a (µg/L)

0.55 0.68 0.73

0.42 0.56 0.63

0.34 0.37 0.39

0.12 0.15 0.18

0.34 0.37 0.38

0.19 0.22 0.26

0.26 0.28 0.31

 3 2 = carbonate, S2− = sulphide Note Abbreviates include NO 3 = nitrate, NO2 = nitrite, PO4 = orthophosphate, CO3 and, Chl-a = chlorophyll-a

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14.4

M. S. A. Ariffin et al.

Data on Fish

As a reserved land mass, Bidong Island is occupied with 62 fish species though area of coverage were limited to the seven transects at three sites on the island. We opt to pool the fish abundance and diversity data by each site due to factors like frequent vessel movement (causing perturbation and noise pollution) and municipal waste at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station and museum jetty and, active feeding of fish with pellets and bread at the jetty by anglers. These anthropic conducts unevenly distributed the fish on the island and interfered with the data collection. As such, the fish diversity recorded at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station were 35 species, at the coral farm it was 15 species of fish and the museum jetty were visited by 40 species of fish (Table 14.2). A total of 233 fish individuals were discovered from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station where 152 individuals of these fish were sea floor dwellers. In addition, 65 fishes were discovered at the coral farm whereas a total of 193 fish individuals were discovered at the museum jetty with majority (163 individuals) residing at the sea floor. At Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station, most abundant fish were sergeant major (Abudefduf saxatilis, 32 individuals) and decorated goby (Istigobius decorates, 25 individuals). The findings were different for coral farm where black nox angelfish (Centropyge nox, 15 individuals) and decorated goby (I. decorates, 13 individuals) were majority and at museum jetty, aside from sergeant major (A. saxatilis, 41 individuals), majority were silver pomfret (Pampus argenteus, 12 individuals) and decorated goby (I. decorates, 12 individuals).

14.5

Discussions

We observe Bidong Island landscape as shallow intertidal zone that does not exceed 3 m in depth (during low tide) for at least 50 m distance from nearshore while the sea bed terrain gradually declines. This type of landscape is particular with

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station and museum jetty sections of Bidong Island. Comparatively, it was shallow at the coral farm nearshore where depth did not exceed 5 m throughout the transect range. However, at distance of 40 m from the nearshore start point, a 10 m deep trench begins to separate the shallow coastal zone. From the 491 fish individuals recorded at Bidong Island, majority (233) were sighted at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station because deep waters allow the exploration of pelagic and benthic column. In fact, deep waters (10–15 m) of Pulau Karah, East Peninsular Malaysia (Ibrahim et al. 2006) and Aceh Besar (6–8 m), northwest Indonesia (Fadli et al. 2019) not only support reef fish with diversity but also, support higher abundance of fish due to less disturbance and, fluctuating temperature and salinity (Helmus et al. 2010; Pratchett et al. 2011; Fitzpatrick et al. 2012). Indicated at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station with benchmark of 233 fish individuals (41 species), a reducing trend is seen at museum jetty with 193 fish individuals (40 species) and also at coral farm having 65 fish individuals (15 species) when water pH and alkalinity reduces (p = 0.514). With S1 (shallow water) at all three sites having higher values for water temperature, salinity and nutrients (nitrite, nitrate, orthophosphate, carbonate, sulphide and chlorophyll-a than it did in deeper waters (S2, S3 * reserved to Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station), the overlap of blue barred parrotfish (Scarus ghobban), decorated goby (I. decorates), red breasted wrasse (Cheilinus fasciatus) and yellow tail blue damselfish (Chrysiptera parasema) in all three sites considers them as broad-tolerance species (p = 0.451). Interestingly, the coral rock cod (Cephalopholis miniata) is tolerant to low pH (6.6–6.9) and reduced alkalinity (95–113 mg/L) waters since the fish is only limited to coral farm and museum jetty at Bidong Island. In fact, elevated carbon dioxide in seawater does not alter coral rock cod, C. miniata predation ground in tropical seas of Australia (McMahon et al. 2018) and fishes like blue barred parrotfish (S. ghobban), decorated goby (I. decorates), red breasted wrasse

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Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea …

159

Table 14.2 Checklist of fish species encountered in the waters of Bidong Island Fish common name

Species

Abundance

Appearance

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu Research station (sea column to sea floor 5 m depth) Bicolour cleaner wrasse

Labroides bicolor

6

Bicolour parrotfish (Adult)

Cetoscarus bicolor

3

Decorated goby

Istigobius decoratus

13

Checkerboard wrasse

Halichoeres hortulanus

3

Six bar wrasse

Thalassoma hardwicke

3

Coral rabbitfish

Siganus corallinus

2

Half and half thick lip wrasse

Hemigymnus melapterus

3

(continued)

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M. S. A. Ariffin et al.

Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Clown surgeonfish

Acanthurus lineatus

Abundance 3

Blue barred parrotfish

Scarus ghobban

2

Lunar wrasse

Thalassoma lunare

8

Teira batfish

Thalassoma lunare

5

Ring angelfish

Pomacanthus annularis

2

Threadfin butterfly

Chaetodon auriga

2

Oriental sweetlips

Plectorhinchus vittatus

4

Appearance

(continued)

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Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea …

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Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Black backed butterfly

Chaetodon melannotus

Abundance 2

Blue green damsel

Chromis viridis

6

Chocolate dip damsel

Chromis fieldi

4

Teardrop butterfly

Chaetodon unimaculatus

2

Emperor angelfish

Pomacanthus imperator

2

Golden damselfish

Amblyglyphidodon aureus

3

Barramundi cod

Cromileptes altivelis

1

Appearance

(continued)

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M. S. A. Ariffin et al.

Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Yellow Edged moray eel

Gymnothorax flavimarginatus

Abundance 2

Saltwater firefish goby

Nemateleotris magnifica

4

Appearance

Coral farm (pelagic, sea column to sea floor) Red breasted wrasse

Cheilinus fasciatus

2

Decorated goby

Istigobius decoratus

13

Yellow tail blue damselfish

Chrysiptera parasema

8

Blue streak goby

Valenciennea strigata

3

Longnose butterflyfish

Forcipiger longirostris

2

(continued)

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Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea …

165

Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Black nox angelfish

Centropyge nox

Abundance

Bicolour cleaner wrasse

Labroides bicolor

6

Clown surgeonfish

Acanthurus lineatus

3

Eight stripped butterflyfish

Chaetodon octofasciatus

3

Coral rock cod

Cephalopholis miniata

2

Slender grouper

Anyperodon leucogrammicus

1

Blue barred parrotfish

Scarus ghobban

4

Appearance

15

(continued)

166

M. S. A. Ariffin et al.

Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Blue spotted ray

Taeniura lymma

Abundance 1

Coral cat shark

Atelomycterus marmoratus

1

Emperor angelfish

Pomacanthus imperator

1

Golden trevally

Gnathanodon speciosus

4

Silver pomfret

Pampus argenteus

Crocodile needlefish

Tylosurus crocodilus

2

Blackfin barracuda

Sphyraena qenie

2

Appearance

Museum jetty (pelagic to sea column)

12

(continued)

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Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea …

167

Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Sergeant major

Abudefduf saxatilis

Abundance

Appearance

41

Museum Jetty (sea column to sea floor) Power blue surgeon fish

Acanthurus leucosternon

Decorated goby

Istigobius decoratus

Black damsel

Neoglyphidodon melas

7

Yellow tail blue damselfish

Chrysiptera parasema

5

Redbreasted wrasse

Cheilinus fasciatus

2

Half and half thicklip wrasse

Hemigymnus melapterus

2

6

12

(continued)

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M. S. A. Ariffin et al.

Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Coral rabbitfish

Siganus corallinus

Abundance 2

Starry pufferfish

Arothron stellatus

1

Moorish idol

Zanclus cornutus

1

Checkerboard wrasse

Halichoeres hortulanus

3

Scribbled filefish

Aluterus scriptus

2

Coral rock cod

Cephalopholis miniata

2

Bird wrasse

Gomphosus gomphosus

5

Appearance

(continued)

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Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea …

169

Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Blue barred parrotfish

Scarus ghobban

Abundance 2

Double bar rabbitfish

Siganus virgatus

1

Gold spot rabbitfish

Siganus guttatus

2

Harlequin sweetlips

Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides

3

Saddle back anemone fish

Amphiprion polymnus

3

Pink skunk anemone fish

Amphiprion perideraion

2

Five lined snapper

Lutjanus quinquelineatus

2

Appearance

(continued)

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M. S. A. Ariffin et al.

Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Moses snapper

Lutjanus russellii

Abundance 4

Orange clown anemone fish

Amphiprion percula

8

Blue green damsel

Chromis viridis

8

Sea goldie

Pseudanthias squamipinnis

6

Chocolate dip damsel

Chromis fieldi

6

Bicolour parrotfish (juvenile)

Cetoscarus bicolor

12

Bicolour parrotfish (adult)

Cetoscarus bicolor

4

Appearance

(continued)

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Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea …

171

Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Oriental sweetlips

Plectorhinchus vittatus

Abundance 3

Bicolour angel

Centropyge bicolor

2

Longfin batfish

Platex teira

2

Common lionfish

Pterois miles

1

Masked bannerfish

Heniochus monoceros

3

Ring angelfish

Pomacanthus annularis

2

Appearance

(continued)

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Table 14.2 (continued) Fish common name

Species

Racoon butterflyfish

Chaetodon lunula

Abundance 2

Saltwater firefish goby

Nemateleotris magnifica

4

Appearance

Image credit: Bryan Raveen Nelson

(C. fasciatus) and yellow tail blue damselfish (C. parasema) are euryhaline species that can tolerate wide environmental gradient (Madduppa et al. 2013). This shows, S. ghobban, I. decorates, C. fasciatus, C. parasema and C. miniata does not alter their behaviour despite hypercapnia stress by carbon dioxide diffusion. Varying alkalinity, water pH and carbonate concentration between shallow nearshore and depths within the 50 m transect length would consider sea acidification taking place in shallow waters of Bidong Island. In fact, carbon dioxide diffusion and reduction of carbon dioxide by eutrophic incidences are balance mechanisms to maintain sea chemistry ambience (Macko 2019). Yet, the incidence of coral bleaching and its reduction into rubble make the coral exoskeleton bioavailable as bicarbonate ions (HCO 3 ) and carbon dioxide (CO2). When applied to Bidong Island, shallow nearshore of coral farm and museum jetty contain coral rubble and, its shallow waters were having reduced pH (6.6–6.9), an association to acidic conditions that arise postcoral bleaching (Albright and Cooley 2019; Nair and Abraham 2019). Moreover, carbonate (hardness) retention in waters of coral farm and museum jetty exceeded that of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station. This clearcut observation relates with decreasing alkalinity and pH values between shallow sections and deep waters at Bidong Island. As such, ionic forms of calcite and aragonite which previously constitute the coral exoskeleton matrix are now solute constituents and correlate well with pH and

salinity (p = 0.380). We understand carbon dioxide excess in the study area contributes to acidic waters while heated waters in shallow depths indicate preconcentration of solutes to trap heat and their availability for redox reactions (Ferrera et al. 2017; Proum et al. 2018). Similarly, areas with shallow waters in Bidong Island were warmer because of heat retention and increased transpiration. While heated waters were having increased salinity, 33– 34 ‰, it promotes specialized species to occupy this zone, bringing about the increased presence of decorated goby (I. decorates) and black damsel (Neoglyphidodon melas) in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station nearshore, decorated goby and black nox angelfish (C. nox) at coral farm nearshore and the presence decorated goby as well as juvenile bicolour parrotfish (Scarus ghobban) at the museum jetty nearshore. Also, the presence of nitrogenous nutrients and reduced yield of chlorophyll-a reveals about the purpose for the occurrence of grazing fish species like decorated goby (I. decorates), black damsel (N. melas), black nox angelfish (C. nox) and juvenile bicolour parrotfish (S. ghobban). Presumably, these fish feed detritus that may have developed after an episode of bloom or, graze on filamentous algae when moving into shallow depths. Also, these fish were able to withstand acidic and heated waters which made their sightings and abundance reserved in shallow water of Bidong Island. Similar observations were produced from decorated goby (Hernaman et al. 2009), black damselfish (Gibson et al.

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Fish Distribution in Tropical Bidong Island, South China Sea …

2001), black nox angelfish (Bejarano et al. 2019) and bicolour parrotfish (Bejarano et al. 2013) which are specialized to grazing grounds invaded by filamentous alga during episodic eutrophication. Since the landscape of Bidong Island is shallow and containing irregular terrain, currents are weakened by coral rubble. The derived low energy waves are unable to shift the accumulated matter away which made shallow waters suitable grazing grounds for algae and detritus feeders. Overall, fish diversity and their abundance were limited by water temperature and pH to indicate effect by acidic waters to their movement and availability. Evidently, 11 fish species were reserved to Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station, 6 species to coral farm and 21 species to museum jetty at Bidong Island. An overlap of blue barred parrotfish (S. ghobban), decorated goby (I. decorates), red breasted wrasse (C. fasciatus) and yellow tail blue damselfish (C. parasema) in all three areas along with 5 other species between Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station and coral farm, 1 species (coral rock cod—C. miniata) between coral farm and museum jetty and another 15 fish species between Universiti Malaysia Terengganu research station and museum jetty indicates that most of the reef fish occupy waters exceeding 3 m at Bidong Island. This accounts for the impact of acidic waters to influence the distribution of fish in the continental shelf, particularly at shallow intertidal zones but, reserved to island biogeography and its landscape where anthropic activities are momentary and coral bleaching precedes with annual sea acidification. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to Universiti Malaysia Terengganu for organizing the 2019 Bidong Island expedition as well as supporting progress of the work with laboratory and workbench facilities.

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Bryan Raveen Nelson Senior Lecturer (Bioecology), Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development.

Host Preferences and Colouration of Christmas Tree Worms, Spirobranchus corniculatus (Grube, 1862) from Bidong Island, South China Sea

15

Izwandy Idris, Nadia Azeera Mohd-Salleh, and Nur Dalia Natasya Ahmad Fadzil

Abstract

Polychaetes from genus Spirobranchus is one of the distinctive organisms in the coral reef ecosystem due to a unique, colourful ‘Christmas tree’ shape of radiolar crown. The presence of Christmas Tree Worm (CTW) on hard coral species and its colour variations can be potentially used to determine the coral health status and tourism attractions. Nevertheless, information on CTW in Malaysia is lacking; thus, the specific habitat and colour variety for CTW, particularly at the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia are not well understood. Hence, the objectives of this study are to investigate the coral preferences and colour variety of Pacific CTW, Spirobranchus corniculatus at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island, South China Sea. Underwater surveys were done using a belt transect technique by SCUBA divers in three depth ranges, i.e. 2–4 m, 5–7 m, and 8–10 m during

I. Idris (&) South China Sea Repository and Reference Center, Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] N. A. Mohd-Salleh
N. D. N. Ahmad Fadzil Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

high tide. Numbers of S. corniculatus per coral colony and coral species were recorded. Everted CTWs were digitally photographed and colour corrected to reveal the true colour. A total of 274 S. corniculatus were found along the belt transects on the coral reef at Pantai Pasir Cina. The major percentage (60.2%) of S. corniculatus was found in depth between 5 and 7 m and live on hermatypic coral from genus Porites. However, only a small number of CTW were recorded living on other coral genera including Astreopora spp., Montastrea spp. and Montipora sp., and no CTW was recorded live as a symbiont with Acropora species. The CTW at Pantai Pasir Cina has five plain and four patterns of colours dominated by blue, followed by yellow, orange, green, white, striped blue, striped purple, striped white and striped brown. This study revealed the importance of massive coral in particular Porites species as CTW host at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island. The information could be beneficial for determining the coral reef status using CTW as indicator species and for proper underwater tourism management. Keywords




Christmas tree worm Spirobranchus corniculatus Coral reef Bidong Island South China Sea




© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_15







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15.1

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Introduction

Spirobranchus or colloquially known as Christmas Tree Worm (CTW) is a tube-building polychaete worm belongs to family Serpulidae. The worms obtained its common name ‘Christmas Tree Worm’ from its exposed colourful two radiolar crowns that shaped like small conifer trees, which usually associated with Christmas celebration. At the moment, genus Spirobranchus consists of 37 species and can be found in all coral reef regions in the world (Polychaeta 2021). Spirobranchus is considered a host generalist; the worms can live in almost all stony corals, including Scleractinia (anthozoan) and Hydrozoa (Millepora) (Rowley 2008; Hoeksema et al. 2020). Nevertheless, recent studies also reported that CTW could also live in various secondary hosts including mushroom coral, zoantharian, ascidian, octocorallia (soft coral), sponges, and live bivalve shells (Hoeksema and ten Hove 2014, 2017; van der Schoot et al. 2016; García-Hernández and Hoeksema 2017; Hoeksema et al. 2020). Apart from its unique shape, the colour polymorphism of CTW is also making the genus distinctive in the coral reef ecosystem. Colour diversity in animal serve various purposes including protection from predators (camouflage, warning), attractants for potential prey (bait maiming) and to attract the opposite sex for reproduction (Bond and Kamil 2002; Hanlon et al. 2013; Stevens et al. 2014; Duarte et al. 2017). Moreover, colouration also might indicate environmental stress (Troïanowski et al. 2015). Nevertheless, the study on colour polymorphism in Polychaeta is limited compared to other taxa. For example, in scaleworm Harmothoe imbricata (Nygren et al. 2011). One of the earliest studies on CTW was done by Dales (1962), which characterised the colouration pigment in Sabellide and Serpulidae. Since then, there was a temporal void of knowledge until Song (2006) listed S. giganteus colourations in French Polynesia, which consisted of five colours (blue, brown, marigold, purple and white). Interestingly, colour variations in CTW are high even in

a small area. Individuals CTW can have different radiolar crown colours although live relatively next to each other on the same coral colony. Nevertheless, the purpose of having different colours in individual level of CTW is still not fully understood by researchers until today. The Indo-Pacific region, which includes southeast Asia, Indian Ocean, central Pacific and northern Australia is the habitat locality for Spirobranchus corniculatus (Grube 1862). Initially, three Spirobranchus species (S. corniculatus, S. gaymardi, and S. cruciger) which form the S. corniculatus complex were reported from the region (ten Hove 1994). However, recent molecular work revealed that the so-called three species actually belong to a single species which is S. corniculatus (Willette et al. 2015). In Malaysia, no study has been conducted on the host and colour diversity of S. corniculatus. Hence, the purpose of this study is to identify the preferred host, and colour polymorphism of S. corniculatus at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island, South China Sea.

15.2

Materials and Methods

The study was conducted between August and September 2018 on the reef flat at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island (Fig. 15.1). This site was chosen because of accessibility for researchers to conduct SCUBA diving from shore until 8–10 m (depending on the tide) of reef flat that consists of different coral communities that allows depth comparison to being done (Safuan et al. 2020). The reef flat was divided into two sites which are A and B, separated by a coral rubble patch made for boat landing to facilitate underwater data collection. At each site, three sampling depths were chosen including 3 m, 6 m and 9 m. Each sampling depths included ±1 m range and were determined using a dive computer (Mares Puck Pro, Italy). All samplings were done during the high tide of the neap tide. At each sampling depth, a belt transect method (Hill and Wilkinson 2004) was adapted. A 100 m of transect tape was deployed on the

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Fig. 15.1 Sampling sites (a and b) at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island, South China Sea

reef. A pair of divers then swam along the belt transect (covering 1 m to both left and right of the transect tape) to count the S. corniculatus and identifies the host, at the same time digitally captured (Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 with underwater casing without the light strobe) the image of each everted CTW (.jpeg format) for colour correction. The 2 m width (1 m left and right) was decided because the general size of CTW is small which require small observation area to give sufficient time for SCUBA divers to collect data and photograph. Hermatypic (reef building) corals were identified until genus level using Coral Finder (Byoguides, Australia) based on the digital images taken. The occurrence of CTW was categorised according to the coral genera and depth; and presented in percentage. Images of radiolar crown of S. corniculatus (.jpeg format) were colour corrected using Adobe Photoshop software to enhance the true colour of CTW (Fig. 15.2). The colour correction is needed because seawater absorbs the light wavelength at different depths; red and orange colours are the first to be absorbed, followed by yellow, green and lastly, blue (Anthoni 2005). The RGB (red, green and blue) layers were applied on each image using Adobe Photoshop software to reveal the true colours of CTW (Pateman 2009). The colour correction was done according to the steps suggested by Probst (2009). The colour variations Spirobranchus corniculatus have been determined to its radiolar crown (the Christmas tree shape). The colour

classification was designated according to the primary colour of RGB values which are Red, Green, Blue. Moreover, other colours were classified visually in the corrected images: Yellow, Purple, Brown, Orange and White (Song 2006). In addition, variations in the colour pattern were also recorded (i.e. banded, striped, dotted). Data on CTW occurrence and colour diversity were analysed based on depth and coral preferences and presented in percentage. Due to technical and logistical issues, no replicates were done at each transect and depth. Hence data from the similar depth from sites A and B were combined for descriptive analyses.

15.3

Results

A total of 274 S. corniculatus was recorded from all depth profiles in Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island. The majority of CTW was found with 4– 6 m depth (60.2%), followed by 2–4 m (25.9%) while the deepest depth (8–10 m) only represented by 13.9% of total found (Fig. 15.3). The hermatypic (reef building) corals that have CTW as symbionts are Astreopora spp., Montastrea spp., Montipora spp. and Porites species (Fig. 15.4). Porites spp. has the highest number of CTW symbionts (90.2%), followed by Montipora spp. (4.9%), while Astreopora spp. and Montastrea spp. only recorded 2.4% of recorded CTW each (Fig. 15.5). However, no CTW was found live as a symbiont with Acropora spp. at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island.

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Fig. 15.2 Comparison image of radiolar crown of Spirobranchus corniculatus before and after colour correction: a Before and b after colour correction

Distribuiton Abundance (%)

70.0 60.2

60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0

25.9

20.0

13.9

10.0 0.0 2-4m

5-7m Depth Ranges

8-10m

Fig. 15.3 Distribution abundance (%) of Spirobranchus corniculatus at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island, South China Sea

Furthermore, among stony coral species (Astreopora spp., Montastrea spp., Montipora spp. and Porites species) that were found along the transects, 56.2% were found with at least one CTW that lived as a symbiont. Figure 15.6 shows the colour diversity of CTW found at Pantai Pasir Cina. A total of five plain colours and four striped colours were recorded. The plain colours are blue, green, orange, white, and yellow; while striped colours are blue, brown, purple and white. Among these colour patterns, plain blue was the primary colour (43.8%), followed by yellow (16.9%) and striped brown (13.1%) (Fig. 15.7). Other colour

patterns were recorded occurrence below 10%. Additionally, not all colours are available at all depth, with shallow depth (2–3 m) recorded the lowest (seven colours) while the intermediate (5– 7 m) and deep (8–10 m) have eight colours each. Detail of colour variations according to the depth, is shown in Fig. 15.8. Blue was the dominant colour of S. corniculatus in all depth ranges (2–10 m). However, the second dominant colours in shallowest depth (2–4 m) was striped brown (28.1%), while yellow was the second dominant colours for rest of the depth (5–7 m, 24.2%; 8–10 m, 16.7%).

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Fig. 15.4 Diversity of Spirobranchus corniculatus hosts at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island, South China Sea. a Astreopora spp., b Montastrea spp. (within yellow circle), c Montipora spp., and d Porites species 100 90

90.2

PERCENTAGE OF HOST (%)

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

4.9

Porites spp.

Montipora spp.

2.4

2.4

Astreopora spp.

Montastrea spp.

Coral Host Fig. 15.5 Preferred coral hosts by Spirobranchus corniculatus at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island, South China Sea

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Fig. 15.6 Colour and pattern diversity of Christmas Tree Worm, Spirobranchus corniculatus at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island, South China Sea. a Yellow, b white,

15.4

Discussion

15.4.1 Spirobranchus corniculatus Host at Pantai Pasir Cina The highest percentage of S. corniculatus found in this study live as a symbiont with Porites spp. The growth pattern of Porites is slower compared to other hard coral general and in enlarging pattern (Razak et al. 2019). The slow growth rate allows the CTW to extend its burrowing tube according to the growth rate of the coral host and adjusting the opening position to gain more advantage during filter feeding (Nishi and Nishihira 1999). Although both Astreopora spp. and Montastrea spp. are massive corals, the numbers of CTW are lower compared to Porites species, probably because the length of tentacles

c green (arrow pointed), d striped brown, e blue, f orange (arrow pointed), g striped blue (arrow pointed), h striped purple, and i striped white

of both genera are longer than later. Also, each individual has larger corallites on the surface of the colony, which probably hindering CTW larvae from settling down and growing, as suggested by Scaps (2011). Besides, Montipora spp. which have small corallites like Porites yet low percentage of CTW as symbionts may caused by the horizontal and encrusting growth, resulting in thinner colony compared to the thick Porites. In this study, no CTW was found as a symbiont with staghorn coral Acropora sp. and other secondary hosts such as zoanthids, ascidians and soft corals. The absence of CTW on Acropora sp. is expected as other recent studies also exempting Acropora species among the list of CTW host (Song 2006; Rowley 2008; Perry et al. 2018) or recorded a very low number of individuals (Dai and Yang 1995). Interestingly, a high number of S. corniculatus larvae was

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50.0 43.8

45.0 40.0

Percentage (&)

35.0 30.0 25.0 20.0

16.9

15.0

13.1 8.5

10.0

6.9 4.6

5.0

1.5

1.5

Orange

Green

3.1

0.0 Yellow

Blue

White

Striped Blue

Striped Purple

Striped White

Striped Brown

Colours of Radiolar Crown

Fig. 15.7 Distribution of colours in radiolar crown of Spirobranchus corniculatus at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island, South China Sea

recorded on live Acropora prolifera compared to other substrates (Marsden 1987). Nevertheless, the survival rate of S. corniculatus that settled on Acropora spp. maybe low because of the relatively fast growth rate of the coral in the genus (Anggara et al. 2020). Moreover, the branching shape of Acropora spp. as they grow will gradually make the opening of CTW tube to be located further down to the base of coral and in between the coral branches. This condition will reduce the current flow, subsequently limiting the number of suspended food particles available for CTW, which may lead to death. Moreover, branching corals are more susceptible to physical damage caused by storm or cyclone (Safuan et al. 2020). Although not the main focus in this study, no CTW was observed live on artificial substrates as discovered by Perry et al. (2018) in the Red Sea. The absence of CTW on artificial substrates (rubbish or man-made materials) at Pantai Pasir Cina is probably due to the condition of the study site. Pantai Pasir Cina is located in front of the Marine Research Station, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT). The area is mostly restricted for public or tourists except for researchers. Thus, a limited number of people will be at the

station at any given time. During the monsoon period, which lasts for 4–5 months, all structures in the water that belongs to the station will be kept on land except for large, heavy structures and for research purpose. Once the monsoon is over, these structures will be placed back in the water together with beach and underwater cleanups. Hence, the repetitive removal of structures either because of monsoon or rubbish clean-ups probably prohibiting the CTW to settle and live (if settled) on the artificial substrate at Pantai Pasir Cina. Nonetheless, some large and heavy artificial structures such as an overboard backhoe have overgrown hermatypic corals with CTW as symbionts. Although reproductive biology of S. corniculatus is not yet understood, another CTW, S. tetraceros in Abu Kir Bay, Egypt only spawn in a limited period, i.e. between May until September (Selim et al. 2005). If S. corniculatus at Bidong Island also have the same spawning period, larvae that settled on artificial substrates especially small and removable items like discarded plastic material will have very low survivability to live through the monsoon season. The outcomes from this study also indicate that a high percentage of CTW at Pantai Pasir Cina was found at the intermediate depth (5–

184 60.0

a

53.1

50.0

Percentage (%)

Fig. 15.8 Colour diversity in radiolar crown of Spirobranchus corniculatus at different depth (during high tide) at Pantai Pasir Cina, Bidong Island, South China Sea. a 2–4 m, b 5–7 m, c 8– 10 m

I. Idris et al.

40.0 28.1

30.0 20.0 10.0 3.1

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7 m) of the reef flat. This depth range is suitable for S. corniculatus because of lower wave action and temperature compared to the shallow depth range (2–4 m) that is highly affected by intertidal cycle, even though the percentage of massive coral at 2–4 m was high. The deepest depth range (8–10 m) of the reef flat is adjacent to a sandy plain outside the bay, which impose a risk of abrasion due to sediment suspension. Also, the

Orange

11.1

2.8 Green

White

Striped Blue Colours of Radiolar Crown

5.6

Striped Purple

8.3

8.3

Striped White

Striped Brown

current around Bidong Island moves from north to south with the maximum speed of 0.22 m/s (Daud and Akhir 2015), which may reduce the opportunity for trochophore larvae of S. corniculatus to settle on a potential host at 8–10 m. Thus, the ‘Goldilock’ depth (5–7 m) for CTW to live is characterised by moderate wave action, lower water temperature compared to the shallow depth and less abrasive sediment presence with

15

Host Preferences and Colouration of Christmas Tree Worms …

slow current flow compared to deeper depth area. The outcome is slight contradict from a study done by Rowley (2008) in Indonesian reefs at Wakatobi Marine National Park, Indonesia. However, all sampling sites in the Indonesian study are located at the exposed fringing reefs subjected to high sedimentation, moderate-high wave action and strong current. Hence, it is believed that larvae S. corniculatus has local adaptations for selecting preferable habitat to settle down.

15.5

Colour Polymorphism of Spirobranchus corniculatus at Pantai Pasir Cina

The outcome from the current survey shows that a total of nine colour and pattern variations can be seen in the S. corniculatus population at Pantai Pasir Cina. The number of colours is higher than another study done by Song (2006) in French Polynesia, which was five. The higher number is probably because of the classification used in the present study, which includes colouration pattern. A total of four colour patterns was observed on S. corniculatus in this study, while none was reported in French Polynesia (Song 2006). It is believed that striped colours were also present during the 2006 study at French Polynesia, as shown in the publication (Song 2006: Fig. 3). However, they were clumped together based on the primary colour of the radiolar crown. Also, the French Polynesia study did not employ colour correction approach, and only representatives of S. giganteus with different colours were photographed; whereas in this study, images of each everted S. corniculatus within the sampling belt were taken for colour correction analysis. Hence, the marigold colour in Song (2006) is probably yellow and orange, while purple and brown might consist of a plain and striped pattern of the same colour and may include green as revealed in the current study.

185

Blue is the dominant colour for S. corniculatus across the reef flat at Pantai Pasir Cina. Interestingly, white was the dominant colour for S. giganteus in French Polynesia (Song 2006). Although the number of colours recorded is high, the difference (in percentage) between dominant and the least dominant colour at Pantai Pasir China is huge (42%) compared to 13% at French Polynesia. Nevertheless, as suggested by Nygren et al. (2011), the cause of evolution and maintaining of colourmorph in polychaete is still speculative as no possible explanation can be made for the colourful character. Other polychaete species that have colour polymorphisms including H. imbricate (Polynoidea) and Pomatoceros spp. (Serpulidae) (Føyn and Gjøen 1954; Nygren et al. 2011). The crossbreed experiment between blue and yellow Pomatoceros sp. produced infertile offspring with blue was the dominant colour (Føyn and Gjøen 1954).

15.6

Conclusion

The Christmas tree worms from Pantai Pasir Cina are in symbiosis with hermatypic coral species from genus Porites. Other potential hosts reported from other studies are minimally chosen by S. corniculatus, which may indicate this species has preferred local host. Blue was the primary colour of radiole crown and can be found in all depths. However, the reasons for host preferences and colour variation in the CTW population in Pantai Pasir Cina are still unknown and warrant for further investigation. Acknowledgements This study was supported by Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (Faculty of Science and Marine Environment and the Institute of Oceanography and Environment). Our appreciation to the Centre for Research and Field Services (CRAFS), UMT for allowing us to use the boat and the research station at Bidong Island. Special gratitude also goes to Zainudin Bachok, Khyril Syahrizan Husain, Safuan Che Din and Afiq Firdaus for underwater assistance. Finally, to Elena Kupriyanova (Australian Museum Research Institute) for verifying the species identification.

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References Anggara DP, Azhar MH, Ulkhaq MF, Fasya AH (2020) Characteristics of Acropora divaricata, and Acropora nobilis on different transplantation depths based on growth rate and zooxanthellae density. AACL Bioflux 13(1) Anthoni JF (2005) Water and light in underwater photography. http://www.seafriends.co.nz/phgraph/ water.htm. Accessed 6 May 2020 Bond AB, Kamil AC (2002) Visual predators select for crypticity and polymorphism in virtual prey. Nature 415(6872):609–613 Dai CF, Yang HP (1995) Distribution of Spirobranchus giganteus corniculatus (Hove) on the Coral Reefs of Southern Taiwan. Zool Stud 34(2):117–125 Dales RP (1962) The nature of the pigments in the crowns of sabellid and serpulid polychaetes. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 42(2):259–274 Daud NR, Akhir MFM (2015) Hydrodynamic modelling of Bidong Island vicinity waters. Open J Mar Sci 5 (03):306–323 Duarte RC, Flores AAV, Stevens M (2017) Camouflage through colour change: mechanisms, adaptive value and ecological significance. Philos Trans R Soc b Biol Sci 372(1724):20160342 Føyn B, Gjøen I (1954) Studies on the serpulid Pomatoceros triqueter L. The colour pattern of the branchial crown and its inheritance. Nytt Magasin for Zoologi 285–90 García JE, Hoeksema BW (2017) Sponges as secondary hosts for Christmas tree worms at Curaçao. Coral Reefs 36(4):1243 Grube AE (1862) Mittheilungen ueber die Serpulen, mit besonderer Beruecksichtigungihrer Deckel. Schles gesellschaft fur vaterlandische cultur Breslau Jahresber 39:53–69 Hanlon RT, Chiao CC, Mäthger LM, Marshall NJ (2013) A fish-eye view of cuttlefish camouflage using in situ spectrometry. Biol J Lin Soc 109(3):535–551 Hill J, Wilkinson C (2004) Methods for ecological monitoring of coral reefs. Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville Hoeksema BW, García-Hernández JE, van Moorsel GWNM, Olthof G, ten Hove HA (2020) Extension of the recorded host range of Caribbean Christmas Tree worms (Spirobranchus spp.) with two scleractinians, a zoantharian, and an ascidian. Diversity 12(3):115 Hoeksema BW, ten Hove HA (2014) First record of a Christmas Tree worm in a mushroom coral (Loyalty Islands, Southwest Pacific). Coral Reefs 33(3):717 Hoeksema BW, ten Hove HA (2017) The invasive sun coral Tubastraea coccinea hosting a native Christmas

I. Idris et al. tree worm at Curaçao Dutch Caribbean. Mar Biodivers 47(1):59–65 ten Hove HA (1994) Serpulidae (Annelida: Polychaeta) from the Seychelles and Amirante Islands. Netherlands Indian Ocean Programme Cruise Reports, 2107– 116 Marsden JR (1987) Coral preference behaviour by planktotrophic larvae of Spirobranchus giganteus corniculatus (Serpulidae: Polychaeta). Coral Reefs 6 (2):71–74 Nishi E, Nishihira M (1999) Use of annual density banding to estimate longevity of infauna of massive corals. Fish Sci 65(1):48–56 Nygren A, Norlinder E, Panova M, Pleijel F (2011) Colour polymorphism in the polychaete Harmothoe imbricata (Linnaeus, 1767). Mar Biol Res 7(1):54–62 Pateman V (2009) Color correction for underwater photography. https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/ viewcontent.cgi?, https://www.google.com/ &httpsredir=1&article=1010&context=grcsp. Accessed 6 May 2020 Perry O, Sapir Y, Perry G, ten Hove H, Fine M (2018) Substrate selection of Christmas tree worms (Spirobranchus spp.) in the Gulf of Eilat, Red Sea. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 98(4):791–799 Polychaeta (2021) Spirobranchus Blainville, 1818. 2020. World Polychaeta Database. http://www. marinespecies.org/polychaeta/aphia.php?p= taxdetails&id=129582. Accessed 4 May 2021 Probst G (2009) Quickly color correct underwater photos in Photoshop. GTP designs. http://www.gtpdesigns. com/design-blog/view/how-to-quickly-color-correctunderwater-photos-in-photoshop. Accessed 19 Sept 2020 Razak T, Roff G, Lough J, Prayudi D, Cantin N, Mumby P (2019) Long-term growth trends of massive Porites corals across a latitudinal gradient in the IndoPacific. Mar Ecol Progr Ser 62669–82 Rowley SJ (2008) Morphological diversity and abundance in the tube-dwelling polychaete Spirobranchus giganteus (Pallas, 1766) in the Indo-Pacific: adaptations to its coral host? University of Plymouth, England Safuan CDM, Roseli NH, Bachok Z, Akhir MF, Xia C, Qiao F (2020) First record of tropical storm (Pabuk— January 2019) damage on shallow water reef in Pulau Bidong, south of South China Sea. Region Stud Mar Sci 35101216 Scaps P (2011) Associations between the Scallop Pedum spondyloideum (Bivalvia, Pteriomorphia, Pectinidae) and Hard Corals on the West Coast of Thailand. Zool Stud 50(4):466–474 van der Schoot R, Scott CM, ten Hove HA, Hoeksema BW (2016) Christmas tree worms as epibionts of

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giant clams at Koh Tao Gulf of Thailand. Mar Biodivers 46(4):751–752 Selim SA, Abdel F, Gab- AAFA, Ghobashy A (2005) Gametogenesis and spawning of Spirobranchus tetraceros (Polychaeta, Serpulidae) in Abu Kir Bay Egypt. Mediterr Mar Sci 6(1):89–98 Song DS (2006) Christmast Colors: Colormorph distribution of Spirobranchus giganteus Pallas, 1766 on Moorea, French Polynesia Stevens M, Lown AE, Wood LE (2014) Color change and camouflage in juvenile shore crabs Carcinus maenas. Front Ecol Evol 2(MAY):1–14 Troïanowski M, Dumet A, Condette C, Lengagne T, Mondy N (2015) Traffic noise affects colouration but not calls in the European treefrog (Hyla arborea). Behaviour 152(6):821–836 Willette DA, Iñiguez AR, Kupriyanova EK, Starger CJ, Varman T, Toha AH, Maralit BA, Barber PH (2015) Christmas tree worms of Indo-Pacific coral reefs:

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Izwandy Idris Senior Lecturer (Diversity and Ecology of Benthic Invertebrates), Institute of Oceanography and Environment.

16

Cellular Stress Response of Scleractinian Coral Acropora Robusta and Acropora Florida in Bidong Island Nur Atiqah Maznan, Siti Nurtahirah Jaafar, and Chun Hong Tan

Abstract

The collapse of the coral reef worldwide is connected with multiple stressors. All of these stressors eventually will result in overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and cause oxidative stress in coral. Oxidative stress that producing ROS are able to modify proteins and making carbonyl as well as thiols of cysteine susceptible. Thus, this study was conducted to examine the cellular stress response of scleractinian coral by assessing the enzymatic assays and sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of two species, Acropora robusta and Acropora florida in Bidong Island, off coast of Terengganu, South

N. A. Maznan
S. N. Jaafar (&)
C. H. Tan Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] C. H. Tan e-mail: [email protected] S. N. Jaafar
C. H. Tan Institute of Oceanography and Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia S. N. Jaafar
C. H. Tan Research and Education On Environment for Future Sustainability (REEFS), Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia

China Sea, Malaysia. The glutathione S-transferase (GST) and catalase (CAT) assays were used as benchmark against carbonyl and thiol oxidation gel separation. Significant interaction were found between different stations for GST (p < 0.05) and CAT (p < 0.05) activities. Moreover, prior to one-dimensional electrophoresis (1DE), thiol proteins were labelled with 5-iodoacetamidofluorescein (IAF) whilst carbonyl protein were labelled with fluorescein-5-thiosemicarbazide (FTSC). Interestingly, results obtained showed that protein range between 25 and 45 kDa molecular weight were presence in both fluorescence tagging for thiols and carbonyls in both species. However, specific-proteins changes responses are not included in this study. Results obtained from this investigation clearly revealed some similarities on a portion of redox proteome across stations indicating oxidative stress maybe a common response and the effects are unique for early warning observation. Corals that experienced oxidative stress had higher chaperoning level and protein turnover activity. Further studies should be considered to identify the stressed-protein that response to the stressor. Keywords




Acropora florida Acropora robusta Catalase Glutathione-s-transferase Oxidative stress




© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 O. M. Chuan et al. (eds.), Bidong Island, Geography of the Physical Environment, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91924-5_16







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16.1

N. A. Maznan et al.

Introduction

Degradation of coral reef worldwide is not a new emerging scenario; it has already begun even before 1900s (Pandolfi et al. 2003).There were numerous reports on the decline of coral reef worldwide as repercussion of multiple stressors (Bruno and Selig 2007; De’ath et al. 2012). All of these stressors eventually will result in overproduction of ROS. Under normal physiological condition, ROS is not harmful as it is a byproduct of oxygen metabolism and eventually will be removed by different antioxidant enzymes that produced inside the body (Livingstone 2003). However, if ROS is excessively produced, the normal physiological condition is disturbed and consequently resulting in oxidative stress (Mates 2000; Yoshikawa and Naito 2002; Apel and Hirt 2004). Oxidative stress has been defined as the imbalance between the generation of ROS and the neutralization of ROS by antioxidant mechanisms within an organism (Davies 1995; Yoshikawa and Naito 2002). In order to discover how the environments affect the biology of organisms, environmental proteomics has been used as a tool to seek for the answer (Tomanek 2011). Aquatic organisms contain full set of

antioxidant enzymes that comprise of antioxidant defenses including enzymatic components such as superoxidase dismutase (SOD) and catalase as well as small molecule antioxidants such as gluthathione (GSH) (Hook et al. 2014). These antioxidant enzymes work to prevent and inactivate the free reactive radicals (Davies 1995). Thus, in this paper we examined the activity of catalase (CAT) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) of coral tissue from A. robusta and A. florida from three sites in Bidong Island and later, evaluated the SDS-page gel analysis to understand the cellular stress response in these scleractinian corals.

16.2

Sampling Site and Sample Collection

Sampling was conducted within the reefs of Bidong Island, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia (Fig. 16.1). Samples were collected from three sites in Bidong Island which were Pantai Pasir Pengkalan (5.36766 °N, 103.3516 °E), Pantai Pasir Cina (5.620141 °N, 103.057022 °E) and Pantai Tenggara (5.611548 °N, 103.060454 °E). In each sites, samples of A. robusta and A. florida

Fig. 16.1 Location of the study sites in Bidong Island, Terengganu, Malaysia

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Cellular Stress Response of Scleractinian Coral Acropora Robusta …

191

(