Avian Distribution and Diversity in Forest Gap and Closed Canopy Areas of Lowland Tropical Forest

An ecological study concerning the effects of treefall gap areas and the association with bird distribution was conducted at the forest area around the Penang Botanical Garden which is encompassed within the Bukit Kerajaan Forest Reserve. A total of 12 study sites were chosen, six sites represent the closed canopy areas and the remaining six represent the gap areas. Bird sampling was conducted using point observation and mist netting methods. Birds detected in gap (229 individuals) areas were significantly higher compared to the closed canopy (147 individuals) areas {% = 17.88, df = 1, p 0.01). The distribution of species found in gap areas differs significantly from closed canopy areas (t-test = 2.487, df = 10, p 0.05), where gap areas recorded more species than closed canopy areas. The diversity (Shannon-Wiener and Evenness) and species richness (Margalef, Menhinick and True Richness) calculation showed that there are no significant differences between gap areas and closed canopy areas. It is presumed that the size of the gap area is too small to affect the diversity of the birds.