MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF FORESTRY STUDENT THESIS Title ASSESSMENT OF THE DIVERSITY OF THE TERRESTRIAL MAMMAL FAUNA USING CAMERA TRAPS IN SAOLA NATURE RESERVE, QUANG NAM PROVINCE. Major: Natural Resources Management Student: Do Phu Tien Student ID: 1453092562 Class: Course: K59B Natural Resources Management 2014 – 2018 Faculty: Forest Resources and Environmental Management Advanced Education Program Developed in collaboration with Colorado State University, USA Supervisor: Assoc. Vu Tien Thinh Hanoi, October 2018 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis cannot become a reality without support and help of many individuals. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to: the heads of Vietnam National University of Forestry, Faculty of Forest Resources and Environment Management.
As a part of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) cooperated to conduct a wildlife survey in the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve. This thesis was implemented in partnership with the WWF project, so all the data from camera traps were contributed by all the team members. First of all, I would like to express sincere gratitude to my supervisors Assoc. Prof Vu Tien Thinh and Assoc.
Prof Nguyen Phan Thiet has supported me in my studies and related research, their patience, motivation, and extensive knowledge. Thanks to the guidance of the two people who helped me during the research and writing of this thesis. I sincerely thank Mr. Dang Cong Vien, WWF organization, the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserves who helped me during the thesis.
I am extremely thankful and grateful to them for sharing experiences, valuable guidance and encouragement extended to me. Besides, I would like to thank my family, acquaintances for their encouragement, support during the period of conducting this study. Without their support, I would not have been able to complete this thesis. This research still has many shortcomings due to the limitations of time, finance and my ability.
I am looking forward to receiving comments from teachers, friends to a better thesis completion. Thank you! Hanoi, October 2018 Do Phu Tien LIST OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. i LIST OF FIGURES. iv LIST OF TABLES.
v ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS. 2 PART II: GOAL AND OBJECTIVES. 6 PART III: STUDY AREA.1 The scope of the study area. Climate and hydrology .3 Socio-economic conditions.
14 PART IV: METHODOLOGIES. Camera set up. 26 PART V: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. Mammal species recorded by the camera trap in the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve.
Distribution of some important terrestrial mammal species in the Quang Nam SNR. Assessing the conservation status of some mammals in the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve: .Threats to fauna in the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve. 46 PART VI: CONCLUSIONS. 49 REFERENCES APPENDIX LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Study site in Sao La Nature Reserve, Quang Nam province.
8 Figure 2: Reconyx PC850 Hyperfire Professional White Flax Camera. 18 Figure 3 Camera trap location for the coarse grid. 20 Figure 4 Camera trap location for fine grid. 21 Figure 5: Example photographs showing camera trap setup with too much vegetation (top) and just right (bottom in the green box).
25 Figure 6: WWF staff are testing the camera trap in the field. 25 Figure 7: Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi). 36 Figure 8: Locations of Annamite striped rabbit and pangolin. 37 Figure 9: Northern pig-tailed macaque (Macaca leonina).
38 Figure 10: Dark muntjac species complex (Muntiacus truongsonensis). 39 Figure 11: Locations of Annamite dark muntjac species complex in relation to the more common red muntjac. 39 Figure 12 Serrow (Capricornis milneedwardsii) was recorded by camera traps 41 Figure 13: Habitat along the streams. 42 Figure 14: Habitat protection forests.
42 Figure 17: Camps for harvesting forest products. 47 Figure 18: Illegal logging. 47 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Composition of terrestrial vertebrates in the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve. 13 Table 2 Structure of species composition in the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve.
13 Table 3: Population and inhabitant density under the management of buffer zone communes. 15 Table 4: Ethnic composition of buffer zone communes. 16 Table 5: Camera-trap station ID in the Quang Nam Saola NR. 24 Table 7: General station information.
26 Table 8: The number of rare mammal species was recorded in the Quang Nam SNR. 27 Table 9 List of mammal species recorded by camera traps. 30 Table 10 The comparision of mammal species in Kon Ka Kinh NP, Ba Na - Nui Chua NR and Quang Nam Saola NR. 32 Table 11 The number of photos and frequency of captured animals recorded by camera traps 33 Table 12: The number of rare mammal species was recorded in the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve.
44 Table 13: The main threats to protected areas. 46 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS WWF World Wide Fund for Nature NTFPs Non-timber forest products NP National Park IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature NR Nature Reserve SNR Saola Nature Reserve CAL Central Annamites Landscape FIPI Institute of Forest Inventory and Planning IEBR Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources IZW Institue for Zoo and Wildlife Research asl average sea level ABSTRACT This study was conducted on investigating the diversity of mammalian fauna in the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve. The Quang Nam SNR has a high diversity of forest ecosystems, the fauna and flora species. However, there has been limited update on the changes in composition, number of species, the threats to the species and habitat.
The objectives of this study are to determine the diversity species of mammals, especially in the presence of the mammals, the conservation values of the species and the threats to the species and habitats. The main method for data collection is „camera-trapping‟ in the study field. During the period from 2018.30, 25 camera trap locations were established for the coarse grid phase and 30 camera trap locations were established for the fine grid phased, resulting in 6,655 camera trap nights. From these efforts, at least 19 mammal species species were photographed.
These results include several species with high conservation value for the Central Annamites landscape, including two Annamite endemics, the Annamite dark muntjac (Muntiacus truongsonensis) and Annamite striped rabbit. In addition to wildlife surveys, the teams recorded human activities in the forest, including illegal activities such as hunting. Snares were found throughout the study area. These activities have profoundly and negatively impacted the wildlife of the Quang Nam SNR.
1 PART I: INTRODUCTION Vietnam is considered one of the Southeast Asia richest in biodiversity and ranked as the 16th among the highest biodiversity country in the world (Joao et al. Due to the large differences in climate, from the equatorial to the sub-tropical regions, along with the diversity of topography. The discovery of the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) by WWF and Vietnamese scientists in Vu Quang Nature Reserve, Ha Tinh Province in 1992 (Neville Kemp et al., 1997) drew the world‟s attention to the biodiversity associated with this mountain chain at the first time. From then on, the state and government, international organizations have researched on a number of ecological characteristics, distribution of Saola and concluded that it is an endemic ungulate of Central Annamites, only in central Vietnam and Laos (Le Trong Trai et al.
Since that first remarkable discovery, many other new species have been found, including a number of large mammals such as the large-antlered (giant) and muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis) and the Annamites striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi). These findings highlight the Central Annamites as one of the world‟s most remarkable (Le Trong Trai et al. The Central Annamites Landscape (CAL) has been identified through a systematic global prioritisation process as one of the world most important areas for biodiversity conservation. In recognition of the importance of the landscape and the need for an integrated, comprehensive approach to the conservation of the landscape, a major conservation initiative for Central Annamites Landscape was launched by WWF.
However, the survey initially of WWF, Institute of Forest Inventory and Planning (FIPI), Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) and many foreign scientists showed that is one of the Saola distribution also presented in CAL of high biodiversity value and need protection. Moreover, due to the topographic characteristics and the richness of biodiversity, this area has become the target state of logging, hunting and exploitation of natural resources beyond the timber of people in the region as well as from other places, state encroachment of forest land 2 for cultivation, causing loss of biodiversity and direct threat to the habitat of Saola and other species important for conservation. To address those issues, the establishment of a nature reserve is very essential in this area. In the 13th July 2012, Quang Nam People‟s Committee issued Decision No 2265/QD-UBND approved the proposal on the establishment of the Saola Nature Reserve in CAL.
Besides, other measures including camera trapping used for conserving the biodiversity and habitat of this area are established. The establishment of Saola NR is significant when it is found that Saola NR is the home to many rare and endangered terrestrial mammal with high economic and scientific value such as Annamite Dark Muntjac (Muntiacus truongsonensis), Red-shanked douc langurs (Pygathix nemacus), Grey-shanked douc langurs (Pygathix cinereus), Crested Argus (Rheinardia ocellata). In the past, some previous studies were conducted in the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve such as “The survey report on the Saola species (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) in the Arec village, Tay Giang district” of Quang Nam Provincial Forest Protection Department in (1996)– recognized the signs of the skull, horn of the Saola in the village and interviewed local people; “A study on Saola, ungulates and primates in the Avuong commune, Tay Giang district and Song Kon commune, Dong Giang district” of MOSAIC project (Barney Long, Minh Hoang), WWF Vietnam from 2000 to 2006, “Survey on the biological characteristics and cause habitat degradation of Saola” of many scientists such as Do Tuoc (2007), Nguyen Xuan Dang (2007). The previous studies were implemented by traditional methods (observation, visual recognition), there has been still limited to nocturnal species, especially small mammals group.
Nowadays, the camera trapping method becomes increasingly popular. The improvement of technology and cost-benefit (Rowcliffe et al., 2008) makes this method widely used among researchers purposely to detect species presence (Tobler et al., 2008), to estimate the community structure and diversity (Ahumada et al., 2011), and to determine the 3 activity pattern (Grassman et al. Systematic camera trapping survey in a large-scale area to document terrestrial animal species. The baseline information on assessment of activity pattern of wildlife based on species presence (Tobler et al., 2008), density, evaluation of conservation programmes and develop approaches of effective management (Karanth et al.
The accountable and reliable information on spatial or temporal is very useful, especially in wildlife monitoring. Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the trap- based information of terrestrial mammals distribution at the Quang Nam Saola Nature Reserve in relation to protected area, altitudinal elevations and main water body. The biggest cause of terrestrial mammalian decline and extinction in the twentieth- firth century is habitat loss and degradation. As human convert forests, grasslands, rivers, and wetlands for various uses.
They relegate many species to precarious existences in small, fragmented habitat patches. In addition, some terrestrial mammals have been purposely eliminated by humans. Terrestrial mammals play important roles in tropical forest ecosystem function, including seed dispersal, herbivore regulation, pollination and carbon sequestration among others. However, for tropical forests, I have little or limited information on the status most of the species that is collected consistently through time.
The camera trap is one of the methods and efficient way to monitor the status of species, communities of mammals which was used to collect data in the field. In the world, there are many types of research about using camera trap for mammals diversity.