A checklist of amphibians at Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park, Langkawi Island, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia

Ong Dasi1, S. Shahriza2, Montse Ferrer3, Montse Ferrer4

1 School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia; 2 School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia; 3 Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Pg Picasso s/n., 08003, Barcelona; 4 Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Ps Picasso s/n, 08003, Barcelona, Spain

Corresponding author(s): Ong Dasi (ong.dasi3@gmail.com)S. Shahriza, Montse Ferrer (montseferrerf@gmail.com)

Received {date}; Revised {date}; Accepted {date}; Published {date}

Citation: Combination of authors, year of data paper publication (in parentheses), Title, Journal Name, Volume, Issue number (in parentheses), and doi of the data paper.

Resource Citation

Dasi, O., Shahriza, S., 2020. A checklist of amphibians at Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park, Langkawi Island, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. Dataset/Occurrence: https://doi.org/10.15470/f0diow https://doi.org/10.15470/f0diow

Abstract

A study on amphibian fauna at the lowland dipterocarp forest of Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park, Langkawi, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia was conducted between December 2018 and June 2019. We recorded 18 species of amphibians from 14 genera and 6 families. These include seven new records for Lubuk Semilang, which are Fejervarya limnocharis, Limnonectes hascheanus, Megophrys aceras, Kaloula pulchra, Microhyla butleri, Pulchrana laterimaculata, and Polypedates discantus. We also recorded a new anuran record for Langkawi Archipelago, Pulchrana laterimaculata, and two endemic species of Malaysia, Leptobrachium smithi and Limnonectes macrognathus. Results from this survey indicate the amphibian species of the Langkawi Archipelago has increased from 28 to 29 species.

Keywords: Lowland dipterocarp forest, Amphibian, Habitat, Diversity, Langkawi, Peninsular Malaysia, Occurrence

Project details

Project title: A checklist of amphibians at Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park, Langkawi Island, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia
Personnel: S. Shahriza
Funding: This project was funded by Universiti Sains Malaysia, Research University Grant (1001/PFARMASI/8011004) to the second author
Study area descriptions/descriptor: Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park is located at the base of Gunung Raya Forest Reserve, Langkawi, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. This forest covers 4,930 hectares and was declared a permanent forest in 1941 (Kedah Forestry Department, 2014). Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park is located beside Kampung Buku Malaysia and is approximately eight kilometres from the nearest town, Kuah. The stream at Lubuk Semilang, Sungai Korok, originates from the highest mountain of Langkawi, Gunung Raya (881 m a.s.l.). It flows into Sungai Kok, then into a larger stream, Sungai Melaka, before draining into the Straits of Malacca. In the Lubuk Semilang area, Sungai Korok is approximately two km long and it has a two–tier waterfall that is very popular for recreational and outdoor activities.
Design description: This research was conducted at the lowland dipterocarp forest of Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park, Langkawi Island (06º 21' 47.97'' N – 99º 47' 30.17'' E, elevation < 100 m a.s.l.), Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia, between December 2018 and June 2019. Twenty–five consecutive visits were made. Samplings of amphibian species were performed at eight different habitat types: the lower, middle and upper part of Sungai Korok, small streams beside Mardi and Kg. Buku, marsh wetland, slow–moving stream, and road trail.
Tadpoles and egg clutches were collected between 10:00 and 13:00 h using a scoop net, and they were then placed in plastic containers. Amphibian individuals were captured between 20:00 and 23:00 h by means of a Visual Encounter Survey (VES), by hand or a scoop net, and with the help of headlights and flashlights. Two to three field members were involved in the surveys. Each live specimen was photographed in situ using a compact camera (Nikon COOLPIX L840) before being collected for identification. 
We recorded habitat characteristics, including the type of vegetation, river width, water current flow, and canopy–covering. Microhabitat characteristics, which include horizontal position, vertical position and substrates, were also determined (Heyer et al., 1994). Horizontal position refers to the shortest distance of the species from any water bodies (streams or ponds). Vertical position refers to subsurface on the exposed soil surface (on a rock or on the plant), while substrate refers to the surface area that the individual sits on at the time of capture (rock, vegetation, log, mineral soil or dead leaf) (Zainudin, 2009; Zainudin et al., 2017). We also recorded abiotic conditions such as humidity, temperature, and weather using AccuWeather application (android).

Data published through GBIF: https://ipt.gbif.es/resource?r=amphibians_langkawiisland_malaysia

Taxonomic coverage

Taxonomic ranks
Family: Bufonidae, Dicroglossidae, Megophryidae, Microhylidae, Ranidae, Rhacophoridae
Species: Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Schneider, 1799), Phrynoidis asper (Gravenhorst, 1829), Fejervarya limnocharis (Gravenhorst, 1829), Limnonectes blythii (Boulenger, 1920), Limnonectes hascheanus (Stoliczka, 1870), Limnonectes macrognathus (Boulenger, 1917), Occidozyga martensii (Peters, 1867), Leptobrachium smithi (Matsui, Nabhitabhata and Panha, 1999), Megophrys aceras (Boulenger, 1903), Kaloula pulchra (Gray, 1831), Microhyla berdmorei (Blyth, 1856), Microhyla butleri (Boulenger, 1900), Chalcorana labialis (Boulenger, 1887), Hylarana erythraea (Schlegel, 1837), Odorrana hosii (Boulenger, 1891), Pulchrana glandulosa (Boulenger, 1882), Pulchrana laterimaculata (Barbour and Noble, 1916), Polypedates discantus (Rujirawan, Stuart and Aowphol, 2013)

Spatial coverage

General spatial coverage: Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park is located at the base of Gunung Raya Forest Reserve, Langkawi, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. This forest covers 4,930 hectares and was declared a permanent forest in 1941 (Kedah Forestry Department, 2014). Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park is located beside Kampung Buku Malaysia and is approximately eight kilometres from the nearest town, Kuah. The stream at Lubuk Semilang, Sungai Korok, originates from the highest mountain of Langkawi, Gunung Raya (881 m a.s.l.). It flows into Sungai Kok, then into a larger stream, Sungai Melaka, before draining into the Straits of Malacca. In the Lubuk Semilang area, Sungai Korok is approximately two km long and it has a two–tier waterfall that is very popular for recreational and outdoor activities
Coordinates: 6°15'28.8''N and 6°28'44.4''N Latitude; 99°37'40.8''E and 99°57'46.8''E Longitude 

Temporal coverage: December 1, 2018 - June 30, 2019

Natural collections description

Collection name: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
Specimen preservation method: Alcohol

Methods

Method step description: Measurements taken for each individual were: weight (WT), tibia length (TL) (length of the outer surface of the flexed knee to the heel/tibiotarsal inflection), snout–vent length (SVL) (length from the tip of snout to posterior margin of the vent), and head width (HW) (the widest part of the head or angle of the jaws) (Watters et al., 2016). Measurements were made using electronic scales and a caliper.
We recorded habitat characteristics, including the type of vegetation, river width, water current flow, and canopy–covering. Microhabitat characteristics, which include horizontal position, vertical position and substrates, were also determined (Heyer et al., 1994). Horizontal position refers to the shortest distance of the species from any water bodies (streams or ponds). Vertical position refers to subsurface on the exposed soil surface (on a rock or on the plant), while substrate refers to the surface area that the individual sits on at the time of capture (rock, vegetation, log, mineral soil or dead leaf) (Zainudin, 2009; Zainudin et al., 2017). We also recorded abiotic conditions such as humidity, temperature, and weather using AccuWeather application (android).
Study extent description: This research was conducted at the lowland dipterocarp forest of Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park, Langkawi Island (06º 21' 47.97'' N – 99º 47' 30.17'' E, elevation < 100 m a.s.l.) (fig. 1) Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia, between December 2018 and June 2019. Twenty–five consecutive visits were made. Samplings of amphibian species were performed at eight different habitat types: the lower, middle and upper part of Sungai Korok, small streams beside Mardi and Kg. Buku, marsh wetland, slow–moving stream, and road trail.
Sampling description: Tadpoles and egg clutches were collected between 10:00 and 13:00 h using a scoop net, and they were then placed in plastic containers. Amphibian individuals were captured between 20:00 and 23:00 h by means of a Visual Encounter Survey (VES), by hand or a scoop net, and with the help of headlights and flashlights. Two to three field members were involved in the surveys. Each live specimen was photographed in situ using a compact camera (Nikon COOLPIX L840) before being collected for identification
Quality control description: Anuran species, including tadpoles, were identified based on their morphological characteristics, following by Smith (1930), Berry (1975), Inger et al. (2017), Norhayati et al. (2009), and Norhayati (2017). Taxonomic nomenclature was based on Frost (2019).

Datasets

Dataset description
Object name: Darwin Core Archive A checklist of amphibians at Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park, Langkawi Island, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia
Character encoding: UTF-8
Format name: Darwin Core Archive format
Format version: 1.0
Distribution: https://ipt.gbif.es/archive.do?r=amphibians_langkawiisland_malaysia
Publication date of data: 2021-01-27
Language: English
Licences of use: Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License

Metadata language: English
Date of metadata creation: 2020-02-25
Hierarchy level: Dataset

References
Dasi, O., Shahriza, S., 2020. A checklist of amphibians at Lubuk Semilang Recreational Park, Langkawi Island, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. Arxius de Miscel·lània Zoològica, 18: 9-26, Doi: https://doi.org/10.32800/amz.2020.18.0009  https://doi.org/10.32800/amz.2020.18.0009