Green Space and Water Body Supports Bird Species Diversity Across Urban Parks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract Urbanisation growth is very rapid worldwide, where more than half of the population live in urban areas. The development of infrastructures to comply with dense population in cities has threatened the biodiversity in urban areas. Bird communities are important in maintaining biodiversity as they are very sensitive to any change in the environment. However, their numbers have decreased as more of native vegetations were destroyed. Urban researchers have been focusing on the landscape matrix in urban parks as a way to conserve bird diversity in urban areas. However, studies on the area are still scarce. In this study, we aim to identify the landscape attributes that influence bird diversity in urban parks. we have recorded a total of 537 individuals from 46 species and 24 families from three urban parks (Taman Tasik Permaisuri, Taman Pudu Ulu and Taman Datuk Keramat). Five landscape attributes that could potentially affect the avian diversity in urban parks have been shortlisted. The multiple regression found that green spaces and water bodies attributes play important roles that influence avian species richness and abundance in urban parks of Kuala Lumpur. We also proved that the landscape attributes of urban park are more important that its size in increasing bird composition and diversity. Further studies can be done on more landscape attributes that can contribute to a better planning and development of functional urban parks for urban conservation.