Evaluating Plant and Bird Species Diversity and Abundance and Trash Pollution at three Nature Reserves in Singapore

Abstract

Singapore contains over 40,000 non-microbial organisms, many of which are nationally and/or regionally threatened. Significant ecosystems in Singapore include primary/old secondary forest, coastal hill secondary forest, and mangroves, each representing a unique portion of Singapore’s native tropical ecology. This led to Labrador Nature Reserve, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, and Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve being chosen as field sites for understanding bird and plant diversity and abundance, and trash pollution. Bird and plant species were recorded using a transect and/or trail observation method at least thrice per field site. Data shows species diversity, species abundance, and locations of wildlife and trash pollution, allowing for analysis and comparisons between the ecosystems, as well as relationships between the data sets. This survey found a total of 31 bird species and 20 plant species across the three ecosystems and that primary/old secondary forest was overall more species diverse than coastal hill secondary forest over the period of surveying. This included seven notable migratory bird species present at the mangrove ecosystem, as well as defining organisms of the ecosystems and globally threatened species. Trash pollution was also found to be distributed more heavily in areas with heavy tidal movement at the mangrove ecosystem, however there was no relationship observed between trash pollution and number of birds. A clear positive relationship was found between plant and bird species diversity, however the three ecosystems differ greatly with regards to the relationship between plant and bird abundance. Overall, this study seeks to answer a number of ecological questions regarding biodiversity, ecosystem change through time, and species interactions, as well as collect data regarding the influence of human activity on Singapore’s native ecology.