Feeding ecology of the Malayan Tapir (tapirus indicus) under semi-wild conditions

Boyd K Simpson (P48429)

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://ptsldigital.ukm.my/jspui/handle/123456789/463311

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DC Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.advisor	Shukor Md Nor, Professor Dr.
dc.contributor.author	Boyd K Simpson (P48429)
dc.date.accessioned	2023-09-25T09:21:30Z	-
dc.date.available	2023-09-25T09:21:30Z	-
dc.date.issued	2014-04-30
dc.identifier.other	ukmvital:76396
dc.identifier.uri	https://ptsldigital.ukm.my/jspui/handle/123456789/463311	-
dc.description	A study on the feeding ecology of captive Malayan tapirs (Tapirus indicus) was undertaken at the Sungai Dusun Wildlife Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia. Data was gathered on tapir food preference and feeding methods under semi-wild conditions in the 30 ha natural forest enclosure. Tapirs browsed on plants from 217 species, within 99 genera and 49 families. Food plants were heavily dominated by sapling trees and shrubs which comprised 93% of all plants taken, with the remainder comprising woody lianas, vines and herbs. Despite the highly diverse, generalist nature of their feeding, preference analysis showed tapirs were highly selective in their food choice. The vast bulk of their diet (~70%) comprised taxa consumed in a favoured or preferred manner, with the majority of commonly eaten plants favoured in their selection. Plants from the most dominant family, the Burseraceae, were rarely eaten, while more than 150 species of understorey plants were not eaten at all. The most frequently consumed species was the sub-canopy tree Xerospermum noronhianum, however, it was also commonly found in the Sungai Dusun forest. Favoured species included, for example, the mid-storey trees Aporosa prainiana and Gironniera nervosa, which were consumed in much greater proportions than their relative availability. Preferred genera include Aporosa, Knema and Xerospermum, while favoured families, which contributed significantly to the diet, were the Phyllanthaceae, Myristicaceae and Myrtaceae. The characteristics of browsed plants were quantified. Tapirs fed on saplings trees up to 8.3 m in height and to 7 cm diameter. Plants taller than about 1.6 m were bent, broken or pushed to the ground to gain access to the foliage, with stems up to 4.2 cm in diameter being snapped by biting. Tapirs typically fed on the upper-level leaves, however often only consuming half of the available foliage on a plant. This study also documents 160 new food plant species, not previously recorded as being utilised by Malayan tapirs, and is consistent with the generalist, but selective browsing nature of the Tapirus species in general.,Master/Sarjana
dc.language.iso	eng
dc.publisher	UKM, Bangi
dc.relation	Faculty of Science and Technology / Fakulti Sains dan Teknologi
dc.rights	UKM
dc.subject	Malayan Tapir
dc.title	Feeding ecology of the Malayan Tapir (tapirus indicus) under semi-wild conditions
dc.type	theses
dc.format.pages	170
dc.identifier.barcode	001264
Appears in Collections:	Faculty of Science and Technology / Fakulti Sains dan Teknologi

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