IMPACT OF HULU TERENGGANU HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT ON ...

IMPACT OF HULU TERENGGANU HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT ON ELEPHANT MOVEMENT AND HOME RANGE MAGINTAN, D.a,b , SHUKOR M.Nb, TUKIMAT LIHANb, AHIMSA CAMPOS-ARCEIZc, SALMAN SAABANa, SHAHRIL MOD HUSINd & MOHD NOH AHMADd aDepartment

of Wildlife & National Parks, Km10, Jln Cheras,56100, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia bUniversiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Faculty of Science and Technology, School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia cSchool of Geography, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor Malaysia dTNB Research Sdn. Bhd., No. 1, Lorong Air Hitam, Kawasan Institusi Penyelidikan, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

METHODS

A study on elephant home range and movement pattern during construction and inundation of Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Dam, Terengganu was carried out between April 2014 and December 2015. The aims of this study were to investigate how construction and inundation of dam affect elephant home range, movement rate, and habitat selection. Two elephants were fitted each with GPS satellite transmitter collar during dam construction for five to six months and the other three elephants were each collared for one to four months after inundation. The locations of each elephants were analysed using BIOTAS software to estimate the home range and movement rate and pattern within the dam catchment area. The home range during dam construction were estimated between 96.53 km2 and 367.99 km2, while during inundation were estimated between 130.26 km2 and 590.45 km2 suggesting that during construction the home range were smaller as compared with the home range during inundation. Distance travelled a day (or movement rate) were estimated between 1.33 km/day and 1.92 km/day during construction, and between 1.19 km/day and 1.70 km/day during inundation. In general, it can be concluded that there were direct and indirect impacts of construction and inundation of dam on elephant home range, movement rate, and habitat selection. Nevertheless, elephants have the capability of adapting to all of the changes, with no reports of displaced and conflicted elephants. The home range size and movement rate have stabilized at the end of inundation process. Thus, construction in the elephant habitat is acceptable, provided that the surrounding habitat are large enough to maintain the elephant population.

DATA RETRIEVING

ELEPHANT CAPTURING & COLLARING

www.awetelemetry.com/ portal/

HOME RANGE & MOVEMENT ANALYSIS BIOTAS & ARCGIS

Results and Discussion

Est. home range (km2)

 Five elephants were captured and collared (2 males & 3 females) in Hulu Terengganu Hydroelectric Dam (Figure 1). ID: Puah, female

ID: Rong, male

ID: Sireh, male

Rong

Tembat

Puah

f

Ree

19.21 79.88

Figure 3: Home range and movement before inundation

Puah

Puah

Puah 95.53 Sireh 367.99

Monthly home range (km2)

Sireh Puah Dam Sulaing

Puah Sireh Sulaing Ree Rong

Est. home range (km2) 158.13 590.45 278.21 130.26 278.69

Monthly home range (km2) 21.29 44.08 35.39 20.68 24.48

Figure 4: Home range and movement during inundation ID: Ree, female

ID: Sulaing, female

Figure 1 Evaluation of impact Low risk phase(normal phase)

High risk phase (displaced phase)

Moderate risk phase (adapting phase)

Low risk phase (normal phase)

Puah

References

Figure 2: Summary impact model

1. Alfred, R., Ahmad, A.H., Payne, J., Williams, C. & Ambu L. N. 2012. Home range and ranging behaviour of Bornean Elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) females, PloS ONE 7, e31400. Doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0031400

 Impact on elephant was low before construction and during operation phases, high impact risk during construction and inundation, and moderate late inundation  Increase of secondary forest, reduce in primary forest size  Reduction of habitat quality  Impacts on elephant are different between male & female  All the impacts will be back to normal situation after water level stable

2. Sitompul, A. F., Griffin, C. R. & Fuller, T. K. 2013. Sumatran elephant ranging behaviour in a fragmented rainforest landscape. International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation 5(2): 66 – 72. 3. Sukumar, R. 1989. Ecology of the Asian elephant in southern India.I. Movement and habitat utilization patterns. Journal of Tropical Ecology 5: 1 – 18.

Puah

Figure 5: General theoretical model

 Reduction in home range and movement of elephant - displaced (construction)  Elephant starts adapting to the environmental changes – increase in home range size and movement range (early inundation)  Elephant adapted to all of the changes due to reduction in construction activities and habitat regeneration (end of inundation process)  Elephant is predicted to reach a normal home range and movement pattern (operation)

Conclusion There were impacts of construction & inundation on movement, home range, and habitat of elephant. However, elephants have the capability of adapting to all of these changes due to, firstly, the area is still big which can provide ample resource and shelter to the elephants, and secondly, the disturbance is low after inundation and operation, thus the elephant’s home range and movement had easily gone back to normal. Therefore, of any kind of development, there are impacts but elephants still can adapt as long as the area are big, less of disturbance after the development. The present of corridors will help elephants and other animals to escape from the disturbance until it is back to normal. For that reason, it can be suggested that developments still can be carried out as long as surrounding habitat should be big enough, wildlife management should be comprehensive and effective which is allow the animal to go in or out and disturbances cannot be continuously occur.