Case Study Of Jeram And Remis Beaches

Materials and Methods
Study Area
Jeram and Remis Beaches are located in West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (3o13’27”N, 101o18’13”E) (Figure1) where semidiurnal tides prevail. The distance between Jeram Beach and Remis Beach is approximately 2 km. The selected study areas comprise approximately 55 ha of intertidal mudflats area. The selection of these sites was based on past history of shorebirds counts reported by Wetland Internationals in 1999-2004 (Li et al 2007) which shows that these sites was previously known to be important stopover sites for shorebirds. The study areas were further divided into small plots. In Jeram Beach, 3 plots were able to be constructed in which each plot size about 900 m length and 100 m width (Figure 2). In total,
Each plot size about 700 m length and 200 m width. A total of 28 ha were used in Remis Beach study. Figure 1: The Mudflats Area of Jeram and Remis Beaches, Selangor, West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Figure 2: Plots sampling in Jeram Beach and Remis Beach

Shorebird count
Shorebirds density and abundance were counted in both Jeram and Remis Beaches during all tidal cycles. Bird count and behavior survey were done by using direct observation technique (with the aid of a binocular, 12 X 42 magnification) and video recorder from August 2013 until July 2014. A monthly observation was conducted in both study areas for ten consecutive days. The shorebird count was divided into four time intervals; i.e. from 0800 - 1000 hours, 1000 - 1200 hours, 1400 - 1600 hours, and 1600 - 1800 hours. In each interval
In preparation for statistical testing, all data sets were test with Shapiro Wilke’s W test and Anderson’s Darling test for normality. In all cases, α = 0.05 were used. Mann-Whitney test was used to determine the difference in low tide and high tide counts of shorebirds. Analysis of behaviour of shorebird utilising the area of sampling (i.e. feeding, preening, roosting or resting and mobile) were compared between low tide and high tide period by using Mann-Whitney test. Chi-Square, χ2 tests were then conducted for all behaviour engaged as a function of tide state (Burger et al 1996). Friedman’s Two-Way ANOVA by ranks was used to test the difference between interval periods (low tides and high tides). Friedman’s Two-Way ANOVA by ranks was used because the data was in interval-scale and not normally distributed (Gardner 2008). The Spearman’s rank correlation was then used to identify the relationships between shorebirds abundance with types of disturbances (McCrary 1999). The frequencies of each type of responses (behaviour) toward disturbance were compared between 7 species were analysed by using Chi-Square, χ2 tests (Fizpatrick and Bouchez