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Porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in Sarawak, Malaysia

Although porcupines are reported to be relatively widespread in forests and cultivated areas in Malaysia, there is no published information on their roost site preferences. The objective of this study was to determine if porcupines (Hystrix brachyuraand Hystrix crassispinis) select particular soil t...

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Main Authors: Mohd. Top @ Mohd Tah, Marina, Mukhtar Ahmad, Zubaid Akbar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Malaysian Nature Society 2015
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34963/1/Porcupine%20burrow%20distribution%20in%20relation%20to%20soil%20types%20in%20Sarawak%2C%20Malaysia.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34963/
http://www.mnj.my/index.php/mnj/article/view/164
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spelling my.upm.eprints.349632016-10-11T02:17:06Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34963/ Porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in Sarawak, Malaysia Mohd. Top @ Mohd Tah, Marina Mukhtar Ahmad, Zubaid Akbar Although porcupines are reported to be relatively widespread in forests and cultivated areas in Malaysia, there is no published information on their roost site preferences. The objective of this study was to determine if porcupines (Hystrix brachyuraand Hystrix crassispinis) select particular soil types in which to construct burrows in Sarawak. Seven porcupine burrow locations in the Bintulu-Miri area of Sarawak with a total of 30 burrow holes were located. The burrow locations were marked using the Global Positioning System and overlaid with maps of the soil series in Sarawak to determine the relationship between the burrow location, soil type and soil series. The porcupines were found to inhabit areas where the soils were from the Merit/Bekenu soil series. Merit soil series show an increased clay content with moderate to well drained soil, while the Bekenu soil series is defined as well drained with good permeability. The results suggest that the porcupines prefer soils that are relatively easy to excavate but at the same time provide burrow stability. This suggests that the soil profile of the landscape can be used to predict the probability of the presence of porcupines in the area. Malaysian Nature Society 2015 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34963/1/Porcupine%20burrow%20distribution%20in%20relation%20to%20soil%20types%20in%20Sarawak%2C%20Malaysia.pdf Mohd. Top @ Mohd Tah, Marina and Mukhtar Ahmad, Zubaid Akbar (2015) Porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in Sarawak, Malaysia. The Malayan Nature Journal, 67 (1). pp. 24-32. ISSN 0025-1291 http://www.mnj.my/index.php/mnj/article/view/164
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
building UPM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Putra Malaysia
content_source UPM Institutional Repository
url_provider http://psasir.upm.edu.my/
language English
description Although porcupines are reported to be relatively widespread in forests and cultivated areas in Malaysia, there is no published information on their roost site preferences. The objective of this study was to determine if porcupines (Hystrix brachyuraand Hystrix crassispinis) select particular soil types in which to construct burrows in Sarawak. Seven porcupine burrow locations in the Bintulu-Miri area of Sarawak with a total of 30 burrow holes were located. The burrow locations were marked using the Global Positioning System and overlaid with maps of the soil series in Sarawak to determine the relationship between the burrow location, soil type and soil series. The porcupines were found to inhabit areas where the soils were from the Merit/Bekenu soil series. Merit soil series show an increased clay content with moderate to well drained soil, while the Bekenu soil series is defined as well drained with good permeability. The results suggest that the porcupines prefer soils that are relatively easy to excavate but at the same time provide burrow stability. This suggests that the soil profile of the landscape can be used to predict the probability of the presence of porcupines in the area.
format Article
author Mohd. Top @ Mohd Tah, Marina
Mukhtar Ahmad, Zubaid Akbar
spellingShingle Mohd. Top @ Mohd Tah, Marina
Mukhtar Ahmad, Zubaid Akbar
Porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in Sarawak, Malaysia
author_facet Mohd. Top @ Mohd Tah, Marina
Mukhtar Ahmad, Zubaid Akbar
author_sort Mohd. Top @ Mohd Tah, Marina
title Porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_short Porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_full Porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_fullStr Porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in Sarawak, Malaysia
title_sort porcupine burrow distribution in relation to soil types in sarawak, malaysia
publisher Malaysian Nature Society
publishDate 2015
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34963/1/Porcupine%20burrow%20distribution%20in%20relation%20to%20soil%20types%20in%20Sarawak%2C%20Malaysia.pdf
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/34963/
http://www.mnj.my/index.php/mnj/article/view/164
_version_ 1643831312018046976
score 13.211869

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