Abundance and species composition of synchronous flashing firefly at Sungai Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Abundance and species composition of synchronous flashing firefly at Sungai Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia Lailatul-Nadhirah Asri 1 & Nur-Athirah Abdullah 1 & Azman Sulaiman 1 & Muhammad Hazwan Mohd Asri 1 & Norela Sulaiman 1 & Engku Muhamad Faris Engku Nasrullah Satiman 2 & Shahril Mod Husin 2 & Aisah Md Shukor 2 & Nurul Darsani Amat Darbis 2 Received: 3 January 2020 / Accepted: 28 September 2020 # African Association of Insect Scientists 2020
Abstract The ecological study of synchronous firefly from the genus Pteroptyx was conducted at Sungai Rembau, Negeri Sembilan. It involved year–long sampling efforts during night time from November 2017 until October 2018. A total of 20 sampling stations were selected along 5.59 km stretch of the river with an interval ranging between 100 to 500 m. Sampling was carried out using sweeping net, randomly for one minute at each sampling station. The collected specimens were brought to the Centre of Insect Systematics UKM (CIS) for identification and reposition. A total of 1161 individuals represented by three species of firefly namely Pteroptyx tener Olivier (1148 individuals), Pteroptyx malaccae Gorham (11 individuals) and Pteroptyx asymmetria Ballantyne (2 individuals). Mostly these species were recorded on Sonneratia caseolaris. The highest percentage of firefly abundance were recorded in December 2017 (38%) while the lowest was in April 2018 (2%). Wind speed had affected significantly the firefly variation temporally while air temperature and humidity spatially affected the population of insects (p < 0.01). The other environmental parameters however, do not exhibit any significant impact on firefly abundance along Sungai Rembau (p > 0.05). This study helps in the monitoring of firefly population in Sungai Rembau to ensure the survival of these species. Keywords Wind speed . Sungai Rembau . Pteroptyx . Fireflies . Temperature . Abundance
Introduction Fireflies are a group of beetles classified under the family Lampyridae that use flashing lights as a means of mating communication (Borror et al. 1989). There are 2000 species of firefly recognized worldwide, and the group includes nonluminous adults, flightless female fireflies, and lightning bugs (Lewis et al. 2020). Among these charismatic beetles, Pteroptyx fireflies, native to the coastal areas and riverbanks of Southeast Asia, exhibit particularly spectacular synchronous flashing (McKenna and Farrell 2009). A total of 31
* Norela Sulaiman [email protected]; [email protected] 1
Department of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, The National University of Malaysia, Selangor 43600 Bangi, Malaysia
2
TNB Research Sdn. Bhd, No. 1, Lorong Ayer Hitam, Kawasan Institut Penyelidikan, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia
Pteroptyx species have been identified in Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Hong Kong, Sulawesi, and Malaysia (including Sabah, Sarawak, and Peninsular Malaysia) (Jusoh et al. 2018; Sartsanga et al. 2018; Ballant
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