Assessing Small Urban Parks as Habitats for Butterflies in Malaysia

Abstract

Urban green spaces are getting smaller and more fragmented due to urbanisation. Thus their capability to serve as habitats for wildlife is threatened. However, there is a lack of in-depth discussion on biodiversity in small urban green spaces in tropical countries. This study analyses the attributes of biodiversity and ecological functions in small urban parks. An in-situ field survey that combines structured field observation and field measurements were conducted at nine small urban parks in Malaysia. Three categories of variables were measured, including physical characteristics, species richness and anthropogenic factors. Butterflies are used as the indicator because they are relatively easy to recognise, sensitive to environmental changes, have unique life cycles and biological demands that make them suitable for assessing biodiversity. Pearson correlations and multiple regressions are conducted to analyse the relationships between the variables and identify which variables significantly affect butterfly species richness and abundance. Findings show that butterfly species richness is positively influenced by the percentage of canopy cover, the total number of shrubs, the richness of shrub species, the presence of flowering shrubs, and the presence of exotic plants. Park size is noted to have a little significant impact on butterfly richness and abundance. Butterfly abundance is significantly (and positively) related to the percentage of canopy cover, overall quantity of vegetation, presence of native vegetation, shrub abundance, diversity of shrub species, total flowering plants, and number of palm species. Human-related factors and anthropogenic disturbance would not significantly impact the species richness and abundance, as butterflies are not affected by visitor density, activities and noise levels. The findings suggested two main considerations for small urban parks to enhance butterfly diversity: (1) development and management plans for small parks should emphasise the spatial quality and incorporate social-ecological principles for achieving biodiversity conservation goals, and (2) newly developed parks should have a planting configuration design that can provide food, habitat and protection for butterflies.KeywordsButterfly diversityHuman disturbanceUrban landscape ecologyUrban green spaceUrban habitats