A camera trap assessment of terrestrial vertebrates in Taman Negara Kelantan and Terengganu, Malaysia

Information and knowledge on species distribution are crucial for planning and evaluating conservation strategies. Camera trapping method was used at two study areas within Taman Negara Kelantan and Terengganu for a period of two months to determine the species composition and distribution of terrestrial vertebrates. A total of 6,879 and 1,957 images were recorded from 4,364 and 3,453 trap-nights in Kelantan and Terengganu respectively with 25 species were recorded. Sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) was most frequently photographed with 3,270 (39.16%) images followed by Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) with 1,400 (16.76%) images and avian with 777 (9.30%) images. Our analysis revealed that five species significantly showed an edge-biased pattern, four species significantly correlated with higher altitudinal elevations while three species are significantly biased to water distributions near to main water body. Findings indicated that distance to park edge, elevations and main water body can significantly influence the distribution of certain terrestrial species in the study area. These results provide knowledge and baseline information for long term terrestrial vertebrates monitoring in Taman Negara Kelantan and Terengganu