Distribution, Ecology and Conservation of Hornbills in Western Sarawak.

There are eight species of hornbills in Borneo. In Sarawak, the hornbills are considered as an important symbol, being used as the state emblem “Coat of Arms of Sarawak” and also deeply associated with the customs and beliefs of the local communities in Sarawak. However, little is known on their distribution and ecology in western Sarawak. Loss of habitats and hunting are two major threats that affect the hornbills. Forest fragmentation and isolation had greatly affected the habitat of hornbills. The demand for hornbill feathers and body parts for ornamental purposes especially in ivory trade are posing direct threats to the survival of the hornbills. This study was conducted to infer the distribution, occupancy, abundance, density and the conservation awareness of hornbills in western Sarawak. Ten study sites in western Sarawak were selected, comprising of totally protected areas (TPA) and forest fragments. A combination of ecological and socio-cultural study approaches were used in this study. The perception of people on hornbills were assessed by carrying out Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) and word cloud analysis. Sarawakians acknowledge the importance of hornbills as cultural symbol (95%) despite it being used as food, medicine and decorative. The BRT analysis results showed high association between the perception questions with two demographic variables as the strongest predictors, which are education and ethnicity (86%). Line transect survey method was used in studying the distribution, occupancy, abundance and density of hornbills. The distribution of hornbills were illustrated using a heat map based on their species richness. Batang Ai National Park (eight out of eight species recorded) and Tanjung Datu National Park (seven out of eight species recorded) appeared to be the two study sites showing t e highest species richness of hornbills in western Sarawak. Multi Species Occupancy Modelling (MSOM) and Multi Species Abundance Modelling (MSAM) were done to infer their occupancy and abundance based on the recorded habitat characteristics. The habitat characteristics that showed effects in the occupancy and abundance of hornbills are distance of the study site to the nearest plantation, elevation range of the study site and canopy cover (WAIC 31.9). Distance analysis was carried out to estimate the density of hornbills in western Sarawak. This had resulted in the oriental pied hornbills having the highest density in western Sarawak (10.41). Whilst this study describes the distribution, occupancy, abundance, density and perception of local communities on hornbills in identifying the gaps and misconceptions in hornbill conservation, a comprehensive assessment throughout Sarawak is recommended to better understand the ecological and socio-cultural knowledge on hornbills. Such information is vital to ensure the success of conservation efforts and effective management strategies to protect the pride species of Sarawak