Biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology

Batu Caves is a habitat island of limestone karst tower surrounded by metropolitan areas located 11 km north of Kuala Lumpur. A total of 20 caves are recognised within the Batu Caves complex and Dark Cave, approximately two kilometres long, is the longest cave system. It supports 151 invertebrates a...

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Main Author:	Nordin, Juliana
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2022
Subjects:	QD Chemistry
Online Access:	http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/101882/1/JulianaNordinMFS2022.pdf
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spelling	my-utm-ep.1018822023-07-22T03:01:27Z Biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology 2022 Nordin, Juliana QD Chemistry Batu Caves is a habitat island of limestone karst tower surrounded by metropolitan areas located 11 km north of Kuala Lumpur. A total of 20 caves are recognised within the Batu Caves complex and Dark Cave, approximately two kilometres long, is the longest cave system. It supports 151 invertebrates and 22 vertebrates with significant species endemicity. Nine reported caverns were mapped using conventional speleological methods. The cave is known as the most studied tropical cave in Southeast Asia. However, the most detailed biological survey was conducted about 50 years ago, and there has been no up-to-date study on the cave characteristic and detailed biological survey using the latest technology. In this study, the interior of the cave was mapped using three dimensional Light Detection and Ranging (3D LIDAR) laser scanning to produce a 3D model of the caverns. The roosting location of bats were mapped based on LIDAR scans and acoustic data and compared with historical data to detect species trends or any new locations. The location of troglofauna occurrences were marked on the new LIDAR map. The projected 3D point cloud model of the cave was generated after 27 hours of LIDAR data scans that was collected over four site visits which covered 805 m of walking distance. The results produced a more accurate representation of the 3D LIDAR map. The shape and orientation of the underground spaces were similar between the LIDAR map and the latest conventional map. Vertical features (cave height) have provided more precise dimensions of the caverns. The integration of LIDAR-acoustic- visualisation survey methods further confirms only five bat species (Taphozous melanopogon, Hipposideros diadema, H. larvatus, Eonycteris spelaea, and Rousettus leschenaultii) roosting in the Dark Cave. Troglofauna observations found nine species of mammal (including bat), 11 species of invertebrates, five species of birds and 19 species (one genus level) of reptiles were recorded throughout the cave system from 2012 to 2019. Features such as bat roosting locations, speleothem, number of skylights, cave dimensions, man-made structures and seasonal water flowing zones are the map novel features. The spatial information in 3D virtual models can be used repeatedly on post-survey analyses. These outcomes produced a more accurate speleological map of Dark Cave for scientists to conduct long-term monitoring studies and state government together with management authority in managing Dark Cave as an ecotourism, education and conservation site. 2022 Thesis http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/101882/ http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/101882/1/JulianaNordinMFS2022.pdf application/pdf en public http://dms.library.utm.my:8080/vital/access/manager/Repository/vital:148946 masters Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Faculty of Science
institution	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
collection	UTM Institutional Repository
language	English
topic	QD Chemistry
spellingShingle	QD Chemistry Nordin, Juliana Biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology
description	Batu Caves is a habitat island of limestone karst tower surrounded by metropolitan areas located 11 km north of Kuala Lumpur. A total of 20 caves are recognised within the Batu Caves complex and Dark Cave, approximately two kilometres long, is the longest cave system. It supports 151 invertebrates and 22 vertebrates with significant species endemicity. Nine reported caverns were mapped using conventional speleological methods. The cave is known as the most studied tropical cave in Southeast Asia. However, the most detailed biological survey was conducted about 50 years ago, and there has been no up-to-date study on the cave characteristic and detailed biological survey using the latest technology. In this study, the interior of the cave was mapped using three dimensional Light Detection and Ranging (3D LIDAR) laser scanning to produce a 3D model of the caverns. The roosting location of bats were mapped based on LIDAR scans and acoustic data and compared with historical data to detect species trends or any new locations. The location of troglofauna occurrences were marked on the new LIDAR map. The projected 3D point cloud model of the cave was generated after 27 hours of LIDAR data scans that was collected over four site visits which covered 805 m of walking distance. The results produced a more accurate representation of the 3D LIDAR map. The shape and orientation of the underground spaces were similar between the LIDAR map and the latest conventional map. Vertical features (cave height) have provided more precise dimensions of the caverns. The integration of LIDAR-acoustic- visualisation survey methods further confirms only five bat species (Taphozous melanopogon, Hipposideros diadema, H. larvatus, Eonycteris spelaea, and Rousettus leschenaultii) roosting in the Dark Cave. Troglofauna observations found nine species of mammal (including bat), 11 species of invertebrates, five species of birds and 19 species (one genus level) of reptiles were recorded throughout the cave system from 2012 to 2019. Features such as bat roosting locations, speleothem, number of skylights, cave dimensions, man-made structures and seasonal water flowing zones are the map novel features. The spatial information in 3D virtual models can be used repeatedly on post-survey analyses. These outcomes produced a more accurate speleological map of Dark Cave for scientists to conduct long-term monitoring studies and state government together with management authority in managing Dark Cave as an ecotourism, education and conservation site.
format	Thesis
qualification_level	Master's degree
author	Nordin, Juliana
author_facet	Nordin, Juliana
author_sort	Nordin, Juliana
title	Biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology
title_short	Biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology
title_full	Biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology
title_fullStr	Biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology
title_full_unstemmed	Biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology
title_sort	biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology
granting_institution	Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
granting_department	Faculty of Science
publishDate	2022
url	http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/101882/1/JulianaNordinMFS2022.pdf
_version_	1776100794266812416

Biological and ecological characterisation of roosting bats and troglofauna in the dark cave conservation site using lidar technology

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