THE IMPACT OF LOGGING ON GEOMETROID MOTH POPULATIONS AND THEIR DIVERSITY IN LOWLAND FORESTS OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Abstract

Direct comparisons between geometroid moth samples collected from paired sites in primary forests and logged, secondary forests of the same type around Peninsular Malaysia showed that species diversity (α) did not differ significantly between logged and unlogged forests. However, there was some reduction in the numbers of species and abundance of individuals in the logged forests. There was also a shift in geometroid moth species composition. The higher number of unique species in primary forests indicates that, even after considering that a well-managed logged forest is able to sustain the majority of the original species, the danger of disappearance of specialist species is still present.