Habitat structure and landscape context influence vocalising vertebrates in oil palm plantations

Erin K. Wills; Caitlin S. Willis; Reza Azmi; Dominique A. Potvin; Baizul Hafsyam Badli-Sham; John Howes; Catherine M. Yule; Ben L. Gilby

doi:10.1007/s10531-026-03259-2

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Habitat structure and landscape context influence vocalising vertebrates in oil palm plantations

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Habitat structure and landscape context influence vocalising vertebrates in oil palm plantations

Erin K. Wills, Caitlin S. Willis, Reza Azmi, Dominique A. Potvin, Baizul Hafsyam Badli-Sham, John Howes, Catherine M. Yule and Ben L. Gilby

Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol.35(2), pp.1-29

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-026-03259-2

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Abstract

Anurans

bioacoustics

birds

Malaysia

oil palm

As global food demand rises with population growth, much of the expected land conversion to agriculture is projected to occur in tropical biodiversity hotspots. Balancing food production and biodiversity conservation requires managing agricultural landscapes to serve both goals. To support this, we examined how animal distribution in an oil palm plantation is influenced by landscape context and habitat structure. The study was conducted in Johor, Malaysia, a region dominated by oil palm agriculture. Passive acoustic recorders were deployed across 35 sites within a 1160-hectare oil palm plantation, encompassing a range of yield levels, and distances to natural features. Recordings were collected periodically during the inter-monsoonal period, April-May 2025, targeting peak seasonal and circadian vocal activity of birds and anurans, and analysed using BirdNET and manual spectrogram inspection to identify birds, anurans, and mammals. A total of 89 vertebrate species (75 birds, 12 anurans, 2 mammals) were detected, including several threatened species. Species richness was greatest at sites with taller canopies, lower frond cover, and closer proximity to water and forests, highlighting the importance of maintaining structural complexity and connectivity to maximise biodiversity within plantations. Exploratory analysis found no significant relationship between bird richness, including frugivores, and palm oil yield, thereby suggesting limited short-term effects, though extended studies are required to evaluate longer-term biodiversity influences on production. To enhance biodiversity, we recommend replanting native trees on low-yield blocks, enhancing vertical structure with tree islands, and maintaining clean waterways, while keeping frond stacking to < 50% to balance biodiversity with production.

Details

Title: Habitat structure and landscape context influence vocalising vertebrates in oil palm plantations
Authors: Erin K. Wills (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Caitlin S. Willis - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Reza Azmi - Wild Asia (Malaysia)
Dominique A. Potvin - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Baizul Hafsyam Badli-Sham - Wild Asia (Malaysia)
John Howes - Wild Asia (Malaysia)
Catherine M. Yule - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Ben L. Gilby - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Publication details: Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol.35(2), pp.1-29
Publisher: Springer Dordrecht
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1007/s10531-026-03259-2
ISSN: 1572-9710
Copyright note: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Data Availability: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, EW, upon reasonable request.
Grant note: We thank Wild Asia and the University of the Sunshine Coast for the funding of this project.
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991203350802621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Biodiversity Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Sciences