The Malaysian Plover (Charadrius peronii) is one of 12 species of plover known to breed in Malaysia, yet it is the only one that is resident. Little is known about its genetic structure, population density and spatial dispersal.
It is currently listed as Near Threatened under the IUCN Red List. The decline in the population is thought to be influenced by the disturbance of its coastal habitat, particularly the bird’s nesting beaches.
For their Master’s degrees in Wildlife and Ecology Management at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Al-Kautsar Hidayanto and Nurul Syafiqa will gather data on the species’ ecology and population health. This information is important to guide effective conservation actions for these migratory shorebirds.
They are supervised by Dr Puan Chong Leong and share a THF Research Grant, which will primarily be used to cover field costs, research equipment and laboratory analysis. Al-Kautsar Hidayanto will focus on Malim Nawar Wetlands, Perak; Kuala Selangor Nature Park, Selangor; Pulau Tengah, Selangor; and two sites on the eastern and southern coasts of Johor. Nurul Syafiqa will conduct surveys at five sites on the Coast of Mersing, Johor. Field sampling methods will be used to trap, tag and collect body measurements of the birds. Laboratory work will include microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA marker development to study patterns of genetic variation.
