Leverhulme Centre for Climate Change Mitigation

Large cities in the tropics often comprise a myriad of manmade and natural elements that influence wildlife composition. Based on a citizen science–based project conducted in 2015, this study examined the combined effects of landscape factors on the bird assemblages in Kuala Lumpur and its conurbation, Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 48 species including 2,599 individual birds were recorded; the majority of which (>80%) were species of open habitat. Generalized linear mixed model indicated that the area of green cover had the strongest influence on number of individuals. Specifically, the abundance of individuals was increased by the presence of river corridors and roadside reserves. Areas located further away from water bodies and with less green cover had fewer birds. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating a varied landscape matrix into urban planning so as to maintain urban bird diversity and demonstrate the usefulness of citizen science in biodiversity monitoring. Keywords: Generalized linear mixed model, Green cover, Kuala Lumpur, Urbanization, Urban bird habitat

Abstract Global targets to halt biodiversity losses and mitigate climate change will require protecting rainforest beyond current protected area networks, necessitating responsible forest stewardship from a diverse range of companies, communities and private individuals. Robust assessments of forest condition are critical for successful forest management, but many existing techniques are highly technical, time‐consuming, expensive or require specialist knowledge. To make assessment of tropical forests accessible to a wide range of actors, many of whom may be limited by resources or expertise, the High Conservation Value Resource Network (HCVRN), with the SE Asia Rainforest Research Partnership (SEARRP), developed a South East Asian version of the Forest Integrity Assessment (FIA) tool as a rapid (< 1 hour) method of assessing forest condition in the field, where non‐experts respond to 50 questions about characteristics of the local environment while walking a site transect. Here, we examined the effectiveness of this survey tool by conducting ∼ 1000 assessments of forest condition at 16 tropical rainforest sites with varying levels of disturbance in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. We found good agreement ( R ‐squared range: 0.50–0.78) between FIA survey scores and independent measures of forest condition, including biodiversity, vegetation structure, aboveground carbon and other key metrics of ecosystem function, indicating that the tool performed well. Although there was variation among assessor responses when surveying the same forest sites, assessors were consistent in their ranking of those sites, and prior forest knowledge had a minimal effect on the FIA scores. Revisions or further training for questions where assessors disagree, for example, on the presence of fauna at a site, could improve consistency. We conclude that the FIA survey tool is a robust method of assessing forest condition, providing a rapid and accessible means of forest conservation assessment. The FIA tool could be incorporated into management practices in a wide range of forest conservation schemes, from sustainability standards, to community forestry and restoration initiatives. The tool will enable more organizations and individuals to understand the conservation value of the forests they manage and to identify areas for targeted improvements.

Tile destruction of ascorbic acid and the devclopment of oxidized flavor in milk are oxidative reactions that are of paramount importance to the dairy industry. Research work has shown that dissolved oxygen is the principal agent Research has shown further that both reactions are catalyzed by the presence of the metal ions, Cu + and Fe +, and perhaps by other types of catalysts probably organic in nature, and that these reactions may be inhibited or their speed decelerated by the presence of various types of antioxidants. It seemed desirable, therefore, to study quantitatively the relationship of dissolved oxygen to the oxidation of ascorbie acid and to the development of oxidized flavor in milk.