POTENTIAL ECOLOGICAL NETWORKS OF SINGAPORE

DEFINITION OF ECOLOGICAL NETWORKSAIM

SPOT SATELLLITE IMAGE FOR SINGAPORE JUNE 201210 X 10 m MULTI-SPECTRAL

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

‘a set of ecosystems of one type, linked into a spatially coherent system through flows of organisms, and interacting with the landscape matrix

in which it is embedded’ (Opdam et al., 2006, p. 324)

There are four physical features of ecological networks which constitures the ‘spatial cohesion’ of the landscape. These are used as strategies to design ecologically sustainable landscapes1. total network area2. network quality3. network density4. permeability of the matrix4. permeability of the matrix

CONTEXT

REMOTE SENSING AND LANDSCAPE METRICS APPROACH ORGANISM BASED APPROACH

11 species under 5 taxonomic groups:

Crimson Sunbirdwith Yong Ding Lihttp://tidechaser.blogspot.sg/2013/04/passerines--perching--birds-passeriformes.html/

Palm Civet Catwith Xu Weiting & Fung Tze Kwanhttp://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/fauna/facts/civet_common_palm.htmbirds-passeriformes.html/birds-passeriformes.html/

Also:• White-rumped Shama with Dr Mary Rose Posa• Malayan Box Terrapin and Mangrove Snake Mangrove Snake with Dr Ryan McLeary• Birdwing Butterfly with Anuj Jain• Malayan Giant Frog with Dr David Bickford• Pangolin with Norman Lim with Norman Lim• Long-tailed Macaque with John Sha

Knight Butterfly with Anuj Jainhttp://butterflycircle.blogspot.sg/2013/05/random--gallery-knight.htmlcommon_palm.htmbirds-passeriformes.html/

Common Greenbackwith Dr David Bickfordhttp://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/amphibians/common_greenback.htm

LANDSCAPE METRICS IN FRAGSTATS 4.1 &TABULATE AND VISUALIZE RESULTS IN ARCGIS 10

SUPERVISED CLASSIFICATION USING OVER 70 TRAINING AREAS ON ARCGIS 10

ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS WITH EXPERTS &OVERLAY ANALYSIS & LEAST COST PATH ANALYSISON ARCGIS 10

APPLICATION INTO PLANNING• Weighting of biodiversity over other land uses at specific sites• Experts from planning, nature conservation, housing, developers• Delphi Approach until a consensus is attained• Derivation of scenarios for the application of ecological networks

SITE SCALE ANALYSIS OF HABITAT QUALITY FOR ALL SPECIES

HABITAT POTENTIAL MAP FOR THE BIRDWING BUTTERFLY

SITE 1 ALONG KTM RAIL CORRIDOR

HABITAT POTENTIAL MAP & LEAST COST PATHS FOR THE CRIMSON SUNBIRD

MAP OF EFECTIVE MESH SIZE (MESH) OF 120ha HEXAGON GRID (Jaeger, 2000; Jenness, 2012)

A biodiversity hotspot. Very rich biodiversity with a large proportion of native species (Corlett, 1992; Tan, Goh, & Chia, 2004; Chan & Corlett, 1997; Ng, Corlett & Tan, 2011)Majority found in the protected nature reserves (3,347 ha or 5%) and designated nature areas.

• Land Mosaics Model (Forman and Godron,1986)• Landscape Continuum Model (McIntyre & Hobbs,1999)• Urban adaptors and exploiters• Metapopulation and ecological scaling• Analytic Hierarchy Process• Delphi Approach

Map of Singapore. 2012 Population: 5.312 millionLand area: 715.1 sq. km thus a high population density of 7,429 per sq. km (Singstats, 2012).

Management of biodiversity centered around management of biodiversity rich patches and important species (green and yellow circles. Blue areas indicate housing estates and urban centres. Potential to expand beyond patch manage-urban centres. Potential to expand beyond patch manage-ment to consider adjacent land uses.

The aim of this doctoral research is to develop a potential urban ecological network for Singapore, through an integration of the spatial characterization of Singapore’s green areas, an assessment of habitat suitability, mapping of species interactions with the habitats and land use considerations.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. Could an ecological network concept be also applied to a highly developed and compact city like Singapore for management of its biodiversity?

2. How could the conservation and enhancement of Singapore’s biodiversity be best achieved through taking a network approach with added co-benefits to the community?

Note: Not for internet upload or distribution. Contains sensitive and intellectual property material.

ABDUL RAHIM BIN ABDUL HAMID (A0066455@nus.edu.sg)Supervisor: ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR PUAY YOK TAN (akitpy@nus.edu.sg)

Thesis Committee: Dr Soo Chin LIEW (CRISP), Prof. Richard CORLETT (Chinese Academy of Sciences), Dr Lai Choo MALONE-LEE (CSAC) DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, SCHOOL OF DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENT, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

For the ESRI Young Scholar Award 2014