NATURAL HABITAT OF BALI STARLING (Leucopsar rothschildi) IN BALI BARAT NATIONAL PARK, INDONESIA

The Indonesian tropical savannas and dry forests provide habitats to various endemic wildlife. Unfortunately, a few of these endemic species are now seriously threatened and are red listed in the conservation status of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Among these species, the Bali starling or Bali mynah Leucopsar rotschildi, locally known as Jalak Bali, is now mostly restricted to the Bali Barat National Park. Given the high extinction risk faced by such species, conservation programs require multidisciplinary approaches that would address both the biological attributes of the species itself and their habitat requirements. Regrettably, for many species, their habitat ecology remains inadequately understood. Hence, this study aimed to: 1. characterize the Bali starling habitat in terms of structure and floristic composition; and 2. document evidences of vegetation cover changes in the Bali Barat National Park. Analysis of remote sensing imagery and field sampling for vegetation attributes were conducted to address these objectives. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated from Landsat imageries using red and near infrared bands. Tree cover percentage data were downloaded from Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF) of the University of Maryland’s website. Results showed that forest and savanna are the dominant land cover types in the Bali Barat National Park. However, their distribution is somewhat dynamic with changes in vegetation cover and greenness found across the years which increase the cover of woody plants is the general trend. The Bali starling in the Bali Barat National Park is mostly found at or near distinct vegetation boundaries, such as the borders between savanna and forest, savanna and cropland, savanna and shrubland, settlement and cropland and, between forest and shrubland. Although Cekik in Jembrana, Bali and Brumbun Bay in West Bali, as the conservation sites for Bali starling, are both planted with tree species providing shelter and food for Bali starling, the bird has not been seen in the two areas since the 1990s. These results further confirm the importance of examining the habitat patterns of endemic birds within a landscape that are influenced by multiple factors interacting in space and time. Addressing data inadequacy in habitat patterns of endemic species distribution is crucial in developing conservation management strategies. Hence, evaluating the habitat remnants of the Bali starling is vital for its conservation and needed reintroduction and eventual release to its natural habitat.