| Summary: | The purpose of this study was to examine the correlation between firefly population and abiotic
factors in Sulaman Lake Forest Reserve (SLFR), Sabah, East Malaysia. Sampling was
conducted at four sampling stations of SLFR using a sweep net. Water sampling has also been
conducted. The study was conducted in July, October, and December 2021. The SLFR is
dominated by one mangrove species tree, Rhizophora apiculata. A total of 97 individual
fireflies were collected, with Pteropytx bearni (67) being the most abundant firefly species
compared to P. gelasina (30). The average water quality of the SLFR was found to be in an
acceptable standard value as determined by the Interim National Water Quality Standard
(INWQS) Malaysia. Apart from other abiotic influences, water temperature (WT) and wind
speed (WS) were found to be significantly different between stations (P<0.05) and months of
sampling (P<0.05) between stations. Pearson correlation and stepwise regression analysis
showed that there was a positive correlation (P<0.001) between relative humidity (RH) and the
firefly population. Because of their sensitivity to the environment, fireflies are considered
strong indicators of the health of ecosystems. An unfavourable atmosphere would eventually
reduce the number of fireflies.
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