107 research outputs found
Better SAFE than sorry
No full textCorey J.A. Bradshaw, Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, William F. Laurance and Barry W. Broo
Pearsonia tembatensis Marzuki & Clements 2013, new species
No full textPearsonia tembatensis, new species (Figs. 1, 2) Material examined. — Holotype – 1 ex. SH. 8.6 mm × SW. 23.8 mm (ZRC. MOL.3074), on leaf litter near waterfall, Tembat Forest Reserve (5°03'55.9"N, 102°31'31.9"E), Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, coll. M. E. Marzuki & R. Clements, May 2011. Paratype — 1 ex. SH. 11.8 mm x SW. 27.0 mm (ME2011 /0186), on leaf litter, Tembat Forest Reserve (5°03'55.9"N, 102°31'31.9"E), Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, coll. M. E. Marzuki & R. Clements, May 2011. Diagnosis. — Shell medium-sized, widely umbilicated, dextral, rather thick. Colour brown, translucent, shiny, crossed by narrow peripheral band. Whorls five, slowly increasing; periphery rounded. Radial sculpture ornamented with fine, irregularly growth lines below suture and around umbilicus; spiral sculpture absent. Apex smooth, more or less rounded with inconspicuous growth lines. Wrinkled, irregular diffuse blotches appear after 3½ whorl, becoming inconspicuous after 4½ whorls. Spire flatly discoid, very low, slightly raised above body whorl, ornamented with faint, pale brown stripe at 4½ whorl. Suture deeply impressed; sutural tube short, opening slightly backwards behind peristome, about 2 mm in length. Aperture circular, oblique, white with double peristome; inner thickened while outer peristome reflected and expanded at suture forming an open descending wing identical to Pterocyclos. Operculum corneous, roundly convex, multispiral, ciliated on raised edge, smooth at centre. Animal grey, spotted, foot light brown. Etymology. — This new species is named after its type locality, Tembat Forest Reserve, Terengganu. We chose this name to highlight the biological importance of this forest reserve, portions of which are currently being cleared for a dam. Remarks. — Based on our comparisons with a fairly complete collation of cyclophorid literature (i.e., Morlet, 1892; Kobelt, 1902, 1908; Gude, 1921; Yen, 1939), we assigned our new species to the genus Pearsonia based on a general agreement with the original shell description in German (translated by F. Köhler) by Kobelt (1902): “Shell discoid, with thick, sometimes hairy periostracum. Aperture circular with thin small tubular pore behind the lip opening backwards. Operculum, non-calcareous, multispiral, outside convex, inside flat. Outer whorls flaring.” Pearsonia (and our new species) can be differentiated from Pterocyclos (Benson, 1832) and Crossopoma (Martens, 1891) by the presence of a sutural tube just behind the aperture (Kobelt, 1902; Gude, 1921). Pearsonia is clearly distinct from Cyclotus (Swainson, 1840), which does not have a sutural tube. Although both Pearsonia and Opisthophorus (Benson, 1851) possess a sutural tube, the tube of the latter genus is significantly longer, and turns either upwards or downwards as it decreases in length. Unlike Pearsonia (Godwin-Austen, 1889; Stoliczka, 1872), the edges of the operculum in Cyclotus and Opisthophorus are not raised. There is no other representative of Pearsonia from Malaysia for comparison. Among Malaysian cyclophorids, P. tembatensis new species, has the closest affinity with Cyclotus umbraticus Benthem-Jutting, 1949 from Larut hill [Pahang], but again, the latter species does not have a sutural tube and its shell sculpture has a zigzag-like pattern. Within Pearsonia, P. tembatensis is closely related to P. putaoensis (Godwin-Austen, 1915) and P. minimum (Godwin-Austen, 1915) from the Indian region. However, the shells of the latter two species are significantly smaller and their shell sculpture comprises fine transverse striae on the epidermis. Furthermore, the outer peristome of P. minimum is very simple and only slightly reflected. We hope that future phylogenetic studies incorporating molecular, conchological and anatomical data on cyclophorids will include this new species in order to validate our hypothesis. Based on the geographical distribution of Pearsonia, it is highly likely that our new species belongs to this genus. To date, there are 22 species in the genus Pearsonia found mostly within the Indo-Malayan region. This new species represents the southernmost extent of Pearsonia ’s distribution in Indo-Malaya (Fig. 3).Published as part of Marzuki, Mohammad Effendi bin & Clements, Gopalasamy Reuben, 2013, A New Species Of Cyclophorid Snail (Mollusca: Prosobranchia) From Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, pp. 21-24 in Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 61 (1) on pages 22-23, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.450929
The environmental and social impacts of roads in southeast Asia
No full textThe expansion of road networks shows no signs of abating, especially in developing countries where economic growth is rapid and opportunities for natural resource exploitation are plentiful. When a road is built, there will invariably be environmental and social impacts. Among tropical regions, however, these impacts are probably least studied in Southeast Asia.
When studying the environmental impacts of roads, mammals are one of the ideal animal groups to focus on due to their sensitivity to disturbance. In Southeast Asia, there is an urgent need to address the environmental impacts of roads on mammals, especially when predicted extinction rates of mammals are relatively high. As such, I interviewed 36 relevant experts to identify roads that are contributing the most to habitat conversion and illegal hunting of mammals in 7 Southeast Asian countries. We have now identified 16 existing and eight planned roads - these collectively threaten 21% of the 117 endangered terrestrial mammals in those countries. Using various techniques, I demonstrated how existing roads contribute to forest conversion and illegal hunting and trade of wildlife. Such empirical evidence can also be used to inform decision-makers and support efforts to mitigate threats from existing and proposed roads to endangered mammals. Finally, I highlighted key lessons and propose mitigation measures to limit road impacts within the region.
Roads that warrant urgent conservation attention must be prioritised because conservation resources are limited. One way would be to focus mitigation measures on roads cutting through forests with mammal species whose populations are at 'tipping points'. To address this, I developed the Species’ Ability to Forestall Extinction (SAFE) index, which incorporates a benchmark population target for long-term species persistence. I found that the SAFE index better predicts the widely used IUCN Red List threat categories than do previous measures such as percentage range loss. I argue that a combined approach – IUCN threat categories together with the SAFE index – is more informative and provides a good proxy for gauging the relative "safety" of a species from extinction. Finally, I show how the SAFE index can be used to prioritise roads in Southeast Asia that warrant urgent conservation attention based on their passage through habitats with the most number of mammal species whose populations are at 'tipping points'.
There is a paucity of information on the social impacts of roads in Southeast Asia. In order to address this, I interviewed 169 indigenous people (known as the Orang Asli) living in a biodiversity-rich forest complex bisected by a highway in northern Peninsular Malaysia. My surveys revealed that the majority of respondents supported the presence of the highway and construction of additional roads to their village. Overall, respondents perceive that the highway has a net positive impact on their livelihoods, despite low actual use of the highway for livelihood activities including hunting. Therefore, under circumstances where roads need to be opposed, conservation planners and practitioners may find it difficult to garner support from indigenous people who already have direct access to a previously constructed road, and desire greater access to markets, health clinics and jobs. Before a road is built, forest-dependent indigenous peoples should ideally be consulted to better understand how their socio-economic needs can be met without negatively impacting biodiversity.
In habitats fragmented by roads, underpasses are one possible mitigation measure to facilitate animal crossings. However, the role of underpasses as crossing structures for mammals as yet to be quantified in Southeast Asia. I investigated this for 20 underpasses at two fragmented habitat linkages in Peninsular Malaysia. Camera trap surveys in forests around the underpasses revealed that despite the effects of fragmentation, both linkages are still of high conservation importance for native mammals. For seven focal large mammal species, fragmentation had some degree of effect on the forest use of every focal species. The Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) was the most sensitive species to fragmentation, with its forest use declining with increasing proximity to the road and reservoir, and less intact forest cover. Not only has fragmentation affected forest use of large mammals around all 20 underpasses, it has also affected the efficiency at which underpasses are used as crossing structures. Overall, these underpasses appear to be effective crossing structures for only two herbivore species, Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) and Serow (Capricornis sumatraensis). Individual underpass-use efficiencies have been sub-optimal for all focal species except Serow. For five species, the presence of underpasses at the end of trails did not have an effect on increasing trail use – this questions the ability of underpasses to mitigate road impacts on animal crossings. Conservation planners and practitioners must recognise that it may be unrealistic to expect underpasses to be effective crossing structures for all large mammal species and ecological guilds. At each linkage, management interventions to minimise the negative effects of forest fragmentation around the underpasses should be adopted to improve their efficiency of use by large mammals.
This thesis augments the body of knowledge on the environmental and social impacts of roads in Southeast Asia. While this thesis provides strategies on how to mitigate the negative impacts of roads in this region, the real challenge lies with implementing these strategies on the ground. As an example of how conservation research can be translated into action, I report how my lobbying efforts in the State of Terengganu, Peninuslar Malaysia, have prompted the state government to: (1) implement a state-wide ban on the legal hunting of Flying Foxes (Pteropus spp.) that I found threatened by roadside hunting; and (2) issue a moratorium on infrastructure development along a road cutting through a habitat linkage that is important for mammal conservation
The SAFE index: using a threshold population target to measure relative species threat
No full textThe International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is arguably the most popular measure of relative species threat, but its threat categories can be ambiguous (eg “Endangered” versus “Vulnerable”) and subjective, have weak quantification, and do not convey the threat status of species in relation to a minimum viable population target. We propose a heuristic measure that describes a “species’ ability to forestall extinction”, or the SAFE index. We compare the abilities of the SAFE index with those of another numerically explicit metric – percentage range loss – to predict IUCN threat categories using binary and ordinal logistic regression. Generalized linear models showed that the SAFE index was a better predictor of IUCN threat categories than was percentage range loss. We therefore advocate use of the SAFE index, possibly in conjunction with IUCN threat categories, because the former indicates the “distance from extinction” of a species, while implicitly incorporating population viability as a variable.Gopalasamy Reuben Clements, Corey JA Bradshaw, Barry W Brook and William F Lauranc
Figure 26 from: Foon JK, Clements GR, Liew T-S (2017) Diversity and biogeography of land snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the limestone hills of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. ZooKeys 682: 1-94. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.682.12999
No full textFigure 26 -
A Philalanka kusana (Aldrich, 1889) BOR/MOL 11174. Perak, Ipoh, Gunung Tasek Plot 5 B Philalanka pusilla Maassen, 2000 BOR/MOL 9865. Perak, Ipoh, Bat Cave Hill Plot 4 C Kaliella barrakporensis (Pfeiffer, 1852) BOR/MOL 9032. Perak, Ipoh, Gunung Kanthan Plot 1 D Kaliella calculosa (Gould, 1852) BOR/MOL 10053. Perak, Ipoh, Gunung Rapat Plot C3
Figure 31 from: Foon JK, Clements GR, Liew T-S (2017) Diversity and biogeography of land snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the limestone hills of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. ZooKeys 682: 1-94. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.682.12999
No full textFigure 31 -
A Paraboysidia 'tempurung 1' BOR/MOL 11217. Perak, Ipoh, Gunung Tempurung Plot 3 B Ptychopatula orcula (Benson, 1850) BOR/MOL 9043. Perak, Ipoh, Gunung Kanthan Plot 1 C Ptychopatula solemi Maassen, 2000 BOR/MOL 9042. Perak, Ipoh, Gunung Kanthan Plot 1
Supplementary material 1 from: Foon JK, Clements GR, Liew T-S (2017) Diversity and biogeography of land snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the limestone hills of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. ZooKeys 682: 1-94. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.682.12999
No full textSample completeness curve for all the seven limestone hills sampled in our study.
: Explanation note: Data and figure outputs from species richness and sampling completeness analysis
Supplementary material 2 from: Foon JK, Clements GR, Liew T-S (2017) Diversity and biogeography of land snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the limestone hills of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. ZooKeys 682: 1-94. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.682.12999
No full textData matrix for absence/presence of 122 land snail species at 12 limestone hills.
: Explanation note: Data matrix for absence/presence of 122 land snail species at 12 limestone hills
Figure 15 from: Foon JK, Clements GR, Liew T-S (2017) Diversity and biogeography of land snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the limestone hills of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. ZooKeys 682: 1-94. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.682.12999
No full textFigure 15 -
A Pollicaria elephas (de Morgan, 1885a) BOR/MOL 9443. Perak, Ipoh, Mykarst-025 Plot 1 B Pupina artata Benson, 1856 BOR/MOL 9803. Perak, Ipoh, Bat Cave Hill Plot 2 C Pupina arula perakensis von Möllendorff, 1891 BOR/MOL 10566. Perak, Ipoh, Gunung Datok Plot D Pupina lowi de Morgan, 1885a BOR/MOL 9873. Perak, Ipoh, Bat Cave Hill Plot 4
Figure 24 from: Foon JK, Clements GR, Liew T-S (2017) Diversity and biogeography of land snails (Mollusca, Gastropoda) in the limestone hills of Perak, Peninsular Malaysia. ZooKeys 682: 1-94. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.682.12999
No full textFigure 24 -
A Sinoennea lenggongensis Tomlin, 1939 BOR/MOL 10099. Perak, Ipoh, Gua Tok Giring Plot 1 B Sinoennea perakensis (Godwin-Austen & Nevill, 1879) BOR/MOL 11512. Perak, Ipoh, Gunung Pondok C Sinoennea 'prk53 1' BOR/MOL 10779. Perak, Ipoh, "Prk 53 Hill KF" plot 4 D Sinoennea subcylindrica (von Möllendorff, 1891) BOR/MOL 9779. Perak, Ipoh, Bat Cave Hill Plot
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