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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
Get PDFThe 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
Kenyirus Sodhii: a tribute to a special place and a conservation scientist
No full text[Extract] Did you know that the forest around Lake Kenyir, the largest man-made lake in Southeast Asia, is home to more than 230 bird species? During the Migratory season, you may even spot the world's fastest bird, the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus)
A new genus and species of camaenid snail (Mollusca: Pulmonata) from Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia
No full textWe describe a new genus and species of land snail belonging to the family Camaenidae. The specimens were found in forest reserves in the State of Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia. Kenyirus sodhii new genus and species, is clearly distinct from its confamilials. This new genus is named after Lake Kenyir as it appears endemic to the forests adjacent to the lake, while this new species is named after the late Navjot Sodhi, an eminent professor in conservation biology whom this special issue is dedicated to
Protecting environmental defenders to prevent pandemics
Get PDFAlthough the jury remains out with regard to the origin of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,1 this global health crisis is a stark reminder of the continuous threat of emerging infectious diseases, and the need to tackle their upstream drivers (eg, deforestation and illegal wildlife trade). However, proposals for preventing pandemics at the source2 tend to focus on high-level policies and actions, with relatively little support afforded to ground-level environmental defenders, who are arguably the most important front-line defence in stopping future zoonotic spillovers. Through sustained involvement in activities that reduce deforestation and biodiversity loss (eg, lobbying against powerful industries or politicians, and patrols to curb illegal harvesting), environmental defenders face increasing duress, ranging from occupational burnout to life-threatening attacks.3 Protecting the welfare of environmental defenders must be part of the solution to preventing future pandemics
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Will India's mega-census leave a mega-footprint?
No full text[Extract] On 1 April 2010, India launched its mega-census2, which aims to document biometric details of every person aged above 15 years. This mega-census will be the largest registration exercise in human history and will consume 11.63 million tonnes (mt) of paper over the next eleven months. While we do not question its societal benefits, this endeavour undermines India’s ostensible3 transition to high rates of decarbonization
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