Habitat associations with topography and canopy structure of tree species in a tropical montane forest on Mount Kinabalu,Borneo

Habitat associations with topography and canopy structure of 42 abundant tree species were studied in a 2.74-ha plot of tropical montane forest on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo. Many of these species belong to the same higher taxa including eight families and four genera. Analysis of intraspecific spatial distributions for stems ≥ 10 cm diameter revealed that 28 species (including all six species of Fagaceae) showed aggregated distributions at the 100-m² and/or 400-m² scales, and that 20 species showed habitat associations with topography by torus-translation tests; 17 species showed both characteristics. Species' associations with the local canopy structure were characterized by crown position index (CPI), which was defined relative to neighbour trees. The CPI differed greatly among individual stems at 10–40 cm diameter, and 19 species showed significantly different frequencies of crowns exposed vertically versus those shaded beneath the canopy. Mean growth rates at 10–40 cm diameter and size distributions of species were not related to topographic associations, but were explained by the associations with canopy structure; species with more exposed crowns grew faster and had less positively skewed distributions. Diversity in habitat associations was manifest between two genera (Syzygium and Tristaniopsis) in the family Myrtaceae and among species in these genera, but was less evident in other families and two genera (Garcinia and Lithocarpus). This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Forest Modification Affects Diversity (But Not Dynamics) of Speciose Tropical Pyraloid Moth Communities

We studied temporal and spatial dynamics of extremely diverse moth ensembles (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea) along a gradient of forest disturbance ranging from undisturbed primary tropical rain forest to different kinds of modified forest and open cultivated land at the margin of Mount Kinabalu National Park (Sabah, East Malaysia). We sampled moths by light trapping during two periods (March‐May and August‐September 1997). We collected a total of 7724 individuals representing 680 species during 78 light‐trapping nights at six study sites. Species diversity (Fisher's α) of ensembles in undisturbed primary forest was distinctly higher than in disturbed or secondary forest. More pyraloid moths were attracted in undisturbed primary forest. Samples from disturbed primary or old‐growth secondary forest were statistically indistinguishable from the undisturbed primary forest ensemble in regard to species composition. Thus, pyraloid ensembles from disturbed forest with tall trees remaining appeared to represent impoverished subsets of the undisturbed primary forest community. The more heavily disturbed sites had a distinct fauna and showed a stronger faunal differentiation among each other. Four species of the genus Eoophyla, in which aquatic larvae feed on algae in fast‐running streams benefited prominently from forest disturbance. Temporal variation of ensembles was remarkably concordant across the disturbance gradient. Relative abundance variation of the commonest species was identical at all sites. Overall, pyraloid moths responded more sensitively to anthropogenic habitat alteration than most other moth taxa studied thus far in tropical regions and allowed for an analysis of diversity patterns at a high temporal resolution.     

Medical virology in Malaysia

Virology is a branch of biological science dealing with the study of viruses, and medical virology focuses on the study and control of diseases due to viruses that is of medical importance. The development of medical virology in Malaysia has its beginning in the Institute for Medical Research (IMR), following the establishment of the Division of Medical Zoology and Virus Research in the institute on 23 March 1953. The second institution in the country to establish diagnostic and research work in medical virology was Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya. This was followed by University Kebangsaan Malaysia, University Sains Malaysia and University of Sarawak Malaysia. The National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) is the latest institution to establish a laboratory in 2003 for virus isolation and services to support country surveillance and outbreak investigation of infectious diseases due to viruses. In the field of medical virology, Malaysia contributed substantially in the areas of virus diagnostic services, development and research ranging from survey and documentation on the existence and prevalence of viruses causing diseases in Malaysia, clinical presentation and epidemiological features of virus diseases, evaluation of new diagnostic tests to pathogenesis of viral diseases. Malaysia contributed to the discoveries of at least 12 new viruses in the world. ASEAN plus Three (China, Japan, Republic of Korea) Emerging Infectious Programme was established to overcome the challenges and impact of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases in this region. Malaysia as the co-ordinator of the laboratory component of the programme, contributed to strengthen the regional laboratory capability, capacity, laboratory-based surveillance and networking. The future of medical virology in Malaysia in terms of integration of diagnostic, reference and research to support the country's need will be enhanced and strengthened with the on-going development of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Malaysia) which also incorporates a futuristic Special Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory.     

Keep wetlands wet: the myth of sustainable development of tropical peatlands – implications for policies and management

Pristine tropical peat swamp forests (PSFs) represent a unique wetland ecosystem of distinctive hydrology which support unique biodiversity and globally significant stores of soil carbon. Yet in Indonesia and Malaysia, home to 56% of the world's tropical peatland, they are subject to considerable developmental pressures, including widespread drainage to support agricultural needs. In this article, we review the ecology behind the functioning and ecosystem services provided by PSFs, with a particular focus on hydrological processes as well as the role of the forest itself in maintaining those services. Drawing on this, we review the suitability of current policy frameworks and consider the efficacy of their implementation. We suggest that policies in Malaysia and Indonesia are often based around the narrative of oil palm and other major monocrops as drivers of prosperity and development. However, we also argue that this narrative is also being supported by a priori claims concerning the possibility of sustainability of peat swamp exploitation via drainage‐based agriculture through the adherence to best management practices. We discuss how this limits their efficacy, uptake and the political will towards enforcement. Further, we consider how both narratives (prosperity and sustainability) clearly exclude important considerations concerning the ecosystem value of tropical PSFs which are dependent on their unimpacted hydrology. Current research clearly shows that the actual debate should be focused not on how to develop drainage‐based plantations sustainably, but on whether the sustainable conversion to drainage‐based systems is possible at all.     

Spatiotemporal fire occurrence in Borneo over a period of 10 years

South-east Asia's tropical rainforests are experiencing the highest rate of deforestation worldwide and fire is one of the most important drivers of forest loss and subsequent carbon dioxide emissions. In this study, we analyzed all fire events in Borneo recorded by satellites over a period of 10 years. About 16.2 Mha, which corresponds to 21% of the land surface, have been affected by fire at least once and 6% more than one time. During El Niño conditions, which cause prolonged droughts in the region, the fire-affected area was on average three times larger than during normal weather conditions. Similarly, fires in forests affected 0.3 Mha in normal years and 1 Mha during El Niño years. Carbon rich peat swamp forest ecosystems were most severely affected. There is a pronounced difference in fire occurrence between different countries and provinces in Borneo although ecosystem and land use are very similar across the island. Compared with Sarawak, Sabah (Malaysia) and Brunei the relative annual fire-affected area in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, was on average five times larger. During El Niño conditions the fire-affected area increased only in Kalimantan and not in Brunei and the Malaysia. A similar pattern was observed in National Parks. This suggests, that El Niño related droughts are not the only cause of increased fire occurrence and do not necessarily lead to a higher number of fire events. These results improve our understanding of existing fire regimes and drivers of fire in SE Asian tropical ecosystems and may help to better protect the remaining rainforests.     

Discovery of three new species of Drosophila obscura species group (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from Mount Kinabalu in Borneo

We describe three new species of the Drosophila obscura species group, D. hypercephala , D. hideakii and D. quadrangula Gao & Toda, spp. nov., all discovered from high altitudes (>1500 m) on Mt Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. These are the southernmost distribution records of the D. obscura group in the Oriental Region. The three new species are each morphologically similar to different species of the Old World D. obscura species subgroup. This suggests that they are descendants of different founder species that independently colonized the tropics from the subtropical or temperate zones during the glacial ages. The new species D. hypercephala is hypercephalic not only in males but also, although less distinct, in females, unlike other hypercephalic drosophilid species in which only males are hypercephalic. This new finding of a hypercephalic species from the subgenus Sophophora , of which species are relatively easy to culture in the laboratory and include the model species such as D. melanogaster and D. pseudoobscura , will promote genetic analyses on the development and the evolution of hypercephaly.     

Systematic revision of the genus Everettia Godwin‐Austen, 1891 (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Dyakiidae) in Sabah,northern Borneo

The species of the snail genus Everettia in the Malaysian state of Sabah are superficially similar and difficult to distinguish by their shells. This paper presents new data on the taxonomy and distribution of Everettia in Sabah that have accumulated since the revision by Godwin‐Austen in 1891. By using morphological and molecular phylogenetic approaches, we reveal at least seventeen species of Everettia in Sabah, of which eleven are new to science, namely: Everettia layanglayang sp. nov. , Everettia lapidini sp. nov. , Everettia paulbasintali sp. nov. , Everettia occidentalis sp. nov. , Everettia jasilini sp. nov. , Everettia safriei sp. nov. , Everettia interior sp. nov. , Everettia jucundior sp. nov. , Everettia planispira sp. nov. , Everettia monticola sp. nov. , and Everettia dominiki sp. nov. , and one new subspecies, namely, Everettia corrugata williamsi ssp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial COI and 16S, and nuclear ITS‐1 sequences demonstrates the monophyly of most of the morphologically well‐defined species. Our results show that certain aspects of classical morphology‐based taxonomy for Everettia species, especially with regard to the unique combination of shell surface sculptures, animal head colour, and mantle pigmentation, are solid. A dichotomous key to the Sabah species and subspecies of Everettia is provided. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 157 , 515–550.     

Social Dependence of Infant Slow Lorises to Learn Diet

Nocturnal lorises and pottos (Lorisinae) are among the least gregarious of primates. Mothers start to leave their infants alone during the night as early as the day of birth. However, captive studies also indicate that weaning young lorisines closely follow their mothers nearly all the time and obtain their first solid food via scrounging. Accordingly, it has been suggested that young lorisines depend on their mothers to obtain dietary information and to achieve dietary independence by watching their mothers feeding or interacting directly with their mothers over food. We tested for a social dependence on dietary learning by infants in a social network of wild slow lorises (Nycticebus coucang). The social network included one male infant, his mother, and two subadult females. The infant only took to mouth food items that were also part of the females' diet and showed concordance in the frequency of use of food patches with the females. These results contradict dietary learning by trial and error. They indicate that dietary learning by infants depends on information obtained from older conspecifics. However, the infant was never involved in direct interactions with conspecifics over food and fed mostly alone. He was not within a distance where he could see the females feeding more often than expected from the configuration and utilization of home ranges. The infant never looked at conspecifics feeding in his vicinity, which suggests that visual observation or direct interaction over food may not be the mechanisms by which information about food resources is passed from older individuals to young, but that other ways of obtaining such information are used.     

Quaternary rainforest refugia in south-east Asia: using termites (Isoptera) as indicators

In south-east Asia, during Quaternary glaciations, increased seasonality and sea level decreases of ~120 m caused considerable fragmentation of the rainforest. It is believed that most of the region's core was covered with savannah vegetation, and rainforest was confined to a few refugia. We investigated the geographical extent of the savannah vegetation and the positions of the refugia, using a combination of palynonlogical, geological, fossil and termite data. Our results show that during the Last Glacial Maximum, most of Thailand, Peninsula Malaysia, western and southern Borneo, eastern and southern Sumatra, and Java were probably covered by savannah. Rainforest refugia were probably present in northern and eastern Borneo, northern and western Sumatra and the Mentawai islands. We also discuss a possible complete history of the region. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 75 , 453–466.     

Detection and Identification of Aster Yellows Phytoplasma Associated with Lipstick Yellow Frond Disease in Malaysia

Yellowing symptoms similar to coconut yellow decline phytoplasma disease were observed on lipstick palms (Cyrtostachys renda) in Selangor state, Malaysia. Typical symptoms were yellowing, light green fronds, gradual collapse of older fronds and decline in growth. Polymerase chain reaction assay was employed to detect phytoplasma in symptomatic lipstick palms. Extracted DNA was amplified from symptomatic lipstick palms by PCR using phytoplasma‐universal primer pair P1/P7 followed by R16F2n/R16R2. Phytoplasma presence was confirmed, and the 1250 bp products were cloned and sequenced. Sequence analysis indicated that the phytoplasmas associated with lipstick yellow frond disease were isolates of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’ belonging to the 16SrI group. Virtual RFLP analysis of the resulting profiles revealed that these palm‐infecting phytoplasmas belong to subgroup 16SrI‐B and a possibly new 16SrI‐subgroup. This is the first report of lipstick palm as a new host of aster yellows phytoplasma (16SrI) in Malaysia and worldwide.