Extreme Differences in Forest Degradation in Borneo: Comparing Practices in Sarawak,Sabah, and Brunei

The Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak are global hotspots of forest loss and degradation due to timber and oil palm industries; however, the rates and patterns of change have remained poorly measured by conventional field or satellite approaches. Using 30 m resolution optical imagery acquired since 1990, forest cover and logging roads were mapped throughout Malaysian Borneo and Brunei using the Carnegie Landsat Analysis System. We uncovered ∼364,000 km of roads constructed through the forests of this region. We estimated that in 2009 there were at most 45,400 km² of intact forest ecosystems in Malaysian Borneo and Brunei. Critically, we found that nearly 80% of the land surface of Sabah and Sarawak was impacted by previously undocumented, high-impact logging or clearing operations from 1990 to 2009. This contrasted strongly with neighbouring Brunei, where 54% of the land area remained covered by unlogged forest. Overall, only 8% and 3% of land area in Sabah and Sarawak, respectively, was covered by intact forests under designated protected areas. Our assessment shows that very few forest ecosystems remain intact in Sabah or Sarawak, but that Brunei, by largely excluding industrial logging from its borders, has been comparatively successful in protecting its forests.     

Population structure and intraspecific aggression in the invasive ant species Anoplolepis gracilipes in Malaysian Borneo

Invasive species are one of the main sources of the ongoing global loss of biodiversity. Invasive ants are known as particularly damaging invaders and their introductions are often accompanied by population-level behavioural and genetic changes that may contribute to their success. Anoplolepis gracilipes is an invasive ant that has just recently received increased attention due to its negative impact on native ecosystems. We examined the behaviour and population structure of A. gracilipes in Sabah, Malaysia. A total of 475 individuals from 24 colonies were genotyped with eight microsatellite markers. Intracolonial relatedness was high, ranging from 0.37 to 1 (mean +/- SD: 0.82 +/- 0.04), while intercolonial relatedness was low (0.0 +/- 0.02, range -0.5-0.76). We compared five distinct sampling regions in Sabah and Brunei. A three-level hierarchical F-analysis revealed high genetic differentiation among colonies within the same region, but low genetic differentiation within colonies or across regions. Overall levels of heterozygosity were unusually high (mean H(O) = 0.95, mean H(E) = 0.71) with two loci being entirely heterozygous, indicating an unusual reproductive system in this species. Bioassays revealed a negative correlation between relatedness and aggression, suggesting kinship as one factor facilitating supercolony formation in this species. Furthermore, we genotyped one individual per nest from Sabah (22 nests), Sarawak (one nest), Brunei (three nests) and the Philippines (two nests) using two mitochondrial DNA markers. We found six haplotypes, two of which included 82.1% of all sequences. Our study shows that the sampled area in Sabah consists of a mosaic of differently interrelated nests in different stages of colony establishment. While some of the sampled colonies may belong to large supercolonies, others are more likely to represent recently introduced or dispersed propagules that are just beginning to expand.     

Novelties in Fissistigma (Annonaceae) from Borneo

Five new species of Fissistigma are described from Borneo. Fissistigma brevistipitatum sp. nov. is a species of lowland and hill forest mostly recorded from Sabah. Fissistigma bygravei sp. nov. is similar to F. hypoglaucum (Miq.) Merr. of the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Fissistigma carrii sp. nov. is from Mount Kinabalu. Fissistigma crassicaule is a robust plant known from a couple of collections from Sarawak. Fissistigma montanum sp. nov. is a species from hill and montane forest recorded from Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak. A new combination in Fissistigma is made for Melodorum multivenium Diels. Two recently described species of Fissistigma from Borneo ( F. cordifolium Irawan and F. magnisepalum Irawan) are reduced to synonymy of Friesodielsia excisa (Miq.) Steenis and Friesodielsia affinis (Hook. f. & Thomson) D. Das, respectively. Both species of Friesodielsia are lectotypified.     

Miocene Trace Fossils from Borneo

In the Miocene Belait formation of northern Sarawak, Brunei and Sabah burrows ofOphiomorpha Lundgren were found, described here asOphiomorpha borneensis n. ichnosp. A few associated spiral tunnels of theXenohelix-type were also found. Two species ofHäntzschelinia Vialov occurred on Labuan Island. A third type of structure was found in Brunei and it probably represents castings of an unknown lamellibranch. The burrows and castings were made in a brackish water environment, probably in the littoral zone of an embayment or delta.     

Diplycosia rigidifolia sp. nov. (Ericaceae) from Borneo,Sabah, Malaysia

Diplycosia rigidifolia sp. nov. from Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, Sabah, Malaysia, is described and illustrated. This species is similar to D. urceolata, but differs by its shorter petiole, thicker, strictly elliptic leaf blades, longer pedicels, calyx lobes with sharply acuminate apex, and larger purplish black fruiting calyx. The species is known only from Mt Kinabalu in northern Sabah state, Malaysia.     

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.     

Species ofAnthostomella from Brunei, includingA. oblongata sp. nov.

Species ofAnthostomella reported from Brunei have been re-examined and the data is summarized in this paper. Five species are accepted, four are synonyms of previously described species and one is a new species. The new speciesAnthostomella oblongata is described and illustrated and a list ofAnthostomella species known from Brunei and a key to these species are provided.     

A review of the morphologically diverse leafhopper subfamily Stegelytrinae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) with description of new taxa

Abstract. The morphologically diverse leafhopper subfamily Stegelytrinae is reviewed and its biology and biogeography are discussed as well as its classification, monophyly and relationship to Deltocephalinae s.l. In addition, the first stegelytrine is recorded east of Wallace's and Weber's lines, extending the distribution of the subfamily outside the Oriental and Palaearctic regions. A checklist and key to the genera of the subfamily are given. The following new genera and species are described: Honguchia rubrofascia Wei & Webb, gen.n & sp.n. from Sabah; H. superba Wei & Webb, sp.n. from Sumatra; Yaontogonia flavopicta Wei & Webb, gen.n & sp.n. from Brunei and Sabah; Y. darjeelingensis Wei & Webb, sp. n. from West Bengal; Sychentia breviata Wei & Webb, gen.n & sp.n. from Malaysia; Louangana stellata Wei & Webb, gen.n & sp.n. from Laos; Shangonia sarawakensis Wei & Webb, gen.n & sp.n. from Sarawak; Quiontugia fuscomaculata Wei & Zhang, gen.n. & sp.n. from Hainan; and Neophansia wallacei Wei & Webb, gen.n & sp.n. from New Guinea.     

Phacelophrynium sapiense (Marantaceae) a new species from Sabah, Malaysia

Phacelophrynium sapiense , a new species from Sabah, Malaysia, is described and illustrated. It differs from other known Phacelophrynium species in its light green to yellow leaf variegation, purple leaf underside, creamy white inflorescence and cream white flowers. The species is furthermore unusual in having a pair of membranaceous bracteoles associated with each flower, a feature otherwise known only in species of the New World genus Calathea.     

A new Erioderma taxon from the Azores

Abstract:The Azorean lichen previously and erroneously referred in the literature toErioderma wrightii , belongs to the complex, widespread species E. leylandii, and is described as subsp.azoricum , possibly representing a relic, ancestral form with a composite chemistry. It is presently only known from Pico where it is under threat owing to the destruction of the forests.     

First Record of the Gekkonid Genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 from Gunung Mulu National Park,Northern Sarawak,East Malaysia may Represent an Undescribed Species

We provide confirmed photographic evidence for the previously overlooked occurrence of the polyphyletic Asian gecko genus Cnemaspis from Gunung Mulu National Park, the world-renowned UNESCO natural heritage site in northern Sarawak, East Malaysia. This new record from Sarawak province represents a remarkable range extension for Cnemaspis cf. kendallii by 550 km to the northeast and denotes the most northern occurrence of the genus in Borneo. Our new finding makes it very likely that these gekkonid lizards also inhabit appropriate limestone karst habitats in adjacent Sabah, Brunei, and Kalimantan. Given the visible differences in the Mulu specimen compared to those from the remaining distribution range on Borneo and the Malaysian Peninsula together with the fact that numerous Cnemaspis species are restricted to small areas, it seems plausible that another undescribed, rather cryptic and possibly locally endemic Bornean species is involved. Lastly, the new record contributes to the importance of the Mulu National Park as a major conservation area in East Malaysia of international concerns.     

Long-term field data and climate-habitat models show that orangutan persistence depends on effective forest management and greenhouse gas mitigation

Background

Southeast Asian deforestation rates are among the world’s highest and threaten to drive many forest-dependent species to extinction. Climate change is expected to interact with deforestation to amplify this risk. Here we examine whether regional incentives for sustainable forest management will be effective in improving threatened mammal conservation, in isolation and when combined with global climate change mitigation.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Using a long time-series of orangutan nest counts for Sabah (2000–10), Malaysian Borneo, we evaluated the effect of sustainable forest management and climate change scenarios, and their interaction, on orangutan spatial abundance patterns. By linking dynamic land-cover and downscaled global climate model projections, we determine the relative influence of these factors on orangutan spatial abundance and use the resulting statistical models to identify habitat crucial for their long-term conservation. We show that land-cover change the degradation of primary forest had the greatest influence on orangutan population size. Anticipated climate change was predicted to cause reductions in abundance in currently occupied populations due to decreased habitat suitability, but also to promote population growth in western Sabah by increasing the suitability of presently unoccupied regions.

Conclusions/Significance

We find strong quantitative support for the Sabah government’s proposal to implement sustainable forest management in all its forest reserves during the current decade; failure to do so could result in a 40 to 80 per cent regional decline in orangutan abundance by 2100. The Sabah orangutan is just one (albeit iconic) example of a forest-dependent species that stands to benefit from sustainable forest management, which promotes conservation of existing forests.     

Late quaternary turnover of mammals in Borneo: the zooarchaeological record

The Quaternary has been a period of repeated, oscillating patterns of climate change. Global fluctuations in sea level affected the island status of Borneo, which was probably joined to continental Asia for more than half of the last 250,000 years. Alternating connection and isolation, coupled with the ecological barrier of a savanna corridor running from the Malay Peninsula to Java during periods of marine recession, are reflected in the present mammal fauna of Borneo. 38% of mammal species (excluding bats) are endemic, and some distinctive species or subspecies are confined to the north of the island. No known sites in Borneo match the Early and Middle Pleistocene regional sources in eastern Java. However, caves at Niah, Sireh and Jambusan, Sarawak, and Madai, Sabah, provide a zooarchaeological record covering the past 50,000 years. The Late Pleistocene mammals of Borneo included ten species also present among a Javan Middle Pleistocene savanna-adapted assemblage. Of these, four are categorised as ‘megafuana’: a giant pangolin, Javan rhinoceros, Malay tapir and tiger; the Sumatran rhinoceros can be added. In addition, there are less secure Pleistocene records of Asian elephant from Sarawak and Brunei. Holocene canid remains from Madai could either be the dhole or an early domestic dog. Palynological data combined with the mammal fauna confirm that around 45,000 years ago the vicinity of Niah was vegetated by closed forest. The continuous presence of a suite of arboreal specialists, including large primates, indicates that forest cover persisted through the terminal Pleistocene. Among local extinctions, the giant pangolin apparently disappeared early in this period, but tiger, Javan rhinoceros and tapir probably survived into the last millennium. Human predation of juveniles may account for the loss of the large ungulates, but the disappearance of tiger needs another explanation. Despite hunting pressure throughout the terminal Pleistocene and Holocene, a population of orangutan survived at Niah until perhaps the last millennium. Size diminution observed among large, medium and small mammal species is interpreted as the selective impact of environmental change. Once more is known about their ecology, changes in the bat fauna of Niah cave may provide indicators of environmental impacts affecting the wider mammal community during the later Holocene. In conclusion, it is recommended that the three nations, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Indonesia, should support the WWF sponsored ‘Heart of Borneo’ as the most hopeful project to provide sustainable management of the rare and threatened forest-adapted wild mammals of the island.     

An extensive Cochlodinium bloom along the western coast of Palawan, Philippines

A massive fish kill and water discoloration were reported off the western coast of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines in March 2005. Phytoplankton analysis revealed a near monospecific bloom of the dinoflagellate, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, with cell concentrations ranging from 2.5 × 10⁵ to 3.2 × 10⁶ cells per liter. Ground truth data were supplemented by processed satellite images from MODIS Aqua Level 2 data (1 km resolution) from January to April 2005, which revealed high surface chlorophyll-a levels (up to 50 mg/m³) offshore of west and southwest Palawan as early as February 2005. The bloom extended 310 km in length and 80 km in width at its peak in March off the central coast (Puerto Princesa). By April, the bloom declined in intensity, but was still apparent along the northern coast (El Nido). Fluctuations in chlorophyll levels off the western coast of Sabah, Malaysia and Brunei during this time period suggested that the bloom was not limited to the coast of Palawan. Satellite imagery from Sabah in late January revealed a plume of chl-a that is believed to be the source of the C. polykrikoides bloom in Palawan. This plume drifted offshore, advected northward via the basin-wide counterclockwise gyre, and reached nutrient-rich, upwelled waters near Palawan (due to a positive wind stress curl) where the dinoflagellate bloomed and persisted for 2 months from March to April 2005.     

Empruthotrema stenophallus n. sp. (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) from the nasal tissue of Dasyatis kuhlii (Dasyatidae) from Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Empruthotrema stenophallus n. sp. (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) is described from specimens from the nasal tissue of the blue-spotted maskray Dasyatis kuhlii (Muller and Henle, 1841) collected in shallow waters off Pulau Banggi and Pulau Mabul, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. This is the first monogenean species to be described from an elasmobranch collected from Sabah. E. stenophallus can be distinguished from the other 6 members of the genus by the morphology of the sclerotized male copulatory organ, which is narrow, short, and distally tapered. E. dasyatidis Whittington and Kearn, 1992, previously documented from the nasal tissue of several of elasmobranch species from Australia, is recorded from 8 host species distributed around Malaysian Borneo. These represent new host and locality records for this monocotylid. The difficulties in identifying species of Empruthotrema and the apparent lack of host specificity by some members of the genus are discussed.     

Changes in forest land use and management in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, 1990-2010, with a focus on the Danum Valley region

In an earlier special issue of this journal, Marsh & Greer summarized forest land use in Sabah at that time and gave an introduction to the Danum Valley Conservation Area. Since that assessment, during the period 1990-2010, the forests of Sabah and particularly those of the ca 10 000 km(2) concession managed on behalf of the State by Yayasan Sabah (the Sabah Foundation) have been subject to continual, industrial harvesting, including the premature re-logging of extensive tracts of previously only once-logged forest and large-scale conversion of natural forests to agricultural plantations. Over the same period, however, significant areas of previously unprotected pristine forest have been formally gazetted as conservation areas, while much of the forest to the north, the south and the east of the Danum Valley Conservation Area (the Ulu Segama and Malua Forest Reserves) has been given added protection and new forest restoration initiatives have been launched. This paper analyses these forest-management and land-use changes in Sabah during the period 1990-2010, with a focus on the Yayasan Sabah Forest Management Area. Important new conservation and forest restoration and rehabilitation initiatives within its borders are given particular emphasis.     

Three new species of the genus Medwayella Traub, 1972 (Insecta: Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae) from Sabah (eastern Malaysia, Borneo)

Medwayella traubiana n. sp., M. pfeifferi n. sp. and M. sabahae n. sp. (Pygiopsyllidae) are described from Sabah (north of Borneo island), the first two on Tupaia tana (Scandentia), the last on Sundasciurus lowii (Rodentia). Sex male is only identified, because these fleas have been collected in sympatry, or even in syntopy. Their determination is based on segment IX and aedeagus. If M. traubiana and M. pfeifferi are related to some known species, M. sabahae is clearly distinct from other Medwayella.     

New species and new records of Menegazzia (Parmeliaceae, lichenized ascomycetes) from Malaysia and Indonesia

The genus Menegazzia (Parmeliaceae, lichenized ascomycetes) in Malaysia and Indonesia is studied. Some specimens from Papua New Guinea are also included. The great majority of available specimens are from Kinabalu Park, State of Sabah, Malaysia. Three species are described as new to science, namely the two sorediate species M. capitata (from Sabah and Pahang in Malaysia) and M. sabahensis (from Sabah), and the fertile, primary species M. monospora (from Sabah and Papua New Guinea). M. asahinae , M. dissoluta , and M. efflorescens are reported for the first time from Malaysia, and M. subsimilis is reported for the first time from Malaysia and Indonesia. The subgenus Megamenegazzia is newly described to accommodate the large, broad-lobed species with numerous perforations on the lower surface. M. efflorescens is selected as the type species for the new subgenus. Notes are also provided on the type specimens of Hypogymnia pectinatula , a species originally considered as belonging to Menegazzia .  © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 153 , 489–499.     

Four Decades of Forest Persistence,Clearance and Logging on Borneo

The native forests of Borneo have been impacted by selective logging, fire, and conversion to plantations at unprecedented scales since industrial-scale extractive industries began in the early 1970s. There is no island-wide documentation of forest clearance or logging since the 1970s. This creates an information gap for conservation planning, especially with regard to selectively logged forests that maintain high conservation potential. Analysing LANDSAT images, we estimate that 75.7% (558,060 km²) of Borneo''s area (737,188 km²) was forested around 1973. Based upon a forest cover map for 2010 derived using ALOS-PALSAR and visually reviewing LANDSAT images, we estimate that the 1973 forest area had declined by 168,493 km² (30.2%) in 2010. The highest losses were recorded in Sabah and Kalimantan with 39.5% and 30.7% of their total forest area in 1973 becoming non-forest in 2010, and the lowest in Brunei and Sarawak (8.4%, and 23.1%). We estimate that the combined area planted in industrial oil palm and timber plantations in 2010 was 75,480 km², representing 10% of Borneo. We mapped 271,819 km of primary logging roads that were created between 1973 and 2010. The greatest density of logging roads was found in Sarawak, at 0.89 km km⁻², and the lowest density in Brunei, at 0.18 km km⁻². Analyzing MODIS-based tree cover maps, we estimate that logging operated within 700 m of primary logging roads. Using this distance, we estimate that 266,257 km² of 1973 forest cover has been logged. With 389,566 km² (52.8%) of the island remaining forested, of which 209,649 km² remains intact. There is still hope for biodiversity conservation in Borneo. Protecting logged forests from fire and conversion to plantations is an urgent priority for reducing rates of deforestation in Borneo.