Waterbird Population Dynamics in the Middle Mahakam Wetlands of East Kalimantan over 23 years

Between 1988 and 2011, a total of 57 species of waterbirds, as well as twelve raptor and six kingfisher species regularly utilizing wetlands, were recorded in the Middle Mahakam Wetlands of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Waterbirds included 27 shorebird species from five families, twelve herons (Ardeidae), six rails and crakes (Rallidae), four terns (Sternidae), three ducks (Anatidae) and two storks (Ciconiidae). Based on IUCN (2013) criteria, six listed species are threatened: one (White-shouldered Ibis) is Critically Endangered, another (Storm's Stork) is Endangered and four (Chinese Egret, Lesser Adjutant, Wallace's Hawk-Eagle, Blue-banded Kingfisher) are Vulnerable. The Middle Mahakam Wetlands are one of Borneo’s most important wetland areas. They are part of a highly dynamic landscape that has historically changed its appearance many times. Today, the birds of these unique wetlands are endangered by a plethora of threats comprising large scale land conversion, fire, hunting and live capture of waterbirds, illegal logging and pollution. Despite the considerable efforts of local NGOs to address some of these issues, conservation measures are still limited and insufficient to protect this natural asset

When and Where Did They Strand? The Spatio-Temporal Hotspot Patterns of Cetacean Stranding Events in Indonesia

Analyses of the spatial and temporal patterns of 26 years of stranding events (1995–2011 and 2012–2021, n = 568) in Indonesia were conducted to improve the country’s stranding response. The Emerging Hot Spot Analysis was used to obtain the spatial and temporal hotspot patterns. A total of 92.4% events were single stranding, while the remaining were of mass stranding events. More stranding events were recorded between 2012 and 2021 in more dispersed locations compared to the previous period. Within the constraints of our sampling limitations, East Kalimantan and Bali were single stranding hotspots and consecutive hotspots. East Java and Sabu-Raijua in East Nusa Tenggara were mass stranding hotspots. Temporally, Raja Ampat (West Papua) experienced a significant increase in case numbers. The presence of active NGOs, individuals or government agencies in some locations might have inflated the numbers of reported cases compared to areas with less active institutions and/or individuals. However, our results still give a good understanding of the progression of Indonesia’s stranding responses and good guidance of resource allocation for the stranding network. Several locations in Indonesia that need more efforts (e.g., more training workshops on rescue and necropsies) have been identified in this paper. Suggestions to improve data collection (including georeferencing tips) have also been included

IDENTIFIKASI JENIS PADA KEJADIAN CETACEA TERDAMPAR DI INDONESIA DENGAN TEKNIK MOLEKULER

Kasus Cetacea atau Paus dan Lumba-lumba terdampar di Indonesia sejak berapa tahun terakhir ini semakin sering terungkap dan ditangani oleh banyak pihak. Data dari Whale Stranding Indonesia (WSI) mencatat 40 kasus Cetacea terdampar di berbagai tempat di Indonesia selama tahun 2016 hingga bulan Februari 2017. Salah satu kendala bagi para penyelamat di lapangan adalah sulitnya mengidentifikasi jenis secara morfologi karena pada beberapa kasus, individu yang terdampar tidak dalam kondisi utuh. WSI mencatat lebih dari 21% jenis pada kejadian Cetacea terdampar di Indonesia, tidak teridentifikasi. Penelitian ini bertujuan memperkenalkan pendekatan genetika molekuler dalam mengidentifikasi jenis pada Cetacea terdampar. Gen Control Region dari DNA mitokondria diamplifikasi dengan menggunakan metode Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Data sekuen dibandingkan dengan data di genebank dan dilihat persentase kesamaannya. Penelitian ini menggunakan 36 sampel individu dan 26 diantaranya teramplifikasi dengan panjang basa berkisar antara 445-490 bp (base pair). Metode molekuler berhasil mengidentifikasi 15 spesies dan 13 genus Cetacea yang diambil dari beberapa tempat di Indonesia. Studi ini menunjukkan bahwa teknik genetika molekuler dapat dijadikan metode untuk mengidentifikasi jenis dari Cetacea, terutama mamalia terdampar yang sulit untuk diidentifikasi secara morfologi. Data molekuler yang dihasilkan dapat melengkapi database yang ada di Indonesia serta menjadi penunjang bagi penelitian tentang keragaman genetik dan hubungan antar populasi mamalia akuatik di Indonesia

Challenges and priorities for river cetacean conservation

River cetaceans are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic impacts due to their constrained ranges in freshwater systems of China, South Asia, and South America. We undertook an exhaustive review of 280 peer-reviewed papers and grey literature reports (1998-2020) to examine the current status of knowledge regarding these cetaceans and their conservation. We aimed to better understand the scale of threats they face, and to identify and propose priority future efforts to better conserve these species. We found that the species have been studied with varying frequency and that most of the research on threats has focused on habitat degradation and fragmentation (43%, mainly driven by dams and extractive activities such as sand mining and deforestation), and fishery interactions (39%, in the form of bycatch and direct take). These threats occur across all species, but more information is needed, primarily on quantifying the population impacts as a basis for designing mitigation measures. Other threats identified include pollution, vessel collisions, traditional use, and poorly managed tourism. Emerging methods such as environmental DNA and unmanned aerial vehicles are described for studying these species. Promising conservation interventions include cetacean-specific protected areas, natural ex situ protection, community-led conservation, and education programmes. However, transnational political will is required for a step change towards broad-scale protection in freshwater environments. In addition, we propose increasing capacity building, developing management plans, working closely with fishing communities, enhancing public awareness, expanding regional collaborations, and diversifying funding

Interactions between marine megafauna and plastic pollution in Southeast Asia

Southeast (SE) Asia is a highly biodiverse region, yet it is also estimated to cumulatively contribute a third of the total global marine plastic pollution. This threat is known to have adverse impacts on marine megafauna, however, understanding of its impacts has recently been highlighted as a priority for research in the region. To address this knowledge gap, a structured literature review was conducted for species of cartilaginous fishes, marine mammals, marine reptiles, and seabirds present in SE Asia, collating cases on a global scale to allow for comparison, coupled with a regional expert elicitation to gather additional published and grey literature cases which would have been omitted during the structured literature review. Of the 380 marine megafauna species present in SE Asia, but also studied elsewhere, we found that 9.1 % and 4.5 % of all publications documenting plastic entanglement (n = 55) and ingestion (n = 291) were conducted in SE Asian countries. At the species level, published cases of entanglement from SE Asian countries were available for 10 % or less of species within each taxonomic group. Additionally, published ingestion cases were available primarily for marine mammals and were lacking entirely for seabirds in the region. The regional expert elicitation led to entanglement and ingestion cases from SE Asian countries being documented in 10 and 15 additional species respectively, highlighting the utility of a broader approach to data synthesis. While the scale of the plastic pollution in SE Asia is of particular concern for marine ecosystems, knowledge of its interactions and impacts on marine megafauna lags behind other areas of the world, even after the inclusion of a regional expert elicitation. Additional funding to help collate baseline data are critically needed to inform policy and solutions towards limiting the interactions of marine megafauna and plastic pollution in SE Asia

Mitogenomic phylogenetic analyses of the Delphinidae with an emphasis on the Globicephalinae

BACKGROUND: Previous DNA-based phylogenetic studies of the Delphinidae family suggest it has undergone rapid diversification, as characterised by unresolved and poorly supported taxonomic relationships (polytomies) for some of the species within this group. Using an increased amount of sequence data we test between alternative hypotheses of soft polytomies caused by rapid speciation, slow evolutionary rate and/or insufficient sequence data, and hard polytomies caused by simultaneous speciation within this family. Combining the mitogenome sequences of five new and 12 previously published species within the Delphinidae, we used Bayesian and maximum-likelihood methods to estimate the phylogeny from partitioned and unpartitioned mitogenome sequences. Further ad hoc tests were then conducted to estimate the support for alternative topologies. RESULTS: We found high support for all the relationships within our reconstructed phylogenies, and topologies were consistent between the Bayesian and maximum-likelihood trees inferred from partitioned and unpartitioned data. Resolved relationships included the placement of the killer whale (Orcinus orca) as sister taxon to the rest of the Globicephalinae subfamily, placement of the Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) within the Globicephalinae subfamily, removal of the white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) from the Delphininae subfamily and the placement of the rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) as sister taxon to the rest of the Delphininae subfamily rather than within the Globicephalinae subfamily. The additional testing of alternative topologies allowed us to reject all other putative relationships, with the exception that we were unable to reject the hypothesis that the relationship between L. albirostris and the Globicephalinae and Delphininae subfamilies was polytomic. CONCLUSION: Despite their rapid diversification, the increased sequence data yielded by mitogenomes enables the resolution of a strongly supported, bifurcating phylogeny, and a chronology of the divergences within the Delphinidae family. This highlights the benefits and potential application of large mitogenome datasets to resolve long-standing phylogenetic uncertainties

Observations on the occurrence of Irrawaddy dolphin, Orcaella brevirostris, in the Mahakam River, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

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Long-term population and distribution dynamics of an endangered Irrawaddy dolphin population in Balikpapan Bay, Indonesia in response to coastal development

Worldwide, cetaceans are impacted by human activities, and those populations that occur in shallow-nearshore habitats are particularly vulnerable. We present the results of the first long-term study on the responses of a coastal population of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins to widespread habitat changes. We particularly investigated their responses in terms of distribution and abundance. Boat-based, line-transect surveys were conducted during 12 discrete survey periods in 7 survey years spanning a 15-year period (totaling 78 days and 4,630 km of effort) in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Irrawaddy dolphins were sighted on 136 occasions. Through DISTANCE analysis, a decrease in population density in the inner Bay area was observed from 0.45 dolphins/km(2) in 2000-2001 (CV = 24%) to 0.34 and 0.32 dolphins/km(2) in 2008 and 2015 (CV = 31% and 25%). A shift in distribution was noted between the periods 2000-2002 and 2008-2015 with significantly lower occurrence in the lower Bay segment compared to upper Bay segments. No sightings were made in the outer Bay area in later years, which coincided with increased shipping traffic in these areas. A peak in stranding events in 2016 and 2018 followed extremely high phenol levels within Bay waters in 2015 and a large-scale oil spill in 2018. The mean annual mortality rates of 0.67 Irrawaddy dolphins/year is unsustainable based on the lower potential biological removal (PBR) values for best abundance estimates of 2015 (N-distance = 45 and Nmark-recapture = 73 ). Other threats to local dolphins include unsustainable fishing, underwater noise caused by construction, particularly piling activities. The research helped to identify Balikpapan Bay as an Important Marine Mammal Area by the IUCN MMPA Taskforce. Serious concerns remain for the concrete plans to move Indonesia's capital city to the area north of the Bay, in terms of increased shipping traffic and harbor construction in the upper Bay segments that represent primary dolphin habitat. We recommend that protected areas be assigned for marine mammals and artisanal fisheries and shipping traffic and piling activities be excluded from these areas. We also recommend a legislated requirement of a mitigation protocol compulsory for piling and seismic activities within Indonesia.Web of Science7art. no. 53319

Observations on Australian humpback dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) in waters of the Pacific Islands and New Guinea

The Australian humpback dolphin, Sousa sahulensis, has recently been described to occur in northern Australian coastal waters. However, its distribution in adjacent waters of the Pacific Islands and New Guinea remains largely unknown. Although there have been few studies conducted on inshore dolphins in these regions, the available information records humpback dolphins primarily from the Kikori Delta in Papua New Guinea, and Bird's Head Seascape in West Papua. Research in southern Papua New Guinea indicates that humpback dolphins are indeed S. sahulensis, based on cranial and external morphometrics, external colouration and the preliminary genetic analysis presented here. A similar situation exists for the Australian snubfin dolphin, Orcaella heinsohni, where it is assumed that the species also occurs along the Sahul Shelf coastal waters of northern Australia and New Guinea. There are anecdotal reports of direct catch of Australian humpback dolphins for use as shark bait, coastal development is increasing, and anthropogenic impacts will continue to escalate as human populations expand into previously uninhabited regions. Future research and management priorities for the Governments of the Pacific Islands and Indonesia will need to focus on inshore dolphins in known regional hotspots, as current bycatch levels appear unsustainable