Internet of Things for Efficient Wildlife Conservation: Challenges and Opportunities

Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) is located in Sabah Malaysia. The only access to the field centre is through the river. Similarly, all the research activities are conducted by going through the river. It is worth noting that Sabah Malaysia is a high humidity region where electronic components could get damaged quite quickly due to environmental factors such as moisture. Further, in jungle terrains, insects could also get attracted to copper within electronic components. We need to keep in mind this context when we are addressing the challenges. We conducted a two full-day workshop to explore and identify research challenges that could potentially be addressed using the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies

Sun bear predation on an oriental pied hornbill nest

Sun bears (Helarctos malayanus) are opportunistic omnivores that feed predominantly on fruits and invertebrates, but predatory behavior by sun bears is rarely recorded. Although commonly described as a forest-dependent species, the sun bear is a generalist and seems to have some potential to adapt to changing environments. Here we report the first record of a sun bear predating on oriental pied hornbills (Anthracoceros albirostris) in their nest in the Lower Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, during spring of 2019. It is a human-disturbed landscape surrounded by oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations, with the remaining degraded forest providing a wildlife corridor for Borneo's wildlife. The sun bears photographed by camera traps along the wildlife corridor, including the predatory bear, appeared to be in good condition, therefore evidently finding sufficient food resources. Their opportunistic feeding behavior, not necessarily food shortage, may allow them to take vulnerable prey, such as this low-nesting hornbill

Using natural marks in a spatially explicit capture-recapture framework to estimate preliminary population density of cryptic endangered wild cattle in Borneo

The behaviour of cryptic tropical forest ungulates that are not identifiable from unique coat colour and patterns often impedes detectability and investigations of population density, which underpin conservation plans. The shy and endangered Bornean banteng has a declining trend, but quantifying this requires sufficient detections to estimate robust population parameters, which are currently unavailable. Using intensive camera trapping and individual identification from natural marks by two observers, we estimated the baseline population density of Bornean bantengs in Malua and Tabin forests in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) using a spatially explicit capture-recapture framework. We also investigated the efficacy of two commonly-used survey methods (camera trapping and signs) that have previously failed to detect the species, by contrasting capture frequencies to estimate the probability of odds of capture. Density estimates and simulated 95% confidence limits were exceptionally low in both forests and with negligible differences arising from small disparities in the interpretation of natural marks. Density in Malua ranged from 0.5 individuals per 100 km2 (0.21–1.48) to 0.56 (0.15–2.09), and in Tabin between 0.61 (0.32–1.16) to 0.95 (0.54–1.66). The capture odds were significantly greater for camera traps (X2 = 20, p  4, p < 0.001); sign survey efficacy declined at higher elevations and under dense canopy. Using natural marks for individual identification was resource-demanding, but provided robust population density parameters for an otherwise challenging species to detect. Extremely low-density estimates of Bornean bantengs highlights the urgency for greater control of poaching, which is almost certainly decimating the population. Rapid implementation of actions to mitigate against further losses are essential for halting the declining trend. The estimation of density parameters in other forests in Sabah that contain bantengs would set the context for our density estimates. It would additionally provide a basis for long-term population monitoring, and facilitate investigations into the effectiveness of enforcement strategies

ForestQB: An adaptive query builder to support wildlife research

This paper presents ForestQB, a SPARQL query builder, to assist Bioscience and Wildlife Researchers in accessing Linked-Data. As they are unfamiliar with the Semantic Web and the data ontologies, ForestQB aims to empower them to benefit from using Linked-Data to extract valuable information without having to grasp the nature of the data and its underlying technologies. ForestQB is integrating Form-Based Query builders with Natural Language to simplify query construction to match the user requirements. (Demo is available at https://iotgarage.net/demo/forestQB

Aerial Surveys Give New Estimates for Orangutans in Sabah, Malaysia

Great apes are threatened with extinction, but precise information about the distribution and size of most populations is currently lacking. We conducted orangutan nest counts in the Malaysian state of Sabah (North Borneo), using a combination of ground and helicopter surveys, and provided a way to estimate the current distribution and size of the populations living throughout the entire state. We show that the number of nests detected during aerial surveys is directly related to the estimated true animal density and that a helicopter is an efficient tool to provide robust estimates of orangutan numbers. Our results reveal that with a total estimated population size of about 11,000 individuals, Sabah is one of the main strongholds for orangutans in North Borneo. More than 60% of orangutans living in the state occur outside protected areas, in production forests that have been through several rounds of logging extraction and are still exploited for timber. The role of exploited forests clearly merits further investigation for orangutan conservation in Sabah

Making linked-data accessible: A review

Linked-Data (LD) is a paradigm that utilises the RDF triplestore to describe numerous pieces of knowledge linked together. When an entity is retrieved in LD, its associated data becomes instantly obtainable. SPARQL is the query language that allows users to access LD. On the other hand, SPARQL has a complicated syntax that necessitates previous knowledge. Thus, in order to encourage the end-users to use LD, it is crucial to allow them to obtain the data efficiently, in addition to improving their overall experience. Instead of manually constructing SPARQL queries, this paper investigates and reviews existing methods in which LD can be accessed using various tools and techniques, including query builders, visualisation approaches, and several LD applications. We then identify gaps within the literature and highlight future research directions

Taxonomy, geographic variation and population genetics of Bornean and Sumatran orangutans

This chapter reviews the published data and discusses the taxonomy and population genetics of orangutans. The orangutan was traditionally classified as two separate subspecies, Pongo pygmaeus pygmaeus in Borneo and P. p. abelii in Sumatra. Recent molecular data have suggested a re-classification into two separate species: P. pygmaeus in Borneo and P. abelii in Sumatra. Moreover, three subspecies have been described on Borneo Island: P. p. pygmaeus in Sarawak and west Kalimantan, P. p. morio in Sabah and east Kalimantan and P. p. wurmbii in central and south Kalimantan. Despite this, little is known about the intra-subspecific variation between isolated Bornean populations and among the Sumatran populations. More data are needed, which should include a large sampling of all geographically separated populations in Borneo and Sumatra in order to provide a more complete genetic information database