The Role of Habitat Heterogeneity in Structuring Mangrove Bird Assemblages

Mangrove habitats are under severe land use pressure throughout the world and Australia is no exception. Here we describe the heterogeneity of mangrove habitat and its relationship with mangrove bird diversity. We examined the role of mangrove habitat complexity in determining the richness of avian mangrove dependent species (MDS) and interior species, overall bird species richness and density. High species richness (overall and MDS) and density in the mangroves was associated with plant species richness, the density of the understory and food resource distribution. Furthermore, habitat heterogeneity rather than patch area per se was a more important predictor of species richness in the mangroves. These findings stress the importance of habitat diversity and quality to the diversity and density of birds in mangroves. Thus, habitat heterogeneity within mangroves is a crucial patch characteristic, independent of mangrove patch size, for maintaining diverse avian species assemblages

Can secondary information inform about population trends of carnivores in Borneo?

Effective methods for estimating occurrence and abundance of carnivores are limited and often expensive in labour or equipment. Conducting interviews about wildlife species, including carnivores, is a common tool used in Borneo and throughout Southeast Asia to investigate species distribution and understand their conservation status. Such surveys are appealing because of perceived savings in time and equipment; however, biases in amount of available information, miscommunications about species of interest, and species misidentifi cation can result in errors of unknown magnitude, rendering results of at least some surveys suspect. Hence, it becomes diffi cult to disentangle accurate from inaccurate information. Studies are needed to investigate the variation in effectiveness of interview surveys. Also better guidance is needed to clarify under which conditions secondary surveys can be used with confi dence, and for which particular audience. Until the factors that bias results are identifi ed and, where possible, accounted for, the main use of secondary surveys for carnivores and other diffi cult to identify or rarely encountered species will be to help develop a dialogue between people that reside or work in conservation project areas and the investigators working on such projects. Secondary surveys may also serve as a tool to help identify hypotheses to be addressed in studies with strong experimental designs

Effect of yeast extract and coconut water on protocorm proliferation and growth development of Dimorphorchis rossii

Dimorphorchis rossii is an epiphyte orchid that endemic to Borneo, specifically Sabah. Forest clearance and fires on its natural habitat and illegal collection by local people contributed to the extinction of this orchid. In attempt to preserve this exquisite orchid, an efficient propagation protocol was established by means of plant tissue culture. The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of coconut water (CW) and yeast extract (YE) on protocorm proliferation and growth development. The protocorms used in this study were obtained from in vitro seed germination of Dimorphorchis rossii. Protocorms were cultured on Murashige and Skoog basal medium treated with 10%, 15% and 20% (v/v) CW or 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.3% (w/v) YE and grown under 16 hour light at 25±2°C for 130 days of culture. The pH of the media adjusted to 5.7. Maximum protocorm proliferation (41.67±0.51%) was observed on 0.2% (w/v) YE, and followed by 0.3% (w/v) YE (31.25±0.48%) after 130 days of culture. New protocorms produced in both complex additives are 1.94±0.35 and 1.50±0.02, respectively. However, 0.1% (w/v) YE recorded the highest average number of new protocorms (3.00±0.08). Meanwhile, protocorms grown on medium containing 10% (v/v) CW promoted the best complex additive for protocorms developed to seedlings with 78.33±0.42% and 66.67±0.48% of the explants produced leaf and root respectively. This medium also recorded the highest length of leaf (3.43±0.46mm) among other treatments. Maximum number of leaf (6.28±0.90) and length of root (3.71±0.42) were obtained on medium treated with 15% (v/v) CW. As can be seen in the pattern of the protocorm proliferation and growth development, it can be concluded that YE is preferred most for protocorm proliferation, while CW is for protocorm growth development to seedlings

Asymbiotic seed germination and seedling development of Vanda dearei

The effects of basal media, complex additives, plant growth regulators and carbon sources on in vitro seed germination and seedling development of Vanda dearei are reported. Immature seeds from four months old capsule were used as plant materials. All cultures were grown under 24h light at 25±2ºC. Results showed that seeds cultured on Knudson C (KC) basal medium germinated after 25 days with 63.0±3.2% germination rate followed by half-strength Murashige & Skoog (½MS) (45.4±10.4%) and Vacin and Went (VW) (41.8±4.0%). Addition of 0.5% (w/v) yeast extract significantly enhanced (85.9±0.7%) seed germination and shortened germination time to 23 days. A NAA at 0.1mg/l had similar performance (80.2±20.5%), however, this treatment delayed seed germination and induced necrosis to protocorm development. Sucrose at 1% (w/v) also enhanced seed germination (98.3±2.3%), while glucose and fructose treatments showed moderate effects. For growth and development of protocorms, KC basal media recorded the highest percentage of protocorm with root (37.0±4.3%), mean number of leaf (4.50±1.00) and mean number of roots produced (2.0±0.6) with largest leaf area (3.7x2.3mm) and longest root length (11.7±8.4mm). Addition of 20% (v/v) coconut water significantly improved protocorm development and shoot growth

Evaluation of banana (Musa sp.) flowers of selected varieties for their antioxidative and anti-hyperglycemic potentials

Consumption of banana flower as a vegetable is popular among many countries in Southeast Asia. In this study, banana flowers of six different Malaysian cultivars namely, pisang Abu (Musa balbisiana cv P. Abu), pisang Berangan (Musa acuminata cv P. Berangan), pisang Nipah (Musa balbisiana cv P. Nipah), pisang Susu (Musa acuminata cv P. Susu), pisang Mas (Musa acuminate cv P. Mas) and pisang Rastali (Musa paradisiaca cv P. Rastali) were investigated for their antioxidant and anti-hyperglyemic properties. The total poly phenolic content and antioxidant activities, the α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitory potentials of the banana flower extracts were studied in vitro using relevant assays. Among the six cultivars, cultivar Susu was found to have the highest phenolic content (80.13 ± 4.64 mg of GAE/g of extract) and displayed the highest ABTS+ and DPPH radical scavenging activities (24.73 ± 0.04 and 25.10 ± 0.15 μmole of Trolox equivalent/g of extract). The anti-amylase and antiglucosidase activity of the banana flowers extracts were in the range of 47.31-62.58% and 74.98-91.62%, respectively. All banana flower extracts inhibited the activity of α-glucosidase better than α-amylase at the concentration of 200 μg/ml. This study concluded that the extracts of Malaysian banana flowers were potent sources of natural antioxidants, which can be used as postprandial hyperglycemia regulators

Anti-malarial and anti-inflammatory effects of Gleichenia truncata mediated through inhibition of GSK3ß

Gleichenia truncata is a highland fern from the Gleicheniaceae family known for its traditional use among indigenous communities in Asia to treat fever. The scientific basis of its effect has yet to be documented. A yeast-based kinase assay conducted in our laboratory revealed that crude methanolic extract (CME) of G. truncata exhibited glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3)-inhibitory activity. GSK3β is now recognized to have a pivotal role in the regulation of inflammatory response during bacterial infections. We have also previously shown that lithium chloride (LiCl), a GSK3 inhibitor suppressed development of Plasmodium berghei in a murine model of malarial infection. The present study is aimed at evaluating G. truncata for its anti-malarial and anti-inflammatory effects using in vivo malarial and melioidosis infection models respectively. In a four-day suppressive test, intraperitoneal injections of up to 250 mg/kg body weight (bw) G. truncata CME into P.berghei-infected mice suppressed parasitaemia development by >60%. Intraperitoneal administration of 150 mg/kg bw G. truncata CME into Burkholderia pseudomallei-infected mice improved survivability by 44%. G. truncata CME lowered levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IFN-γ) in serum and organs of B. pseudomallei-infected mice. In both infections, increased phosphorylations (Ser9) of GSK3β were detected in organ samples of animals administered with G. truncata CME compared to controls. Taken together, results from this study strongly suggest that the anti-malarial and anti-inflammatory effects elicited by G. truncata in part were mediated through inhibition of GSK3β. The findings provide scientific basis for the ethnomedicinal use of this fern to treat inflammation-associated symptoms

Coming down from the trees: is terrestrial activity in Bornean orangutans natural or disturbance driven?

The orangutan is the world's largest arboreal mammal, and images of the red ape moving through the tropical forest canopy symbolise its typical arboreal behaviour. Records of terrestrial behaviour are scarce and often associated with habitat disturbance. We conducted a large-scale species-level analysis of ground-based camera-trapping data to evaluate the extent to which Bornean orangutans Pongo pygmaeus come down from the trees to travel terrestrially, and whether they are indeed forced to the ground primarily by anthropogenic forest disturbances. Although the degree of forest disturbance and canopy gap size influenced terrestriality, orangutans were recorded on the ground as frequently in heavily degraded habitats as in primary forests. Furthermore, all age-sex classes were recorded on the ground (flanged males more often). This suggests that terrestrial locomotion is part of the Bornean orangutan's natural behavioural repertoire to a much greater extent than previously thought, and is only modified by habitat disturbance. The capacity of orangutans to come down from the trees may increase their ability to cope with at least smaller-scale forest fragmentation, and to cross moderately open spaces in mosaic landscapes, although the extent of this versatility remains to be investigated

Plastron osteotomy in the management of fishing hook ingestion in a Malayan box turtle (Cuora amboinensis)

An adult male Malayan box turtle was diagnosed with foreign body obstruction of fishing hook. Upon presentation, the animal had pale mucous membrane and fishing line protruding out from the oral cavity. Diagnosis of foreign body ingestion was based on plain radiograph where the fishing hook was evidenced on the lateral and ventrodorsal radiographic view. Plastron osteotomy surgical removal was performed after endoscopy guided forcep removal failed. Procedures were carried out under the injectable anesthesia using a combination of ketamine and xylazine hydrochloride. Antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and parenteral fluid therapy was given pre and post-surgically as medical treatment and stabilisation