Herpetofaunal Assemblages in the Lowland Regions of Sumatera Barat

The habitat destruction and land-use changes caused the decline of animal composition in many tropical regions. Here, we study the diversity of herpetofauna in the lowland areas in Sumatera Barat, a midwestern province in Sumatera island, using a visual encounter survey method. The surveyed habitat included rubber plantations, streams, paddy fields, and peat swamps. We observed 338 individuals representing 44 species from 14 families of herpetofauna with almost 90% individuals were amphibians. Overall, the rubber plantations contained a higher number of species than other types of habitat. For amphibians, Ranidae and Dicroglossidae represented the first and the second highest both in the species and individual number. For reptiles, Agamidae and Colubridae or Gekkonidae accounted for the first and the second highest in the individual number while Colubridae and Scincidae consisted of the highest species number. Our data showed that the diversity index was mostly in moderate level except in paddy field. The species composition in rubber plantations were more similar to those of streams rather than paddy field or peat swamp Sago habitat.

AMFIBI DI CAGAR ALAM LEUWEUNG SANCANG, JAWA BARAT, INDONESIA

Cagar Alam Leuweung Sancang merupakan cagar alam yang terletak di bagian selatan dari Kabupaten Garut, tepatnya Kecamatan Cibalong, Jawa Barat. Keanekaragaman flora dan fauna pada kawasan ini diketahui tinggi. Chirixalus pantaiselatan merupakan jenis baru yang ditemukan dan menunjukkan bahwa amfibi di kawasan ini belum sepenuhnya terungkap. Pengumpulan data dalam survei ini menggunakan metode Visual Encounter Survey (VES) yang dipadukan dengan sistem transek sampling yang dilakukan secara purposive berdasarkan tipe habitat. Survei dilakukan pada dua lokasi, yaitu Cijeruk dan Cikalongberan dengan waktu survei selama lima hari. Selain data amfibi, diukur juga komponen habitatnya meliputi cuaca, suhu udara, kelembaban, dan pH air. Berdasarkan hasil survei, ditemukan sebanyak 82 individu yang terdiri dari 4 suku dan 11 jenis dengan indeks keanekaragaman Shannon-Wiener (H') keseluruhan sebesar 1,59. Hasil perhitungan tersebut juga tidak berbeda siginifikan pada masing-masing lokasi survei. Suhu pada lokasi survei berkisar antara 29,9ºC hingga 33,2ºC dengan kelembaban cukup tinggi antara 69,1 - 85,8%, serta pH air antara 6-7. Jenis amfibi yang paling umum ditemukan pada lokasi survei, yaitu Chirixalus pantaiselatan sebanyak 38 individu. Sementara itu, jenis amfibi dengan jumlah temuan paling sedikit, yaitu Indosylvirana nicobariensis, Fejervarya iskandari, Ingerophrynus biporcatus, Limnonectes macrodon, Kaloula baleata, dan Polypedates leucomystax dengan masing-masing sebanyak satu individu

Distribution and abundance of threatened and heavily traded birds in the mountains of western Java

There is serious concern for the future of a wide range of birds in Java and elsewhere in Indonesia due to both loss of habitat and trapping for the cagebird trade (the so-called Asian Songbird Crisis). Despite this concern, few data on presence and abundance of key species exist. We provide such data on 184 bird species from over two years of biodiversity surveys from 37 sites on 12 mountains in West and Central Java. Many of these species are heavily traded, endemic, and globally threatened. Several of the threatened endemics, notably Javan Trogon and Javan Cochoa, were often recorded, in terms of both geographical spread and numerical abundance. Rufous-fronted Laughingthrush, Spotted Crocias, and Orange-spotted Bulbul, believed to be threatened by trapping for the songbird trade, appear to remain fairly widespread. By contrast, Brown-cheeked Bulbul, Chestnut-backed (Javan) Scimitar-babbler, Javan Oriole, and especially Javan Blue-flycatcher, recorded on just a single occasion, and Javan Green Magpie, which we failed to record with certainty, now appear to be extremely rare. Our encounter rates, while not pinned to specific mountains for security reasons, represent an important baseline against which future changes in abundance can be gauged