Recent record of Bulwer’s pheasant in a production forest in central Sarawak

Bulwer’s pheasant (Lophura bulweri) is a Bornean endemic species, first described by Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1874. It is currently ranked as ‘Vulnerable’ by the IUCN due to ongoing habitat destruction and its naturally small populations (BirdLife International 2022). Knowledge on this species’ ecology and distribution is rather scarce but, on account of the few sightings known to the scientific world, the pheasant seems to be a primary forest specialist of lowland to montane rainforest landscapes, ranging in altitudes from 150 m to at least 1500 m (BirdLife International 2022). Apart from its inherent rarity, the lack of knowledge of this species is probably due to its largely nomadic habits, which prohibits ornithologists to study ‘resident’ individuals in detail

Persistence of medium to large terrestrial mammals in a production forest in interior Sarawak

Sarawak has lost a significant portion of its primary forest mostly due to logging and land conversion to agriculture. While economic growth through timber industry is important for the advancement of human societies, this in turn may have shifted the species composition and ecosystem function in production forest. In general, logging has been perceived as destructive and resulting in negative impact on biodiversity. However, some species including those that of conservation importance have been reported to occur in production forest and very little is known on such extent in Sarawak. In view of this camera trapping was conducted from July 2017 until August 2018 in three logging coupes with different logging regime in the Kapit Forest Management Unit (FMU) to evaluate the implementation of Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) techniques. Preliminary results show that Kapit FMU is extremely rich in medium to large terrestrial animal diversity, harboring a community of at least 34 species from this category. This includes the critically endangered pangolin and several endangered and rare endemic species (e.g. Bornean Bay Cat, Hose’s Civet). The study also revealed nine species that are totally protected and another 24 species protected under the Sarawak Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998. Therefore, the protection of habitat through High Conservation Value Area (HCVA) for wild animal populations is vital in these production areas. Analysis on activity pattern and occupancy indicate that there is no significant difference in activity and occupancy between old growth forest, active RIL forest and RIL forest with a fallow period of two years. The findings suggest that the strict implementation of sophisticated logging techniques and the willingness of the industry to sustainably manage forest may aid biodiversity conservation in production forest which in the end can benefit human society environmentally and economically

Diversity and relative abundance of hornbills in selectively-logged Production Forests in Central Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Opportunistic observations and rapid point count survey data was used in identifying the distribution of hornbill species in three production forests in the interior parts of Sarawak, namely Kapit Forest Management Unit (FMU), Raplex Forest Management Unit (FMU) and Pasin Forest Management Unit (FMU). This assessment was conducted to understand the occurrence and distribution of hornbills in production forest, which is lacking in order to develop an action plan for the conservation of Sarawak’s hornbill population. Records of hornbill observation were noted during forest operations and point count surveys. Point count survey was only conducted for a period of two days at each site. This assessment has provided information on the distribution of six species of hornbills from different coupes with different forest activity at the production forests. The only species that was not detected during this study was the wrinkled hornbills which require additional surveys to confirm its absence in this area. Species diversity was the highest at the future production forest (H’ = 1.16) followed by recently logged forest (H’ = 0.90) and active logging area (H’ = 0.64). The peak hour for hornbill detection appears to be between 0800 hours to 1000 hours in the morning. Production forest can provide resources to hornbills if the fruiting and nesting trees are made available. The occurrence of some of the hornbill species in a production forest complex suggest that these areas can potentially provide habitat to these species if they are managed sustainably. However, the long-term persistence of these species in such forest needs need to be further investigated and carefully interpreted to avoid misleading conclusion on the ability of disturbed forest to support these species of conservation importance

The Distribution if Medium to Large Mammals in Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarawak in Relation to the Newly Constructed Pan-Borneo Highway

Protected Areas in Borneo retain some of the best examples of biodiversity and are the last refuge for wildlife conservation in tropical rainforests. Therefore, understanding the species richness and composition in increasingly fragmented Protected Areas are crucial in wildlife monitoring and management. The recent road construction splitting the oldest wildlife sanctuary in Sarawak has warranted further investigation on the species distribution. Camera trap survey in Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS), western Borneo resulted in 20 medium- to large-bodied mammals from 775 independent photos with 2001 camera trap nights from surveys done in 2013–2014 and 2019. SWS records the Endangered Nasalis larvatus and Cynogale bennettii in the current survey. Under the Sarawak Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998, Nasalis larvatus was the only recorded species considered to be Totally Protected while 12 other species are listed as Protected and the remaining species were not listed. The most frequently recorded species were Tragulus spp. (n = 147 in 2013–2014 and n = 166 in 2019) followed by Macaca fascicularis in 2013–2014 with n = 109, and Sus barbatus (n = 93 in 2019). A similar species richness (n = 13) was recorded both near ( 1000 m). However, the mean species richness was higher further away from the road (> 1000 m). Herpestes brachyurus, Hemigalus derbyanus, and Echinosorex gymnura were only recorded near the road while Cynogale bennettii, Hystrix brachyura and Nasalis larvatus were only recorded further away from the road. Through the bipartite network analysis, the majority of the medium- to large-bodied mammals are distributed in the mixed dipterocarp forests. Species that have habitats within proximity to the road have a higher risk of mortality due to roadkill and other anthropogenic pressure. Encroachment is an issue in Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary and calls for immediate action; stricter enforcement, regular wide-coverage patrols along the river, and on the road to prevent illegal logging, commercial planting, and hunting

Diversity and relative abundance of hornbills in selectively-logged Production Forests in Central Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Opportunistic observations and rapid point count survey data was used in identifying the distribution of hornbill species in three production forests in the interior parts of Sarawak, namely Kapit Forest Management Unit (FMU), Raplex Forest Management Unit (FMU) and Pasin Forest Management Unit (FMU). This assessment was conducted to understand the occurrence and distribution of hornbills in production forest, which is lacking in order to develop an action plan for the conservation of Sarawak’s hornbill population. Records of hornbill observation were noted during forest operations and point count surveys. Point count survey was only conducted for a period of two days at each site. This assessment has provided information on the distribution of six species of hornbills from different coupes with different forest activity at the production forests. The only species that was not detected during this study was the wrinkled hornbills which require additional surveys to confirm its absence in this area. Species diversity was the highest at the future production forest (H’ = 1.16) followed by recently logged forest (H’ = 0.90) and active logging area (H’ = 0.64). The peak hour for hornbill detection appears to be between 0800 hours to 1000 hours in the morning. Production forest can provide resources to hornbills if the fruiting and nesting trees are made available. The occurrence of some of the hornbill species in a production forest complex suggest that these areas can potentially provide habitat to these species if they are managed sustainably. However, the long-term persistence of these species in such forest needs need to be further investigated and carefully interpreted to avoid misleading conclusion on the ability of disturbed forest to support these species of conservation importance

Ecology, occurrence and distribution of wild felids in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo

Sarawak is the largest state in the megadiversecountry of Malaysia. Its rich biodiversity is threatened byland-use change and hunting, with mammalian carnivoresparticularly affected. Data on the ecology, occurrence anddistribution of small carnivores are crucial to inform theireffective conservation, but no large-scale assessments havepreviously been conducted in Sarawak. Here we examinethe status of the five species of felids in Sarawak based ondata from camera-trap studies overyears (May–February) acrossstudy areas, including protected areasof various sizes, production forests and forest matrix withinoil palm plantations. Felids were detected at%ofcamera stations. The marbled catPardofelis marmorataandSunda clouded leopardNeofelis diardihad higher probabil-ities of occurrence in protected than unprotected areas, andvice versa for the leopard catPrionailurus bengalensisandbay catCatopuma badia. The marbled and bay cats weremostly diurnal, and the leopard cat was predominantly noc-turnal; activity patterns did not substantively differ betweenprotected and unprotected sites. The probabilities of oc-currence of marbled and bay cats increased with greaterdistance from roads. The leopard cat and flat-headed catPrionailurus planicepswere more likely, and the cloudedleopard less likely, to occur near rivers. Flat-headed catspreferred peat swamp forest, bay cats lowland forest, andmarbled cats and clouded leopards occurred in both low-land and montane forest. Felids may tolerate higher eleva-tions to avoid anthropogenic disturbance; therefore, it iscritical to preserve lowland and mid-elevation habitatsthat provide refugia from climate change and the destruc-tion of lowland habitat

A Radio-telemetric study of Varanus salvator in Samarahan Division, Sarawak and limitations of radio-telemetry in the tropics

Varanus salvator (Laurenti) is an important predator in south-east Asian ecosystems. The present study, conducted from July to December 2015, aimed at looking at home range of two individual V. salvator in Samarahan Division, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, with the use of radio telemetry. Home range polygons were created for two individuals based on observations, and show overlapping ranges and utilization of several microhabitats within the respective range. Furthermore, data were taken and analyzed on the operating range of radio telemetric technology in tropical areas. The data allow assumption that the operating range of the tested radio transmitters does not differ significantly under tropical weather conditions when compared to the manufacturer's statement. Dense growths and buildings however, do have an impact on the range that needs to be considered when conducting radiotelemetric studies