Hisashi Matsubayashi

Utilization of Macaranga trees by the Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in Borneo

Wildlife Department of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, MalaysiaStudy on the interaction between elephants and plantshad been conducted in Africa (Laws 1970; Wing andBuss 1970) and South Asia (Mueller-Dombois 1972;Sukumar 1989). Loxodonta africana, caused seriousdamage to trees, particularly to the Acacia spp., Baobab(Adansonia digitata), and Marula (Sclerocarya birrea)(Buechner and Dawkins 1961; Weyerhaeuser 1985;Ruess and Halter 1990; Barnes et al. 1994; Tchamba1995; Gadd 2002), while Loxodonta cyclotis has beenassumed to contribute to the complexity of the forest byspreading seed and maintaining open areas (Short 1981).However other studies in South Asia have shown thatElephas maximus did not cause serious damage to trees.Only a few literatures have been published in SoutheastAsia (Khan 1977). Macaranga (Euphorbiaceae) is agenus of approximately 280 species, distributed fromWest Africa to the south Pacific islands, with the centerof diversity in New Guinea and Borneo (Whitmore1969). Although Macaranga was listed as one of thefoods of the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in theMalay Peninsula (Khan 1977), little is known about thedamage they cause on the trees. The Elephas maximusis one of the largest populations of Asian elephants inBorneo (Payne and Andau 1991). To understand utili-zation of Macaranga trees by the Asian elephant, weinvestigated their foraging behavior in DeramakotForest Reserve, Sabah, Borneo.

Social system of the lesser mouse-deer (Tragulus javanicus)

The lesser mouse-deer (Tragulus javanicus), the smallest ungulate species in the world (Ronald 1991), is a common native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. As the mouse-deer is a primitive ruminant, investigating their social system is necessary for understanding the evolution of social systems in ungulates. Except for a few field reports on group size (Ratnam 1982; Miura and Idris 1999) and on the fighting and marking behaviours of males based on fragmental observations (Davison 1980), there are almost no reports on their social behavior in their natural habitant. To study social system of the lesser mouse-deer in natural habitat, we analyzed 1) the group size, 2) the core-area overlap, and 3) interaction among neighboring individuals.

First molecular data on Bornean banteng Bos javanicus lowi (Cetartiodactyla, Bovidae) from Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Abstract Phylogenetic relationships among three subspecies of banteng, Burma banteng Bos javanicus birmanicus in mainland Southeast Asia, Javan banteng Bos javanicus javanicus in Java, and Bornean banteng Bos javanicus lowi in Borneo, and the presence/absence of interbreeding between wild Bornean banteng and domestic cattle in Sabah, Malaysia, were investigated by partial sequences of cytochrome b and D-loop of mitochondrial DNA. The results show that genetic distance of the Bornean banteng are relatively close to the gaur Bos gaurus/gayal Bos frontalis (the cytochrome b, 0.004–0.025; the D-loop, 0.012–0.021) followed by Burma banteng (the cytochrome b, 0.027–0.035; the D-loop, 0.040–0.045), and kouprey Bos sauveli (the cytochrome b, 0.031–0.035; the D-loop, 0.037–0.042). There are much greater distances between Bornean banteng and domestic cattle, Bos taurus and Bos indicus (the cytochrome b, 0.059–0.076; the D-loop, 0.081–0.090). These results suggest that the Bornean banteng diverged genetically from other banteng subspecies and that the wild Bornean banteng from this study are pure strain and have high conservation value.

Grazing and Browsing by Large Herbivores in South and Southeast Asia

Understanding a species’ foraging habits and preferences is fundamental to understanding its overall ecology and essential for its management and conservation. In general, large herbivores are classified as either grazers, browsers , or mixed feeders , and a species’ diet preference is related to its body mass and digestive trait syndrome. Here, we analyze feeding strategies of large herbivores in South and Southeast Asia (SSEA) as related to their body mass and digestive trait syndromes. Overall, our results are similar to patterns observed on other continents. The majority of large herbivore species in SSEA are mixed feeders. Browsers and frugivores dominate the smallest body mass classes, while bulk feeders , predominantly grazers, dominate the largest body mass classes. There is an absence of hindgut fermenters in the lower body mass classes, and an absence of ruminants in the megaherbivore class (>1000 kg). Cervids in SSEA do not get as large as Bovids, and in both Cervids and Bovids the greatest number of species are found in the smaller body mass classes. Although large herbivores in SSEA occur across a wide range of different habitat types, there are discernible habitat associations with different groups of species. While this chapter sheds light on this important facet of large herbivore ecology in the region, there remains an acute lack of data on the foraging ecology of the majority of species in SSEA.

Complete mitochondrial genomes of the tooth of a poached Bornean banteng (Bos javanicus lowi; Cetartiodactyla, Bovidae)

Abstract Here we report the complete mitochondrial genome of the Bornean banteng Bos javanicus lowi (Cetartiodactyla, Bovidae), which was determined using next-generation sequencing. The mitochondrial genome is 16,344 bp in length containing 13 protein-coding genes, 21 tRNAs and 2 rRNAs. It shows the typical pattern of bovine mitochondrial arrangement. Phylogenetic tree analysis of complete mtDNA sequences showed that Bornean banteng is more closely related to gaur than to other banteng subspecies. Divergence dating indicated that Bornean banteng and gaur diverged from their common ancestor approximately 5.03 million years ago. These results suggest that Bornean banteng might be a distinct species in need of conservation.

Guidelines for Establishing Conservation Areas in Sustainable Forest Management: Developing Models to Understand Habitat Suitability for Orangutans

Tropical production forests, although degraded, function as refuges for large mammals in Southeast Asia (Alcala et al. 2004; Ancrenaz et al. 2005; Iskandar et al. 2006; Venter et al. 2009) because strictly protected parks are rather limited in area. For example, in Sabah, Malaysia, 47 % of total land area remained forested in 2008, of which the majority was logged-over production forests (Sabah Forestry Department 2009). Consequently, more than 60 % of orangutans living in the state are found in such degraded production forests (Ancrenaz et al. 2005), clearly suggesting the importance of production forests as a habitat to maintain viable populations of critically endangered orangutans; this is also applicable to other endangered large mammals (see Chap. 5). Therefore, management of modern production forests needs special attention to conserve viable populations of endangered mammals. Conservation strategies need to be incorporated to sustainable management planning, such as establishing conservation areas within or adjacent to the production forests (Lynam et al. 2007).

Identification of tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) from natural habitat-derived fecal samples by PCR-RFLP analysis of cytochrome b gene

Fecal DNA analysis is a useful tool for the investigation of endangered species. Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis) is endemic to the Philippine island of Mindoro but knowledge of its genetic and ecological information is limited. In this study, we developed a species identification method for tamaraw by fecal DNA analysis. Eighteen feces presumed to be from tamaraw were collected in Mount Iglit-Baco National Park and species-known feces from domestic buffaloes and cattle were obtained from a farm. Additionally, one species-unknown fecal sample was obtained in Mount Aruyan Preserve, where the sighting of tamaraw has not been reported in recent years. Based on DNA sequence data previously reported, the genus Bubalus- and tamaraw-specific primers for PCR of cytochrome b gene were newly designed. The Bubalus-specific primer yielded a 976 bp fragment of cytochrome b for all fecal samples from tamaraw and domestic buffaloes, but not for cattle, whereas the tamaraw-specific primer yielded a 582 bp fragment for all tamaraw fecal samples and for one of the four domestic buffalo samples. PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) analysis of the 976 bp PCR fragment with AvrII or BsaXI provided distinct differences between tamaraw and domestic buffalo. PCR-RFLP analysis also showed that the species-unknown sample obtained in Mount Aruyan Preserve, originates from tamaraw.