Mirza Dikari Kusrini

Is Chytridiomycosis an Emerging Infectious Disease in Asia

The disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has caused dramatic amphibian population declines and extinctions in Australia, Central and North America, and Europe. Bd is associated with >200 species extinctions of amphibians, but not all species that become infected are susceptible to the disease. Specifically, Bd has rapidly emerged in some areas of the world, such as in Australia, USA, and throughout Central and South America, causing population and species collapse. The mechanism behind the rapid global emergence of the disease is poorly understood, in part due to an incomplete picture of the global distribution of Bd. At present, there is a considerable amount of geographic bias in survey effort for Bd, with Asia being the most neglected continent. To date, Bd surveys have been published for few Asian countries, and infected amphibians have been reported only from Indonesia, South Korea, China and Japan. Thus far, there have been no substantiated reports of enigmatic or suspected disease-caused population declines of the kind that has been attributed to Bd in other areas. In order to gain a more detailed picture of the distribution of Bd in Asia, we undertook a widespread, opportunistic survey of over 3,000 amphibians for Bd throughout Asia and adjoining Papua New Guinea. Survey sites spanned 15 countries, approximately 36° latitude, 111° longitude, and over 2000 m in elevation. Bd prevalence was very low throughout our survey area (2.35% overall) and infected animals were not clumped as would be expected in epizootic events. This suggests that Bd is either newly emerging in Asia, endemic at low prevalence, or that some other ecological factor is preventing Bd from fully invading Asian amphibians. The current observed pattern in Asia differs from that in many other parts of the world.

Impending conservation crisis for Southeast Asian amphibians

With an understudied amphibian fauna, the highest deforestation rate on the planet and high harvesting pressures, Southeast Asian amphibians are facing a conservation crisis. Owing to the overriding threat of habitat loss, the most critical conservation action required is the identification and strict protection of habitat assessed as having high amphibian species diversity and/or representing distinctive regional amphibian faunas. Long-term population monitoring, enhanced survey efforts, collection of basic biological and ecological information, continued taxonomic research and evaluation of the impact of commercial trade for food, medicine and pets are also needed. Strong involvement of regional stakeholders, students and professionals is essential to accomplish these actions.

Is the international frog legs trade a potential vector for deadly amphibian pathogens

There have been surprisingly few analyses of how the international trade in amphibians for food affects the conservation status of this group. We analyzed information from the UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database and found that, by volume, Indonesia supplied nearly half of the animals entering the worlds US

The Reproductive Biology and Larvae of the First Tadpole-Bearing Frog, Limnonectes larvaepartus.

40 million per year international frog legs trade, and that – collectively – France, Belgium, and the US imported more than 75% of all frog legs traded internationally. Nonetheless, a close examination of available information from 1996 through 2006 revealed that most countries throughout the world participated in the frog legs trade at some level. These extensive international amphibian trade networks could facilitate the spread of pathogens, including Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which has been identified as a threat connected with the disappearance and possible extinction of over 90 amphibian species around the world. Given the size and extent of the international trade in frog legs, we advoca...

A new small bent-toed gecko of the genus Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from the lower slopes of Mount Tambora, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia

Most of the reproductive modes of frogs include an exotrophic tadpole, but a number of taxa have some form of endotrophic development that lacks a feeding tadpole stage. The dicroglossid frog genus Limnonectes ranges from China south into Indonesia. The breeding biologies of the approximately 60 described species display an unusual diversity that range from exotrophic tadpoles to endotrophic development in terrestrial nests. There have been mentions of oviductal production of typical, exotrophic tadpoles in an undescribed species of Limnonectes from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Here we examine newly collected specimens of this species, now described as L. larvaepartus and present the first substantial report on this unique breeding mode. Typical exotrophic tadpoles that are retained to an advanced developmental stage in the oviducts of a female frog are birthed into slow-flowing streams or small, non-flowing pools adjacent to the streams.

Phylogenetic Analysis of Cytochrome Oxidase I from Buduk Toads Duttaphrynus melanostictus and Phrynoidis asper from Bogor

We describe the sixth species of bent-toed gecko from the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. This species was first collected on the banks of the Oi Marai River on the low northern slopes of Gunung (Mount) Tambora on Sumbawa Island. The new species is differentiated from Greater Sunda Islands (including Sulawesi) and Lesser Sunda Islands congeners by having the following unique combination of characters: (1) two scales between the second pair of postmentals in contact with the first pair; (2) dorsal surface of antebrachium tuberculate; (3) no tubercles on dorsal surface of brachium; (4) dorsal surfaces of thigh and crus tuberculate; (5) 18 irregularly aligned, longitudinal rows of keeled tubercles at midbody; (6) 26-27 paravertebral tubercles; (7) 40 ventral scales between indistinct ventrolateral folds; (8) 16-17 fourth-toe subdigital scales; (9) a continuous enlarged precloacal and femoral scales present, with the enlarged femoral scales arranged in three rows; (10) males with five to six precloacal pores, with four larger pores situated in a short groove; (11) femoral pores absent in both sexes; (12) lack of transversely enlarged subcaudal scales; and (13) 7-9 irregular, paired black blotches on the body.

STUDI PENDAHULUAN : KEBERADAAN KURA-KURA ROTE (Chelodina mccordi, Rhodin 1994) DI PULAU ROTE, NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR

Indonesia have high diversity of Amphibians. Amphibians have an important role in ecosystem and produce many bioactive peptides. However, the genetic information of amphibians from Indonesia is very limited, especially Duttaphrynus melanostictus and Phrynoidis asper. The aims of this study are to determine the nucleotide sequence of cytochrome oxidase I (COI) from D. melanostictus and P. asper, to analyze their genetic diversity and their phylogenetic relationship. A total 668 base pairs of COI gene fragment were successfully amplified and their nucleotide sequence determined. P. asper (5 haplotypes) samples group have high haplotype diversity compared to D. melanostictus (1 haplotype). The results of Basic Local Alignment Search Tools (BLAST) to the NCBI and BOLD database, showed 99 % - 100 % identity to sequence of D. melanostictus. For the sequence of P. asper showed 99.23 % identity to sequence P. asper in BOLD database. There was no sequence of COI gene of P. asper in NCBI database. Genetic relationship among species in family Bufonidae, indicated that D. melanostictus has closer relation to P. asper than to another species, inspite of their pharapyletic characteristic. For intern species relationship of D. melanostictus, the data showed that D. melanostictus from Bogor have closer relationship to D. melanostictus from India than D. melanostictus from China.

Responses of tropical forest herpetofauna to moderate anthropogenic disturbance and effects of natural habitat variation in Sulawesi, Indonesia

This observation objection to cover bird diversity in Sibau Watershed, Betung Kerihun National Park (BKNP). The observation was done in along river (Sibau Rill, Sibau River, Apyang River, Menyakan River) and hill (Menyakan Hulu Hill and Apyang Hill) and point at transect. That habitat is riverine. Amount of bird was found are 93 species from 31 family with 39 species new record for Sibau Watershed. The large abundance is Edible-nest Swiftlet (Collocalia fuciphaga), and than folowwed by Asian Palm-swift (Cypsiurus balasiensis) and Whiskered Treeswift (Hemiprocne comata). The total individu was found is 660 individu with vaule of diversity index is 3.7618 and evennes index is 0.8299. The five bird species is endemic to the Borneo, one species is Appendix I CITES, 13 species is Appendix II CITES, 26 species is protected, and five species is treathened.Canarium and Acacia plants are commonly used as urban forest and shade plants on the right-left side of streets. Identifying the effect of air pollution to the growth and microscopic anatomy of the leaves will be beneficial in predicting air quality condition of the location. Result of the research showed that canarium plants exposed to air pollutant emission showed a lower diameter growth and higher stoma density compare to the ones unexposed to pollutant. Acacia plants exposed to air pollutant emission showed smaller amount of diameter growth, height growth, length of upper side stomata, length of lower side stomata, leaves thickness, lower side palisade tissue thickness and sponge tissue thickness compare to the plants unexposed to pollutant. Acacia plant was more sensitive to air pollutant because more tissues experienced disturbance and destruction. Acacia plant might be a bioindicator of air pollution.