Project 1: Lambir Hills

Ant Composition on the Stems of More Toxic and Less Toxic Anacardiaceae

Ayu Savitri Nurinsiyah1, Eni Hidayati2, and Nur Edna Hasreena Ahlun3

  1. Department of Biology, Padjadjaran University, Jl. Raya Bandung Sumedang Km. 21, Jatinangor, West Java, Indonesia 45363
  2. Faculty of Forestry, Gadjah Mada University, Bulaksumur Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  3. Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Locked Bag 2073, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

A study on ant composition on different genera from the Anacardiaceae family was conducted using the “bark spray method” in the CTFS Plot in Lambir Hills National Park from 8 to 10 July 2008. Gluta woodsiana and Mangifera foetida were chosen as the more toxic and less dermatologically toxic Anacardiaceae (for humans), respectively. Shorea laxa (Dipterocarpaceae) was selected as a control. We showed that there is a difference in ant composition between the different three tree species, and that there is higher species abundance and species diversity in Shorea laxa compared to the two members of Anacardiaceae family (Gluta woodsiana and Mangifera foetida).

Abundance and Species Richness of Macaranga spp. in Forest Gaps with Respect to Canopy Openness, Soil Type, and Altitude in the CTFS-AA Forest Dynamic Plot and Surrounding Lambir Hill NP

Ling Chea Yiing1, Wulan Pusparini2, and Katherine O'Leary3

  1. Sarawak Forestry Corporation Sdn. Bhd./Forest Research Centre, Jln Datuk Amar Kalong Ningkan, 93250 Kuching, Sarawak
  2. Yayasan Badak Indonesia (Rhino Foundation of Indonesia), Jl. Ir. H. Juanda No. 15 Bogor, Indonesia
  3. Harvard University/Cambridge, MA, 02138, U.S.A.

Forest gaps in the CTFS-AA Forest Dynamic Plot and surrounding Lambir Hill NP were studied to understand the relationship between Macaranga spp. species composition and canopy openness, soil type, and altitude. This short study recorded environmental variables of 20 gaps and 9 species of Macaranga within a given plot inside the gaps. Results show that canopy openness is weaklly correlated with the composition of Macaranga spp. inside the gaps (p-value = 0.11, rho = 0.4). However, canopy openness had no significant correlation with Shannon indices (p-value = 0.2, rho = 0.32) and relative abundance (p-value=0.06, rho=0.46) of Macaranga spp. inside the gaps.

The Effect of Shallow, Shaded Stream Composition on Abundance and Diversity of Benthic Assemblage in Lambir Hills National Park, Malaysia

Alan Chiu1, Justine Chow1, Anna Ruman1, and Will Skinner1

  1. Harvard University/ Cambridge, MA, USA

pdfInterconnected water systems exhibit a wide range of of environmental conditions that may potentially shape invertebrate communities. We examined three interconnected streams in Lambir Hills National Park, Malaysia, and hypothesized that stream areas of dissimilar pH, flow rate, and salinity sustain different invertebrate populations. We collected water and invertebrate samples from the streams, ensuring collection of a minimum of three samples per stream for each of four water flow rates, with a total of 38 samples and two discarded samples. Analysis of our data showed strong negative association between stream flow rate and both abundance and diversity of stream invertebrates (ANOVA abundance f-values 0.0025 and 0.0073; diversity f-value=0.0093). However, stream salinity demonstrated strong negative association solely with invertebrate abundance (Generalized linear model, Poisson distribution, abundance p-value=0.048 and =.0018; diversity p-value=0.43). The strong statistical significance of our data indicates the ecological implications of our results and suggests associated future research objectives.

Frog Legs: They're not just for eating!

Liu Cindy Jing1, Susanto Dwi2, Kwek Yan Chong3 and Wijayathilaka Nayana4

  1. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
  2. Department of Biology, University of Indonesia
  3. Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore
  4. Department of Zoology, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Frogs' unusual morphology has been suggested to be specially adapted for their jumping mode of locomotion; this study attempts to address that issue by determining which body segment length correlates best with jump distance. Thirty-three individuals from nine species and two families were captured at the stream along the Latak Waterfall trail of Lambir Hills National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. Mean jump distances and various body segment lengths were recorded and ratios of these measurements relative to body size were calculated. Correlation and ordination analyses were then carried out using the statistical software R. No significant correlations were found between the various body segment length ratios and the mean jump distance; however, the ordination plot appears to hint at partitioning of jumping ability and morphology according to the habitats in which certain species were commonly found.

Comparison of Terrestrial Arthropod Composition between Sand and Clay Soil Types in a Bornean Mixed Dipterocarp Rainforest

Noor M. R. Beckwith1, Deodhar Shreekant J.2, and Karl Kmiecik3

  1. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
  2. Center for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560 012, India
  3. Department of History and Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

pdfTo determine the effect of soil type on terrestrial arthropod species composition, three pitfall trap arrays were placed randomly within one hectare plots on each of the two dominant soil types (sand and clay), located at the Arnold Arboretum-Center for Tropical Forest Science plot at Lambir, Sarawak, Malaysia. A total of 1048 specimens, comprising 15 orders and 143 morphotypes were collected . Analysis of the composition revealed no difference in level of diversity between clay and sand soil locations. While the sand soil samples formed a distinct cluster of similarity, variation within the clay samples was too large to provide a significant contrast across soil types. Correcting for distance revealed that the experiment lacked the resolution required to separate the effects of purely spacial separation from soil type and other factors in determining species composition. While our results were inconclusive the study does not rule out the possibility of elucidating distinct patterns across soil types. We suggest that our results be used as a pilot for future larger scale research.

The Effects of Time, Weather, and DEET on Mosquito Composition

Benjamin Gutierrez1, Muhamad Ikhwan Bin Idris2, Gregory Allen Parker3

  1. Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
  2. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Resource Science & Tech, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
  3. Harvard University Extension School, Harvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

A study was conducted on the generic composition of mosquitoes at dawn and dusk in a riparian forest at Lambir Hills National Park, Malaysia, Borneo. Mosquitos were collected using the bare leg technique, with three human attractors, at every half hour from 5:30am to 8:30am and 5:30pm to 8:30pm. Each human attractor had one leg covered with 30% DEET insect repellent and one leg with no insect repellent. Temperature and humidity were also recorded for each mosquito collection. R analysis shows a strong linear correlation between time of day and net mosquito abundance in the evening, but not in the morning. Wilcoxon product sum tests also give evidence for temporal partitioning of mosquito genera in both the morning and the evening. Wilcoxon tests show a statistically significant difference in mosquito composition between DEET and non-DEET legs, but the number of mosquitoes collected on DEET legs is so small that these results are questionable.