The geographic distribution and habitat association of most mammalian polymorphic phenotypes are still poorly known, hampering assessments of their adaptive significance. Even in the case of the black panther, an iconic melanistic variant of the leopard (Panthera pardus), no map exists describing its distribution. We constructed a large database of verified records sampled across the species' range, and used it to map the geographic occurrence of melanism. We then estimated the potential distribution of melanistic and non-melanistic leopards using niche-modeling algorithms. The overall frequency of melanism was ca. 11%, with a significantly non-random spatial distribution. Distinct habitat types presented significantly different frequencies of melanism, which increased in Asian moist forests and approached zero across most open/dry biomes. Niche modeling indicated that the potential distributions of the two phenotypes were distinct, with significant differences in habitat suitability and rejection of niche equivalency between them. We conclude that melanism in leopards is strongly affected by natural selection, likely driven by efficacy of camouflage and/or thermoregulation in different habitats, along with an effect of moisture that goes beyond its influence on vegetation type. Our results support classical hypotheses of adaptive coloration in animals (e.g. Gloger's rule), and open up new avenues for in-depth evolutionary analyses of melanism in mammals.
Human land use is continuously altering the natural environment, yet the greater ecological implications of this change for many groups that are key to healthy ecosystem functioning remains uncharacterised in the tropics. Terrestrial scavenging vertebrates are one such group, providing integral ecosystem services through the removal of carrion which is a crucial component of both nutrient cycling and disease dynamics. To explore how anthropogenic processes may affect forest scavengers, we investigated the changes in the relative occupancy of two important terrestrial scavengers along a gradient of land use intensity, ranging from protected forest to oil palm plantation in Borneo. We found the Malay civet (Viverra tangalunga) had highest, albeit variable, occupancy in areas of low land use intensity and the Southeast Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator macromaculatus) had highest occupancy in areas of high land use intensity. Land use had no effect on the combined occupancy of the two species. In high land use intensity sites, individual water monitors were larger and had better body condition, but at population level had a highly biased sex ratio with more males than females and increased signs of intraspecific conflict. We did not assess scavenging rate or efficiency as a process, but the high occupancy rates and apparent health of the scavengers in high land use intensity landscapes suggests this ecological process is robust to land use change.
Management of wild fisheries resources requires accurate knowledge on which species are being routinely exploited, but it can be hard to identify fishes to species level, especially in speciose fish groups where colour patterns vary with age. Snappers of the genus Lutjanus represent one such group, where fishes can be hard to identify and as a result fisheries statistics fail to capture species-level taxonomic information. This study employs traditional morphological and DNA barcoding approaches to identify adult and juvenile Lutjanus species harvested in Malaysian waters. Our results reveal a suite of species that differs markedly from those that have previously been considered important in the Malaysian wild-capture fishery and show that official fisheries statistics do not relate to exploitation at the species level. Furthermore, DNA barcoding uncovered two divergent groups of bigeye snapper ('Lutjanus lutjanus') distributed on either side of the Malay Peninsula, displaying a biogeographical pattern similar to distributions observed for many co-occurring reef-distributed fish groups. One of these bigeye snapper groups almost certainly represents an unrecognized species in need of taxonomic description. The study demonstrates the utility of DNA barcoding in uncovering overlooked diversity and for assessing species catch composition in a complicated but economically important taxonomic group.
Understanding social organization is fundamental for the analysis of animal societies. In this study, animal single-file movement data-serialized order movements generated by simple bottom-up rules of collective movements-are informative and effective observations for the reconstruction of animal social structures using agent-based models. For simulation, artificial 2-dimensional spatial distributions were prepared with the simple assumption of clustered structures of a group. Animals in the group are either independent or dependent agents. Independent agents distribute spatially independently each one another, while dependent agents distribute depending on the distribution of independent agents. Artificial agent spatial distributions aim to represent clustered structures of agent locations-a coupling of "core" or "keystone" subjects and "subordinate" or "follower" subjects. Collective movements were simulated following two simple rules, 1) initiators of the movement are randomly chosen, and 2) the next moving agent is always the nearest neighbor of the last moving agents, generating "single-file movement" data. Finally, social networks were visualized, and clustered structures reconstructed using a recent major social network analysis (SNA) algorithm, the Louvain algorithm, for rapid unfolding of communities in large networks. Simulations revealed possible reconstruction of clustered social structures using relatively minor observations of single-file movement, suggesting possible application of single-file movement observations for SNA use in field investigations of wild animals.
Loss of dispersal typifies island biotas, but the selective processes driving this phenomenon remain contentious. This is because selection via, both indirect (e.g. relaxed selection or island syndromes) and direct (e.g. natural selection or spatial sorting) processes may be involved, and no study has yet convincingly distinguished between these alternatives. Here, we combined observational and experimental analyses of an island lizard, the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis, the world's largest lizard), to provide evidence for the actions of multiple processes that could contribute to island dispersal loss. In the Komodo dragon, concordant results from telemetry, simulations, experimental translocations, mark-recapture, and gene flow studies indicated that despite impressive physical and sensory capabilities for long-distance movement, Komodo dragons exhibited near complete dispersal restriction: individuals rarely moved beyond the valleys they were born/captured in. Importantly, lizard site-fidelity was insensitive to common agents of dispersal evolution (i.e. indices of risk for inbreeding, kin and intraspecific competition, and low habitat quality) that consequently reduced survival of resident individuals. We suggest that direct selection restricts movement capacity (e.g. via benefits of spatial philopatry and increased costs of dispersal) alongside use of dispersal-compensating traits (e.g. intraspecific niche partitioning) to constrain dispersal in island species.
Paederus fuscipes, a vector of Paederus dermatitis in most tropical and subtropical countries of the world have a high prevalence in human dwellings due to their positively phototaxic behaviour which has caused a tremendous impact on human health. In this paper, P. fuscipes dispersal flights were studied for two seasons of the rice cultivation phases in residential premises built close to rice field areas (≈32-60 m and 164 m) in mainland Penang, Malaysia. We examined the effects of different light illuminance, building floor level and their association with rice stages as a focal cause of P. fuscipes dispersion from the rice fields towards human dwellings. The present study showed a significant interaction between different light illuminances and rice cultivation phases in attracting P. fuscipes to disperse and invade human dwellings. The highest number of P. fuscipes was captured near the bright light. P. fuscipes flights increased in line with each floor level, and the highest captures took place at higher building floor levels (levels 2 and 3) compared to lower building floor levels (ground floor and level 1) of a three storey apartment in both rice seasons. This finding not only conveys a better understanding on P. fuscipes dispersal pattern, but also draws public attention on the occurrence of dermatitis linearis caused by the Paederus beetles.
The sea urchins Echinothrix calamaris and Echinothrix diadema have sympatric distributions throughout the Indo-Pacific. Diverse colour variation is reported in both species. To reconstruct the phylogeny of the genus and assess gene flow across the Indo-Pacific we sequenced mitochondrial 16S rDNA, ATPase-6, and ATPase-8, and nuclear 28S rDNA and the Calpain-7 intron. Our analyses revealed that E. diadema formed a single trans-Indo-Pacific clade, but E. calamaris contained three discrete clades. One clade was endemic to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman. A second clade occurred from Malaysia in the West to Moorea in the East. A third clade of E. calamaris was distributed across the entire Indo-Pacific biogeographic region. A fossil calibrated phylogeny revealed that the ancestor of E. diadema diverged from the ancestor of E. calamaris ~ 16.8 million years ago (Ma), and that the ancestor of the trans-Indo-Pacific clade and Red Sea and Gulf of Oman clade split from the western and central Pacific clade ~ 9.8 Ma. Time since divergence and genetic distances suggested species level differentiation among clades of E. calamaris. Colour variation was extensive in E. calamaris, but not clade or locality specific. There was little colour polymorphism in E. diadema.
Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionida) fulfil important ecosystem functions and are one of the most threatened freshwater taxa globally. Knowledge of freshwater mussel diversity, distribution and ecology in Peninsular Malaysia is extremely poor, and the conservation status of half of the species presumed to occur in the region has yet to be assessed. We conducted the first comprehensive assessment of Peninsular Malaysia's freshwater mussels based on species presence/absence and environmental data collected from 155 sites spanning all major river catchments and diverse habitat types. Through an integrative morphological-molecular approach we recognised nine native and one widespread non-native species, i.e. Sinanodonta woodiana. Two species, i.e. Pilsbryoconcha compressa and Pseudodon cambodjensis, had not been previously recorded from Malaysia, which is likely a result of morphological misidentifications of historical records. Due to their restriction to single river catchments and declining distributions, Hyriopsis bialata, possibly endemic to Peninsular Malaysia, Ensidens ingallsianus, possibly already extinct in the peninsula, and Rectidens sumatrensis, particularly require conservation attention. Equally, the Pahang, the Perak and the north-western river catchments are of particular conservation value due to the presence of a globally unique freshwater mussel fauna. Statistical relationships of 15 water quality parameters and mussel presence/absence identified acidification and nutrient pollution (eutrophication) as the most important anthropogenic factors threatening freshwater mussel diversity in Peninsular Malaysia. These factors can be linked to atmospheric pollution, deforestation, oil-palm plantations and a lack of functioning waste water treatment, and could be mitigated by establishing riparian buffers and improving waste water treatment for rivers running through agricultural and residential land.
Ovitrap surveillance was conducted in 2012 and 2006 in Malay and Aboriginal Villages on Carey Island. In each village, standard ovitraps were placed indoors and outdoors at randomly selected houses/locations. All L3 larvae recovered were identified up to species level. Results demonstrated that only larvae of Aedes albopictus were found in all the positive ovitraps placed indoors and outdoors. In 2012, a high ovitrap index (OI) of 66.7% indoor and 84.0% outdoor in the Malay Village; and 62.5% indoor and 88.0% outdoor in Aboriginal Village with an apparent absence of Aedes aegypti. In 2006, a 100% OI was recorded in all ovitraps set indoors and outdoors in both villages.
Eleven taxa including one new species of gammaridean amphipods are reported from the waters of Pulau Tioman. The presence of Tethygeneia sunda sp. n. represents the first record of the genus from the South China Sea. Additional material of Ampelisca brevicornis (Costa, 1853); Cymadusa vadosa Imbach, 1967; Paradexamine setigera Hirayama, 1984; Ericthonius pugnax (Dana, 1853); Leucothoe furina (Savigny, 1816); Microlysias xenokeras (Stebbing, 1918); Monoculodes muwoni Jo, 1990 are identified from the South China Sea, supporting previous records by Lowry (2000), Huang (1994), Imbach (1967), Margulis (1968) and Nagata (1959). Three additional species, Gitanopsis pusilla K.H. Barnard, 1916, Liljeborgia japonica Nagata, 1965b and Latigammaropsis atlantica (Stebbing, 1888), whilst previously reported from the neighbouring waters, comprise new records for the South China Sea.
The leafhopper subfamily Signoretiinae is redescribed and includes two tribes: Signoretiini Baker and Phlogisini Linnavuori. Redescriptions of included tribes, diagnoses and a taxonomic key to genera are provided. New records for genera of Signoretiinae are as follows: Phlogis in Central African Republic, Malaysia and Thailand; Preta in Thailand; and Signoretia in the Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan (China). Signoretia pacifica is newly recorded from Cameroon. In addition, detailed illustrations of the male genitalia of the previously described species, Chouious tianzeus, Preta gratiosa,and Signoretia yangli are provided; the male genitalia of Signoretia malaya are described for the first time; and two new species of Signoretia are described, Signoretia delicata sp. n. from the Philippinesand Signoretia kintendela sp. n. from the Republic of the Congo.
Four new species of Tambinia Stål (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Tropiduchidae), Tambinia conussp. n. (Papua New Guinea), Tambinia maculasp. n. (Malaysia: Borneo), Tambinia robustocarinasp. n. (Malaysia: Sabah) and Tambinia sexmaculatasp. n. (Australia: Kuranda) are described and illustrated from the Pacific region. The diagnostic characters of this genus are redefined. A checklist and a key to the known species of Tambinia are provided.
The genus Antheromorpha is redefined and shown to comprise 11 valid species: Antheromorpha miranda (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha bistriata (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha comotti (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha festiva (Brölemann, 1896), Antheromorpha harpaga (Attems, 1937), Antheromorpha mediovirgata (Carl, 1941), Antheromorpha minlana (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha pardalis (Pocock, 1895), Antheromorpha paviei (Brölemann, 1896), comb. n., Antheromorpha rosea Golovatch, 2013 and Antheromorpha uncinata (Attems, 1931). Three new synonymies are proposed: Antheromorpha bivittata (Pocock, 1895) and Antheromorpha melanopleuris (Pocock, 1895) are synonymized under Antheromorpha miranda (Pocock, 1895), and Antheromorpha orophila (Carl, 1941) under Antheromorpha comotti (Pocock, 1895). Detailed descriptions and illustrations of fresh material from Thailand and Malaysia are given, especially regarding colour patterns which appear to be crucial for accurate species identifications. Two Antheromorpha species proposed by Attems are redescribed, based on type material. The genus is rediagnosed and a key and a distribution map are also provided. At least in Thailand, adult Antheromorpha rosea have been found to occur every year only for one or two weeks in September or October, disappearing thereafter.
Previous research of Bornean Micronectidae Jaczewski, 1924 (pygmy water boatmen) is summarized based on the data from the literature and recent work. All the Bornean micronectids belong to the genus Micronecta Kirkaldy, 1897. Descriptions or redescriptions and a key to the eight species, which have so far been found in Borneo are presented, namely Micronectadecorata Lundblad, 1933, Micronectaludibunda Breddin, 1905, Micronectaliewi sp. n., Micronectalakimi sp. n., Micronectalumutensis Chen, Nieser & Lansbury, 2008, Micronectaskutalis Nieser & Chen, 1999, Micronectakymatista Nieser & Chen, 1999) and Micronectaquadristrigata Breddin, 1905. The synonyms are indicated under each species. To facilitate identification, illustrations and habitus photos are provided. The faunistic components of Micronectidae in Borneo are discussed from a zoogeographic point of view.
The genus Hemitrochostoma Bergroth, 1913 (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Plataspidae) is redescribed and reviewed. Two species are recognized: the type species Hemitrochostomaaltilabris Bergroth, 1913 (Malaysia: Sarawak), and Hemitrochostomarutabulum sp. n. (Malaysia: Perak). The following new subjective synonymies are proposed: Hemitrochostoma Bergroth, 1913 = Inflatilabrum Tomokuni, 2012, syn. n.; Hemitrochostomaaltilabris Bergroth, 1913 = Inflatilabrumlambirense Tomokuni, 2012, syn. n.
Furcantenna malayanasp. nov. is described from Peninsular Malaysia, based on a single female collected in 1962. The other two known species of this genus are also known from single specimens, from Southeastern China and Nepal. A key to the species is given, and the taxonomy and distribution of the genus are discussed.
An illustrated key is provided to the economically important Thripinae (Thysanoptera) of Malaysia, together with a checklist and information on hosts and distributions. Information about the diversity and pest status for these Thripinae is provided, together with the prominent character states that are useful for recognising each species.
For the first time in 21 years, a new genus of cardiochiline braconid wasp, Orientocardiochiles Kang & Long, gen. nov. (type species Orientocardiochiles joeburrowi Kang, sp. nov.), is discovered and described. This genus represents the ninth genus in the Oriental region. Two new species (O. joeburrowi Kang, sp. nov. and O. nigrofasciatus Long, sp. nov.) are described and illustrated, and a key to species of the genus, with detailed images, is added. Diagnostic characters of the new genus are analyzed and compared with several other cardiochiline genera to allow the genus to key out properly using an existing generic treatment. The scientific names validated by this paper and morphological data obtained from this project will be utilized and tested in the upcoming genus-level revision of the subfamily based on combined morphological and molecular data.
This study presents a list of land snails and slugs found on limestone hills in the District of Bau, the state of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo. Systematic and random sampling for land snails was conducted at eight limestone outcrops, namely, Gunung Stulang, Padang Pan, Gunung Kapor, Gunung Lobang Angin, Gunung Doya, Gunung Batu, Bukit Sekunyit and Gunung Sebayat. A total of 122 land snail species was documented with photographs of each species. Of the 122 species collected, 13 are new to science, namely, Acmella bauensissp. nov., Japonia bauensissp. nov., Plectostoma margaretchanaesp. nov., Microcystina arabiisp. nov., Microcystina atonisp. nov., Microcystina pariparisp. nov., Microcystina liratasp. nov., Microcystina oswaldbrakenisp. nov., Microcystina kilatsp. nov., Philalanka jambusanensissp. nov., Everettia microrhytidasp. nov., Everettia minutasp. nov., and Paralaoma sarawakensissp. nov.
Dilobitarsus pendleburyi Fleutiaux, 1934 is recorded for the first time after its original description and is redescribed. This represents the first record from the Malay Peninsula, Malaysia and Sumatra, Indonesia. The systematic position of this species is discussed.