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Publications (102)
Extensive areas of tropical forests have been, and continue to be, disturbed as a result of selective timber extraction. Although such anthropogenic disturbance typically results in the loss of biodiversity, many species persist, and their conservation in production landscapes could be enhanced by a greater understanding of how biodiversity respond...
Niche differentiation, the partitioning of resources along one or more axes of a species’ niche hyper-volume, is widely recognised as an important mechanism for sympatric species to reduce interspecific competition and predation risk, and thus facilitate co-existence. Resource partitioning may be facilitated by behavioural differentiation along thr...
Aim
Deforestation is rapidly altering Southeast Asian landscapes, resulting in some of the highest rates of habitat loss worldwide. Among the many species facing declines in this region, clouded leopards rank notably for their ambassadorial potential and capacity to act as powerful levers for broader forest conservation programmes. Thus, identifyin...
Southeast Asia hosts more felid species than any other region and, although smaller (< 30kg) felids have important ecological roles, regional conservation has mainly focused on a few charismatic big cats. Information on the ecology and conservation status of small felids is often lacking or geographically limited. We used empirically derived scale-...
Information on tropical Asian vertebrates has traditionally been sparse, particularly when it comes to cryptic species inhabiting the dense forests of the region. Vertebrate populations are declining globally due to land‐use change and hunting, the latter frequently referred as “defaunation.” This is especially true in tropical Asia where there is...
Biophysical and socio-cultural factors have jointly shaped the distribution of global biodiversity, yet relatively few studies have quantitatively assessed the influence of social and ecological landscapes on wildlife distributions. We sought to determine whether social and ecological covariates shape the distribution of a cultural keystone species...
Habitat loss, habitat degradation and poaching threaten the survival of large mammals in Southeast Asia. Studies on these threats tend to focus on small spatial scales (i.e. a protected area), precluding region-wide species assessments that can inform conservation management. Using existing camera trap data, we constructed occupancy models to under...
Biophysical and socio-cultural factors have jointly shaped the distribution of global biodiversity, yet relatively few studies have quantitatively assessed the influence of social and ecological landscapes on wildlife distributions. We sought to determine whether social and ecological covariates shape the distribution of a cultural keystone species...
Species occur in sympatric assemblages, bound together by ecological relationships and interspecific interactions. Borneo and Sumatra host some of the richest assemblages of biota worldwide. The region, however, faces the highest global deforestation rates, which seriously threaten its unique biodiversity. We used a large camera trap dataset that r...
How the observed occurrences of a species relate to environmental gradients is a fundamental question in community ecology. In this paper, we present a new approach to address this question, using the smoothing function, a method not previously recruited into this ecological context. Using simulation techniques, we explore its accuracy in recoverin...
Rates of biodiversity loss in Southeast Asia are among the highest in the world, and the Indo-Burma and South-Central China Biodiversity Hotspots rank among the world’s most threatened. Developing robust multi-species conservation models is critical for stemming biodiversity loss both here and globally. We used a large and geographically extensive...
Context
The Sunda clouded leopard is vulnerable to forest loss and fragmentation. Conservation of this species requires spatially explicit evaluations of the effects of landscape patterns on genetic diversity, population size and landscape connectivity.
Objectives
We sought to develop predictions of Sunda clouded leopard population density, geneti...
Human-induced environmental changes, particularly climate change, pose a threat to many tropical montane species, making the identification of optimal future habitat a conservation priority. Here we used maximum entropy (Maxent) and boosted regression trees to predict suitable habitat of the threatened Bornean highland endemic Hose's civet (Diploga...
Clouded leopards are among Asia's most widely distributed felids, but also among its least known and most vulnerable. Clouded leopards occur in some of the most rapidly disappearing forests in the world, yet a comprehensive assessment of their status and habitat use is lacking, which in turn limits identification of their priority conservation need...
Clouded leopards are among Asia's most widely distributed felids, but also among its least known and most vulnerable. Clouded leopards occur in some of the most rapidly disappearing forests in the world, yet a comprehensive assessment of their status and habitat use is lacking, which in turn limits identification of their priority conservation need...
Habitat loss is the greatest threat to biodiversity in Borneo, and to anticipate and combat its effects it is important to predict the pattern of loss and its consequences. Borneo is a region of extremely high biodiversity from which forest is being lost faster than in any other. The little-known Sunda clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi) is the top p...
Supporting information for simulating impacts of rapid forest loss on population size, connectivity and genetic diversity of Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi) in Borneo.
Fig A. Plot of the mean respondent scores for habitat suitability vs the mean estimated population density for clouded leopards. The high of R2 = 0.905 shows high consistenc...
Bar chart showing the optimal scaling of habitat variables in Bornean felids.
(PDF)
Histogram of the frequency of coefficient of temporal overlap (Δ1 and Δ4) values between Bornean felids and all other species and species groups (n = 58).
a. Sunda clouded leopard males; b. Sunda clouded leopard females; c. bay cat; d. marbled cat; e. leopard cat. The 5th and 95th percentiles of the Δ1 and Δ4 distribution for each felid are shown i...
Details of the eight forest and two oil palm plantation study areas in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
(PDF)
Covariates used in the multi-scale habitat modelling of Bornean felid's occurrence in Sabah, including variable names, metrics calculated, and data sources.
(PDF)
Table of variables used in the felid/candidate prey co-occurrence all-subsets modelling and the felid/candidate prey temporal activity overlap analysis, showing variable description, number of independent photographic records for each species/group of species.
(PDF)
Scaling plots of AICc values and coefficient values for relationships between Bornean felid species’ occurrence and a range of predictor habitat variables cover type across 7 spatial scales.
Spatial scales with the lowest AICc were deemed to be optimal, and used for further analysis.
(PDF)
Details of camera trap survey protocols for surveys of eight forest areas and two palm oil plantations in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
(PDF)
Results of univariate logistic regressions to assess the relative importance of habitat variables in predicting Bornean felid occurrence, showing optimal scale of each habitat variable.
Variables showing p values <0.2 were used in the multivariate analyses.
(PDF)
Table of overlaps of temporal activity patterns between Bornean wild cat species pairs and between Bornean wild cats and their potential prey species, as estimated by kernel density estimates.
The coefficients of overlap (Δ1 and Δ4) are accompanied by the upper and lower values of the 95% confidence limits.
(PDF)
Niche differentiation reduces competition between species and modifies predation risk such that species coexistence is promoted. Temporal partitioning is a type of niche differentiation that has only relatively recently been specifically investigated. In this chapter, data from 515 camera trap stations from Sabah, Malaysian Borneo is used to descri...
How do species co-exist? Ecologically similar species that exist in sympatry are generally thought to do so by niche differentiation. This at least partial segregation reduces intraguild competition and modifies predation risks, with the consequence that more species co-exist in a given area than could otherwise live sympatrically. The three main a...
There is currently no available information regarding the veterinary management of Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi), either in captivity or in the wild. In this study, 12 Sunda clouded leopards were anesthetized between January 2008 and February 2014 for medical exams, and/or GPS-collaring. Seven wild-caught individuals were kept in captivi...
The bay cat Catopuma badia is a small cat endemic to the tropical forests of Borneo. One of only seven cats to be listed as Endangered by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the bay cat is seldom seen, rarely photographed and is widely held to be one of the least known of the world’s wild cats. Consequently its distribution is known only poorl...
The flat-headed cat Prionailurus planiceps is classified as one of the most threatened cat species in the world. Its range is restricted to southern Thailand, peninsular Malaysia and the two largest Sunda Islands, Borneo and Sumatra. Its association with wetlands and lowland areas puts great pressure on this species, because these habitats are most...
Banded linsang Prionodon linsang is restricted to Sundaic South-east Asia and inhabits a wide altitudinal range. It occurs widely in Borneo, including all political units except perhaps South Kalimantan, with many recent records. It has never been studied in the field. Usually, it is recorded only once or a few times on any given cameratrap or spot...
Small-toothed palm civet Arctogalidia trivirgata occurs widely across Borneo. Eighty-two spatially precise records were used to model its distribution on the island. While the model predicts some regions of low suitability, the scatter of records (mostly insufficiently spatially precise for use in the model) within them and the generally low releva...
The banded civet Hemigalus derbyanus is a small, little-known civet with a geographical range comprising Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra and some associated islands), Malaysia, Brunei, peninsular Myanmar and peninsular Thailand. Habitat loss and degradation are the main threats to the species leading to its classification as globally Vulnerable by T...
The Malay civet Viverra tangalunga is a small carnivore occurring on several Indonesian islands, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The Malay civet occurs in diverse habitats, including primary and logged forest, and disturbed habitats near villages. It is listed by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as globally Least Concern; however, t...
Borneo harbours more endemic carnivores than does any other island in the world except Madagascar, and almost half of the Bornean carnivore species have been classified by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as globally threatened. Here, a systematic conservation planning framework highlighted key carnivore landscapes, conservation research and...
The common palm civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus is a small carnivore occurring in a broad array of habitats on Borneo, including logged and unlogged forest, cultivated land, and the outskirts of villages and towns. It is assigned incomplete legal protection in Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam. In addition, the recent, rapidly expanding increase in...
The Bornean ferret badger Melogale everetti is one of the least known Bornean carnivores, and is currently classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Endemic to Borneo, it is associated with upland and highland forests in and around Kinabalu Park and Crocker Range Park. Of 52 Bornean ferret badger occurrence records, 1...
The yellow-throated marten Martes flavigula is a wide-ranging species across much of Asia. It is active mainly during the day, is semi-arboreal and has an omnivorous diet. On Borneo, it has a wide elevation range, from coastal lowland to lower montane habitat of 1700 m a.s.l. Records from camera-trapping and other wildlife surveys imply a widesprea...
Short-tailed mongoose Herpestes brachyurus is known to inhabit Borneo, Sumatra and peninsular Malaysia. Locality records show that it is widespread and probably common in at least the northern half of Borneo. Records are much sparser south of 2°N. It occurs in forest and, to a poorly clarified extent, non-forest habitats. Eighty-six spatially preci...
The leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis is one of the smallest cat species found on Borneo and is the most widely distributed wild cat species in Asia. It is listed on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Least Concern. The leopard cat is known to tolerate habitat disturbance and to occur in a range of vegetation types including primary and...
Borneo harbours more endemic carnivores than does any other island in the world except Madagascar, and almost half of the Bornean carnivore species have been classified by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as globally threatened. Here, a systematic conservation planning framework highlighted key carnivore landscapes, conservation research and...
Collared mongoose Herpestes semitorquatus is known to inhabit Borneo, Sumatra and possibly the Philippines. It occurs widely in Borneo, possibly with the exception of South Kalimantan. It is very likely to occur in Brunei, although no explicit records have been traced. The pelage is typically brown or reddish-brown, with a few strongly reddish-oran...
The binturong Arctictis binturong is a medium-sized carnivore in the civet family Viverridae with a wide geographic distribution in South-east Asia and adjacent parts of South Asia and China. Habitat loss and hunting have led to its classi cation as Vulnerable by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The binturong is thought to be forest depende...
Little is known about the ecology of the rare marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata on Borneo. In addition, the little information that is available on the species often comes from incidental sightings. Here we use the MaxEnt algorithm to produce a habitat suitability map for this species based on a compilation of existing data. We collected 105 marbled...
The Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi is a medium sized (15–25 kg) cat, found only on the Sundaic islands of Borneo and Sumatra. In recent years intensive camera-trapping surveys in Borneo have begun to shed light on the habitat associations and basic ecology of this elusive wild cat, but its distribution on an island-wide scale remains very po...
The masked palm civet Paguma larvata is a small carnivore within the civet family Viverridae, currently listed as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Across its global range the masked palm civet uses a range of habitats in tropical and subtropical regions, from lowlands to highlands, but its exact ecological requirements and...
The otter civet Cynogale bennettii is a small carnivore of the family Viverridae, native to Indonesia (Kalimantan and Sumatra), Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak and mainland), Brunei Darussalam and southern Thailand. Across its range, its distribution is patchy and the species has been assumed to be a wetland specialist favouring peat-swamp and fresh-water...
Malay weasel Mustela nudipes is restricted to the Sundaic sub-region, in Borneo, Sumatra and the Malay–Thai peninsula. A distribution model suggested that the species is widespread on Borneo and occurs in a wide range of habitats. The ecology of the species is poorly known, making it difficult to predict how its populations are likely to be affecte...
The Sunda stink-badger Mydaus javanensis is a small carnivore inhabiting the South-east Asian islands of Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Natuna Islands. It occurs in a wide variety of vegetation types and is presently listed by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Least Concern. We analysed 15 (Balanced Model) or 77 (Spatial Filtering Model) locati...
Small-toothed palm civet Arctogalidia trivirgata occurs widely across Borneo. Eighty-two spatially precise records were used to model its distribution on the island. While the model predicts some regions of low suitability, the scatter of records (mostly insufficiently spatially precise for use in the model) within them and the generally low releva...
The binturong Arctictis binturong is a medium-sized carnivore in the civet family Viverridae with a wide geographic distribution in Southeast Asia and adjacent parts of South Asia and China. Habitat loss and hunting have led to its classification as Vulnerable by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The binturong is thought to be forest depende...
The marbled cat Pardofelis marmorata is a poorly known wild cat that has a broad distribution across much of the Indomalayan ecorealm. This felid is thought to exist at low population densities throughout its range, yet no estimates of its abundance exist, hampering assessment of its conservation status. To investigate the distribution and abundanc...
SPACECAP input files for the three surveys areas which permitted SECR analysis.
(XLSX)
Collared mongoose Herpestes semitorquatus is known to inhabit Borneo, Sumatra and possibly the Philippines. It occurs widely in Borneo, possibly with the exception of South Kalimantan. It is very likely to occur in Brunei, although no explicit records have been traced. The pelage is typically brown or reddish-brown, with a few strongly reddish-oran...
The Sunda stink-badger Mydaus javanensis is a small carnivore inhabiting the Southeast Asian islands of Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Natuna Islands. It occurs in a wide variety of vegetation types and is presently listed by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Least Concern. We analysed 15 (Balanced Model) or 77 (Spatial Filtering Model) locatio...
The Malay civet Viverra tangalunga is a small carnivore occurring on several Indonesian islands, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. The Malay civet occurs in diverse habitats, including primary and logged forest, and disturbed habitats near villages. It is listed by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as globally Least Concern; however, t...
Banded linsang Prionodon linsang is restricted to Sundaic Southeast Asia and inhabits a wide altitudinal range. It occurs widely in Borneo, including all political units except perhaps South Kalimantan, with many recent records. It has never been studied in the field. Usually, it is recorded only once or a few times on any given camera-trap or spot...
The flat-headed cat Prionailurus planiceps is classified as one of the most threatened cat species in the world. Its range is restricted to southern Thailand, peninsular Malaysia and the two largest Sunda Islands, Borneo and Sumatra. Its association with wetlands and lowland areas puts great pressure on this species, because these habitats are most...
The leopard cat Prionailurus bengalensis is one of the smallest cat species found on Borneo and is the most widely distributed wild cat species in Asia. It is listed on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Least Concern. The leopard cat is known to tolerate habitat disturbance and to occur in a range of vegetation types including primary and...
Responses of biodiversity to changes in both land cover and climate are recognized [ 1 ] but still poorly understood [ 2 ]. This poses significant challenges for spatial planning as species could shift, contract, expand, or maintain their range inside or outside protected areas [ 2–4 ]. We examine this problem in Borneo, a global biodiversity hotsp...
Box-traps for capturing wild cats are widely used by researchers since it is one of the most effective methods for trapping these species. Although they are extensively utilised, the effects on the physiology of trapped felids remain unclear. Researchers frequently make judgements regarding the safety of such capture devices by examination of exter...
The orangutan is the world's largest arboreal mammal, and images of the red ape moving through the tropical forest canopy symbolise its typical arboreal behaviour. Records of terrestrial behaviour are scarce and often associated with habitat disturbance. We conducted a large-scale species-level analysis of ground-based camera-trapping data to evalu...
The orangutan is the world's largest arboreal mammal, and images of the red ape moving through the tropical forest canopy symbolise its typical arboreal behaviour. Records of terrestrial behaviour are scarce and often associated with habitat disturbance. We conducted a large-scale species-level analysis of ground-based camera-trapping data to evalu...
Malay Weasel Mustela nudipes is rarely detected in wildlife surveys, despite occupying habitats ranging from primary forest
to disturbed village areas across a wide range of elevations. We report some of the few camera-trap detections of this species,
including the first records from an oil palm plantation, and quantitative data showing that Malay...
Radiotelemetry has become one of the most valuable fi eld techniques in wildlife ecology
because it allows biologists to collect location and other data remotely. This method is an especially
important tool for studying the behaviour and demography of species that are often secretive, traverse large
areas, and occur at low densities. Although use o...
Tropical carnivores often occur at low densities and non-invasive techniques may be
inadequate to meet research and monitoring goals. Live capture allows researchers to gather information
such as movement and habitat use, that they would not have access to using other techniques. However,
for most tropical carnivore species there have been few live...
Nine wild Bornean leopard cats were anesthetized using a combination of tiletamine and zolazepam (Zoletil©) after being captured in humanely-designed live traps in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, for the purpose of fitting radio-collars. For five leopard cats (group 1) a single dose of 6.92±1.06 mg/kg of Zoletil© was administered. The mean induction time...
The Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi is an extremely challenging species to study and as such remains one of the least known of the world's larger (>10 kg) cats. We used a combination of radio-tracking and camera-trap surveys to provide some of the first insights into the spatial and temporal ecology of this elusive felid. A female clouded leo...
Aim
Advancement in ecological methods predicting species distributions is a crucial precondition for deriving sound management actions. Maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models are a popular tool to predict species distributions, as they are considered able to cope well with sparse, irregularly sampled data and minor location errors. Although a fundamental...
Little is known about the activity patterns of Bornean ungulates, or the temporal interactions of these species with the Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi. In this study, we use photographic capture data to quantify the activity patterns for the Sunda clouded leopard and six potential prey species: bearded pig Sus barbatus, Bornean yellow muntj...
Radiotelemetry has become one of the most valuable fi eld techniques in wildlife ecology because it allows biologists to collect location and other data remotely. This method is an especially important tool for studying the behaviour and demography of species that are often secretive, traverse large areas, and occur at low densities. Although use o...
Five recent camera-trap records of mongooses Herpestes from two different survey areas in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, show strongly reddish-orange pelage. These animals otherwise resemble Collared Mongoose H. semitorquatus, and appear to represent colour variation within this species. Collared Mongooses of typical mahogany-brown colour and with pelage...
Fernando Najera, A Hearn, J Ross, and SA Nofs (2010). Veterinary Involvement in the Bornean Wild Cat and Clouded Leopard Project. Proc American Association of Zoo Veterinarians Annual Conference, Padre Island, TX: 36.
The Bornean Wild Cats and Clouded Leopard Project was a three year multi-disciplinary project aimed at addressing the conservation needs of Borneo’s wild cats through the merging of pioneering ecological research, conservation awareness and training. This report details the project’s preliminary findings and presents a synthesis of the current know...
Despite being one of only six wild cat species currently classified by the IUCN as Endangered, the flat-headed cat Prionailurus planiceps has received relatively little conservation attention and is arguably the least known of all the world's wild cats. Camera traps are increasingly being used (Fig. 1.) throughout the historical range of this speci...
Summary of recent and historical records of the flat-headed cat Prionailurus planiceps.
(0.04 MB XLS)
Flat-headed cat from the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (ConCaSa).
(7.56 MB MP4)
Background:
The flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) is one of the world's least known, highly threatened felids with a distribution restricted to tropical lowland rainforests in Peninsular Thailand/Malaysia, Borneo and Sumatra. Throughout its geographic range large-scale anthropogenic transformation processes, including the pollution of fresh...
Questions
Question (1)
I am interested in using cellular equipped camera traps to monitor live traps set for carnivores in a Bornean rainforest with partial telephone coverage. My current thoughts are to use cameras with a timelapse function, as opposed to relying on images sent following a triggering event, to help avoid false negatives. Has anyone tried this approach, or does anyone have experience using any of the current cell equipped camera models in rainforest conditions?
