Azlan Mohamed

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research

Forest degradation and hunting are two major drivers of species declines in tropical forests, often associated with forest production activities and infrastructure. To assess how the medium‐to‐large bodied terrestrial vertebrate community varied across these two main gradients of anthropogenic impact, we conducted a camera‐trap survey across three...

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...

With large mammals in Southeast Asia facing a host of threats such as forest loss and poaching, one important strategy in supporting conservation interventions is to understand local trends in species distributions. In Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, selective logging has both historically (conventional selective logging) and currently (reduced impact log...

Environmental DNA (eDNA) and invertebrate‐derived DNA (iDNA) are used to survey biodiversity non‐invasively to mitigate difficulties in obtaining wildlife samples, particularly in remote areas or for rare species. Recently, eDNA/iDNA were used to monitor known wildlife pathogens; however, most wildlife pathogens are unknown and often evolutionarily...

Environmental DNA (eDNA) and invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) have been used to survey biodiversity non-invasively to mitigate difficulties of obtaining wildlife samples, particularly in remote areas or for rare species. Recently, eDNA/iDNA have been applied to monitor known wildlife pathogens, however, most wildlife pathogens are unknown and often...

Habitat degradation and hunting have caused the widespread loss of larger vertebrate species (defaunation) from tropical biodiversity hotspots. However, these defaunation drivers impact vertebrate biodiversity in different ways and, therefore, require different conservation interventions. We conducted landscape-scale camera-trap surveys across six...

Even with intensive sampling effort, data often remain sparse when estimating population density of elusive species such as the Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi . An inadequate number of recaptures can make it difficult to account for heterogeneity in detection parameters. We used data from large-scale camera-trapping surveys in three forest r...

Maximizing detection probability is a common goal for occupancy studies using camera traps for data collection. Placing additional cameras at a survey station may improve precision of occupancy and detection estimates. However, these benefits are situational and potentially influenced by species' physical characteristics and behavior. We estimated...

Background The use of environmental DNA for species detection via metabarcoding is growing rapidly. We present a co-designed lab workflow and bioinformatic pipeline to mitigate the 2 most important risks of environmental DNA use: sample contamination and taxonomic misassignment. These risks arise from the need for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) am...

Invertebrate‐derived DNA (iDNA), in combination with high throughput sequencing, has been proposed as a cost‐efficient and powerful tool to survey vertebrate species. Previous studies, however, have only provided evidence that vertebrates can be detected using iDNA, but have not taken the next step of placing these detection events within a statist...

Understanding environmental factors that influence forest health, as well as the occurrence and abundance of wildlife, is a central topic in forestry and ecology. However, the manual processing of field habitat data is time-consuming and months are often needed to progress from data collection to data interpretation. To shorten the time to process...

Understanding environmental factors that influence forest health, as well as the occurrence and abundance of wildlife, is a central topic in forestry and ecology. However, the manual processing of field habitat data is time consuming and months are often needed to progress from data collection to data interpretation. Computer-assisted tools, such a...

Invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA), in combination with high throughput sequencing, has been proposed as a cost-efficient and powerful tool to survey vertebrate species. Previous studies, however, have only provided evidence that vertebrates can be detected using iDNA, but have not taken the next step of placing these detection events within a statist...

Commercial timber extraction and agricultural expansion lead to substantial degradation and loss of tropical rainforests, posing a severe threat to biodiversity in South-east Asia. Although the impacts of these disturbances are well understood for some species, they remain largely unknown for most species, impeding any directed conservation efforts...

Cost-efficient repeatable methods to track biodiversity changes are important for forest and wildlife managers to improve management practices and target conservation efforts at the local scale. The aim of this user’s guide is to provide practitioners step-by-step instructions for biodiversity assessment and monitoring of tropical forest mammals us...

The Sunda stink-badger Mydaus javanensis is one of the most frequently recorded carnivore species in portions of Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. However, its current distribution on Borneo is patchy, with recent records lacking from areas where the species was previously considered common. We assessed the hypothesis that occurrence of Sunda stink-badgers...

Aim Financial incentives to manage forests sustainably, such as certification or carbon storage payments, are assumed to have co‐benefits for biodiversity conservation. This claim remains little studied for rain forest mammals, which are particularly threatened, but challenging to survey. Location Sabah, Malaysia, Borneo. Methods We used photogra...

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...

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 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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

To date there have been few published records of Large-spotted Civet Viverra megaspila across much of its range. It is one of the least known small carnivore species in Peninsular Malaysia, where there have been no published records of this species since 1985. Here we present new photographic evidence of Large-spotted Civet in Peninsular Malaysia f...

In species-habitat association studies, both the type and spatial scale of habitat covariates need to match the ecology of the focal species. We assessed the potential of high-resolution satellite imagery for generating habitat covariates using camera-trapping data from Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, within an occupancy framework. We tested the predictiv...

The mainland clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) is classified as vulnerable under the IUCN Red List, meaning that it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. However, hardly any ecological research has been published on this species apart from several radiotelemetry studies in Thailand and Nepal, and one camera-trapping study in India. Here we...

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...

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...

Knowing the distribution of species and the factors which determine it is a basic requirement for conservation efforts and developing management plans. Species distribution modelling (SDM) is a speedy and cost-effective tool for predicting species distributions, particularly for species in remote and inaccessible areas. This technique can be applie...

The small (2- to 7-kg) leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) is the most common cat species in Asia. Although it occurs in a wide range of habitats and seems to adapt well to anthropogenic habitat changes, surprisingly little is known about this species in the wild. All studies have focused on protected areas, although a large proportion of Southe...

Past studies on tropical carnivores and other secretive animals relied on indirect evidence of animal presence such as tracks, scats, or scrapes. While such evidence can be useful for basic studies, using remotely-triggered camera traps offer researchers more reliable evidence of animal presence and, with appropriate study design and analysis, p...

Recently the Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi was recognized as a separate species distinct from the clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa of mainland Asia. Both species are categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Little is known about the newly identified species and, in particular, information from forests outside protected areas is scar...

In 1994 Alan Rabinowitz decried what he regarded as lackadaisical attempts by governments, NGOs and international funding agencies to conserve the Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis. Sixteen years on it is timely to evaluate whether his warnings were heeded. We review the current conservation status of D. sumatrensis throughout its range...

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...

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-...