A revision of Ziziphus (Rhamnaceae) in Borneo

SummaryThe genus Ziziphus (Rhamnaceae) is revised for Borneo. 13 species are recognised using morphological evidence, including three new endemic species: Ziziphus cuspidata, Z. domatiata and Z. puberula. Borneo is therefore the island with the greatest known diversity of Ziziphus species. The area surrounding Mount Kinabalu is particularly diverse, with nine species occurring in Ranau. Two new varieties of Z. borneensis are also described here, Z. borneensis var. ranggam and Z. borneensis var. velutina, five new synonyms are established, including the placement of Z. elmeri as a synonym of Colubrina beccariana. A taxonomic treatment, including a preliminary IUCN conservation status assessment, is presented for each species and variety.

Seismic Vulnerability Assessment in Ranau, Sabah, Using Two Different Models

Sabah is prone to seismic activities due to its location, being geographically located near the boundaries of three major active tectonic plates; the Eurasian, India-Australia, and Philippine-Pacific plates. The 6.0 Mw earthquake that occurred in Ranau, Sabah, on 15 June 2015 which caused 18 casualties, all of them climbers of Mount Kinabalu, raised many issues, primarily the requirements for seismic vulnerability assessment for this region. This study employed frequency ratio (FR)–index of entropy (IoE) and a combination of (FR-IoE) with an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to map seismic vulnerability for Ranau, Sabah. The results showed that the success rate and prediction rate for the areas under the relative operating characteristic (ROC) curves were 0.853; 0.856 for the FR-IoE model and 0.863; 0.906 for (FR-IoE) AHP, respectively, with the highest performance achieved using the (FR-IoE) AHP model. The vulnerability maps produced were classified into five classes; very low, low, moderate, high, and very high seismic vulnerability. Seismic activities density ratio analysis performed on the final seismic vulnerability maps showed that high seismic activity density ratios were observed for high vulnerability zones with the values of 9.119 and 8.687 for FR-IoE and (FR-IoE) AHP models, respectively.

On the taxonomic status of Asthenodipsas vertebralis (Boulenger, 1900) (Squamata: Pareidae) in Borneo with the description of a new species

The taxonomic status of Asthenodipsas vertebralis in Borneo has been plagued with uncertainty over the last eighty years. An examination of museum collections resulted in the discovery of a voucher specimen of A. vertebralis from Sarawak, East Malaysia that confirms the presence of the species in Borneo and a previously unrecognised species, Asthenodipsas ingeri sp. nov. from Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. Asthenodipsas ingeri sp. nov. can be differentiated from its congeners by the combination of an absence of preoculars and suboculars, 1st and 3rd pair of infralabials in contact, two pairs of posterior inframaxillaries, supralabials 3–5 (sometimes 3 & 4) in contact with orbit, 15/15/15 rows of dorsal scales, presence of sharp vertebral keel, and divided subcaudals. This study highlights the importance of careful re-examination of museum collections that could potentially harbour new species hiding in plain sight. These discoveries also add to the growing number of reptile and amphibian species being described from Borneo that shows no signs of abating but are already potentially threatened by the continued deforestation and developments on the island.

A molecular phylogeny of Geotrochus and Trochomorpha species (Gastropoda: Trochomorphidae) in Sabah, Malaysia reveals convergent evolution of shell morphology driven by environmental influences

There are currently eleven Geotrochus and four Trochomorpha species in Sabah. The primary diagnostic character that separates the two genera is the intensity of sculpture on the shell upper surface. All Trochomorpha species have a coarse nodular sculpture while Geotrochus species has a non-nodular sculpture or smooth shell. However, it is known that shell characters are often evolutionary labile with high plasticity in response to environmental factors. Hence, identifying the phylogenetic and ecological determinants for the shell characters will shed light on the shell-based taxonomy. This study aims to estimate the phylogenetic relationship between Geotrochus and Trochomorpha species in Sabah based in two mitochondrial genes (COI, 16S) and one nuclear gene (ITS) and also to examine the influence of temperature, elevation and annual precipitation on the coarseness of shell upper surface sculpture and shell sizes of the species of both genera. Additionally, we also investigated the phylogenetic signal of the shell characters. The phylogenetic analysis showed that Geotrochus and Trochomorpha species are not reciprocally monophyletic. The phylogenetic signal test suggested that shell size and upper surface sculpture are homoplastic, and these shell traits are strongly influenced by elevation and annual precipitation, particularly at the cloud zone of Mount Kinabalu. The highland species of both genera have a coarser shell surface than lowland species. The shell and aperture width decrease with increasing elevation and annual precipitation. In the view of finding above, the current taxonomy of Geotrochus and Trochmorpha in this region and elsewhere that based on shell characters need to be revised with sufficient specimens throughout the distribution range of the two genera.

A new species of Chingia (Thelypteridaceae) from Vanikoro, Solomon Islands

A new species of Chingia, known only from Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands, is described and illustrated. It is distinctive in having flat, thickened, tortuous stipe scales. It is most closely related to an accession of Chingia clavipilosa from Mount Kinabalu, from which it is distinguished by its lack of hyaline acicular hairs on the abaxial laminar axes. Other Chingia species in the Solomon Islands are distinguished by having abundant stiff, terete stipe scales.

THE IMPACT OF TOURISM ACTIVITIES ON THE ENVIRONMENT OF MOUNT KINABALU, UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Tourism contributes to the conservation and protection of mountainous areas, and even the characteristics and activities of tourism also affect the environmental sustainability of an area. This study aims to identify tourist characteristics, their opinion towards a sustainable environment, their activities conducted at the park and environmental impacts. Overall, 383 respondents agreed to participate, and the response has been analysed using the relative importance’s of these activities, and environmental impacts were quantified by the relative importance index method. Most of them visited Mount Kinabalu to experience natural sightseeing and hiking activity. Majority of them know environmental concern but feeling that KNP is rather crowded. Overall, the most popular activities were mount climbing and wildlife sightseeing by domestic and international tourist. The result of the study also has shown that noise and air pollution were ranked as the most important environmental impacts factors. Considering mountain tourism is an attraction and contributor to the economy of Sabah, there must be effective preventive measures. Because of that, planning, implementing and strengthening new policies and rules for tourist activities regarding the conservation and protection will help to minimize the impacts of tourism. Through the results of the study using the Relative Importance Index (RII) analysis, it is hoped that it will be able to help provide suggestions and solutions to balance the impacts of tourism in Mount Kinabalu towards sustainability.

The insect fauna of Tenompok Forest Reserve in Sabah, Malaysia

The insect fauna in Tenompok Forest Reserve, adjacent to Mount Kinabalu in Sabah was surveyed. Nocturnal insect diversity was moderately high, compared to other forest reserves surveyed earlier. Species richness, however, was moderate, with an average of 73 species from 84 individuals recorded from a 1m2 area of the light-trapping cloth. At least 20 Bornean endemic insect species were recorded from this rapid biodiversity assessment, which include 19 moth species and one beetle species. The endemics and other insects of conservation interest recorded during the survey provide salient information to enhance the conservation effort of this forest which connects Kinabalu Park and the Crocker Range Park. Such information provides inputs towards recommendations on high conservation value (HCV) of the area that would be incorporated in the formulation of the forest management plan. Issues affecting the insect fauna and recommendations on insect diversity enhancement and conservation are highlighted in this paper.