All Creatures Great and Small # 62

Plastic in Mountain Rock Salt

Salt found in the mountains of Sarawak is processed, and various plastics are accidentally added to the salt products sold to the public. doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.122207

Mangosteen

The identification of cultivated mangosteen plants and their wild ancestors is difficult. The similarities of the plant structures between the two wild and the one cultivated variety has proved a hardship in telling the three species apart. https://doi.org/10.24823/EJB.2024.2003

Fault Line

A geological line which separates Kuching from Sibu and runs through Santubong is called the Lupar Line. It has been determined as a fault line where two continental masses are rubbing and bumping against each other. This could cause earthquakes and volcanoes to occur. Another line, called the Tinjar line, runs just south of Brunei and has also been designated as a fault line.  The Borneo Island Fault line runs down the Crockett mountain range. It’s like putting a puzzle together. doi.org/10.1016/j.jaesx.2024.100184

Batang Oroo

Sign language where sticks and leaves are used along a trail to point to water, stones or the correct pathway is the subject of this essay. We present Interactive Batang Oroo’ which is designed to extract and document the rules of Oroo’s sign language of Penans in Malaysian Borneo. The tool allows users to have an immersive experience but also contributes to the understanding of this unique sign language. doi.org/10.1145/3661456.3666051

Reef Fish

Coral cover and reef fish abundance around Sempu Strait tended to decrease. These results emphasize the profound impact of coral health on the conditions and sustainability of reef fish populations. These findings underscore the critical dependency of reef fish on coral ecosystems and provide essential data for conservation efforts to maintain and restore. 10.13057/biodiv/d250808 

Even Toed Mammals

This research is based on even-toed mammal research in Indonesia and Borneo. These include over 20 species of mammals including pigs, deer and orangutans. We reviewed and summarized 110 field-based research articles published between 1988 and 2022 covering Artiodactyla (even-toed) species throughout Indonesia and, as a comparison, Malaysian Borneo, aiming to identify biases in Artiodactyla research in the region. doi.org/10.4404/hystrix-00720-2024

Sambas Sultanate

The purpose of this article is to review how the influence of Sultan Muhammad Mulia Ibrahim Syafiuddin in 1931-1943 on the progress of contemporary Islamic civilization in the Sambas area. The results showed that the influence of the Sultan was restructuring the Islamic government through aspects of renewing educational institutions, religious institutions, politics, and Islamic law. At the same time, infrastructure development, such as many major roads were expanded by the Sultan even built two large bridges as a means of transportation for the people of Sambas which are used until now, as well as in the field of architecture renovating the palace and making the symbol of the Alwatzikubillah palace. file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/2-Sultan+Muhammad.pdf I have a copy just ask

Free Roaming Animals and Tourism Development

Free-roaming animals in tourism destinations present unique opportunities and challenges for responsible tourism development. These animals can attract visitors to lesser-known locations, revitalizing communities with tourism revenue. However, their ecological and societal impacts must be considered. Invasive species like feral dogs and cats threaten local biodiversity, while human-animal interactions pose risks of zoonotic disease transmission. DOI: 10.47263/JRTM.04-02-05

Ambrosia Beetle

Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are wood-boring beetles that play an important role in temperate forests. They live symbiotically with microorganisms such as fungi that can cause plant wilt and death. In Sarawak, Malaysia, the ambrosia beetles have been found attacking exotic tree species such as Acacia mangium, Acacia crassicarpa and Eucalyptus pellita in some forest plantations. This research aimed to investigate the occurrence of the ambrosia beetles and determine their diversity in forest plantations located in western Sarawak, Malaysia. https://doi.org/10.17576/serangga-2024-2902-03 or I have a copy.

Bunga Keladi

The  Bunga Keladi (genus Schismatoglottis) has undergone revision in the botanical literature. Schismatoglottis comprises sixty-nine accepted species, twenty-four provisionally accepted names, and three species of doubtful affinity that are retained provisionally in Schismatoglottis pending further study. : 10.36253/jopt-16015

Fanged Frogs

Everything you could possibly want to know about the frogs is in this paper. One highlight, the frogs were divided into three clades ( a group of organisms that shared a common ancestor)  that corresponded to the mainland, Javanese and Borneo varieties. From the Borneo clade, 17 distinct lineages evolved. https://doi.org/10.5358/hsj.43.226

Sulu Sea

The opening, closure and reopening of the Sulu Sea is the subject of this paper. The main aim of this study was to study the opening and subsequent closure of the Sulu Sea through discerning tectonic unconformities (gaps in geologic record) structural features, and subduction-collision tectonic zones around the margins of the sea. /doi.org/10.3390/jmse12081456

Soil Changes with logging

We found logging significantly shifted soil bacterial and fungal community composition, reduced the abundance of fungus that is spread through the gut of mammals, increased the abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal(a fungus that depends on plants to continue to grow) fungi, and reduced soil phosphorous concentration. 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1447999

Jumping Spiders

An interesting new species known only from the forest canopy in Borneo, Phintelloides scandens sp. nov, is described based on both male and female specimens. 10.3897/BDJ.12.e129438

War in Indonesia

Rompok in 1942 Borneo by the Japanese is described in this newly published article. I have a copy.

Bidayuh Language

The Bidayuhs, an indigenous community in Sarawak, Malaysia, are presently experiencing heavy language shift. This study compiles and categorizes the languages according to three levels: (i) schools, (ii) community, and (iii) society.  https://doi.org/10.24191/ijmal.v8i3.26131

Chinese

Chinese life in modern Sarawak is described in this thoughtful article.https://doi.org/10.55057/ajress.2024.6.3.12

New Orchid

 A new species from the central part of Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), Bulbophyllum sapathawungense, is described and illustrated.

Mammals

This PhD dissertation investigates the potential impacts of large-scale development (the relocation of Indonesia’s capital to East Kalimantan, and associated road development) on critical habitat of threatened mammals. 10.22024/UniKent/01.02.107081

Honey

This study aimed to investigate bacterial contaminants and antimicrobial activity of forest honey from Bunut Hilir (B) and Jongkong (J) districts, Kapuas Hulu regency, West Borneo, Indonesia. The data indicated that despite the antibacterial activity of honey, in some circumstances, bacterial cells can survive in honey. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0209392

Bats

  • Bats are typically nocturnal. However, daylight activity (ie between one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset) is known for a small subset of species, often associated with small oceanic islands. Here, we describe numerous observations of the diurnal activity of Horsfield’s bat (Myotis horsfieldii), in Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, Malaysia. Between 2015 and 2020, bats were repetitively observed flying along streams and rivers at 14 localities during various hours of the day. Daylight active bats exhibited a flight pattern concurrent with prey-hunting strategies. doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2024.2393464

BorneoHistory.net