Talk: Wild Orchid of Sarawak: A decade of study and way to go forward

Dear members and friends,

This time we have a colourful   Talk on Wild Orchids of Sarawak

Date:          Wednesday 30 October 2019

Time:          7.30-9.30 PM ( Please be on time)

Venue :     Islamic Information Centre (Lower Baruk)

                  Jalan Ong Tiang Swee (behind Swinburne University)

Entrance:   Free of charge but donations are always welcome.

Speaker:     Ling Chea Yiing (Ms)

Please register before 30 October to secure your place by email mnskuching@gmail.com.

Wild Orchids of Sarawak: A decade of study and way to go forward

Orchidaceae is one of the largest families of flowering plants, estimated at over  25,000 species  in the world today.   In Borneo presently, it is estimated at over 2,500 species with slightly over 1,000 species occurring  in Sarawak. It is one of the most studied  group of plants by many botanists and taxonomists during mid-18^th until  20^thcentury. 

The first enumeration on orchids from Sarawak listed only 160 species by Henry Ridley in 1860. In 1994, a checklist of the orchids in Borneo was reported at 676 species from Sarawak, and and  additional 343 species reported by Beamanet al., bringing the  total of species to 1019. Despite  being   one of the most well-studied groups, interesting species continue to be discovered from various botanical exploration conducted by Sarawak Forestry Corporation from 2009 until 2019. These include seven species that are new records for Borneo and eight species that are new records for Sarawak. Three newly described species are namely,  Bulbophyllum upupops J.J.Vermeulen & Lamb., Thrixspermum lingiaeP.O'Byrne & Gokusingand Dendrobium nangajuenseC.Y.Ling & P.O'Byrne.

The continuous discovery of orchids is possible owing to the ex-situ conservation effort implemented by Sarawak Forestry Corporation. A Wild Orchid Garden located at Semenggoh Nature Reserve holds a total of over 3,700 collections since its establishment in 1982. The collections were made from various sites through different projects. These include the endangered habitats, as well as totally protected areas. The major challenges in study and conservation of orchids in Sarawak are the accessibility to less botanised areas, continuous threats to their habitats, inaccessibility of type specimens and lack of local experts. In order to conserve the wild orchids perpetually, micro-propagation of orchids is important to expand the collection in the garden. Along-term collaboration with orchids experts is important to enhance our knowledge of orchids richness in Sarawak. Conservation status assessment and application of Species Distribution Modelling are the  way to go forward for future in conservation of orchids in Sarawak.  

About the author:

Ling Chea Yiing has working with Sarawak Forestry Corporation since 2006.  Her first assignment as an intern was to enumerate tree species at Semenggoh Arboretum at Semenggoh Nature Reserve. She developa her interest in orchids when she moved from Forest Research Centre to Botanical Research Centre in 2009. She spends her free time roaming the Wild Orchid Garden in the Centre, to search for any flowering orchids, photographing the flowering plants and collect samples for future study.

From 2012 onwards, she was in-charge of the Wild Orchid Garden in the Centre. Orchid is one of the priority species for rescue or collection, as it is a Protected Plant under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1998. Many species of orchids were discovered during her 10-years surveys all over Sarawak. She has  authored  12 research papers/posters/journal about orchids and more are being published.

Regards,

Cynthia Lobato

Talk :Relictual Great Apes of Sundaland – Fossil and Prehistoric Orangutans

Talk:Relictual Great Apes of Sundaland – Fossil and Prehistoric Orang

Dear members and friends,

Our talk this time is organised in collaboration with FoSM and we are pleased to have Dr LIM Tze Tshen to share this interesting topic with us.

Topic: Relictual Great Apes of Sundaland – Fossil and Prehistoric Orangutans
Speaker: Dr. LIM Tze Tshen
Date: Thursday 29 August 2019
Time: 7.30-9.30 PM ( Please be on time)
Venue : Islamic Information Centre (Lower Baruk)
Jalan Ong Tiang Swee (behind Swinburne University)

Entrance: Free of charge but donations are always welcome.

Please register by email mnskuching@gmail.com to confirm your seat. Latest by Wednesday 28 August.

Short Abstract:

Orangutan fossils are not uncommonly found among prehistoric faunas across Southeast Asia and southern China. Fossil finds are mostly limited to isolated teeth, jaw and bone fragments from both palaeontological and archaeological sites.

Our current knowledge of the fossil record indicates that this Asian great ape had a broadly continuous distribution across the region, ranging in time from Early Pleistocene to Holocene (2.5 million years ago to present). The modern-day distribution, confines to certain parts of pockets of rainforest in northern Sumatra and Borneo, represents only a small portion of their former geographic range, which includes the Indochinese and Sundaic biogeographic provinces.

This talk will give an overview of what we have learned from the fossil record about the natural history (biogeography, taxonomic diversity, dental size variation over time among different geographic populations, and possible evidence of island dwarfism) of prehistoric orangutans. Evidence for selective hunting by prehistoric humans in Borneo, gathered through the extensive study of the rich zooarchaeological remains from Niah, and its implication for the local demise of the great ape will also be discussed.

Short Biography:

LIM Tze Tshen, University of Cambridge graduate (2018), is a research fellow of the Sarawak Museum Campus Project. By profession, he is a vertebrate palaeontologist and a zooarchaeologist. Lim has carried out systematic research on historical and more recently discovered orangutan fossils kept in museums worldwide.

In collaboration with colleagues from the University of Malaya and Palaeontology Society of Malaysia, he is also actively involved in the search for and study of fossil orangutans recovered from palaeontological sites in Peninsular Malaysia. His current research topics in Sarawak Museum focus on the systematic cataloguing of the rich and diverse zooarchaeological collections stored in the museum, and detailed investigation of the large mammal remains from Niah Caves archaeological sites, particularly, primates and other locally extinct mammal species.

As a biologist, he is keen to explore practical ways through which palaeontological and zooarchaeological findings can turn into effective conservation measures to alleviate the current loss of tropical biodiversity. He also maintains a strong interest in the professional preservation and scientific curation of natural history collections in Malaysia. He is a strong advocate for a dynamic and research-and-education oriented national natural history museum in Malaysia and the relevance of a well-maintained and sufficiently curated natural history museum to the well-being of modern-day society.

Web: https://cambridge.academia.edu/TzeTshenLIM

Regards Cynthia Lobato
MNSKB Secretari

Shorebird Outreach Programme – Batrisyia Teepol

Animals have been a part of the ecosystem even before we were born. But how many of us actually do take notice on their existence? Some do, some don’t and some, yet to.

Bako-Buntal Bay is one of the 55 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in Malaysia and the first site recognized as the Flyway Network Site of East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) for Malaysia. In order to let the locals see and understand the amazing annual migration of the migratory shorebirds, Malaysian Nature Society Kuching Branch’s intern, Batrisyia Teepol (Conservation Leadership Programme [CLP] Internship) decided to win the hearts of the younger generation. She visited three schools within Bako-Buntal Bay (SK Bako, SK Goebilt and SK Buntal) and shared her knowledge and concerns regarding shorebirds. She believes that education is the most powerful tool that can change the world and for this purpose – conservation.

About a total of 180 students (aged 11-12) participated in the programmes as a whole. She gave talks on shorebirds and why they migrate and dived deeper into plastic awareness. A range of activities were also organized, such as, colouring, presentation by the students and quizzes. The students participated actively and gave their full cooperation. Some students were excellent and showed interests during presentations and Q&A sessions.

With all the talks conducted, she hoped that she has done her part in instilling awareness and compassion for nature among these students and may they be the next leaders – with a passion for conservation.

Branch report May-July2019

Dear Members

We attach an  update of talks and activities  from May – July 2019 for your information.

Regards,

Cynthia Lobato

MNSKB Secretariat

Talk :Relictual Great Apes of Sundaland – Fossil and Prehistoric Orangutans

Dear members and friends,

Our talk this time is organised in collaboration with FoSM and we are pleased to have Dr LIM Tze Tshen to share this interesting topic with us.

Topic:      Relictual Great Apes of Sundaland – Fossil and Prehistoric Orangutans

Speaker:  Dr. LIM Tze Tshen

Date:       Thursday 29 August 2019

Time:       7.30-9.30 PM ( Please be on time)

Venue :    Islamic Information Centre (Lower Baruk)

                Jalan Ong Tiang Swee (behind Swinburne University)

Entrance: Free of charge but donations are always welcome.

Please register by email  mnskuching@gmail.com to confirm your seat. Latest by Wednesday 28 August.

Short Abstract:

Orangutan fossils are not uncommonly found among prehistoric faunas across Southeast Asia and southern China. Fossil finds are mostly limited to isolated teeth, jaw and bone fragments from both palaeontological and archaeological sites.

Our current knowledge of the fossil record indicates that this Asian great ape had a broadly continuous distribution across the region, ranging in time from Early Pleistocene to Holocene (2.5 million years ago to present). The modern-day distribution, confines to certain parts of pockets of rainforest in northern Sumatra and Borneo, represents only a small portion of their former geographic range, which includes the Indochinese and Sundaic biogeographic provinces. 

This talk will give an overview of what we have learned from the fossil record about the natural history (biogeography, taxonomic diversity, dental size variation over time among different geographic populations, and possible evidence of island dwarfism) of prehistoric orangutans. Evidence for selective hunting by prehistoric humans in Borneo, gathered through the extensive study of the rich zooarchaeological remains from Niah, and its implication for the local demise of the great ape will also be discussed.

Short Biography:

LIM Tze Tshen, University of Cambridge graduate (2018), is a research fellow of the Sarawak Museum Campus Project. By profession, he is a vertebrate palaeontologist and a zooarchaeologist. Lim has carried out systematic research on historical and more recently discovered orangutan fossils kept in museums worldwide.

 In collaboration with colleagues from the University of Malaya and Palaeontology Society of Malaysia, he is also actively involved in the search for and study of fossil orangutans recovered from palaeontological sites in Peninsular Malaysia. His current research topics in Sarawak Museum focus on the systematic cataloguing of the rich and diverse zooarchaeological collections stored in the museum, and detailed investigation of the large mammal remains from Niah Caves archaeological sites, particularly, primates and other locally extinct mammal species. 

As a biologist, he is keen to explore practical ways through which palaeontological and zooarchaeological findings can turn into effective conservation measures to alleviate the current loss of tropical biodiversity. He also maintains a strong interest in the professional preservation and scientific curation of natural history collections in Malaysia. He is a strong advocate for a dynamic and research-and-education oriented national natural history museum in Malaysia and the relevance of a well-maintained and sufficiently curated natural history museum to the well-being of modern-day society.    

Web: https://cambridge.academia.edu/TzeTshenLIM

Regards Cynthia Lobato

MNSKB Secretariat