Pillars – The Habitat Foundation

What It Takes to Uncover the Hidden World of Land Snails

Rong — Thu, 27 Apr 2023 09:43:00 +0000

Land snails are not cute or cuddly. They are also slimy. This might make them a hard sell for conservation. Fortunately, they do grow on you. The deeper you delve into the world of snails, slugs and semi-slugs, the more fascinating they become!

Join us as we follow Assoc. Prof. Dr. Liew Thor Seng, recipient of a 2022 THF Research Grant, in his exploration of the forest of Penang Hill to assess the diversity of land snails present. The aim: to contrast the latest assessment with one from scientists more than 153 years ago to learn something about how wildlife assemblages are changing in response to human activity and climate change!

SMART-Effective Food Waste Composter Pilot Project for Penang Hill

Rong — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 09:15:00 +0000

Continuing the sustainability initiative by the Foundation which started last year, the Effective Food Waste Composter (EFWC) developed by Professor Dr. Che Zalina from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) has now been installed at The Habitat Penang Hill, where the machine is monitored by the staff.

Currently, the brown waste such as leaves, twigs and coffee ground and the green waste such as egg shells, fruit and vegetable peels are collected from the Penang Hill park, the staff working at The Habitat and some nearby food vendors. Thus far, two batches of composts, rich in nutrients, were produced with the machine.

The process of composting has gone through a few rounds of trials. Our team has provided some feedback to Prof Dr Zalina on the functionality of the prototype and the quality of the composts produced. Meanwhile, the staff are working diligently on obtaining the ideal proportion of the brown and green waste to yield compost, with the ideal humidity and texture, regularly.

Green Waste collected for composting.

Once the process is streamlined, The Habitat aims to expand our waste collection to the residential community around Penang Hill as well as other stakeholders on the hill.

Diversity of Dragonflies and Damselflies on Penang Island

Rong — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 10:06:00 +0000

The Habitat Foundation is pleased to support a research on the diversity of dragonflies and damselflies through our 2021 Research Grant. Dragonflies and damselflies are categorized under the order of Odonata and they are one of the least known species of Penang Island. This study aims to document the diversity of Odonata within the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve and to produce an Odonata species list for the Biosphere Reserve.

Dragonflies and damselflies are charismatic representatives of insect diversity. They may look similar from afar with their slender bodies, big compound eyes and membranous wings, but each group has its own unique features that can easily tell them apart. Their iridescent wings and body that come in all shades of colour is what attracted Dr Choong Chee Yen in the first place to learn more about them.

Dr Choong Chee Yen, who is the Associate Professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and also one of the leading experts on Odonata in Malaysia started studying dragonflies and damselflies since 2005. As a macrophotographer, he was drawn into the details of the Odonata and is mesmerized by their colours. His growing love for dragonflies and damselflies has driven his passion as a scientist to document the species diversity and he has since then dedicated himself to this field.

Dr Choong Chee Yen, whose love for dragonflies and damselflies, has driven him to be a researcher on Odonata.

For this study, Dr Choong has made a few visits to several freshwater habitats within the study area to collect his samples. In determining the field sites, he takes into consideration different water bodies environments such as clean flowing water, brackish water, stagnant water and elevation. Thus far, he has collected about 40 species of dragonflies and damselflies and 7 new Odonata species were identified after cross-referencing with previously published records on Penang Island. These 7 species include:

Scientific Name	Common Name	Location
i) Acrogomphus malayanus	Malayan Hooktail	The Habitat Penang Hill
ii) Leptogomphus risi	Ris’ Clubtail	Titi Kerawang
iii) Orthetrum luzonicum	Marsh Skimmer/ Slender Blue Skimmer	Tiger Hill
iv) Nepogomphus walli		Titi Kerawang
v) Zygonyx iris malayana		Titi Kerawang
vi) Coeliccia erici		Penang Botanic Garden
vii) Echo modesta	White-faced Clearwing	Titi Kerawang, Moniot, Penang Botanic Garden

New records of Odonata species on Penang Island found within the Penang Hil Biosphere Reserve.

Ris’ Clubtail (Leptogomphus risi)

Coeliccia erici

White-faced clearwing (Echo modesta)

Dragonflies and damselflies play an important part in our ecosystem. As some species depend on clean freshwater bodies for their life cycle, their presence has become synonymous with healthy ecosystems. Certain species only occur in clean flowing water while some can tolerate polluted water. Thus based on the species found, the water quality of that habitat can be determined. According to Dr Choong, the common green metalwing (Neurobasis chinensis) and common flashwing (Vestalis amethystina) are two examples of Odonata species for clean water bioindicators found on Penang Island.

Common flashwing (Vestalis amethystina)

By nature, dragonflies and damselflies are also good biocontrol for pests. Long existed since millions of years ago, the Odonata has evolved to be carnivorous. The flying adults eat mosquitoes and other insects while their larvae or nymphs also feed on mosquito larvae, tadpoles and even small fishes.

Through this study, we hope to gain more insights into the health of aquatic ecosystems on Penang Island and to further showcase dragonfly watching as a new area of specialty ecotourism in Malaysia.

THF 2022 Sustainable Tourism Grant Recipients

ahmadamir — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:16:00 +0000

THF 2022 Research Grant Recipients

ahmadamir — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:15:00 +0000

THF 2022 Conservation Grant recipients

ahmadamir — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 00:15:00 +0000

Hosting our international guests – a glimpse into Shorebird Peninsular Malaysia Project (SPMP)

webadmin — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 00:09:00 +0000

These weary travellers rely on the continued presence of feeding grounds and safe roosting sites to enable them to renew their strength and to complete their migration further south. As long as we preserve this important wetland stopover site, we will be able to continue to witness the inspiring spectacle of their migration.

To this end, The Habitat Foundation is proud to support the Shorebirds of Peninsular Malaysia Project in documenting the annual arrival of the shorebirds species and promoting greater awareness of their importance through its education programmes. This project is led by Dr Nur Munira who is one of the recipients of the THF Research and Conservation Grants for 2019/2020.

Apply for The Habitat Foundation Masters Scholarship for Research in Bioacoustics

Rong — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 06:14:00 +0000

Topic

Application of bioacoustics to document and monitor wildlife diversity on Penang Hill

Insights into the rhythm of life

Bioacoustics is an exciting new research field. The sounds of the Malaysian rainforest – frogs, geckos, birds, bats, squirrels, primates, and insects create a distinctive soundscape. With emerging technology and analytic software we are now able to capture the sounds of nature and gain valuable insights into the natural world. Documenting and monitoring this soundscape also has the potential to provide indicators of species diversity and ecosystem health.

The aim of this research is to document the diversity and abundance of wildlife of Penang Hill using bioacoustics. It will build a reference library of unique sonotypes for the species of the hill. This will provide a baseline and foundation for asking important ecological questions.

The scholarship

The Habitat Foundation is funding a Masters Scholarship for Research in Bioacoustics on Penang Hill which will be offered at the School of Biological Sciences (SBS), USM. The successful candidate will have their university registration and tuition fees covered, and receive a monthly stipend of RM1,000 for 24 months. Equipment and field costs will be provided by The Habitat Foundation.

Who can apply

The scholarship is offered to Malaysian citizens and will be for 2 years. Suitable candidates are encouraged to apply by 30 August 2021. The study is expected to commence in October 2021.

Candidates should

enjoy the outdoors and have a keen sense of curiosity and interest in conducting fieldwork in the tropical rain forest
possess a Bachelor’s degree in biology, geography or any other relevant field (CGPA >2.75/4.00)
have a good command of English and Bahasa Malaysia
be self-motivated and capable of carrying out independent research
be a good team player but also able to work under minor supervision

How to apply

Applicants should submit a short statement letter (1 page) explaining their interest in the research accompanied by their (1) Curriculum Vitae, (2) academic transcript, and (3) letter of reference.

Enquiries may be addressed to Dr Nadine Ruppert . Applications for the scholarship, should be received by email not later than 30 August 2021.

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview.

The Habitat commences a long-term bioacoustics research programme

webadmin — Sat, 23 Jan 2021 14:49:19 +0000

Rainforest diversity is not just something that can be appreciated with the eyes. It is also expressed by a diversity of sounds – the song of birds, the shrill siren of cicadas, and the calls of frogs and geckos, and the vocalizations of squirrels and primates are part of the forest landscape.

Bioacoustics, a cross-disciplinary science which combines biology with acoustics is proving to be an indispensable tool for studying and interpreting our natural world. In addition to understanding wildlife ecology, it is assisting scientists in monitoring change brought about by anthropogenic pressures and climate change. For these reasons, The Habitat Foundation is embarking on a long-term bioacoustics research programme based at The Habitat Penang Hill.

In line with efforts to boost capacity in bioacoustics among local researchers, a two-day online bioacoustics/sound analysis workshop was held on the 25th and 28th January 2021 organized by the the Malaysian Primatological Society (MPS) in collaboration with the Centre for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This training was organized with the School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

A total of 37 participants joined the two-day online workshop, with the option of joining the third day for consultation with Cornell. They were mainly researchers and students working in Southeast Asia who are currently using or plan to use bioacoustics for wildlife studies.

A recent workshop with the Centre for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is helping to build on a firm foundation for The Habitat Penang Hill’s Bioacoustics Research Programme.

On the first day, the participants had the opportunity to get an overview of the different ways bioacoustics can be used through the sharing of five presenters. Dr Priscilia Miard of Night Spotting Project shared her experience of using ultrasound recording devices to detect bats and colugos in Penang and Langkawi. Iza, another PhD student from USM, also shared her use of active bioacoustic survey methods to study gibbon groups in Taman Negara, Pahang.

Bioacoustics has been used to identify changes in Bornean ape calls to serve as early-warning indicators of anthropogenic change. African elephants being monitored with bioacoustics have also been found to warn their herd of the presence of poachers.

On the second day, a quick Raven Pro 1.6 tutorial was given where the participants learnt the basic functions of the software before moving on to Raven Pro 2.0, a beta version which has a powerful Template Detector tool that uses a stereotypical sound clip to detect similar sounds in a lengthy recording.

Raven Pro Software

This bioacoustics workshop is a part of the Habitat Foundation’s effort to promote ongoing learning and to build skills in research capacity. As more capacities are built, this training will be extended to more local researchers in locations where projects or project partners are supported by the Foundation.

In December 2020, Dr Priscilia Miard has also conducted a 3 days hands-on training in bioacoustic monitoring works at The Habitat Penang Hill after a similar workshop was held. The training was done during the day and night to capture both diurnal and nocturnal animal calls.

Dr. Priscillia Miard setting up the recorder

ltrasonic device used to detect bats

Sound recorded in wavelength on phone

The recordings made are in the process of being separated into different animal calls and these will then be added to the database for future research. In April 2021, The Habitat Foundation announced a new Master’s Scholarship in Bioacoustics at the School of Biological Sciences, USM. For the two-year Masters by Research, the Foundation will cover registration and tuition fees, and a monthly stipend, field costs and equipment. Suitable candidates are invited to apply by 30 May 2021.

Ecosystem Services Provided by Bats in Ricefields

Rong — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 02:02:00 +0000

The study to be undertaken Dr Nurul ‘Ain of the School of Biological Sciences, USM focusses on the insectivorous bats of the Gunung Keriang area of Kedah.

It aims to ascertain whether the insectivorous bats which roost in the nearby limestones caves are consuming species that are known to be pests in rice fields.

The research methodology involves documenting seasonal insect abundance and pest availability at different phases of paddy growth. Faecal samples of bats will be analysed to understand resource partitioning among the bats of Gunung Keriang.

Equipment for measuring the seasonal insect abundance in the paddy fields.

The view of Gunung Keriang changes with the different stages of paddy growth.

The research is expected to provide conclusive scientific evidence that bats do provide essential ecosystem services in Malaysian rice agriculture. Consequently, maintaining bat roosts would demonstrate an ecologically-friendly method for controlling pests that helps increase crop production by lowering the impact of pests. The findings would also be economically important. Reducing the use of chemical pesticides in ricefields can slow down pesticide resistance among pests and helps MADA and other relevant authorities from spending money for pest control. This would also reduce the harmful impacts of pesticides on the environment.

In addition, the study also has a social component. It will document the awareness level of the local farming community on bats. The findings of this study will provide information to indicate the need for future educational programmes in this area.

Dr Nurul ‘Ain plans to undertake this research with her students over a period of 1.5 years.

This study fits the Habitat’s theme of understanding the ecosystem services provided by wildlife wherein the presence of the bats will help to reduce the amount of pest in the rice field without using any chemical pesticides. This study could also lead to the reduction of harmful chemical pesticides in the environment.

Different species of insectivorous bats that are known to roost in Gunung Keriang