PREDICTIVE TOOLS
FOR TARGETING CONSERVATION EFFORT IN BORNEAN FOREST RESERVES
COLLABORATING
INSTITUTES:
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University
of Leeds
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Natural History
Museum
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Institute
for Tropical Biology and Conservation
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
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Forest Research Centre
Sabah Forestry Department
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Files to Download:
B2D2 Database of Butterfly records
Teaching Pack - Modelling Species Distributions
Atlas of Butterfly Current Distributions
Background
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Over the past few decades, researchers from a number of Universities
and conservation bodies have worked on analytical tools for mapping
tropical biodiversity and designing reserve networks. However, the lack
of available distribution data means that these analyses are generally
limited to only a few well-studied taxa analysed at coarse spatial scales.
Moreover, climate change has not been considered in this context and
conservationists generally have assumed that species ranges are static
and have not taken account of how climate change may interact with land-use
changes to affect species' distributions. This project is a new initiative
which will capitalise on the project partners' previous experience in
modeling limits to species' distributions
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and in determining impacts of future climate and land-use changes on
species. The project will also capitalise on the large amount of information
on species' distributions held within museum collections.
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PROJECT OBJECTIVES
- To enable conservationists, forest managers and policy makers to prioritise
the conservation value of existing rainforest reserve networks in Sabah
(Malaysian Borneo).
- To assess the likely impacts on conservation value of future land-use
and environmental changes.
- To enable stakeholders in Sabah to promote responsible economic growth
whilst maximizing the conservation of biodiversity.
We will focus on butterflies which are highly diverse with many
endemic species on Borneo and are well-known sensitive indicators of environmental
changes. However, we hope that the principles developed by the project will
be applicable to a wide range of other taxa.
Mycalesis kina is endemic to Borneo and likely to be very sensitive
to environmental changes.
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Polyura jalysus is a canopy species that may be less sensitive
to changes in light conditions arising from land-use changes.
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METHODS
During the project, we will:
- Collate existing data on the distributions of forest species and map fine
scale distributions across the whole Borneo, based on species' climate and
habitat requirements.
- Use computer models to integrate these data across species to quantify the
conservation value of existing reserves in Sabah based on biologically important
criteria.
- Use model output to provide clear practical advice on the biodiversity consequences
within reserve networks of changes in climate and land-use.
Project Duration: June 2005 to May 2008
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The project will collect data to describe the distribution of butterflies
across Borneo.
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The project will investigate how future land-use changes, such as clear
felling will affect the conservation value of remaining forest reserves.
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ACTIVITIES
During the project, we will:
- Collect data on the distribution of species on Borneo from existing sources,
including museum collections and published information.
- Develop models to predict species' distributions across Borneo in relation
to climate, elevation and habitat and test model predictions with new field
data.
- Use the distribution data to determine conservation value of existing forest
areas in Sabah and to quantify biodiversity changes under a range of climate
and land-use scenarios.
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Darwin Fellow Dr Suzan Benedick (left) and Darwin Research Assistant
Nasir Abd Majid (right) checking a butterfly collection in Sabah.
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Darwin Fellow Dr Suzan Benedick (left), Dr Chey Vun Khen (centre)
and Darwin Research Assistant Nasir Abd Majid collecting information from
the collections at the Forest Research Centre, Sepilok, Sabah
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Darwin Fellow Mazidi Abd Ghani entering data into the distribution
database.
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OUTPUTS
- Quantitative assessment of conservation value of forest reserves based on
a range of biodiversity criteria.
- Training of two Darwin Research Fellows in ecological and modelling
techniques for reserve design.
- Organizing a workshop attended by local scientists and stakeholders in Sabah
to discuss implications of project findings.
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Trogonoptera brookiana - an example of the information collected
from museum specimens and entered into the distribution database.
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The BORNEENSIS collection housed within University Malaysia Sabah contains
many Bornean butterfly specimens.
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PERSONNEL
Project Leader - Dr Jane K. Hill (York)
Database Manager - Dr Keith C. Hamer (Leeds)
Research Advisor - Dr David C. Lees (NHM), Dr Colin J. McLean (York),
Dr Alison Cameron (Princeton)
Malaysia Co-ordinator - Dr Maryati Mohammed (UMS).
Research Advisor - Dr Chey Vun Khen (FRC).
Darwin Research Fellows - Dr Suzan Benedick and Mazidi
Abd Ghani
