Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species (UK Government - DETR) Molecular tools for promoting biodiversity in rainforest fragments of Borneo

Collaborating Institutions: Earth Biosphere Institute and School of Biology, University of Leeds, UK; Department of Biology, University of York, UK, Institute of Tropical Biology & Conservation, University of Malaysia Sabah; Forest Research Centre, Sepilok, Sabah
Personnel: Project leader - Dr Keith Hamer. Fieldwork manager - Dr Jane Hill.
Molecular genetics manager - Dr Jeremy Searle. Malaysia co-ordinator - Prof Maryati Mohamed.
Research advisor - Dr Chey vun Khen.
Darwin Research Fellows - Suzan Benedick, Nazirah Mustaffa

Project background

Tropical conservationists face three major challenges in identifying priorities for conservation in the face of limited funding resources and the continuing loss of biodiversity: (1) tropical communities contain many species, especially invertebrates, that have not bee formally identified and whose taxonomy is only poorly resolved; (2) limited resources need to be targeted towards those species with the highest conservation value, but many tropical countries lack the molecular genetic skills required to identify those species that have the greatest phylogenetic uniqueness and so contribute most to biodiversity; (3) isolation of populations within forest fragments can limit the dispersal of individuals, so reducing genetic diversity within populations and increasing the likelihood of local extinctions. Effective conservation in fragmented landscapes requires estimates of gene flow patterns within and among habitat fragments, in order to minimize the isolation of populations and consequent loss of biodiversity. Yet the molecular genetic tools for estimating gene flow patterns are lacking in many tropical countries. This is a matter of urgent concern because in the near future, most remaining tropical forest will occur as fragments scattered among agriculture and urban development.

The Malaysian State of Sabah lies at the northern tip of Borneo

The State of Sabah (Borneo) is the poorest financially in Malaysia and most of its income is generated through conversion of rainforest into oil palm plantation and other forms of silviculture. This increasingly leaves patches of rainforest interspersed among oil palm and other plantations. These rainforest patches may contribute significantly to the conservation of rainforest biodiversity and some have been gazetted as Forest Reserves to protect them from further disturbance. However resources for protection are limited and forest managers lack the means of establishing priorities for patches based on key criteria (species diversity, representation of species of high conservation value and importance within a network of local populations). This lack of vital information also excludes forest managers from making informed recommendations as to the size and placement of forest patches to be preserved in future agricultural developments.

Specific aims

The main purpose of the project is, in consultation with Sabahan forestry researchers and managers, to use molecular genetic tools to further the development of strategies that balance conservation of rainforest biodiversity with agricultural development to meet local community requirements. To these ends, the project aims to attain the following major objectives:
(i) to train two Sabahan graduate biologists (Darwin Research Fellows) in molecular techniques for resolving taxonomy and quantifying genetic diversity, and in ecological techniques for sampling and monitoring biodiversity in forest patches;
(ii) to produce a comprehensive quantitative inventory of butterfly species in different sized forest fragments;
(iii) to establish a number of semi-permanant study plots in forest fragments for long-term monitoring of butterfly biodiversity;
(iv) to evaluate the relationship between forest fragmentation (size and isolation) and the diversity and conservation value of forest-dwelling butterfly species;
(v) to use molecular genetic techniques to resolve the taxonomy of problematic butterfly species and to attach conservation values to species on the basis of phylogenetic (evolutionary) distinctiveness;
(vi) to estimate gene flow and genetic population structure of selected butterfly species.

Study sites and methods

The study focuses on 10 lowland rainforest sites, varying in size from 1.2km² to 10,000km².

Map to showing the study sites. Forest fragments are shown in red.
The two control sites are Danum Valley and Maliau Basin.

At each site, we are using three different techniques to sample a variety of species:
(1) Fruit-feeding butterflies are sampled using traps baited with fruit;
(2) Carrion-feeding butterflies are sampled using traps baited with rotting fish and prawn paste;
(3) Family Lycaenidae (blues) are sampled by hand-netting along transects at each site.

We are also sampling butterflies in oil palm plantation, using all three sampling methods above, to provide information on the ability of species to disperse between forest fragments embedded in a matrix of plantations.
In most cases, captured butterflies are identified in the field, marked with a unique number or a coloured dot (depending on body size) and released. All individuals of new species, not previously sampled, are collected and preserved. All these specimens are housed in the permanent insect collections at Universiti Malaysia Sabah and the Forest Research Centre Sabah. In addition, we are collecting a sample of individuals from selected species for molecular genetic analysis. These include problematic species (genera Taenacia and Euthalia) and all species in the genus Mycalesis: this is one of the most species-rich genera of butterfly in Sabah and contains a mixture from endemic species (M. kina, M. amoeba) to species with very broad geographical distributions (e.g. M. mineus, occurring in both Oriental and Australasian regions), making it an ideal model genus to study phylogenetic distinctiveness. In addition, one species of Mycalesis (M. orseis) is confined to dense forest habitats but occurs at all study sites, making it an excellent model species to estimate gene flow and genetic structuring of populations. Material for molecular genetic analysis is being transported to the UK, under licence, for extraction, amplification and sequencing of mitochondrial DNA using standard techniques.

Mycalesis kina - a species endemic to Borneo

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