Dato Seri Lord Cranbrook's Visit

We had the honour and pleasure of Dato Seri Lord Cranbrook's visit to Bintulu this year over the Easter weekend. While in Bintulu, Dato Seri talked to science teachers from SM KaiDee and SJK Chung Hua 1 & 2 to discuss and explore ways in which science education could be made more interesting for the students to encourage their curiousity in nature. Our secretary Mr. Lau Song Ting hosted the discussion at his seminar room. Dato Seri showed some slides of activities carried out by the Wildlife Trusts in the United Kingdom to give us some ideas of what may be possible here. As the oil palm industry is of such immense importance in this country, he suggested that perhaps students could visit oil palm plantations and mills to understand the workings of this industry, in particular to the science of it. The oil palm industry may also be interested to take a part in such educational programs for students as part of their corporate social responsiblities.

Dato Seri Lord Cranbrook gave a Natural Science Lecture at UPM to over 200 students on the 23 April 2011 on "A New Look On The BioGeography of Mammals in Borneo", looking at the distribution of various mammals in Borneo, Sundaland, South East Asia and West Asia and attempting to find patterns that could help to provide explanations.

The next morning, Dato Seri visited the UPM Mitsubishi Forest with a group of postgraduate students to look at the trees and how well the forest is doing. Armed with binoculars and cameras, the students were enthusiastic on this field trip and asked many questions. It rained heavily at the end of the trip and everyone was soaked through. After going home and having their showers, we met up again at Laksa House for the Sarawak Laksa. Our reporter friend Calvin turned up and did an impromptu interview with Dato Seri and his write up was published in the Star newspaper on the 26 April 2011.

We thank Dato Seri Lord Cranbrook for taking time to visit us again in Bintulu and for his effort in helping us to encourage curiousities about our natural world as well as stimulating our interests in the study of the natural sciences.

Happy Easter!

CABEP 2011 April Samarakan Field Trip

The second CABEP field trip to Samarakan took place on the 16-17 April with 11 students and 2 teachers from SM Kai Dee and 9 students & 4 teachers from SMK Bandar, as well as four representatives from CIMB led by Encik Suaidi. As it was polling day of the 10th Sarawak State Election, we delayed the start of our journey to 9.30am to allow voting before the trip.
The participants from SM KaiDee were Form two students while those from SMK Bandar were Form four’s. After an introductory lecture, Joannes Unggang told the students and teachers about the conservation program of the Sarawak Planted Forest. Alex Jukie gave a lively talk about Wildlife Conservation, Ollince Tateh taught the students about Odonata while Belden introduced Birds and taught on birdwatching and taking notes of observations. The workshop session on how to use cameras was conducted by Joannes at the end of the lectures.
After a short rest in the evening and a quick dinner, everyone was ready for the night jungle trek. The students were divided into 4 groups, each group having a camera to record their sightings during the trek.
The moon was almost full that evening and was shining bright. Frogs, spiders, stick insects, lizards, ants, snails, civet cats etc were spotted during the trek.
The KaiDee group was up and ready to start birdwatching early the next morning well before the appointed time of 7am when the other groups arrived at the meeting point. Binoculars were issued to each of the participants after a brief instruction was given on their proper use and care. Herons, kingfishers, cuckoos, egrets, parakeets, swallows, starlings, sandpipers, waterhens were spotted and some students were able to note detailed enough observations to help in identifying the bird species from field guides, with the help of Belden and Ngegang.
Everyone was hungry after the morning session of birdwatching and tucked into breakfast. During breakfast while waiting for the food, Alex told the students about the Wildlife Protection Act and why it is important that wildlife should not be kept as pets or be traded.
Rejuvenated after breakfast, the students went on to study Odonata in the field and learnt to identify dragonflies from damselflies, males and females etc with Ollince to guide them.
After morning tea, it was time for the students to get to work on their own presentation of what they have learnt about conservation and biodiversity and their plans on outreaching to others in the community. Mr. Tham Chee Keong gave a short lecture on Forestry As A Career just before lunch.
During their presentations, the students showed the photographs that they had taken, and some groups presented the observations that they have made, which delighted Alex who remarked that they have taken an important step into the discipline of careful observation and note taking which is the essence of scientific field work.
The bus was ready by the time the students finished their presentation and everyone was brought safely back to Bintulu by 5pm on Sunday.

Natural Science Lecture by Lord Cranbrook

Natural Science Lecture

Title: A New Look At The Biogeography Of Bornean Mammals

Speaker: Datuk Seri Lord Cranbrook

Date: 23 April 2011

Time: 3-5pm

Venue: Dewan A, University Putra Malaysia (Bintulu Campus)

Signs will be posted all along the way from the entrance gate to UPM. Inform the security that you are attending the Natural Science Lecture.

All who are interested are welcome. Admission Free.

Abstract
Pattern and puzzles:
A new look at the zoogeography of Borneo/Kalimantan mammals

Earl of Cranbrook MA PhD

The island of Borneo/Kalimantan straddles the equator from about 7 o N to 4 o S between 109 o – 119 o E, and is the most easterly large landmass of the South-east Asian continental shelf, known as the Sunda Shelf. The wild land and freshwater mammals of the island comprise about 285 species. Since the beginning of zoogeography as a discipline, it has been observed that at the level of family, genus and frequently species, there is close affinity between the mammal faunas of the Thai-Malaysia peninsula south of about 10° N, Borneo and the other Greater Sunda Islands (Sumatra, Java and Bali), leading to the recognition of this area as a zoogeographical subregion. It has also long been understood that the existence of a distinct Sundaic mammal fauna reflects periodic exposure of the bed of the South China Sea during Plio-Pleistocene glacial episodes, which provided opportunities for migration and merger of populations.
In faunistic analyses it has been customary to treat Borneo as a single biogeographical unit. However, a review of well-documented species and subspecies, as defined by current opinion, shows a variety of distributional patterns within the island. Moreover, since the 1950s, archaeological discoveries have increased understanding of past distributions. Since the 1990s, molecular studies have shed new light on classical taxonomy and hence forced a revision of former zoogeographical assumptions. As we move into in the 21st century era of easy, rapid DNA analysis and molecular phylogenies, some surprising results are emerging.
This new evidence of regional and local speciation provides insight into selective processes and the time-scale of evolution. This information could assist the planning of measures to counteract the adverse impacts of global warming and human pressure on the threatened wild mammal resource of Kalimantan and the subregion.

The Biogeography of Birds of Borneo by Professor Fred Sheldon

Professor Frederick Sheldon of Louisiana State University


The audience at UPM (Bintulu campus)


Calvin of Bintulu.org was there to report on the lecture, along with Ms Anne Melissa King, Warden of Similajau National Park, see article below by Calvin

Cracking the bird code: why Sabah and Sarawak bird differ?
By: BO EDITORIAL Saturday, March 19, 2011, 12:55 MST

The magpie-robin found in Sarawak spotted a white belly, while in Sabah it is black. The bird species in Sabah said to be closely related to their cousins on the montane of Java island instead of Sarawak.


How could birds of same species found on same island could be distinctively different?

That is a uniquely Borneo phenomenon according to Louisiana State University don, in a public lecture attended by lecturers, university students, pupils, teachers and government officers held at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Bintulu on Thursday.

Professor Frederick H. Sheldon said the phenomenon can be explained by looking back to some 21,000 years ago. The ice age era. During that period, we were told much of the South China Sea was actually a Savannah – not sea, teeming with life – including birds.

The part of Borneo, now known as Sabah, then was much drier, with desert-like weather not the tropics. In contrast, Sarawak spanning towards Kalimantan, Indonesia was colder, lowland areas and green. This flora and fauna divide basically explained why birds found in present day Sabah and Sarawak are different.

“Bird of same species for example the Sharma and Pitta have distinctive Sabah or Sarawak features,” he said, adding “Sarawak Sharma spotted a white-rumped, while in Sabah they are white-crowned; Sarawak – Garnet Pitta, while Sabah Black and crimson Pitta.



“Many would say the birds in Sabah should be similar to those found in Sarawak as they are living on the same island,” Prof Sheldon said. Sarawak birds he said are closely related to peninsular birds, while Sabah birds resembled those found in the montane of Java island.

He also pointed out that some bird species found throughout Borneo, but not in Sabah – for example the Crestless Fireback (Lophura eryhrophthalma). Similarly, some lowland birds like the Chestnut-necklaced Partridge (Arborophila charltonii) only occur in Sabah not the rest of Borneo.

Prof Sheldon, 60, is no stranger to Borneo. He first set foot on the island about 35-year ago as a young, excited Yale university postgraduate student studying birds biogeography in Sabah. He also get a teaching stint at then Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) Sabah campus. Ever since, have been regularly return to this part of the world.



“I would return to Malaysia like every five year. Each visit I saw different phases of development,” he said, adding only small part of Kinabatangan river were cultivated for commercial large scale plantation, then.

“Three decades ago when you told people you wanna go up the Kinabatangan river, they say you are crazy,” he recalled, saying Malaysians then were generally ignorant of the important environmental conservation, unlike they are today.

“Today people already saw the benefits of biodiversity conservation and actually proud to show you the forest in their surrounding,” Prof Sheldon said.

As a biologist, Sheldon confessed he is very protective of the environment and is more at ease working in the jungle, surrounded by animals, birds and insects than in air-conditioned office. Throughout his nearly two hours lecture, Prof Sheldon stressed the message of conservation of Borneo vast biodiversity.

“Do you know that Borneo is the center of biogeography studies in the world?” he said, and that Malay archipelago is the birthplace of biogeography studies.


Prof Sheldon acknowledged Sarawak’s biodiversity was still largely protected and thriving despite the immense pressure to meet the country’s development needs, which could lead to biodiversity losses in other part of the world.

He said Malaysian authorities in many aspects have succeeded in balancing those needs without compromising the environment.

“The creation of buffer zones in a plantation area is crucial at sustaining biodiversity,” he said, pointing to observations they had done at acacia mangium plantation, in Tatau, near Bintulu.

“The acacia plantation actually useful to the birds in the areas as it provides abundance of food supply.

Currently, an Adjunct Professor in Biological Sciences at Louisiana State University, Sheldon had published more than 34 journals/books in his field of interest: the evolution and systematics of birds, and the natural history of the birds of the Malay archipelago.

This article was also published at The Star (printed version) Saturday, March 19, 2011


Read more: http://www.bintulu.org/news/2011/03/19/cracking-the-bird-code-why-sabah-and-sarawak-bird-differ.php#ixzz1JN1RLONs

Energy & Water Conservation Talk

Mr Chang Kuet Shian talking about water conservation

Mr. Benjamin Toh talking about how to live WISE

Answering Mr Chang's questions

SMK Kidurong's group photograph

About 50 students and teachers from SMK Bandar, Bintulu, Kai Dee and Kidurong attended the talk held at the LAKU Bintulu Area Office on saturday afternoon as part of the CABEP 2011.

Mr Benjamin Toh from sarawak Energy Berhad talked about why we should conserve energy as well as how we can all do it in our daily lives. He also brought gifts for students who paid attention to his talk and who could provide answers to the questions he asked at the end of his talk. The students from SMK Bandar paid the most attention and were rewarded for their efforts. The students and interactors were challenged to take on the project of reducing their respective school's utility bills.

Mr Chang Kuet Shian, LAKU Area Manager talked about Water Conservation, explaining why we shoudl not take water for granted and also giving practical tips on how we can conserve and not waste water. He emphasized the importance of everyone being responsible for maintaining the resources and facilities that we all enjoy. The fact arose that school toilets are not as clean as home toilets even though the same people use these facilities. Schools are places where we educate our children on proper behaviour and teach them to be responsible citizens. Therefore, the cleanliness of the school toilets is a reflection of how civilised our school children are.

Everyone was impressed by the state of cleanliness of the public toilets at the LAKU office whose management strongly emphasizes collective responsibility.

The Interactors were again thrown the tough challenge of how to improve the conditions of their school toilets and to maintain the facility to always be in a clean condition.

LAKU management also very kindly provided nice refrashments for all who attended the talk.

So now the ball is in the court of the students and we do hope that they will rise to the challenges that has been given them.

Samarakan Field Trip 5-6 March 2011

The CABEP 2011 opening event started last weekend when 6 students from SMK Bintulu and 10 from SMK Kidurong, together with their teachers went on the fieldtrip to Samarakan to learn about conservation and biodiversity.

Group photo before setting out

The morning was fine and bright, and a pair of black hornbills flew by along the way.

After checking into the hostel and a relaxing morning tea, the lecture program started with an introduction to the concept of conservation and biodiversity followed by a talk from the Conservation Manager on the Conservation Program at the Sarawak Planted Forest. Officers from the SFC Jocelyn and Marilyn then gave an outline of the role of SFC in Forestry and the wildlife protection laws in Sarawak.

Alex and Ollince then gave us an idea of what actual conservation field work involves with their presentation on animal conservation and the study of dragonflies and damselflies. Malcom taught about the forest types found in Sarawak and the importance of forests in our ecosystem.

Joannes, our resident photographer then briefly went through the basics of photography and how to use binoculars before the students were let out of doors to do bird watching and try to capture pictures of wildlife.

Observing a Raptor Fly-By

After dinner at about 7pm, all were ready to start on the exciting night trek to look for jungle creatures. The walk proved exciting as usual as many insects, spiders and frogs were spotted, and even a Pelanduk and a sleeping Garnet Pitta.

Taking pictures of creatures found during the night trek

The next morning started off early at 7pm for bird watching and most students managed to get out of bed on time despite their rather full program the previous day. Wielding binoculars and cameras, the students were introduced to the intricacies of bird watching, of observing details of the birds they see and to try to identify them with the help of field guides. There were Little and Intermediate Egrets seen together, providing a good illustration of the interspecies differences. There were also Herons, Sandpiper, Swallows, Raptors, Parakeets and Starlings.

Bird Watching in the morning

Odonata species were abundant later on in the morning, lending themselves very well to some great photography especially of their in tandem and wheel positions to the delight of the students and teachers.

Odonata species

The students then spent some time to put together a presentation on what they had learnt. The SMK Bintulu team went back to their hostel to privately craft their presentation while the Kidurong team sat outside on the veranda to do theirs, all having chosen to forego the comfort of air-conditioning in the classroom (have they all already started on the road to conserving energy?!)

The Bintulu team presentation

The Kidurong team remarked on the interesting time that they had and what they had learned. The Bintulu boys enjoyed themselves and learnt something of bird watching although they had some difficulties differentiating Sandpipers from Sparrows while the Kidurong bunch thought that stick insects might have been lobsters! All seem to be fascinated by the activities and behaviours of the Odonata species, which was truly quite a spectacle to observe, and very pretty pictures were taken by the students.

Then it was time to pack up and go home. The bus was waiting and brought everyone safely back to Bintulu by 4.30pm.

It felt good to start the CABEP 2011 program so well, after the pilot last year when we were doing things for the first time, and then working out over the last few months how to make it even better.

With the availability of the new binoculars and cameras so kindly made possible by the grant from the CIMB Foundation, we were indeed able to make wildlife observation much more interesting and engaging for the students, and they would certainly learn much more from the fieldtrip.

We would like to thank Patrick and his team at the Samarakan Training Centre for hosting us.

We are again indebted to the speakers who gave the benefit of their expertise as well as their weekends to the students, Jocelyn, Marilyn and Malcom from the SFC, Alex and Ollince from the Conservation Department of the Sarawak Planted Forest.

My utmost thanks to Joannes Unggang, Conservation Manager of SPF, for organising the scientific program and much of the logistics, as well as for the inspiration that we constantly draw from his wonderful photography.

CABEP 2011

The CABEP 2011 field trip to Samarakan with students from SMK Bintulu and Kidurong took place on the 5-6 March.


For photographs of the trip, please go to our facebook "naturalsciencesocietybintulu".