Revision of the genus Croton (Euphorbiaceae) for Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands (Indonesia and Timor-Leste)

The first ever liverwort and hornwort checklist is provided for the Kepulauan Sunda Kecil (Lesser Sunda Islands) of Indonesia and Timor-Leste (East Timor). We report 129 accepted taxa, 12 doubtful taxa and three rejected taxa previously reported for the Lesser Sunda Islands. The list is based on over 130 literature references, including monographs, regional studies, and molecular investigations. It is clear that bryophytes from this region have been overlooked historically, and under collected, compared to seed plants, birds, and other organisms, forming a remarkable gap in the flora of Indonesia. Publications dealing with liverworts of Lesser Sunda Islands are few and scattered. We predict that further fieldwork, in addition to collections unveiled from regional herbaria, will uncover a number of new records that remain to be reported, especially considering that regionally widespread species have been recorded elsewhere.

Male horns in several groups of beetles represent a special class of secondary sexual characters in which condition-dependent, alternate developmental programs produce not only a bimodal horn-size distribution, but also discrete male mating behaviours correlated with these alternate phenotypes. While these intrasexual dimorphisms have recently received theoretical and experimental attention concerning how they are produced and modified, less has been focussed on the macroevolutionary behaviour of the ontogenetic mechanism that produces them. The developmental program that produces alternate male morphologies is manifested by a non-linear horn-size allometry that has been noted to vary within and among various taxa according to its shape and position. The purpose of the present study is to produce a preliminary measure of the macroevolutionary behaviour of these allometric characters as a function of defined phylogenetic scale among the rhinoceros beetles of the widespread genus Xylotrupes.A phylogenetic analysis performed herein suggests that Xylotrupes is monophyletic and is composed of six lineages, which are treated as discrete species. The taxon Xylotrupes gideon of previous literature is shown to constitute five species. Explicit rationale, including morphological diagnoses and evidence of reproductive isolation, supports a new, readily testable taxonomic scheme that recognises the following species: Xylotrupes florensis in the Lesser Sunda and Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia; X. meridionalis in Sri Lanka and India; X. ulysses in Sulawesi, Moluccas, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Melanesia; X. pubescens in the Philippines, Sumatra and Sulawesi; X. mniszechi in south-central and south-east Asia and China; and X. gideon in west Malaysia, Borneo and the Indonesian archipelago from Sumatra through the Lesser Sunda Islands. Subspecies are recognised in some of these taxa and are based upon geographic and phylogenetic partitioning.As in other groups of beetles, the sigmoidal allometric relationship of horn size to body size produces bimodal horn-size distributions in the males of all the species of Xylotrupes in which adequate samples were obtained. The present data show that there is more variation in allometric shape but less variation in allometric position in Xylotrupes than in dung beetles of the genus Onthophagus. Moreover, the phylogenetic patterns of variation in horn allometry among the taxa of Xylotrupes indicate that as much variation in allometric position and shape occurs among the subspecies of a single species, X. ulysses, as occurs among the remainder of the species in this genus.Evidence is provided that allometric position in Xylotrupes is responsive to interspecific competition inasmuch as character displacement of body size relative to horn size occurs in newly discerned sympatric populations of X. gideon and X. pubescens zideki. Further, major evolutionary modifications in allometric shape in two subspecies of X. ulysses have apparently occurred independently and involve fundamentally different adaptive mechanisms.These results suggest that modifications in the developmental program that controls male horn dimorphism are a principal feature of diversification in the beetles of the genus Xylotrupes.

ABSTRACT
 A taxonomic study of the genus Artabotrys R. Br. (Annonaceae) in Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands was conducted based on morphological characters. The objective of this study is to determine the diversity, describe and make determination key of Artabotrys which found in Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands. The method used in this study is descriptive. This study was conducted on May-June 2015 in the collection room wing B 2nd floor, type room, and Laboratory of Biosystematic Herbarium Bogoriense - Bidang Botani Puslit Biologi LIPI, Cibinong, Bogor, West Java. The result showed that there are three species of Artabotrys in Java and Lesser Sunda Islands. Artabotrys species found in Java, namely A. hexapetalus, A. suaveolens and A. sumatranus, while the species of the Lesser Sunda Islands only A. hexapetalus. Phenetic analysis shows that the species of Artabotrys in Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands are divided into two subgroups. Determination key and descriptions also provided to identify the species of Artabotrys in Java and Lesser Sunda Islands. Artabotrys natural habitat is lowland forest but now lowland forests decreased. This can lead to biodiversity (including Artabotrys) to be reduced, so that conservation need to be done (conservation both on Artabotrys and lowland forest).
 
 Keywords : Artabotrys, Annonaceae, diversity, determination key, Lesser Sunda Islands

New evidence from Lene Hara Cave, East Timor, demonstrates that it was first occupied by modern humans by 42,454±450 cal BP at approximately the same time as nearby Jerimalai shelter. Together these sites constitute the earliest evidence for modern human colonisation of Island Southeast Asia east of the Sunda Shelf. Here we report on the dating and stratigraphy from the 2000 and 2002 test excavations at Lene Hara, as well as new dates obtained by sampling breccia deposits in 2009. The post-2000 excavations and sampling demonstrate that different areas of the cave preserve different sedimentary sequences and necessitate a revision of our earlier interpretations of the occupation history of the cave. At Lene Hara, and other caves with complex depositional histories in tropical regions, the occupation sequence will only be revealed through integrating information from extensive areal sampling.When calibrated, the early dates from East Timor now align closer to the oldest evidence for occupation in northern Australia, with substantial implications for current theories on the colonisation of this region by modern humans. The Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda) island chain emerges as a likely passage for modern human entry into Greater Australia. In view of the short water crossings required to reach Flores from Timor, the apparent absence of modern humans on Flores prior to the Holocene appears highly anomalous.

Th e Lesser Sunda Islands (LSI) is a chain of islands consisting of Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Timor. Based on published records combined with results from present survey, Chrysomelidae from LSI are represented by 144 species, including 59 new records and 63 endemics (44%). Th e new records represent an in- crease of 69% from the previous 85 recorded species. LSI has strong affi nity with the Oriental biogeographic Region with 41% of its fauna are derived from the Region. Although LSI is part of the Australasian biogeographic Region, the representation from Australia and New Guinea is very small, about 3%. Th e fi ve major subfamilies present in LSI are the Galerucinae (30%), followed by Alticinae (24%), Eumolpinae (15%), Cassidinae (15%) and Hispinae (6%). Species richness of the islands in LSI de- clines from west to east and further from the mainland (Sundaland). Th e same is true with the Oriental Region representatives; they decline in abundance from west to east further away from Wallace's Line, a biogeographic demarcation between the Oriental and Australasian Regions. But decline of the Oriental elements is compensated by an increase in species endemism. Th e Wallace's Line appears to be a faunal barrier, where a large number of genera and species, particularly from the Galerucinae are restricted to Sundaland, a subregion of the Oriental Region. Th e following six genera are not represented in Sundaland: Cleoporus and Dematochroma (Eumolpinae), Paropsis and Paropsisterna (Chrysomelinae), and Calomicrus and Paraplotes (Galerucinae).

The island of Timor is the largest and easternmost of the Nusatenggara (or Lesser Sundas) group. It is situated between the Timor Sea and the Pacific Ocean, some 300 miles north of Australia and 700 southeast of Java. The eastern side of the island, together with the Oecussi enclave in the west, and the smaller islands of Atauro and Jaco, comprise approximately 13,000 square miles? Portugal colonized East Timor during more than four hundred years, although the actual delimitation of the territory with the Netherlands only took place in the mid-19 th century. When its people was about to exercise the right to self-determination, the territory was militarily occupied and illegally annexed by its closest neighbor, Indonesia. During almost 25 years, Indonesia practiced upon the East Timorese people one of the largest scale violations of fundamental human rights, including the right of this people to exist as such, of this century. The reaction of the international community was near non-existent and the so-called"Question of East Timor" seemed to fade away in the night of times. But in the beginning of 1999, things seemed to change. The new Indonesian government agreed to hold a popular consultation that could, eventually, lead to the independence of the territory. It was a second opportunity for the people of East Timor. And in spite of all the suffering; despite the many pitfalls of the legal framework for the consultation; despite the fact that Indonesia (and its powerful Army) has not fulfilled its obligations; and despite the sometimes ambiguous attitude of the great powers and, thus, of the United Nations, East Timor was capable of holding a referendum that, in the long term, has led it to become the first independent state of the 21st Century. In its recent history, thus, the territory has moved from the exercise of its right of self-determination to genocide, back and forth, in a process that has recently ended with the full application of international human right standards. In this article, the author intends to offer an overview of the legal and human rights situation in East Timor, from the double perspective of an international lawyer and of a direct observer of the self-determination process that took place in the territory in August 1999. Although Timor Lorosae achieved independence on 20th May 2002, after more than two years of international administration, we shall limit our analysis to the period around the holding of the popular consultation.

More than 40 species of bamboo were known from the Lesser Sunda Islands (LSI), including several endemic species. Endemic species are often highly specialized, found in limited geographical areas, and vulnerable to extinction if their habitat is destroyed. This study aimed to provide an account of endemic bamboo species on the LSI. Fieldwork involved collecting samples of bamboo in the LSI. Herbarium specimens of bamboo deposited in the Herbarium Bogoriense (BO), collected from the LSI were examined, and endemic LSI species were recorded. The conservation status followed the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list categories and criteria. The conservation status of unassessed species was evaluated using IUCN red list categories and criteria. A spatial analysis was also conducted. Data were analyzed and presented descriptively. There are 10 endemic bamboo species in the LSI, namely Bambusa ooh Widjaja & Astuti from Bali (conservation status: endangered), Chloothamnus reholttumianus (Soenarko) Widjaja from Sumba (vulnerable), C. schmutzii (S.Dransf.) Widjaja from Sumbawa and Flores (near threatened), Dinochloa kostermansiana S.Dransf. from Sumba and Flores (near threatened), D. sepang Widjaja & Astuti from Bali (vulnerable), Fimbribambusa rifaiana Widjaja from Alor (near threatened), Gigantochloa aya Widjaja & Astuti from Bali (vulnerable), G. baliana Widjaja & Astuti from Bali (vulnerable), G. taluh Widjaja & Astuti from Bali (vulnerable), and Schizostachyum purpureum Damayanto & Widjaja from Sumba (data deficient). They can be found at an altitude of 20–1700 m in various habitats, including forests, bamboo forests, villages, botanical gardens, along a road, slopes, valleys, riverbanks, and around a lake.

This book deals specifically with the four Indonesian provinces of West Nusa Tenggara (WNT), East Nusa Tenggara (ENT), East Timor, and Maluku, referred to collectively here as Nusa Tenggara and Maluku (NT&M). These provinces are composed of the smallest islands in Indonesia, of archipelagoes within archipelagoes. As such, they have been frequently excluded from general discussions in which reference is made to the six major areas of Indonesia: Sumatra, .Java, Bali, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Irian Jaya.

Areas in Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT) have a high food vulnerability. This study aims to analyze food security in the NTT border region with Timor Leste, thus understanding how to strengthen community food security. The research method used is descriptive to provide a systematic, factual description of the facts, and characteristics of the phenomena investigated. The low performance of farming influences food vulnerability due to the nature of rainfall that does not support agriculture and the little ability of farmer governance and access to innovation and technology. Food security policy strengthens and is needed for border communities and outermost islands. The average distance from the town to the nearest permanent/semi-permanent market is too far. The local community’s strategy in dealing with a food vulnerability situation resulting from the hunger risk is to use food that has existed in the past, according to naturally occuring local wisdom. The problem of food security on the border of East Nusa Tenggara needs to be a top priority for Indonesia’s development on the border. Keywords: food security, agriculture, border area, Nusa Tenggara Timur, Timor Leste

Indonesia is one of the countries with abundant natural resources, this can be seen from the abundant human resources that are able to improve the management of existing natural resources. This is also emphasized in Article 33 paragraph 3 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD RI 1945). A different fact is faced by small communities in the border area between Nusa Tenggara Timur Indonesia and Timor Leste. The problem is that the small communities there are not unable to enjoy subsidy relief due to wrong targets but because of smuggling carried out to neighboring countries. In several criminal cases that occurred in the border area between East Nusa Tenggara and Timor Leste, one of them was the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Satgas Pamtas) RI-RDTL East Sector Border Security Task Force, Yonif Raider 408 / Sbh, thwarted the smuggling of thousands of liters of fuel oil. (BBM) in the RI-RDTL border area.There have been many efforts made by the government to improve the welfare of its citizens by utilizing existing natural resources, especially in the oil and gas sector, one of which is in terms of access to energy consumption through fuel oil (BBM) subsidies which are still being debated. Some are of the view that state assistance must be maintained, but on the other hand, they still think that fuel subsidies are still not on target. A different fact is faced by small communities in the border area between Nusa Tenggara Timur Indonesia and Timor Leste. In addition, at the opening of the International Convention on Indonesian Upstream Oil and Gas 2020, which was organized by SKK Migas, the Government also supported the improvement of the investment climate in Indonesia's upstream oil and natural gas (oil and gas) sector, amid a decline in national oil and gas production and sluggish movement of strategic industries due to the the Covid-19 pandemi.

Indonesia is one of the countries with abundant natural resources, this can be seen from the abundant human resources that are able to improve the management of existing natural resources. This is also emphasized in Article 33 paragraph 3 of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD RI 1945). A different fact is faced by small communities in the border area between Nusa Tenggara Timur Indonesia and Timor Leste. The problem is that the small communities there are not unable to enjoy subsidy relief due to wrong targets but because of smuggling carried out to neighboring countries. In several criminal cases that occurred in the border area between East Nusa Tenggara and Timor Leste, one of them was the Indonesian National Armed Forces (Satgas Pamtas) RI-RDTL East Sector Border Security Task Force, Yonif Raider 408 / Sbh, thwarted the smuggling of thousands of liters of fuel oil. (BBM) in the RI-RDTL border area.There have been many efforts made by the government to improve the welfare of its citizens by utilizing existing natural resources, especially in the oil and gas sector, one of which is in terms of access to energy consumption through fuel oil (BBM) subsidies which are still being debated. Some are of the view that state assistance must be maintained, but on the other hand, they still think that fuel subsidies are still not on target. A different fact is faced by small communities in the border area between Nusa Tenggara Timur Indonesia and Timor Leste. In addition, at the opening of the International Convention on Indonesian Upstream Oil and Gas 2020, which was organized by SKK Migas, the Government also supported the improvement of the investment climate in Indonesia's upstream oil and natural gas (oil and gas) sector, amid a decline in national oil and gas production and sluggish movement of strategic industries due to the the Covid-19 pandemic.

The main purpose of this study was to identify the key factor of various environmental characteristics dynamics in Lesser Sunda island. This is significant to support effective and efficient conservation management planning that prioritized in the area. We retrieved the dataset for this study from a global database package. Moreover, a multivariate analysis for dimension reduction, such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was utilized. The result indicated that dimension of environmental characteristics in Lesser Sunda island be reduced to six dimensions by considering the eigen value. Moreover, the first two dimension that contribute most variance proportion suggested Sea Surface Temperature (SST), pH and distance to shore as the key determining factors of environmental changes in studied area. Therefore, these factors should be highly considered for marine conservation design in Lesser Sunda island.

Phenetic Analysis and Distribution of Claoxylon in the Lesser Sunda Islands. Floribunda 6(5): 167–174. — The genus Claoxylon A.Juss. in the Lesser Sunda Islands (LSI) was reviewed. Eleven species were recognized in Lesser Sunda Islands. Records of C. capillipes and C. fulvescens were extended to the Bali Island. Based on distribution of Claoxylon in LSI, Bali has the highest number of species (7 species), while Wetar shows the least number of species (only 1 species). A phenetic analysis was using Numerical Taxonomy and Multivariate Analysis System (NTSYS-pc) version 2.11a and distribution mapping using Quantum GIS version 2.4. Based on 14 morphological characters grouped Claoxylon species in LSI into three groups. All Claoxylon in LSI belong to section Indica and Affinia.

Nusa Tenggara, including East Timor, located at the crossroad between Island Southeast Asia, Near Oceania, and Australia, are characterized by a complex cultural structure harbouring speakers from two different major linguistic groups of different geographic origins (Austronesian (AN) and non-Austronesian (NAN)). This provides suitable possibilities to study gene-language relationship; however, previous studies from other parts of Nusa Tenggara reported conflicting evidence about gene-language correlation in this region. Aiming to investigate gene-language relationships including sex-mediated aspects in East Timor, we analysed the paternally inherited non-recombining part of the Y chromosome (NRY) and the maternally inherited mitochondrial (mt) DNA in a representative collection of AN- and NAN-speaking groups. Y-SNP (single-nucleotide polymorphism) data were newly generated for 273 samples and combined with previously established Y-STR (short tandem repeat) data of the same samples, and with previously established mtDNA data of 290 different samples with, however, very similar representation of geographic and linguistic coverage of the country. We found NRY and mtDNA haplogroups of previously described putative East/Southeast Asian (E/SEA) and Near Oceanian (NO) origins in both AN and NAN speakers of East Timor, albeit in different proportions, suggesting reciprocal genetic admixture between both linguistic groups for females, but directional admixture for males. Our data underline the dual genetic origin of East Timorese in E/SEA and NO, and highlight that substantial genetic admixture between the two major linguistic groups had occurred, more so via women than men. Our study therefore provides another example where languages and genes do not conform due to sex-biased genetic admixture across major linguistic groups.

Border area management has always been an interesting topic of discussion, this was proven when the issue of border area development became one of the agendas in the national development plan. National borders have strategic significance for Indonesia, especially in terms of defense-security, economy-trade and socio-culture. This article is an attempt to describe the management of land border areas in East Nusa Tenggara. The land border area for the province of East Nusa Tenggara, which is directly adjacent to the neighboring country of Timor Leste. The adjacent position allows for cross-border interactions and activities between communities in the land border area. With all the potential it has, the border area in East Nusa Tenggara has enormous potential to be developed, so that appropriate policies and management are needed so that the expectations of the government and society to make the border area a center of new economic growth can be realized.