Bako National Park Research Articles

Ecotourism in Bako National Park, Borneo: Visitors’ Perspectives on Environmental Impacts and their Management

Ecotourism potentially provides a sustainable approach to development in Malaysia. However, to realise this potential the adverse effects of visitor activity and associated infrastructure on the natural environment and the tourism experience must be identified to guide management actions and thus to sustain the resources on which ecotourism ultimately depends. This study, conducted in Bako National Park on the island of Borneo, reports one of the first efforts to identify the impacts of ecotourism in Malaysia from the perspective of visitors. Environmental conditions of greatest influence on visitors’ experiences included litter and biophysical conditions such as soil erosion and vegetation damage. These conditions were of greater concern to visitors than social conditions, such as the number of people. These results suggest that management efforts can be directed towards indicators of greatest concern such as litter, soil erosion and vegetation damage. The broad support given by those surveyed for a range of management actions provides managers with a choice of strategies to sustain ecotourism in Bako National Park. This study, with its sociopolitical approach, contributes to a greater understanding of the implications of the ecotourist experience for ecotourism management in Malaysia.

Evidence to support near-steady flows (?) in an alluvial sandy system: the plateau formation Bako National Park, Sarawak

The sandstones at Balm are interpreted as having been deposited in a sandy braided stream environment. This system is characterized by variable discharge, high bedload, complex bar forms, high lateral mobility with low preservation of fine material. The dominant sediments, concurrent with this interpretation are large-scale cross-bedding and parallel laminations. However, other sediments, particularly thick units of structureless sands commonly liquified are thought to be anomalous to this type of setting. Three methods of 'massive' sand deposition are recognized (i) bed amalgamation, (ii ) 'n ear steady' turbulent flow , and (iii) liquifaction. A turbidity current is thought to only be able to form during the 100 to 1,000 yr. storm event where a high concentration flow with high turbulence passes over a hydraulic jump. The unison of these three factors may allow the process of 'continual aggradation' to occur. Although this is thought to be rare these mega-storms have a high capacity to deposit large amounts of sediment, highly preservable in the rock record. However , with the benefit of extensive outcrops it can be recognized that the majority of structureless sands located at the Bako Peninsula are formed from the amalgamation of sands in the channel thalweg and the liquifaction of climbing ripple destroying the primary depositional fabric.

Facies analysis of the Plateau Sandstones (Eocene to early Miocene?), Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia

Sandstones, located in the Kuching area, western Sarawak, are known as the ‘Plateau Sandstones’ (of possible Eocene to early Miocene age). However, based on a number of factors, including: (i) anomalous kerogene compositions; (ii) proximity of the on-lap surface; and (iii) palaeocurrent direction (generally to the NNE), it is thought that the sands exposed on the Bako Peninsula are unrelated to the Plateau Formation (located to the south of the Bako Penisula) and therefore a new name is coined; the Bako Sandstones, which form a subgroup of the Bako Sandstone Group. The Bako Sandstones form the Bako Peninsula, a flat-topped cliffed plateau which extends into the South China Sea at a latitude of 1°30′N. The plateau has a gently dipping surface, sloping northwards from a height of about 300 to 150 m. The sandstones form a succession of very thick bedded sandstones (up to 6 m thick), with lenses of conglomerates and subordinate sandy mudstones. The sandstones consist of pebbly coarse-medium grained sands, interbedded with polymictic pebble conglomerates. The sandstones are mainly lithic arenite, poorly to moderately sorted and consist of subangular to subrounded grains. Isolated pebbles are common throughout the sandstones. The most common structure in both sandstones and conglomerates is cross-bedding; planar cross-bedding and trough cross-bedding, together with thick sequences of climbing ripples. These structures suggest extensive tractional transport, forming both ripple and dune structures along the base of the channel. The geometry of the sands is either (i) lensoidal, or (ii) tabular, with the channel-fill interpreted as scour-fill channels or migrating dunes, respectively. Both types are commonly stacked vertically or amalgamate laterally to form thick interconnected units. The conglomeratic lenses, scour-fill features and rip-up shale clasts are related to higher energy erosional events, whilst the mud-draped ripples, ripple rejuvenation surfaces and two-tiered channel margins indicate a lower energy and stasis period. Slope instabilities at the channel margin are inferred from the slump structures present and shale clast slurries. The sandstones at Bako are thought to have formed within a braided channel environment (subject to exposure, from the presence of mud cracks within the formation).

Absorption of ant-provided carbon dioxide and nitrogen by a tropical epiphyte

ALTHOUGH ant-plant mutualisms have been described in many ecosystems, the magnitude of the direct benefits from such relationships are hard to quantify. In Bako National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, stunted 'kerangas' forests occur on nutrient-poor sandstone hills1–3. As trees are widely spaced and have a sparse leaf area, a significant amount of light reaches the tree trunks and enables a diverse community of epiphytes to thrive there4. One of these epiphytes, Dischidia major (Vahl) Merr. (Asclepiadaceae), has evolved unusual methods for enhancing carbon and nitrogen acquisition. We show here that a mutualistic relationship exists between ants of the genus Philidris and their host, D. major. Using stable isotope analysis, we calculate that 39% of the carbon in occupied host plant leaves is derived from ant-related respiration, and that 29% of the host nitrogen is derived from debris deposited into the leaf cavities by ants.

Properties of Soils in Kerangas Forest on Sandstone at Bako National Park, Sarawak, East Malaysia

Properties of Soils in Kerangas Forest on Sandstone at Bako National Park, Sarawak, East Malaysia

Herbivory, Foliar Enzyme Inhibitors, Nitrogen and Leaf Structure of Young and Mature Leaves in a Tropical Forest

In Bako National Park in Sarawak we investigated leaf damage, enzyme inhibition, condensed tannins, total nitrogen and leaf structure in young and mature leaves of Eugenia ochneocarpa and three species of Shorea. The amount of leaf removed by herbivores (measured as the total percentage area, not as a rate) was 3.8 percent in young leaves and 6.2 percent in mature leaves for E. ochneocarpa, and was 12.1 percent in young leaves and 13.4 percent in mature leaves for Shorea spp. The relative importance of the three guilds of herbivores examined was edge-grazing, mining, then holing, in both taxa. E. ochneocarpa mature leaves were 425 ,um thick with a specific leaf area (SLA) of 93 cm2 g-'; Shorea spp. mature leaves were 180 ,um thick with an SLA of 98 cm2 g. Young leaves of both taxa had higher enzyme inhibition than mature leaves, and young leaves of E. ochneocarpa were over five times more inhibitory than those of Shorea spp. Leaf nitrogen (per area) was lower in young leaves than in mature leaves for both taxa. The concentrations of condensed tannins were similar in young and mature leaves for both species, but higher in E. ochneocarpa than Shorea spp. In both taxa, when young and mature leaves were compared, increased damage was associated with decreased SLA, but with decreased leaf nitrogen and increased enzyme inhibition. Comparing the two taxa, we found that for young leaves, though not for mature leaves, increased damage was associated with increased leaf nitrogen, and decreased enzyme inhibition and condensed tannin. A FLUSH OF RED YOUNG LEAVES iS an eye catching sight in the green of a tropical forest canopy. Nearly unfolded leaves are often partially or totally lacking in chlorophyll but brightly coloured due to anthocyanin pigmentation. Before expansion some young leaves appear wilted due to a lack of mechanical tissue; Richards (1952) describes the development of young leaves. The low fibre content and fleshy nature of young leaves might make them more palatable to herbivores than mature leaves, and their redness may alter their attractiveness. In a seasonal environment young leaves can avoid damage by developing before the increase in herbivore numbers (Feeny 1970). In the less seasonal environment of Sarawak some counter-balancing chemical protection could be expected. Alternatively substantial loss of young leaves would be anticipated during development. We wished to test the former hypothesis: that young leaves are no more susceptible to damage than mature leaves, because they are protected chemically. To this end, two major questions were asked: Is there a difference in the proportion of the leaf area removed by herbivores (the damage) between young and mature leaves? Could the damage level be related to leaf palatability: the enzyme inhibition by leaf extracts, condensed tannin, hydrolysable tannin, and total nitrogen levels, or the structure of leaves (measured as specific leaf area)? Three further questions elaborated this work: What are the major guilds of herbivores to which the leaf samples had been exposed and how did the intensity of their attack vary between young and mature leaves? How was damage distributed across the population of young leaves, and how did the damage affect the subsequent population of mature leaves? What role did condensed tannins play in enzyme inhibition by leaf extracts? A more general hypothesis was also tested, that total nitrogen, leaf toxins and leaf structure are related to damage when different species are compared. We therefore applied the questions above in a comparison between members of two genera of trees. It is thought that tannins reduce the nutritional qual1 Received 16 May 1983, revised 3 January 1984, accepted 13 January 1984. 2 All authors contributed equally. I Present address: Department of Applied Biology, New Museum Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, England. 4Present address: Department of Psychology, Downing Site, Cambridge, England. I Present address and address for correspondence: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Royal College Building, 204 George Street, Glasgow GI IXW, Scotland. BIOTROPICA 16(4): 257-263 1984 257 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.161 on Mon, 23 May 2016 06:09:20 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms ities of plant material by complexing with plant proteins and so rendering them indigestible (Feeny 1969). Tannins may also attack the digestive enzymes in a herbivore's gut reducing their catalytic action. Tannins are not the only protein attacking agents; many plant phenolics and their oxidation products can have similar effects (Swain 1979). Chemical methods were used to assay condensed tannins and total nitrogen, and an enzyme inhibition reaction to detect a broad spectrum of protein attacking agents. As we were interested in chemical defenses that operate by attacking proteins, families where the chemical defense takes other forms were avoided.

Prevalence of Leptospira Species in Environmental Soil and Water from National Parks in Sarawak, Malaysia

In Malaysia, there is an increasing number of reported leptospirosis cases which led to mortality. The infection is usually spread through the urine of infected animals and may contaminate the environmental soil and water. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Leptospira spp. in two national parks in Sarawak. A total of 50 soil and 60 water samples were collected from Tanjung Datu National Park (TDNP) and Bako National Park (BNP). The samples were filtered through sterile membrane filter prior to inoculation into modified semisolid Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) media added with 5-fluorouracil. The cultures were incubated at room temperature (28-30 °C) for 30 days before specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted. PCR-positive samples were subjected to DNA sequencing. Out of the 110 environmental samples from two national parks in Sarawak, the prevalence of pathogenic, intermediate and saprophytic Leptospira was 0.9%, 5.5% and 0%, respectively. Results indicated that Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Mini and Leptospira wolffii serovar Khorat were the pathogenic and intermediate Leptospira circulating in these study areas, respectively. Due to the ability of Leptospira to survive for months in environment, there is a risk of exposure to the public and tourists who visit these national parks. Increased awareness, continuous monitoring and effective preventive measures should be taken by local authorities to control leptospirosis outbreak.

Bats of Bako National Park and Additional Notes on the Rare Partial Albinism in Fawn Roundleaf Bat (Hipposideridae: Hipposideros cervinus)

Bat survey was conducted in Bako National Park from 25th to 29th August 2013. A total of 107 individuals from11 species of bats were recorded. Hipposideros cervinus was recorded as the most abundance species with 51individuals while Murina suilla and Rhinolophus affinis were the least abundant with one individual each fromtotal captures. This study has added R. affinis as another new species locality record for the national park. Thisbrings up the total bat species known from the park now to 35 species of bats. Interestingly, an individual of H.cervinus with partial albinism was caught during this survey. This single bat was captured on the 27th August2013 and will be the first albino bat reported in Borneo and possibly Malaysia. This specimen is an adultfemale that presents high degree of albinism over most of the body but lacking on the upperparts of the bodyand part of the wings. Detailed description based on 16 external and craniodental measurements are presentedherein along with their species identification through genetic analyses. Further research on the genetic structureand behavior of an albino individual may help to identify the possible causes and consequences of albinism tothe bats populations.

The Education of Young Orang-Utans to Living in the Wild

An experimental research project is being carried out at Bako National Park in Sarawak to devise means by which young orphaned orang-utans can be re-established to wild living.