Northern Moluccas Research Articles

Application of MLR Method and Pearson Correlation on Nickel Extraction from Laterite Using Nitric Acid

Indonesia is a country rich in laterite mining especially in Celebes island and northern Moluccas. Laterite is a mineral rich with precious nickel. Nitric acid leaching has been used for nickel extraction from laterite under the influence of nitric acid concentration (2.0 M, 4.0 M, and 6.0 M) and leaching temperature (65oC, 70oC, and 75oC) during 60 min. at 300 rpm. The preliminary study aims to apply multiple linear regression (MLR) method to examine the dominant effect between acid concentration and leaching temperature on nickel extraction, and also Pearson correlation to study significant correlation between the variables involved (acid concentration, leaching temperature, and nickel concentration). The method and results is related to acid leaching at varied temperature set up as predictors and nickel concentration as dependent variable in the MLR equation using the enter method. The MLR method showed that acid concentration gave significant effect on nickel concentration, however, the leaching temperature showed no significant effect on nickel extraction at t ≤ 0.05. The Pearson correlation showed acid concentration correlated significantly with nickel concentration. The Kolmogrov-Smirnov (K-S) test showed normality for distribution of nickel concentration. The acid leaching method is potential for nickel extraction from laterite using extensive range of acid concentrations and leaching temperatures to improve nickel extraction.

Two Distinct Ranid Frog Lineages (Anura: Hylarana) from Halmahera, Northern Moluccas, with the Description of a New Species

Two Distinct Ranid Frog Lineages (Anura: Hylarana) from Halmahera, Northern Moluccas, with the Description of a New Species

A New Bent-Toed Gecko of the Cyrtodactylus marmoratus Group (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) from Obi Island, Indonesia

Based on phylogenetic and morphological evidence, we describe a new species of Cyrtodactylus from Obi Island in the northern Moluccas, Indonesia. The new species is genetically and morphologically allied to the Melanesian species Cyrtodactylus papuensis but is distinguished by its larger body size, fewer midbody scale rows, deep precloacal groove in males, and enlarged nonpored femoral scales and pored precloacal scales arranged in a continuous series. The new species is also genetically divergent from C. papuensis (p-distances of 19.0%–20.1% in the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 gene). Four species of Cyrtodactylus are now known from the northern Moluccas, but it is likely additional species remain unrecognized.

Mitochondrial DNA suggests the existence of two distinct species in Moluccas and New Guinea within Nyctimystes infrafrenatus (Günther, 1867)

Abstract. Sulaeman TN, Hamidy A, Farajallah A, Fouquet A, Riyanto A, Arida E, Mulyadi, Trilaksono W, Munir M. 2021. Mitochondrial DNA suggests the existence of two distinct species in Moluccas and New Guinea within Nyctimystes infrafrenatus (Günther, 1867). Biodiversitas 22: 3287-3297. Nyctimystes infrafrenatus is a widespread frog species distributed across northern Australia, New Guinea, Bismarck archipelago and in the eastern part of Indonesian archipelago. The species thus encompasses two biogeographic regions, Papua and Wallacea. We evaluated the phylogenetic relationships among the populations from Papua and Moluccas based on two mitochondrial loci (16S rRNA and Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I). Two major subclades are recovered within Nyctimystes infrafrenatus with subclade A being represented by populations from New Guinea and northern Australia and subclade B by Moluccan populations (Halmahera and Tidore). Genetic distances (2.3-4.2% in 16S rRNA) between these subclades suggest they could belong to distinct species. Since New Guinea populations correspond to the nominal species and that Nyctimystes tennuigranulatus (Boettger 1895), currently considered as a junior synonym of Nyctimystes infrafrenatus, is available for the northern Moluccan populations, we proposed to remove this taxon from synonymy. However, samples used in this study come from northern Moluccas, further studies including samples from Ambon (where another synonym was described i.e. Calamita dolichopsis) is needed to determine the taxonomic status of the southern Moluccan population whether they are conspecific with northern Moluccan population or not.

The Spice Islands in Prehistory: Archaeology in the Northern Moluccas, Indonesia ed. by Peter Bellwood

The Spice Islands in Prehistory: Archaeology in the Northern Moluccas, Indonesia ed. by Peter Bellwood

New species of Moluccan trichaline net-winged beetles, with remarks on the phylogenetic position and distribution of Schizotrichalus (Coleoptera: Lycidae: Metriorrhynchinae).

The Moluccan net-winged beetle fauna remains poorly studied and here, new species of Schizotrichalus Kleine, 1926 and Eniclases Waterhouse, 1879 are reported from Halmahera. Using morphological traits and cox1 mitochondrial DNA sequences, we propose two new species, Eniclases kusyi sp. nov. and Schizotrichalus halmaherensis sp. nov., and redescribe E. moluccanus Kleine, 1930. New molecular data confirm morphology-based sister relationships between Schizotrichalus and Eniclases and the analysis identifies the combined area of the present-day Halmahera and New Guinea as an ancestral area of these genera. Now, Halmahera and New Guinea are quite similar in respect of the number of trichaline genera. Concerning the size of islands and the recent origin of the nowadays northern Moluccas, these results are unexpected and thus the general validity of this distribution pattern should be confirmed with other groups of beetles.

Early Metal Age interactions in Island Southeast Asia and Oceania: jar burials from Aru Manara, northern Moluccas

New evidence from the rockshelter site of Aru Manara, on the island of Morotai, in the northern Moluccas, East Indonesia, suggests an earlier than previously assumed date for extensive interactions between this area of Southeast Asia and the wider Pacific. Shared mortuary customs and associated ceramic grave goods, along with other practices such as megalithic traditions, appear to start in the Late Neolithic, but become more widespread and consolidated in the Early Metal Age. Excavations at Aru Manara show that the northern Moluccas may have figured prominently in the newly established network of interaction evidenced at this time, making it an important location in the spread and dispersal of people and culture throughout Island Southeast Asia and into Oceania.

HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH A MOLUCCAN WOODCOCK: EXPERIENCES OF A MODERN FIELD BIOLOGIST IN WALLACEA

One hundred and fifty years after Alfred Russel Wallace visited the Malay Archipelago much still remains to be discovered about the fascinating species that inhabit the islands now known as Wallacea. While modern fieldwork brings opportunities, and a few difficulties, that Wallace himself would not have imagined, many of the challenges facing field biologists in the twenty-first century are the same as those experienced by Wallace himself. Here I describe the struggles and excitement of Wallacean fieldwork through our efforts to obtain the first photographs of an endangered bird species, the Moluccan Woodcock Scolopax rochussenii, on Obi Island in the Northern Moluccas.

On sand-bearing myxillid sponges, with a description of Psammochela tutiae sp. nov. (Poecilosclerida, Myxillina) from the northern Moluccas, Indonesia

Sand-bearing sponges belonging to the suborder Myxillina are mainly observed in South Australia. Recent biodiversitysurveys in Indonesia yielded several of these sand-bearing sponges belonging to three different genera, Chondropsis, Des-mapsamma and Psammochela. These sponges are distributed across three different families and the ecological and evo-lutionary implications for the incorporation of sand and detritus in the skeleton remain unresolved so far. In the presentpaper Psammochela tutiae sp.nov. (Poecilosclerida: Myxillina: Myxillidae) is described from the northern Moluccas, In-donesia. The new species is compared with all other (five) Psammochela species occurring in the Indo-West Pacific. Thenew species differs from the other species by overall morphology, absence of polydentate chelae and presence of thinstrongylote megascleres. The current position of Psammochela within the Myxillidae and its relation to other arenaceous Myxillina are discussed here, and an identification key to all known species of Psammochela is given.

Differential feeding strategies in phyllidiid nudibranchs on coral reefs at Halmahera, northern Moluccas

Differential feeding strategies in phyllidiid nudibranchs on coral reefs at Halmahera, northern Moluccas

CERAMICS AND OBSIDIAN IN ISLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA] The development of the Mare pottery tradition in the Northern Moluccas

CERAMICS AND OBSIDIAN IN ISLAND SOUTHEAST ASIA AND OCEANIA] The development of the Mare pottery tradition in the Northern Moluccas

Birds of paradise, vicariance biogeography and terrane tectonics in New Guinea

AimThe subspecies of Paradisaeidae are mapped and the distribution patterns correlated with aspects of New Guinea tectonics.LocationNew Guinea, the northern Moluccas, and north‐eastern Australia.MethodsPanbiogeographical analysis (Crawet al., 1999).ResultsPteridophora,Loboparadisaea,Parotia carolaeand others are notably absent from the Vogelkop, Huon and Papuan Peninsulas, accreted terranes in the north and east of New Guinea. Coupled with this, putative sister taxa in each ofAstrapia,ParotiaandParadisaeashow massively disjunct affinities between the Vogelkop and Huon Peninsulas:Astrapia nigra(Vogelkop) andA. rothschildi(Huon Peninsula);Parotia sefilata(Vogelkop) andP. wahnesi(Huon); andParadisaea rubra(Western Papuan Islands by the Vogelkop) andP. guilielmi(Huon Peninsula). In the last two species the males have oil‐green throat coloration extending above the eye to cover the front of the crown, the eye is reddish‐brown not yellow, the rectrices are longer and the inner vane of the outermost primaries is not emarginate.Main conclusionsThe disjunct affinities among the accreted terranes (Vogelkop, Huon, etc.), together with the absences there of groups likePteridophora, are incompatible with usual dispersal models of New Guinea biogeography, but are compatible with recent analyses of vicariance biogeography and terrane tectonics (Michaux, 1994;Flannery, 1995;de Boer & Duffels, 1996a,b; Polhemus, 1996;Polhemus & Polhemus, 1998). Birds of paradise are sedentary forest dwellers with small home ranges and are tolerant of disturbance, and so it is suggested that populations have been caught in the dramatic geological movements (lateral and vertical) of different parts of New Guinea and this has led to fragmentation and juxtaposition of ranges, as well as altitudinal anomalies.

Birds of paradise (Paradisaeidae) and bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae): regional levels of biodiversity and terrane tectonics in New Guinea

AbstractMost species of birds of paradise (Paradisaeidae) are endemic in the rainforests of New Guinea. There are also a few species in the northern Moluccas and in northern Australia. Bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchidae) are centred in New Guinea but are more widespread in Australia. The two families have often been regarded as sister groups, but in recent studies Paradisaeidae appear as sister to Corvidae, a worldwide family which is notably depauperate in New Guinea and Australia. This indicates vicariance of a worldwide ancestor, rather than invasion of New Guinea. Other families in the superfamily Corvoidea include Ptilonorhynchidae (basal), Campephagidae (Africa to New Guinea and Fiji), and Cracticidae (Australia to New Guinea). Biodiversity levels in Paradisaeidae and Ptilonorhynchidae were assessed from literature records by counting numbers of species in grid cells 1° latitude by 1° longitude. Birds of paradise are equally diverse in the Mendi square and the Mount Hagen–Wahgi Valley–Jimi Valley square. Bowerbirds are most diverse in the Mount Hagen–Wahgi Valley–Jimi Valley square. This area lies on one of the main tectonic boundaries in New Guinea, the former margin of the Australian craton, and is geologically distinctive in having several diverse accreted terranes juxtaposed there, including an ophiolite complex. It also includes the western slopes of Mount Wilhelm, one of the highest mountains in the New Guinea orogen. Paradisaeidae have secondary centres of diversity in the southern part of the New Guinea orogen (south of the former craton margin), while Ptilonorhynchidae have secondary centres north of the craton margin on the accreted terranes, and also in eastern Australia. Within New Guinea the two distributions correlate closely with the geological interpretation of the orogen as comprising southern (craton) and northern (accreted terrane) components. Within Australia, Paradisaeidae have two species per degree square in northern Cape York Peninsula (on the old Australian craton), and only one elsewhere in eastern Australia, whereas Ptilonorhynchidae have a clear Australian massing further south in Queensland, on the accreted terranes of the Tasman orogen.

Birds of paradise, biogeography and ecology in New Guinea: a review

AimThe paper reviews the biogeography and ecology of New Guinea using the birds of paradise (Paradisaeidae) as an illustrative example.LocationNew Guinea, the Moluccas, North‐eastern Australia.MethodsPanbiogeographic analysis (Crawet al., 1999).ResultsThe family Paradisaeidae is interpreted as the main New Guinea vicariant inSibley & Ahlquist’s (1990)Corvinae. It has evolved mainly on the New Guinea orogen, extending, like the orogen, to the northern Moluccas and the Milne Bay islands, but not present north of it on Karkar Island or New Britain. Within the orogen, Vogelkop – Huon Peninsula disjunctions (1500 km) occur between putative sister species inParadisaea,AstrapiaandParotia. Whatever taxonomic rank these affinities warrant, the biogeographic connection is inexplicable by ‘jump’ dispersal from the mainland, but is compatible with an accreted terrane model of New Guinea tectonics including massive lateral strike‐slip movement. This would also account for many aspects of distribution of Paradisaeidae within the New Guinea highlands, and also disjunctions between Sulawesi and the Bismarck Archipelago in the related genusArtamus.Main conclusionsBirds of paradise are sedentary forest dwellers with small home ranges and are tolerant of disturbance. It is suggested that populations have been caught in the dramatic geological uplift and downwarping of different parts of New Guinea. This has led to fragmentation and juxtaposition of ranges, and determined the altitudinal range of the taxa (including altitudinal ‘anomalies’). Areas of endemism in birds of paradise include Quaternary volcanoes. In New Guinea large areas have eventually been covered by lava flows of different volcanic phases, but the living communities, including local endemics, may remain more or lessin situby constantly colonizing younger flows from adjacent older flows. In this way older life can ‘float’ on younger stratigraphy. At least five, possibly six, of the fifteen genera in subfam. Paradisaeinae are known to occur in mangrove. The ancestors of Paradisaeidae and other New Guinea bird families such as Ptilonorhynchidae probably included birds of the mangrove, beach forest and coastal hinterland which have been stranded in central Australia following marine transgressions (Ptilonorhynchidae) and uplifted in New Guinea during the Tertiary orogeny (Ptilonorhynchidae and Paradisaeidae).

Archaeological research in the northern Moluccas; interim results, 1991 field season

Archaeological research in the northern Moluccas; interim results, 1991 field season

Central and Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian

Malayo-Polynesian (CEMP). CEMP, encompassing all of the approximately 600 Austronesian languages of eastern Indonesia and the Pacific apart from Palauan, Chamorro, and possibly Yapese, is justified by a set of phonological, lexical, morphosyntactic, and semantic innovations that distinguish these languages from the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian family as a whole (Proto-Austronesian), and from the putative immediate ancestor of all non-Formosan Austronesian languages (Proto-Malayo-Polynesian). CMP, encompassing over 100 languages in the Lesser Sunda and Moluccan islands of eastern Indonesia, is justified by a set of phonological, lexical, and morphosyntactic innovations that often fail to include all members of the proposed group. These overlapping distributions of innovated features in CMP languages are interpreted as evidence for a rapid spread of Austronesian speakers through eastern Indonesia from a primary dispersal point in the Northern Moluccas soon after the separation of the ancestral CMP and EMP language communities. Within CMP, it is found that several languages of the Bomberai Peninsula on the southwest coast of New Guinea, including at least Sekar, Onin, and Uruangnirin, subgroup closely with Yamdena of the Tanimbar archipelago some 300 miles distant in the southern Moluccas. It is concluded that the Bomberai languages reached their historical locations through a back-migration from the southern Moluccas well after the initial Austronesian settlement of eastern Indonesia.

The synonymy and distribution of the crenaticeps-group of Atractomorpha Saussure, 1862 (Orthoptera, Acridoidea, Pyrgomorphidae)

The general distribution of Atractomorpha australis Rehn, A. similis Bolivar and A. crenaticeps (Blanchard) in Australia and the South Pacific is discussed. Detailed synonymies and lists of known localities are given for each species, together with a distribution map. A. australis is confined to cooler, moister regions of Australia from eastern Victoria to south-western Queensland; A. similis is more tropical, occurring in the southern Moluccas, Timor, southern New Guinea and associated islands to northern and eastern Australia, but it extends, in suitable localities, as far south as central New South Wales, and, in inland areas, even to north-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia; A. crenaticeps, formerly thought to embrace both the above species, is restricted to the northern Moluccas, western and other parts of New Guinea north of and including the central mountain chains and associated islands to the north and west, and to the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.

Another Race between Islam and Christianity: The Case of Flores, Southeast Indonesia, 1900-1920

Islam and Christianity arrived in the south-eastern islands of the Indonesian archipelago in two waves. The first wave started in about 1480 with the arrival of Arab and Indian (Gujerati) traders in the spice islands of the Northern Moluccas: particularly in Ternate and Tidore. They arrived through the island of Flores, and probably very quickly moved across to the island of Timor as well, to engage in trade in sandalwood, horses and slaves. In south-east Indonesia, as in most regions of the archipelago, the arrival of Islam occurred somewhat earlier than the coming of the first Christians. At that time, the two main centers of trade in south-east Indonesia, which also became centers for the new religions, were the islands of Solor and Ende.DOI: 10.15408/sdi.v9i1.674

The Seabirds of Soemoe Soemoe and Vicinity, Northern Moluccas

The Seabirds of Soemoe Soemoe and Vicinity, Northern Moluccas

On some new Birds from the Northern Moluccas.

On some new Birds from the Northern Moluccas.