Komodo Research Articles

Behavioral Response of Komodo Dragons (Va- ranus komodoensis OUWENS, 1912) During Mating and Nesting Periods towards Tourist Presence in Loh Buaya, Komodo National Park

It has been recognized in many studies that wildlife tourism practices might generate a negative impact on wildlife, particularly during the reproductive period. Some wildlife may lower their sensitivity towards tourist presence, for instance in Komodo. Understanding to what extenthabituation occurs in Komodo would be necessary for tourism management in Komodo National Park (KNP). Therefore, this study aimed to identify the response of Komodo to tourist presence during mating and nesting activities. The observation was conducted in Loh Buaya, which is one of the tourism sites in KNP. Komodo’s responses were divided into (1) avoidance; (2) neutral; and (3) aggressive under categorized stimulus: tourist number (i.e., < 5 persons; 5-10 persons; and > 10 persons) and distance (i.e., < 5 m; 5-10 m; and > 10 m). Correlation analysis was performed to identify any influences on mating and nesting activities. Our results revealed that Komodo inhabiting tourism facilities havebeen habituated to tourist presence. Different tourist frequencies did not influence Komodo mating activities (r(20)= 0.036, p=0.873), the nest preparing activity (i.e., digging proportion; r(22)= 0.054, p=0.803) and the guarding activity (i.e., nesting proportion; r(22)= 0.314, p=0.135).Nevertheless, our results indicated possible impacts due to tourism activities and its supporting facilities, such as dominated mating pairs, threats to female reproductive success, and human-Komodo conflicts. Therefore, habituation evi- dence must be carefully considered in order todevelop more corresponding strategies and achieve sustainable tourism practices.

Climate change and its implications on wildlife conservation

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Synthesis Report, released nearly a year ago, summarized five years of reports on global temperature rises, fossil fuel emissions and climate impacts and emphasised that there was “a rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all.” It demonstrated an undeniable scientific consensus about the urgency of the climate crisis, its primary causes, its current devastating impacts – especially on the most climate vulnerable regions – and the irreversible harm that will occur to both the natural world and human society if warming surpasses 1.5°C, even temporarily. For Indonesia, climate change poses a formidable challenge for its people and its rich terrestrial and marine biodiversity that encompasses such a diverse array of ecosystems ranging from lush rainforests and dry savannas to extensive swamps and coral reefs. As the world's fourth most populous nation and the biggest archipelagic country in the world, Indonesia consists of some 17,000 islands, with over 8,000 km of coastline and is therefore extremely vulnerable to the impacts of global climate change. The nation's rich biodiversity, encompassing iconic species such as the Sumatran tiger, orangutan, and Komodo dragon, is intricately linked to the health of its ecosystems. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events disrupt these ecosystems, leading to shifts in species composition and distribution.

A Critical Discourse Analysis on “Indonesia’s Jurassic Park-Inspired Tourist Attraction Worries Komodo Dragon Fans” News

<div class="WordSection1"><p class="Acknowledgement">The news article is a powerful type of discourse that is often used to influence others and a medium where people can use its power over society. News is a media platform for sharing information. However, due to the journalist’s background, news can be unfair in delivering the topic. Therefore, critical discourse analysis plays a vital role in examining the true meaning of the news article. One of the current issues regarding Indonesian tourism is the development of Komodo Island. This study aims to analyze how news article from foreign media portray this issue by analyzing how the discourse structure and ideology is organized in the text by applying the theory of discourse structure, such as text structure, social cognition, and social context. The data source for this study was an ABC.com news article with the headline “Indonesia’s Jurassic Park-Inspired Tourist Attraction Worries Komodo Dragon Fans.” This study used a descriptive qualitative method with documentation, observation, and note-taking techniques. This study finds out that text structure is divided into the macrostructure, superstructure (five sub-topics), and microstructure consisting of semantic (background, details, goals, presupposition, numerical), syntactical (sentence form, pronouns, coherence), and rhetoric (brackets, dash, letter type, images, quotation mark). Social cognition includes role schemes, event schemes, and person schemes.</p></div>

Modelling of Carrying Capacity at Komodo National Park: System Dynamics Approach (Case Study: Komodo Island and Padar Island, East Nusa Tenggara Province)

Komodo (Varanus komodoensis) with its wildlife is the only one in the world that lives in the Komodo National Park (KNP), East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The conservation efforts are carried out by considering the carrying capacity to remain in line with the principles of sustainable tourism management. This study aims to analyze the carrying capacity of the visits carrying capacity on Komodo Island and Padar Island. The method used in this research is system dynamics analysis. The number of Komodo dragons in 2045 is estimated to increase to 4000-4500 Komodo dragons in KNP or around 2500 Komodo dragons in Komodo Island and Padar Island since the number of preys is still quite available in their habitat. However, without the implementation of low carbon development, there will be pressure on its population, which can drop to 800-900 Komodo dragons both on Komodo Island and Padar Island. Meanwhile, the temperature increase occurs until the year 2045 which reaches 0.8°C. In terms of the ideal number of visits on Komodo Island based on the carrying capacity calculation of 219,000 visits/year, on Padar Island the ideal number of visits is 39,420 visits/year and it can be still increased up to 2-2.5 times

Functional Anatomy of the Thoracic Limb of the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis).

Since the Komodo dragon has been included on The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, it is crucial to know in detail its biology as there is a limited availability of research material on these animals-mainly those who died in zoos or whose remains were found in the wild. Anatomy is essential for understanding physiology, identification of diseases, adaptations in the environment, and behavior. In this dissection study, the relationship of individual anatomical structures was analyzed, the anatomy of the active and passive movement system of the thoracic limb was described, photographs were taken, and a radiographic examination was conducted. This species has its own differences, even within closely related lizard species. Varanus komodoensis possesses triceps muscles with three heads, and the wrist is extended with additional bones for greater flexibility of the hand. The muscles of the forelimb are analogous to the hind limb; however, they differ in the mass of individual muscles, especially those predisposed to perform the most important antigravity and locomotive functions.

UV irradiance effects on komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) vitamin D3, egg production, and behavior: A case study.

Modifications to UV irradiance for indoor housed herpetofauna can affect behavior and physiology. Low ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiance can result in vitamin D3 deficiency resulting in calcium metabolism disorders including metabolic bone disease and immune suppression. High UVB can result in skin and eye issues, which can be severe enough to cause shock and death. Using tools available for the assessment of UV light, including Ferguson zones and the UV working tool designed by the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria, we redesigned lighting in our indoor komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) habitat to better suit the UV requirements of this species, while studying changes in behavior and physiology. We measured serum vitamin 25-hydroxy D3 values in one male and one female komodo dragon before and after they were housed in indoor and outdoor habitats. We also measured behavior changes in our male komodo as he moved from an outdoor habitat, to an indoor habitat with changing UV irradiance. Our female komodo showed a 98% increase in vitamin D3 values after being moved outdoors, and laid her first clutch of eggs. Our male dragon's vitamin D3 remained consistent 200 days after moving inside. He did show increased activity when higher UV irradiance was available. Importantly, we found the UV lamps we used stopped producing desired UV irradiance within 3.5 months of regular use. We suggest all animal care facilities develop UV monitoring programs to research output and longevity of UVB lamps used in indoor herpetofauna habitats.

Predicting of Komodo dragon's potential prey habitat suitability using MaxEnt in Riung Nature Reserve, Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Abstract. Pramatana F, Aini Y, Rammang N, Mau YS, Arsa IGBA, Mahmud A. 2023. Predicting of Komodo dragon's potential prey habitat suitability using MaxEnt in Riung Nature Reserve, Flores East Nusa Tenggara. Biodiversitas 24: 3128-3139. The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis Ouwens, 1912) is a big lizard species from the Varanidae family that belongs to the Endangered category (EN) listed on the IUCN red list and Appendix I CITES. This study aimed to reveal the distribution of potential preys Komodo dragons in Rinca Island, Komodo National Park, Manggarai District, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), which was collected using rapid assessment methods. The presences of the Komodo dragon's potential prey come from direct and indirect observation or previous studies. We collected 510 points of Komodo dragon prey presence in Riung, Ngada District, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia from six species, including cattle, but only used 127 points for analysis based on the correlation. Long-tailed macaque, wild boar, civet, Timor deer, feral horses, and cows were the potential prey for komodo in Riung. Most of the points come from cattle, such as cows. On the other hand, we used environmental habitat to represent prey habitats such as elevation, slope, land surface temperature, moisture index, vegetation index, and distance from specific objects such as distance from agriculture, rivers, road, savanna, and settlement. Komodo dragon's potential prey in Riung was distributed in savanna, mangrove, and lowland forest. The result showed three suitable habitats for the Komodo dragon's potential prey dominated by low and moderate-suitability areas.

Destination Branding Provinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur Melalui ‘The New Tourism Territory”

The purpose of this research is to find out how the implementation of the Destination Branding "The New Tourism Territory" stage is carried out by the East Nusa Tenggara Tourism Office. This study uses a qualitative research method using a case study approach. The results of the study show that 1) In implementing Destination Branding through "The New Tourism Territory" East Nusa Tenggara Province has carried out the five stages of destination branding proposed by Morgan, Pritchard and Pride, namely market investigation, analysis and strategic recommendations; brand identity development; brand launch and introduction; brand implementation; and monitoring, evaluation and review. 2) Brand Identity Development carried out by the Tourism and Creative Economy Office of East Nusa Tenggara Province, namely forming a destination identity, which is the characteristic of the Komodo dragon and "The New Tourism Territory is the new identity of the Province of NTT. 3) Brand Launch and Introduction carried out by the Office of Tourism and Creative Economy of East Nusa Tenggara Province through advertising, direct selling in international tourism exhibitions, tourism magazines, brochures, pamphlets, websites, Instagram, Facebook and events. 4) Brand Implementation carried out by the Office of Tourism and Creative Economy of East Nusa Tenggara is to apply the brand to promotional media, creating tourism products in the form of cultural events and attractions. 5) Monitoring, evaluation and review carried out by the Office of Tourism and Creative Economy of East Nusa Tenggara Province is a review of the use of promotional media as a communicator for the branding of "The New Tourism Territory", in this case the dispar.ntt website.

Discrete komodo algorithm for traveling salesman problem

This work presents a Discrete Komodo Algorithm (DKA) to solve the traveling salesman problem (TSP). Inspired by the Komodo Mlipir Algorithm, a swarm intelligence algorithm based on the behavior of komodo dragons, DKA introduces an enhanced edge-construction operator and a novel edge-destruction operator to explore the discrete search space of TSP. To prioritize the exploration of potential edges, DKA uses a Priority Queue that stores all possible edges with their weights, and its counts appear on tour as its priority. The edges with smaller weights and counts have higher probabilities of being selected for the tour. DKA is tested with 45 different TSP instances from TSPLIB. Experimental results show that DKA guarantees produced the best-known solution for small test problems for up to 24 nodes, and the best solutions are within 6.92% of the known optimal solutions. Compared with some of the previous algorithms, DKA outperforms the recent state-of-the-art algorithms and is significantly better than classical metaheuristic algorithms by achieving a lower relative error.

Drug Discovery Efforts at George Mason University.

With over 39,000 students, and research expenditures in excess of $200 million, George Mason University (GMU) is the largest R1 (Carnegie Classification of very high research activity) university in Virginia. Mason scientists have been involved in the discovery and development of novel diagnostics and therapeutics in areas as diverse as infectious diseases and cancer. Below are highlights of the efforts being led by Mason researchers in the drug discovery arena. To enable targeted cellular delivery, and non-biomedical applications, Veneziano and colleagues have developed a synthesis strategy that enables the design of self-assembling DNA nanoparticles (DNA origami) with prescribed shape and size in the 10 to 100 nm range. The nanoparticles can be loaded with molecules of interest such as drugs, proteins and peptides, and are a promising new addition to the drug delivery platforms currently in use. The investigators also recently used the DNA origami nanoparticles to fine tune the spatial presentation of immunogens to study the impact on B cell activation. These studies are an important step towards the rational design of vaccines for a variety of infectious agents. To elucidate the parameters for optimizing the delivery efficiency of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), Buschmann, Paige and colleagues have devised methods for predicting and experimentally validating the pKa of LNPs based on the structure of the ionizable lipids used to formulate the LNPs. These studies may pave the way for the development of new LNP delivery vehicles that have reduced systemic distribution and improved endosomal release of their cargo post administration. To better understand protein-protein interactions and identify potential drug targets that disrupt such interactions, Luchini and colleagues have developed a methodology that identifies contact points between proteins using small molecule dyes. The dye molecules noncovalently bind to the accessible surfaces of a protein complex with very high affinity, but are excluded from contact regions. When the complex is denatured and digested with trypsin, the exposed regions covered by the dye do not get cleaved by the enzyme, whereas the contact points are digested. The resulting fragments can then be identified using mass spectrometry. The data generated can serve as the basis for designing small molecules and peptides that can disrupt the formation of protein complexes involved in disease processes. For example, using peptides based on the interleukin 1 receptor accessory protein (IL-1RAcP), Luchini, Liotta, Paige and colleagues disrupted the formation of IL-1/IL-R/IL-1RAcP complex and demonstrated that the inhibition of complex formation reduced the inflammatory response to IL-1B. Working on the discovery of novel antimicrobial agents, Bishop, van Hoek and colleagues have discovered a number of antimicrobial peptides from reptiles and other species. DRGN-1, is a synthetic peptide based on a histone H1-derived peptide that they had identified from Komodo Dragon plasma. DRGN-1 was shown to disrupt bacterial biofilms and promote wound healing in an animal model. The peptide, along with others, is being developed and tested in preclinical studies. Other research by van Hoek and colleagues focuses on in silico antimicrobial peptide discovery, screening of small molecules for antibacterial properties, as well as assessment of diffusible signal factors (DFS) as future therapeutics. The above examples provide insight into the cutting-edge studies undertaken by GMU scientists to develop novel methodologies and platform technologies important to drug discovery.

Macroanatomical, Histological and Microtomographic Study of the Teeth of the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)—Adaptation to Hunting

The present study aimed to characterize the macrostructure and microstructure of the mandibular teeth of the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) and the methods it uses to obtain food. Examinations were performed using a stereoscopic microscope, autofluorescence method, histological method and computed microtomography. A detailed macro- and micro-structural description of V. komodoensis mandibular teeth were made. The mandibular teeth are laterally flattened along their entire length and the dental crown is hooked caudally. The part of the nasal margin of the tooth crown is irregular, while the caudal margin of the tooth is characteristically serrated, except for the tooth base area. There are longitudinal grooves on the lingual and vestibular surfaces up to the lower third of the tooth height. The mandibular tooth is surrounded by a cuff made of the oral mucosa, containing the opening of the venom gland. In the histological structure of the tooth, the enamel covering the tooth crown and the dentin under the enamel are distinguished. The inside of the tooth, except its basal part, is filled with the tooth chamber, while the inside of the lower part of the tooth is filled with plicidentine, which corresponds to external furrows on the enamel. The plicidentine arrangement resembles a honeycomb. A small amount of dentine folds reach up to the tooth apex. Characteristic features of the structure of the mandibular teeth in V. komodoensis may indicate their significant role, in addition to the venom glands, in obtaining food in the natural environment of this species.

Crouching Zookeeper, Hidden Dragon: A Case of a Komodo Dragon Bite

BackgroundThe Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) is the world's largest living lizard and exists in private captivity worldwide. Bites to humans are rare and have been proposed to be both infectious and venomous. Case ReportA 43-year-old zookeeper was bitten on the leg by a Komodo dragon and suffered local tissue damage with no excessive bleeding or systemic symptoms to suggest envenomation. No specific therapy was administered other than local wound irrigation. The patient was placed on prophylactic antibiotics and on follow-up, which revealed no local or systemic infections, and no other systemic complaints. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This?Although venomous lizard bites are uncommon, prompt recognition of possible envenomation and management of these bites is important. Komodo dragon bites may produce not only superficial lacerations but also deep tissue injury, but are unlikely to produce serious systemic effects; whereas Gila monster and beaded lizard bites may cause delayed angioedema, hypotension, and other systemic symptoms. Treatment in all cases is supportive.

PEMBANGUNAN JURASSIC PARK DI PULAU KOMODO BERDASARKAN WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION 1972

In 2020 a Geopark will be built that carries the Jurassic Park concept which has caused a lot of polemic in the community, whether the development is said to violate the provisions of the World Heritage Convention. This requires the government to make efforts to preserve the Komodo dragon as an endangered species. The problem is whether the construction of the Komodo Island Jurassic Park violates the provisions of the 1972 World Heritage Convention and what efforts need to be made to protect and preserve Komodo dragons? The article is normative research methods were carried out. Data processing is done qualitatively and conclusions is done using deductive methods. The results of the research and discussion are that the development of the Komodo National Park is an integrated and well-planned planned infrastructure regeneration which includes the design of areas, routes, supply of clean water, waste management, cleaning, and rejuvenation of human settlements. Jurassic Park Komodo National Park will not have a negative impact but a positive impact because the goal is to protect the diversity of the earth through conservation. 5 of 1990 concerning the Conservation of Living Natural Resources and their Ecosystems.

Analisis Sentimen Pengunjung Pulau Komodo dan Pulau Rinca di Website Tripadvisor Berbasis CRISP-DM

A sentiment analysis is needed to identify tourist preferences for products and services in a tourist destination. Therefore, this study uses the Cross-Industry Standard Procedure for Data Mining (CRISP-DM) method to classify visitor review data for Komodo Island and Rinca Island obtained from the Tripadvisor website based on negative and positive sentiments, then recommends the development of an information system that can optimize the products and services of tourist destinations on Komodo Island and Rinca Island. Meanwhile, the algorithms used are k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN), Naïve Bayes Classifier (NBC), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Decision Tree (DT). Based on the results of data classification using the word weighting method or Term Frequency Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF) through the sentiment extract operator, it can be known that the five words that most often appear in tourist reviews of Komodo Island are as follows: Komodo dragons (1894), dragons (1596), island (1492), tour (840), boat (774). Meanwhile, the five words that most often appear in tourist reviews of Rinca Island are as follows: komodo dragon (1042), dragons (962), island (882), rinca (606), and boat (372). In addition, the results of the classification of 564 Komodo Island tourist review data and 364 Rinca Island tourist review data using CRISP-DM-based k-NN, NBC, SVM, and DT algorithms, show that the Support Vector Machine (SVM) is the best-performing algorithm where the accuracy value is 99.69%, precision 100%, recall 99.39%, f-measure 99.69%, Area Under Curve (AUC) 100% and t-Test 0.958. Meanwhile, the results of processing tourist review data on Rinca Island products and services show that the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm has the best performance with 100% accuracy, 100% precision, 100% recall, 100% f-measure, 100% Area Under Curve (AUC) and 0.964 t-Test. After comparing the performance of SVM before and after using the Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique (SMOTE), it can be seen that the implementation of the algorithm becomes more optimal when using the SMOTE operator. Thus, SVM is a relevant algorithm used as a model for analyzing tourist sentiment on Komodo Island and Rinca Island based on CRISP-DM.

Interactions between hard corals and reef fish communities in the Komodo National Park, East Nusa Tenggara Timur

The Komodo National Park is one of the largest National Parks in Indonesia that conserves not only terrestrial to protect the habitat of Komodo dragons but also marine areas. The marine ecosystems play important roles in protecting the shoreline from abrasion and supporting sustainability of seafood supplies for local communities. This study presents observed interactions between hard corals (number of species and coverage) and reef fish communities (number of species, abundance, and biomass). Coral monitoring was conducted at 12 stations in 2019. The study found 211 species of hard corals with an average hard coral cover of 30.84%. There is no significant correlation between the number of coral species with the fish communities. However, the branching coral cover shows a significant correlation with herbivorous fish communities (the number of species, abundance, and biomass. Such correlation may be attributed to the structural complexity of branching corals which provides shelters that prevent herbivorous fish from predation. Although branching corals are physically vulnerable to destruction and bleaching, their existence can promote herbivorous fish population sustainability and reef resilience.

The Potential of Komodo National Park in East Nusa Tenggara Province

Komodo National Park is a natural tourist destination that act as a magnet tourism for local and foreign tourists in East Nusa Tenggara Province. Referred as one of Wonders of world not only because of the presence of the ancient Komodo dragon but also supported by its beautiful underwater scenery. The study aims to uncover the extension of Komodo National Park's role and contribution to regional development, as well as its obstacles on tourism development using qualitative research methods with a descriptive approach. The results indicate that Komodo National Park has high possibility in increasing regional income and the development of East Nusa Tenggara, there are also several other potential destinations but not only have not been managed optimally but also has its own policies to do not involve the local community in managing tourist destinations. Furthermore, in practice of tourism the authorities must also pay close attention to the principles of local community participation, local cultural rights, aspects of resource conservation, education and training, promotion, and monitoring and evaluation.

Surviving Dragons: Ethnographic Reports of Komodo Monitors (Varanus komodoensis) in Northeastern Flores

Besides their namesake island and several immediately neighboring small islands, Komodo monitors (Varanus komodoensis)—better known as Komodo dragons—also occur on the larger island of Flores to the east. Apart from the extreme western part of Flores, the giant lizards occur along the island's northern coast; but how far eastward they extend remains a question. Early in the twentieth century, reports by local people described dragons as present in the northeast, while in 1985, officials of the Indonesian department of Forest Protection and Nature Conservation reported catching specimens of V. komodoensis in the vicinity of Cape Kotabaru in northeastern Flores. Camera trapping conducted between 2014 and 2019 by field zoologists failed to produce evidence of dragons in this region. Yet, during recent ethnographic research, the present author recorded reports of local people encountering specimens in Kotabaru. In view of locally recognized differences between Komodo dragons and the related, though much smaller, water monitor (Varanus salvator), the present study discusses local knowledge of Komodo dragons among the Lio people of northeastern Flores as a prelude to reviewing local sighting reports, some from as recently as 2016 and 2017. With regard to mostly anthropogenic factors that would account for recent decline in dragon numbers throughout Flores Island, as well as features of the species that render it resilient to these, the paper concludes that a small number of dragons remain in the Kotabaru region, so that recent sighting reports are likely valid.

Repair of a Comminuted Femur Fracture in a Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis) Using a Double Plating Technique

This report describes double locking compression plate fixation of a moderately comminuted mid-diaphyseal right femur fracture in a Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis). The animal was restrained for a routine examination, during which the dragon struggled to escape restraint. When returned to the exhibit, the dragon did not use the right pelvic limb to walk. A right-sided, closed, mid-diaphyseal comminuted (type C3) femur fracture was diagnosed using palpation and radiographs, and the animal was transported to a specialty clinic within a few hours for fracture repair. Two locking compression plates (LCPs) were applied in bridging fashion for fracture repair. Radiographs performed at the four-month post-operative recheck revealed a healed fracture with significant callus formation and stable implants. The dragon was transitioned from cage rest in a restricted space to his normal large exhibit after healing was confirmed, no lameness was observed, and normal limb use was noted. After almost three years, he is still ambulating normally and without lameness. This is the first report of successful femur fracture stabilization using bone plate fixation in a Komodo dragon.

MYTH AS ENTERTAINMENT ATTRACTION IN KOMODO-LABUAN BAJO ISLAND TOURISM PRODUCT MARKETING COMMUNICATION

Myth is a flexible form of communication by oral means, which has developed traditionally by word of mouth through stories, which can be an entertainment attraction for tourists. One of them is Komodo Island, Labuan Bajo which is a tourist attraction is Komodo which is included in the 7 wonders of the world (Seven wonders) and a growing myth that Komodo was born from a daughter who has twin sons, namely humans and Komodo stars, who were given the name "Orah." The purpose of this study is the meaning and function of myths that develop into tourist attractions, namely the experience of being close to rare animals that can coexist with humans in Komodo village. Entertainment attractions or entertainment as part of tourism products have the power to attract tourists to visit tourist destinations. A qualitative research approach to analyze the meaning of myths and explain the benefits of myths as entertainment attractions that attract tourists to visit tourist areas. The results of this study are that Komodo is a tourist attraction and an icon on one of the islands in the National Park area, Labuan Bajo. That myth can be used as one of the marketing communication activities for tourism products is still not popular as a promotion, but concentrates more on the tourism products presented. The variety and development of entertainment attractions on the island of Komodo need to be further improved, by considering the process of making tourist purchasing decisions, trends that occur in society and referring to the uniqueness of the tourist destination itself and alternative attractions other than the Komodo dragon. In addition, information for the public about tourist destinations and their products also continues to be improved and published. Another development is the selfie phenomenon, where taking pictures and uploading photos to social media is important as a means of promotion.

Genome of the endangered Guatemalan Beaded Lizard, Heloderma charlesbogerti, reveals evolutionary relationships of squamates and declines in effective population sizes.

Many lizard species face extinction due to worldwide climate change. The Guatemalan Beaded Lizard, Heloderma charlesbogerti, is a member of the Family Helodermatidae that may be particularly imperiled; fewer than 600 mature individuals are believed to persist in the wild. In addition, H. charlesbogerti lizards are phenotypically remarkable. They are large in size, charismatically patterned, and possess a venomous bite. Here, we report the draft genome of the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard using DNA from a wild-caught individual. The assembled genome totals 2.31 Gb in length, similar in size to the genomes of related species. Single-copy orthologs were used to produce a novel molecular phylogeny, revealing that the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard falls into a clade with the Asian Glass Lizard (Anguidae) and in close association with the Komodo Dragon (Varanidae) and the Chinese Crocodile Lizard (Shinisauridae). In addition, we identified 31,411 protein-coding genes within the genome. Of the genes identified, we found 504 that evolved with a differential constraint on the branch leading to the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard. Lastly, we identified a decline in the effective population size of the Guatemalan Beaded Lizard approximately 400,000 years ago, followed by a stabilization before starting to dwindle again 60,000 years ago. The results presented here provide important information regarding a highly endangered, venomous reptile that can be used in future conservation, functional genetic, and phylogenetic analyses.