Archive for the ‘Pondok Ambung Research Station’ Category
July has been a busy month, hence my lack of posts (apologies) and it looks set to continue into August. This has definitely been Pondok Ambung’s month. Pondok Ambung is the Tropical Forest Research Station we operate inside Tanjung Puting National Park.
Pondok Ambung is set in a beautiful location on the Sekonyer River, TPNP. I have already told you of Rene’s study on crocodiles but I think it completely slipped by to tell you that the University of Reading’s ‘Summer School’ were here earlier this month. This is the second year, Reading University have run a ten-day field course at Pondok Ambung. It is always great to see students getting out of the classroom and into the forest. I hope it inspires them. They were certainly captivated by the orangutans and gibbons.
Pondok Ambung visitors; orangutans, gibbons, and humans -whose watching who? And just to prove there are always new experiences to be had, the day Brigitta (who contacted us through Wildlife Direct) was with us at Pondok Ambung, we found a tree that had been absolutely torn apart. You will have seen photos of the damage sun bears can do to trees in one of my earlier posts. Orangutans will also tear off bark to either get at sap or insects. But, on this tree, half the bark had been shorn off and huge chunks of heartwood pulled out. If it was an orangutan or a bear, I would not want to meet them! It was Rene who gave us the answer: the tree had been struck by lightening (he said there had been an almighty thunder clap and lightening flash the day before). That was why the wood appeared to have exploded outwards. Still it was incredible there was no sign of burning. Despite the downpour, I would have thought a million plus volts would have at least singed the leaves…
Compared with the week before, when I spent four days out of six in the field, this week seems to have been very office bound with only one visit to the Orangutan Care Centre. I guess that is what happens as audit-time approaches. One exciting thing did happened. Rene Bonke, a German PhD student arrived to begin research into the ecology of the Malaysian False Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii), one of the world’s rarest crocodiles.
Malaysian False Gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) Rene will be spending the next three months at Pondok Ambung Research Station in Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP). Earlier studies, on which we also collaborated, found “the highest ever recorded density of wild Tomistoma” on the river system leading to Pondok Ambung and Camp Leakey. Tomistoma are easily distinguished from the other species of crocodile found locally, the saltwater or estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus).
Dear Sheryl, Teresa and F J Pechir, Thank you for your questions. The water in pitcher plant holds a variety of detritus and insects, however it appears the plants only digest the insects, as it is the protein they are seeking. Pitcher plants are typically found in areas of poor soils and scientist believe the eating of insects evolved as a means of ‘topping up’ the plant’s nutrient intake. It is a good question about what happens to the water; I have never thought about it. I have never seen a pitcher full to the brim, so my guess is the bowl is not completely water tight and excess water is allowed to seep out. Pitcher plants are not poisonous. Monkeys eat their leaves but nothing appears to eat the pitchers themselves - which probably reflects the poor nutrient quality. Certainly orangutans have never been seen eating them. However, it is a common “dare” amongst the Field Assistants to drink the water. I can vouch for the fact it is harmless. Sheryl’s comment on the lady not selling cookies until they find bakers who are environmentally responsible was interesting. The Orangutan Foundation is working with one such company in the UK, Paterson Arran, who are leading the UK biscuit industry in finding replacements for palm oil. They use olive and rapeseed oil in its place. As they told us, the transition wasn’t easy. On the first attempt at a palm oil free chocolate chip cookie, all the chocolate chips fell out! Fortunately, they persevered and managed to overcome the problem. Interestingly, Paterson Arran are always quick to point out the switch isn’t just good for orangutans; they calculated changing from palm oil resulted in a 60-70% reduction in saturated fat…. Unfortunately we don’t have any more information about the situation in Bukit Tigapuluh at the moment other than that in the report by WWF. A number of local NGO’s in Jambi/Riau are working hard on this issue and if we do hear from our colleagues we will keep you updated.
Mr Devis has sent an update from Pondok Ambung Reseach Station, TPNP about tropical pitcher plants - a fascinating carnivorous plant species. First though we have received quite a few comments and questions from our last post ‘Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership - community meeting’. We’ll deal with those before “handing over” to Mr Devis. Thank you F.J.Pechir for your comment and question about the survey of the orangutans in Sabah. Without seeing the study and knowing more about it it is hard to comment on. There was a study published in December 2004 by Marc Ancrenaz et al. which also used aerial surveys for estimating the distribution and population sizes of orangutans in Sabah (perhaps it is this study which you are referring to?). Before this study the previous estimates for Sabah ranged from less than 2,000 to 20,000 orangutans, the M. Ancrenaz study estimated the population at around 11,000 orangutans and we think is an accurate figure. Thank you Theresa Siskind for your question about eco-tourism in Lamandau. The Orangutan Foundation doesn’t run an eco-tourism programme to the Lamandau Reserve because it is an orangutan release site. With the Lamandau Ecosystem Conservation Partnership we want to develop long-term sustainable incomes for the local communities and in our experience eco-tourism isn’t a source of income to be relied upon because it is often influenced by global issues, for example, terrorism. Some products made by the local communities, rattan baskets or mats, are on sale to tourists who come to visit Tanjung Puting National Park. We do value and realise the potential of eco-tourism to help protect wildlife and it has certainly done this in TPNP. Please visit our eco-tourism page on the Orangutan Foundation website. The tropical pitcher is a very interesting carnivorous plant species and the uniqueness of its shape and colour has captured the interest of Mr. Devis who has been studying the tropical pitcher plant at Pondok Ambung. Over to Mr Devis….
Our survey began in the peat swamp forest around Sungai Sekonyer Kanan. Exploration has to be limited to the dry season because during the rainy season the rising water levels make it almost possible! We have so far discovered two types of tropical pitcher plant; Nepenthes ampullaria which looks like the pitcher cup and Nepenthes reinwardtiana which looks like a cylinder tube (see photos below). We noticed that Nepenthes ampullaria grows in large quantities, in a centralized position in one particular spot. Our second survey was in the swamp forest around Pondok Ambung and this time three species of tropical pitcher were discovered. Two were species found in the first survey. The third species, Nepenthes rafflesiana (Raffles’ Pitcher Plant) which has lower pitchers are generally round, squat and winged, while the upper pitchers are narrower at their base. We discovered that Rafflesiana grows well as a colony with Nepenthes ampullaria.
Three pitchers have been discovered so far Nepenthes reinwardtiana, Nepenthes ampullaria and Nepenthes rafflesiana. We need continuous surveys so we can uncover other types of tropical pitcher and learn more about their distribution so that conservation efforts can be taken. I am hoping that there will be others researchers who have a similar interest in Tropical Pitcher research. Fellow researchers - I wait for your arrival here in Pondok Ambung!!
As we promised, here’s the first introduction to one our key staff. You will hear more about Devis and his work at Pondok Ambung in future blogs. Devis Rachmawan, is manager of Pondok Ambung Research Station in Tanjung Puting National Park (TPNP), has only been working with the Orangutan Foundation since June 2007. Devis is of West Java and Nusa Tenggara descendants and his motto is “life should be at liberty but full of responsibilities”. Devis is from Bogor, in West Java and he has a degree in Forestry. He is hard working and always eager to learn, especially about wildlife and ecology. When he’s not in the field his favorite activities are watching movies, cycling, traveling and hiking.
Devis In the short time that Devis has been working for the Orangutan Foundation he has, in his words, received countless positive experiences. He admitted that he was very anxious when he sailed the Kelotok (traditional wooden boat) alone for the first time ever. Whilst he was sailing from the estuary of the Arut River to the estuary of the bay he took a really big wave. But observing a wild tarsier (Tarcius bancanus) for the first time at Pondok Ambung, TPNP, is one of his most unforgettable experiences. Tarsiers are ‘primitive’ primates that are rarely seen in the wild as they are, small, solitary, and only active at night.
Tarsier seen at Pondok Ambung, TPNP A message from Devis “ I would like to take this opportunity to invite all readers to participate in helping to rescue wild animals, as well as their natural habitat as much as possible. We still have time to make this happen. Once everything is destroyed, there is nothing that can be done except never ending sadness”. Peace out from Pondok Ambung!!! |
|
