The three projects From forests to the sea….

Project 1 – One gecko, Two geckos, not few geckos – but many geckos! Spatial partitioning among geckos at Lambir Hills National Park

Four species of sympatric geckos occur in the Lambir Hills National Park headquarters premises. We investigated whether this was related to spatial partitioning among the species. Of the 212 individuals observed in five buildings, there was no significant difference in the distance geckos forage around artificial lights (p = 0.0541). Three of the four species have similar surface preferences. Gekko smithii tends to occur farthest from light sources, and G. monarchus appears restricted to wall surfaces; thus, our results suggest spatial partitioning occurs in multiple ways.

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Project 2 – Marine invertebrate diversity along a reef gradient at Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park

We compared diversity of marine invertebrates along mid-reef, reef crest and reef slope regions in the coral reef at Tunku Abdul Rahman marine sanctuary at Gaya Island in Sabah, Malaysia. 12 plots were placed in 4 replications in each marine zonation. The most diversity in marine invertebrates was found in the reef crest area, possibly because this region contained the most coral cover, providing the most invertebrate microhabitats.

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Project 3 – What’s the “sexiest” time to call- temporal changes in the calls of an amphibian assemblage at Maliau Basin Conservation Area

We investigated the frog call intensity in two anthropogenic habitats at Maliau Basin Study Center premises. Two species, Rana nicobariensis and Bufo juxtasper dominated the two sites. The calling intensity of the studied frog communities peaked at 2200hrs. Bufo juxtasper tend to call more often under rainy conditions. In the presence of more calling individuals, Rana nicobariensis tend to use longer calls. The frog community at the more disturbed site tolerated anthropogenic disturbances.

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