By Olivia Miwil - February 10, 2021 @ 2:16pm
KINABATANGAN: Two recently published scientific papers have highlighted the importance of maintaining small and degraded forests to support the conservation of biodiversity.
Danau Girang Field Centre's (DGFC) Kinabatangan Small Carnivore Project (KSCP), in collaboration with the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and Cardiff University, has been studying small carnivores within the sanctuary since 2013.
According to project leader Dr Meaghan Evans, the findings highlighted the potential physiological costs of carnivore persistence alongside oil palm agriculture, which may undermine the long-term population viability of this species.
"As summarised in our publication in Conservation Physiology, these samples were analysed to determine 39 different blood markers from each Malay civet.
"We found that certain metrics, like red blood cell counts and total protein concentrations, were different between male and female, or young and adult civets.
"Most interestingly, these data demonstrated that civets captured closer to oil palm plantations had markedly different blood profiles than those living in larger forests," she said in a statement.
The project's main activities involved the careful capture and release of small carnivores, most notably the Malay civet, a generalist carnivore species.
They also collected blood samples of each individual civet to determine its health. and fitted global positioning system collars on 21 different male Malay civets, with each animal wearing these small units for an average of 15 weeks.
For the second published paper titled "Landscape Ecology", the team paired movement data sets with information about the type and structure of the habitats used by each animal.
These adaptable small carnivores were using both the forests and the oil palm plantations within the Kinabatangan area. However, not a single animal stayed just within the oil palm agriculture.
"The amount of space each civet used throughout his collaring period was directly proportionate to how much oil palm his range contained.
"This pattern indicates that agriculture is likely a less preferable habitat than forest.
"With that view, we recommended land-sparing and -sharing approaches to facilitate carnivore persistence across oil palm degraded landscapes," Evans added.
Meanwhile, DGFC director and Cardiff University professor Dr Benoit Goossens said these studies were the first of its kind for this species and provided novel insights into the ot herwise lesser-known lives of animals living alongside and within oil palm plantations.
"Even for the apparently flexible Malay civet, close associations with agriculture may incur physiological repercussions.
"Thus, a balance between forest protection and agricultural production needs to be considered in land planning initiatives seeking to optimise wildlife conservation," he said.
The work of the KSCP was funded with research grants from Houston Zoo, Phoenix Zoo, Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong, and Yayasan Sime Darby.
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