The mountains of Borneo are well known for their high endemicity and historical role in preserving Southeast Asian rainforest biodiversity, but the diversification of populations inhabiting these mountains is poorly studied. Here we examine the genetic structure of 12 Bornean montane passerines by comparing complete mtDNA ND2 gene sequences of populations spanning the island. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic trees and haplotype networks are examined for common patterns that might signal important historical events or boundaries to dispersal. Morphological and ecological characteristics of each species are also examined using phylogenetic generalized least-squares (PGLS) for correlation with population structure. Populations in only four of the 12 species are subdivided into distinct clades or haplotype groups. Although this subdivision occurred at about the same time in each species (ca. 0.6-0.7Ma), the spatial positioning of the genetic break differs among the species. In two species, northeastern populations are genetically divergent from populations elsewhere on the island. In the other two species, populations in the main Bornean mountain chain, including the northeast, are distinct from those on two isolated peaks in northwestern Borneo. We suggest different historical forces played a role in shaping these two distributions, despite commonality in timing. PGLS analysis showed that only a single characteristic-hand-wing index-is correlated with population structure. Birds with longer wings, and hence potentially more dispersal power, have less population structure. To understand historical forces influencing montane population structure on Borneo, future studies must compare populations across the entirety of Sundaland.
The tropical rainforests of Sundaland are a global biodiversity hotspot increasingly threatened by human activities. While parasitic insects are an important component of the ecosystem, their diversity and parasite-host relations are poorly understood in the tropics. We investigated parasites of passerine birds, the chewing lice of the speciose genus MyrsideaWaterston, 1915 (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) in a natural rainforest community of Malaysian Borneo. Based on morphology, we registered 10 species of lice from 14 bird species of six different host families. This indicated a high degree of host specificity and that the complexity of the system could be underestimated with the potential for cryptic lineages/species to be present. We tested the species boundaries by combining morphological, genetic and host speciation diversity. The phylogenetic relationships of lice were investigated by analyzing the partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) and the nuclear elongation factor alpha (EF-1α) genes sequences of the species. This revealed a monophyletic group of Myrsidea lineages from seven hosts of the avian family Pycnonotidae, one host of Timaliidae and one host of Pellorneidae. However, species delimitation methods supported the species boundaries hypothesized by morphological studies and confirmed that four species of Myrsidea are not single host specific. Cophylogenetic analysis by both distance-based test ParaFit and event-based method Jane confirmed overall congruence between the phylogenies of Myrsidea and their hosts. In total we recorded three cospeciation events for 14 host-parasite associations. However only one host-parasite link (M. carmenae and their hosts Terpsiphone affinis and Hypothymis azurea) was significant after the multiple testing correction in ParaFit. Four new species are described: Myrsidea carmenaesp.n. ex Hypothymis azurea and Terpsiphone affinis, Myrsidea franciscaesp.n. ex Rhipidura javanica, Myrsidea ramonisp.n. ex Copsychus malabaricus stricklandii, and Myrsidea victoriaesp.n. ex. Turdinus sepiarius.
Rice fields are traditional landscape in Malaysia that sustains various species of birds .Waterbirds, raptors, Passeriformes and Columbiformes were observed and counted using point count method at rice fields in Bandar Baharu, Kedah from March 2009 to February 2010. The current status of birds in the rice fields of Malaysia has not been widely researched. The objective of this study was to document the bird species richness and diversity and temporal bird distribution during the annual rice growing cycle. There were 5120 birds representing 67 species belonging to 29 families being recorded. The diversity index (Shannon-Wiener) varied monthly between 2.154 and 3 .321 . The most abundant bird family observed was Ardeidae (29.09%), followed by Sturnidae ( 10.15%) and Hirundinidae (7.86%). Rice growing seasons involve three main stages; direct seedling/transplanting, growing and harvesting. Each stage attracts different bird species to exist in the rice field and surrounding areas. Statistical analysis showed the alternative hypothesis that states abundance of bird species is different monthly was accepted (F1124= 3.033, p< 0.05). Farming activities and rice growing seasons regularly influenced birds' presence in the rice fields and attracted different bird species. Reclamation and urban development on the rice fields is a major concern. Conservation efforts and strict regulation of pesticide use should be implemented to develop sustainable agriculture practices that are beneficial to human and wildlife communities.
In this article we present a standardized dataset on 6659 songbirds (Passeriformes) highlighting information relevant to species conservation prioritization with a main focus to support the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Data were collected from both scientific and grey literature as well as several online databases. The data are structured into six knowledge categories: Conventions and Treaties, Human Use, Extinction Risk, Management Opportunities, Biological Information, and Intrinsic Values. The Conventions and Treaties category includes the listings for two international conventions, CITES and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), as well as EU listings for the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations and the EU Birds Directive. The Human Use category contains information on both regulated trade collected from the CITES Trade Database and the United States' Law Enforcement Management Information System (LEMIS), and highly aggregated data on seizures which we obtained from TRAFFIC, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and two data sources on traditional medicine. We also present, for the first time, the complete Songbirds in Trade Database (SiTDB), a trade database curated by taxon expert S. Bruslund based on expert knowledge, literature review, market surveys and sale announcements. Data on the types of human use, including traditional medicine are also provided. The knowledge area on Extinction Risk contains data on the species' IUCN Red List status, the Alliance for Zero Extinction Trigger Species status, site and population at the site, the species' IUCN Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, and the listing of priority species at the Asian Songbird Crisis Summit. In the Management Opportunities category, we gathered data on ex-situ management from Species360 zoo holdings as well as species management plans from the European and North American Zoo Associations (EAZA and AZA, respectively). Biological Information includes data on body mass, clutch size, diet, availability of data from the IUCN Red List on habitat systems, extent of occurrence, generation length, migration pattern, distribution, and biological data from the Demographic Species Knowledge Index, number of occurrences recorded by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) as well as genomic data from the Bird 10 000K Genomes (B10K) project, Vertebrate Genome Project (VGP) and GenBank. Information on invasive species is also part of this knowledge area. The Intrinsic Value category refers to two measures of the species' intrinsic value, namely Ecological and Evolutionary Distinctiveness. In order to make these knowledge areas comparable, we standardized data following the taxonomy of the Handbook of the Birds of the World and Birdlife (Version 4, 2019). The data enable a broad spectrum of analyses and will be useful to scientists for further research and to policymakers, zoos and other conservation stakeholders for future prioritization decisions.