Cambodian Journal of Natural History
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Cambodian Journal of Natural History Cambodia’s biodiversity revealed A new primate for Cambodia Amphibians and reptiles of the Cardamoms The Protected Area Law September 2008 Vol 2008 No. 1 Cambodian Journal of Natural History Editors E-mail: [email protected] • Dr Jenny C. Daltry, Senior Conservation Biologist, Fauna & Flora International. • Dr Carl Traeholt, Co-ordinator, Malay Tapir Conservation Project, and Chief Lecturer in Biodiversity Conserva- tion, Centre for Biodiversity Conservation. • Callum McCulloch, Co-ordinator, Centre for Biodiversity Conservation. International Editorial Board • Dr Stephen J. Browne, Fauna & Flora • Dr Sovanmoly Hul, Muséum National d’Histoire International, Cambridge, UK. Naturelle, Paris, France. • Dr Martin Fisher, Editor of Oryx – The • Dr Andy L. Maxwell, World Wide Fund for International Journal of Conservation. Nature, Cambodia. • Dr L. Lee Grismer, La Sierra University, • Dr Jörg Menzel, University of Bonn, Germany. California, USA. • Dr Brad Pettitt, Murdoch University, Australia. • Dr Knud E. Heller, Nykøbing Falster Zoo, • Dr Campbell O. Webb, Harvard University Denmark. Herbaria, USA. Other peer reviewers for this volume. The editors gratefully acknowledge the following experts for review- ing mansucripts submitted to this journal: • Mike R. Appleton, Tarn-et-Garonne, France. • Richard G.T. Paley, Cambridge, UK. • Dr Herbert H. Covert, Colorado, USA. • Dr Bryan L. Stuart., North Carolina, USA • Dr Will J. Duckworth, Lao PDR. • Robert J. Timmins, Wisconsin, USA. The Cambodian Journal of Natural History is a free journal published by the Centre for Biodiversity Conser- vation at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. The Centre for Biodiversity Conservation is a non-profit making unit dedicated to training Cambodian biologists and to the study and conservation of Cambodian biodiversity. Cover photo: (© L.L. Grismer) Micryletta inornata, commonly called the ‘plain narrow-mouthed frog’ or ‘deli paddy frog’, typically inhabits disturbed forested areas where it hides under fallen logs or rocks during the day. It breeds in small, still pools of water. In Cambodia, this beautiful frog has been found in the Carda- mom Mountains, Bokor National Park (see Grismer et al., this volume) and limestone areas near Kampot. It is also native to India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and China. 3 Editorial - Cambodia’s biodiversity revealed Jenny C. Daltry The past ten years have seen a revolution in our As predicted, the number of species known understanding of the status, ecology and manage- to inhabit Cambodia has shot upwards since the ment needs of Cambodia’s biological diversity. late 1990s, largely due to collaborative surveys by national and international scientists. The number of This rise in environmental knowledge can be confirmed mammal species has reached 146 (UNEP- charted by the number of species known to occur WCMC, 2008), with many of the latest additions in Cambodia. In the 1997 ‘Cambodia: A National Bio- being bats, rodents and other small mammals. To diversity Prospectus’, ecologist David Ashwell col- this figure can be added the red-shanked douc, Pyg- lated and summarized all of the available informa- athrix nemaeus (Rawson & Roos, 2008 - this volume). tion on the country’s natural resources. Nearly all 552 birds have been confirmed within Cambodia’s of the 410 species of birds and 2,308 vascular plants borders, with a further 20 reported but unproven he recorded had been found in surveys prior to (F. Goes, pers. comm.). At least 474 species of native the 1970s. The Prospectus also listed 132 mammals freshwater fishes have been positively confirmed, in Cambodia, but fewer than 100 species had actu- according to FishBase (Froese & Pauly, 2008), ally been confirmed by 1997 - the rest were inferred but several authorities put this figure at over 500 from their presence in neighbouring countries. or even 1,000 species. Grismer et al. (2008 - this Ashwell made no attempt to assess the number volume) list over 97 species of reptile in Southwest of species of reptiles, amphibians or insects. Only Cambodia alone. These include several new species a few years earlier, the World Conservation Moni- records that should be added to the UNEP-WCMC toring Centre (WCMC, 1994) recorded 82 species (2008) database, which currently lists 165 reptiles of reptiles and 28 amphibians in Cambodia, but nationwide. In 2008, a new guidebook will docu- many of them were unconfirmed: a perusal of the ment at least 63 species of amphibians that have available literature suggests that only nine species been collected in Cambodia, several of which still of amphibians had been verified in Cambodia by lack scientific names (Neang & Holden, in press). the late 1990s. WCMC (1994) also reported the The number of known plants is also rising steadily, number of freshwater fish species in Cambodia to although many hundreds of specimens collected in be “>215”. In comparison with neighbouring coun- recent years remain unidentified. tries, all of these figures were suspiciously low. It was, as Ashwell (1997) observed, “clear that there Published information on invertebrates remains are many more species yet to be discovered.” even more scattered and incomplete. The UNEP- Table 1 Number of species confirmed to be in Cambodia (see text for references) Percentage 1990s 2008 increase Mammals c. 100 147 c. 47% Birds 410 552 35% Reptiles 82 >165 101% Amphibians 28 (9) 63 125% (600%) Freshwater fishes >215 >474 120% Butterflies and moths 31 >513 >1,555% Vascular plants 2,308 (Not assessed) - Cambodian Journal of Natural History 2008 (1) 3-5 © Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, Phnom Penh 4 WCMC database and older sources list only 31 on the use and management of forests and other butterflies and moths in Cambodia, but a 12-day terrestrial resources. Some examples of these can be survey in the Cardamom Mountains found 292 downloaded from the MekongInfo website (www. species belonging to one moth family, Pyraloidea, mekonginfo.org). The social scientists have demon- alone (Nuss, 2000) and an eight-day survey in 2006 strated that well over 8.5 million Cambodian people collected 221 species of butterflies in one small part depend very heavily upon fisheries and forest of Pursat province (M. Yago, University of Tokyo, resources for their daily consumption and during pers. comm.). Readers of this journal may know of times of hardship. As McKenney & Prom (2002) put other, equally astonishing records. it: “Cambodia’s natural resources not only provide a foundation for food security, income, and employ- While most of Cambodia’s newly recorded ment for most of the population, but also an essen- species were previously known from neighbour- tial ‘safety net’ for the rural poor”. The diversity and ing countries (e.g., Thomas et al., 2007), some have quantity of species used by people in this country is proved to be completely new to science, including breathtaking. For example, at least 300,000 tonnes a mite (Haitlinger, 2004), orchid (Liu & Chen, 2002), of fish are taken out of Cambodian rivers and lakes snake (Daltry & Wüster, 2002) and tree (Wilkie, every year (Nao & van Zalinge, 2000), and around 2007). A number of the new species are believed 600 native plant species are collected for medicinal to be endemic, or unique, to Cambodia, including purposes (Walston & Ashwell, 2008). a recently discovered bat from Kirirom (Csorba & Bates, 2005), a new fish genus from the Tonle Sap Just as we are starting to realise how diverse and (Motomura & Mukai, 2006) and a green-blooded important Cambodia’s biodiversity is, it is begin- tree frog from the Cardamom Mountains (Grismer ning to disappear. Unsustainable logging, hunting et al., 2007). and fishing, land speculation and encroachment in protected areas and forests, alien invasive species, The figures in Table 1 may be hotly disput- and the transformation of natural habitats by roads, ed, but one thing is clear - the number of known plantations, mines, and hydroelectric dams are all species in Cambodia will continue to increase for taking their toll. Arguably the biggest challenge the foreseeable future. This is partly because many facing Cambodia today is finding a way to develop areas are only just beginning to be explored for the its economy and improve infrastructure without first time. Of the 23 protected areas established in decimating the natural systems that more than half 1993, for example, ground-based surveys had been of its people depend on. Making the right choices carried out in only four or five by 1997. In the inter- will require an more rounded understanding of vening ten years, all of the protected areas have the diversity, status, distribution, ecology, threats, been visited by one or more biologists, and 15 or human use and management needs of Cambodia’s more have been subjected to baseline surveys of at incredible biological wealth. least the birds and mammals. These statistics illus- trate the tremendous progress that has been made The Editors hope that the Cambodian Journal of during the past ten years, but there is still a very Natural History can play a useful role in this regard. long way to go before Cambodia’s biodiversity is The idea of launching a national environmental fully documented and understood. science journal sprang from the realisation that while there is a wide array of exciting research The rapidly growing body of research by Cam- being carried out in Cambodia, very little of this bodian and international biologists is mirrored by work is being made available to other scientists or burgeoning research in the fields of human liveli- decision makers to share within the country. Not- hoods and natural resource consumption. While withstanding the references cited below, many of the bulk of this work has focused on fisheries, an the most important discoveries in the past decade increasing number of studies have been conducted can be found only in technical reports to donors © Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, Phnom Penh Cambodian Journal of Natural History 2008 (1) 3-5 5 or published in expensive and often unattainable Haitlinger, R.