#Bornean tree-hole frog

[stickyfrogs]

Today’s Friend from Borneo is the Bornean Tree-hole Frog (Metaphrynella sundana)! He is singing his Beautiful Song from his hole in the middle of a tree! (Bonus Crested Toad (Ingerophrynus divergens)!)

[zoomology]

The ecology field season in the Northern Hemisphere was drawing to a close, so Tom and I jumped on a plane and began our annual pilgrimage south.  As a perfect break in our journey, we decided to spend a week in Borneo exploring the jungle from a field centre Tom had visited as a university student. Our hosts showed us a wonderful time, and we encountered many amazing species. Over our next few blog posts, we will share with you a few of our favourite moments.

The jungle is always full of surprises

Danau Girang Field Centre

Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) is located just off the lower Kinabatangan River in Sabah, Malaysia, on the northern part of the island of Borneo. It is a collaborative research and training facility managed by Sabah Wildlife Department and Tom’s old university, Cardiff University.

DGFC is surrounded by a mixture of lowland dipterocarp forest types. You can read about these and Malaysia’s other major forest types here. In the area, the forests range from primary forest to disturbed secondary forest, in a matrix landscape with significant human impact including villages, small scale agriculture and oil palm plantations.

Arriving at the jetty

DGFC Main Building

Walking down the path from the jetty to the Centre

Gumboots all lined up and ready to go

Welcome to DGFC!

Wildlife Around the Centre

We didn’t have to venture far to meet the wildlife. In fact, on the short walk from the bunk-rooms to the main building you would regularly see macaques, monitor lizards, and a multitude of bird species. There were pygmy squirrels and giant squirrels darting up and down trees, invertebrates of all forms whirring, buzzing, and scuttling. There was even a scorpion which was larger than my hand that had taken up residence in a hole in the middle of the path. If you crept up quietly whilst the sun was down, you could see its two pincers poking out of the hole waiting for some unsuspecting prey.

Spider

Millipede

Mother spider and her offspring

Butterflies attracted a spot where an animal has urinated

A stink bug from the family Tessaratomidae

Another beautiful caterpillar

On of the resident scorpions

Grasshopper

Bats roosting under the builing

On occasion, orangutans would be feeding in the trees. We had two such encounters: one with a mother and her baby, and the other with a huge flanged male. Although we didn’t see them during our stay, the Borneo pygmy elephants also sometimes come wandering through.

As the blog posts come live for the different species we write about, we will link to them here.

[Coming soon!]

Activities and Research

There are many projects on the go at DGFC, mostly headed by different postgraduate students. Much of the fieldwork for these projects is carried out with the help of Malaysian guides, undergraduate students and volunteers. There were also some activities which just allowed us to get out-and-about and view the rainforest in different ways. Of course, Tom and I took every opportunity to get involved.  Here is some of what we got up to:

Primate Boat

In the late afternoon, we took one of the small, motorised boats out up the river in search of primates. Resting and feeding in the trees, we saw proboscis monkeys, pig-tailed and long-tailed macaques, and a small number of grey langurs. We saw many bird species, too, including a flock of bushy-crested hornbills, pied oriental hornbills, bee-eaters, swallows, a stork-billed kingfisher, a buffy fish owl, and a noisy shama.

Heading down to the jetty

Scanning the forest looking for wildlife

A pig-tailed macaque

A long-tailed macaque

A male proboscis monkey

Bird Boat

We headed out onto the water at 6am to catch a glimpse of the birds at the start of the day. Watching from the boat often gave you a better view than if you were trying to look from under the dense forest canopy. Highlights included seeing a white-bellied sea eagle and a pair of storm storks.

Emma and Irene with their binos

Theo and his long lens

A rare storm stork

A white-bellied sea eagle

Canopy Platform

This activity certainly got the adrenaline pumping! Tom and I climbed up an extremely long ladder into the canopy of one of the tall trees near the centre. At the top of the ladder was a platform big enough to fit the two of us.

From our lofty perch, we could see three species of sunbird flitting from flower to flower. We were entertained by two pygmy squirrels chasing each other around the trunk of an adjacent tree. Not too far away, we could also hear the laser-like call of a giant squirrel. At the end of all the excitement, we were belayed back down.

It’s a long way up!

Tom starting the ascent

Emma reaching the top

A sunbird high in the canopy

A pygmy squirrel

Track Clearing

Parang in hand, we went along clearing the tracks that had recently been visited by the elephants. Cardiff student, Luke, did all of the clearing… We spent most of the time photographing critters in his wake!

Luke clearing the track ahead of us

A stunning lizard found basking on a vine

An oxbow lake

Slow Loris Telemetry

There are currently two slow loris’ with tracking collars. Each day, the trees in which they sleep are located using radio telemetry. These trees are recorded so that their movements can be studied.

At dusk, I also had the opportunity to return to one of the trees that had been marked during the day, so that we could try and observe whether a collared mother was still with her baby. The mission was a success, and we were able to see both the mother and baby moving from where they had slept going out to feed. We were first able to locate them using their eyeshine then, as they moved along the branches, we were given a clearer view.

Emma tracking the first slow loris

Tom tracking the second slow loris

Max recording the trees in which the slow loris’ were sleeping

Civet Telemetry

One morning, we took a boat across the river and up a tributary to track a collared civet in a nearby oil palm plantation. Once we got close enough to the location of the sleeping civet, its GPS data could be downloaded.

Heading up the tributary

Max and Tom walking through the oil palm plantation

Recording the location and associated data after tracking down a civet

Bearded Pig Fieldwork Trial

PhD student, Dave, was testing out various ways in which he could weigh a bearded pig in the jungle. This is not easy task as an adult can easily weigh over 100kg. A couple of different methods were trialed, both of which required that either Tom or I (or the both of us together) be a substitute pig. Hilarity ensued!

Bearded Pig Tom

The pole method

The tree-branch method

Nighttime Frog Transects

PhD student, Juan, is carrying out a genetics study on frogs. We accompanied him on a couple of transects. These nighttime missions proved to be very fruitful, not just for frogs, but also for seeing other wildlife. On just one transect, we saw eight different frog species, two tarsiers, a tarantula, many bats, and two sleeping kingfishers. On the boat, we also saw two rhinoceros hornbills (Malaysia’s national bird),  bushy-crested hornbills, storm storks, three buffy fish owls, and eleven crocodiles (by their eyeshine)!

Koko and Juan taking samples

A kingfisher asleep in the tree

Collett’s tree frog (Polypedates colletti)

Frilled tree frog (Kurixalus appendiculatus)

Bornean tree-hole frog (Metaphrynella sundana)

White-lipped tree frog (Rana chalconota)

Night Walks & Night Boat

Finding animals at night can sometimes be easier because you can locate them using eyeshine. These night walks and the night boat were also great opportunities to see many of Sabah’s nocturnal animals. We were even treated to a Malay civet who stuck around the water’s edge for a wee photo shoot.

Malay Civet

Malay Civet

A night heron

Who’s that?

Crocodile eyeshine

A tarsier!

We want thank everyone at DGFC for having us! It was great hanging out with you all, both in and out of the field.

If you want to follow DGFC, here is their website and Facebook.

To see more posts on the wildlife of Borneo and more, you can subscribe to our blog here:

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Two birders, Tom and Theo, in their natural environment

References and Further Reading

Cardiff University Website – About – Danau Girang Field Centre – http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/danau-girang-field-centre/about (Retrieved 17 October, 2017)

Cardiff University Website – Publications by Researchers Working with the Centre – http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/danau-girang-field-centre/research/publications (Retrieved 19 October, 2017)

Sabah Wildlife Department Website – http://www.wildlife.sabah.gov.my/ (Retrieved 19 October, 2017)

WWF Malaysia Website – The Malaysian Rainforest – http://www.wwf.org.my/about_wwf/what_we_do/forests_main/the_malaysian_rainforest/ (Retrieved 19 October, 2017)

Into the #Jungle: One Week at a Field #Research Centre in #Borneo. #DGFC #Sabah #Malaysia The ecology field season in the Northern Hemisphere was drawing to a close, so Tom and I jumped on a plane and began our annual pilgrimage south. 

[mellowlandstudentlove-blog]

Must see List of birds in Malaysia

Malaysia and birdwatching? Yes, sir! Aside from the fact that it is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world, Taman Negara, the avian life in Malaysia goes to a count of more of 750. If you are a birder, I know you are rubbing your hands in glee and reaching for your DSLR already. If you are a newbie to the world of bird and watching them, birdwatching in Malaysia will convert you entirely. Tick the following off your list on your next visit here. Reaching these birdwatching spots on time is a must. A bus will take you there easily and much quicker than a train. Quickly book your tickets from https://www.redbus.my/  to save further time.

Rhinoceros hornbill: Around 10 species of the Hornbill found in Malaysia, of which the Rhinoceros hornbill is the most beautiful of the lot with its crown resembling a horn. The best places to spot all the 10 species is the Temenggor Lake in Perak between August to September or the Kenyir Lake in Terengganu. The rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) is a large species of forest hornbill (Bucerotidae). In captivity it can live for up to 35 years. It is found in lowland and montane, tropical and subtropical climates and in mountain rain forests up to 1,400 metres altitude in Borneo, Sumatra, Java, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and southern Thailand.  Male and female hornbills look the same. Its just that the mail hornbill has an orange or red ring around its eyes and the female hornbill has a white ring. Hornbills mainly eat fruits and insects, but you may be surprised to see them prey on small reptiles, rodents and also small birds.

Malayan peacock-pheasant:

Endemic to peninsular Malaysia, it finds itself listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN rankings. A glimpse at this striking bird—blue-green eyes and chartreuse-coloured tail-feather markings on the males—can be sought at Taman Negara. The Malayan peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron malacense) also known as crested peacock-pheasant or Malaysian peacock-pheasant, is a medium-sized pheasant of the galliform family Phasianidae. Males can be identified by a combination of the base colour and they have buff coloured rings surrounding each ocelli.  Females have a very short crest and they are smaller is size they have a little shorter and darker tail than the mailes and their facial skin is a little yellowish in colour. The closely related Bornean peacock-pheasant (P. schleiermacheri) was formerly included here as a subspecies, but as understood today, P. malacense is monotypic.

Stork Billed kingfisher: Its colours quite resemble the national flag and to spot any of the eight species of this bird, a trip to Langkawi is what you must make. They have the capacity to hover round in water for hours together. They mostly feed on fresh water fish. At times you will also find them eating rodents and sometimes preying frogs. They either make their nests by digging holes in a decaying tree or they make nests close to river banks. 

[zoomology]

Frogs? Amphibians? What’s the Fuss?

I have always loved frogs, ever since I was a little boy.

I still haven’t put my finger on what exactly mesmerises me so much. Is it their slippery skin, their hopping legs and huge eyes? Is it their diversity, the number of different body shapes and colours they exhibit? Is it that they have semi-permiable skin by which they absorb oxygen, that some lay eggs that are translucent so you can see the young develop? Is it that some frogs carry their tadpoles/froglets on their back or even in their mouths? Is it that they undergo a dramatic metamorphosis from tadpole to frog? Is it that they are found on every continent except Antarctica, and that amphibians have existed on Earth for over 300 million years? Or, is it that nearly 168 species are believed to have gone extinct in the last two decades and more than 43% of the world’s amphibian species are in decline?

It is all these things and more.

I believe frogs to be particularly worthy of our interest and conservation, especially due to the worrying global amphibian population declines that appear to be one of the most severe examples of the Holocene extinction. The unprecedented loss of amphibians will have severe implications for global biodiversity.

Finding Frogs in Borneo

During our recent visit to Danau Girang Field Centre in Borneo, I was desperate to get out at night and photograph as many frogs as possible. Walking up and down the track from the jetty to the Centre we saw many species. We also managed to join Juan (a researcher at the Centre) and a few local guides during their field work which gave me more time to search. The following are some of the species we encountered.

Species Encountered

Family: Dicroglossidae

Fejervarya limnocharis [ASIAN GRASS FROG]

Limnonectes finchi [ROUGH GUARDIAN FROG] with tadpoles

Family: Microhylidae

Metaphrynella sundana [BORNEAN TREE-HOLE FROG]

Microhyla borneensis [MATANG NARROW-MOUTHED FROG]

Family: Ranidae

Chalcorana chalconota [WHITE-LIPPED FROG]

Hylarana glandulosa [ROUGH-SIDED FROG]

Family: Rhacophoridae

Kurixalus appendiculatus [FRILLED-TREE FROG]

Polypedates colletti [COLLETT’S TREE FROG]

Polypedates leucomystax [FOUR-LINED TREE FROG]

Polypedates macrotis [DARK-EARED TREE FROG]

To see larger versions of the above photos, click on the thumbnails below.

Limnonectes finchi [ROUGH GUARDIAN FROG] with tadpoles

Chalcorana chalconota [WHITE-LIPPED FROG]

Polypedates colletti [COLLETT’S TREE FROG]

Kurixalus appendiculatus [FRILLED-TREE FROG]

Microhyla borneensis [MATANG NARROW-MOUTHED FROG]

Polypedates leucomystax [FOUR-LINED TREE FROG]

Fejervarya limnocharis [ASIAN GRASS FROG]

Metaphrynella sundana [BORNEAN TREE-HOLE FROG]

Hylarana glandulosa [ROUGH-SIDED FROG]

Polypedates macrotis [DARK-EARED TREE FROG]

Although we managed to see a good number of species, there were many more we didn’t come across. I guess you can’t see everything you want at once. The only remedy is a return visit and more time exploring the forest. Well then, until next time!

Polypedates colletti [COLLETT’S TREE FROG]

Want to Read More?

If you’d like to read more about our trip to Borneo and the wildlife we encountered there, check out some of our other blog posts here:

References and Further Reading

Amphibia Website – https://amphibiaweb.org/declines/declines.html (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Asian Grass Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58275/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Bornean Tree-hole Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/57872/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Collett’s Tree Frog –  http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58942/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Dark-eared Tree Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58955/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Four-lined Tree Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58953/0(Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red list Website, Frilled tree frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58972/0(Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Matang Narrow Mouthed Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/57877/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Rough Guardian Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58333/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, Rough-sided Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58603/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

IUCN Red List Website, White-lipped Frog – http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/58568/0 (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

Wikipedia Website, Decline in Amphibian Populations – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_in_amphibian_populations (Retrieved 8 November, 2017)

A few #forest #frogs from our adventures in #Borneo. 🐸🐸🐸 #Kinabatangan #Sabah #Malaysia Frogs? Amphibians? What's the Fuss? I have always loved frogs, ever since I was a little boy.