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The Spine Bahaba (Bahaba polykladiskos), locally known as 'Gelama Tirusan,' is a member of the Sciaenidae fish family that is distributed across Southeast Asia, reaching as far as North Australia. This species is renowned for its swim bladder, which produces a distinctive loud sound. Despite its distribution in Southeast Asia, no previous studies have reported the presence of the Spine Bahaba in Peninsular Malaysia. This research aims to document the first-ever record of B. polykladiskos in Muar River, Johor, and provide ethnoichthyological insights regarding this species. The ethnoichthyological data were collected using a convenience snowball sampling technique, involving the collection of information from communities residing in the Muar area. In total, 47 respondents participated in the study. The results indicate that a majority of the respondents were familiar with (98%) and had encountered (94%) B. polykladiskos in both the Muar River and the local fish market. The study also documented the demand and trade associated with B. polykladiskos in Muar, with recorded prices ranging from RM 20 to RM 11,500 per fish. Furthermore, this research provides an introductory description of the uses and perceived benefits of B. polykladiskos in traditional medicine, particularly in relation to sexual prowess among male respondents. The study successfully establishes a baseline information for B. polykladiskos in Peninsular Malaysia using an ethnoichthyological approach, thus extending the known geographical distribution of this distinctive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife conservation is facing a conflict of interest between the survival of wildlife and tangible benefits for humans, especially for those living in neighborhoods around the wildlife habitat. Sustainable conservation offers a balanced approach between conservation and economic benefits. PrimaTourism (primate-based tourism) is one of the important initiatives in fulfilling conservation efforts and providing income opportunities for the local community. The banded langur, Presbytis femoralis, has received minimal attention about its conservation issues and the potential solution for this is primate-based tourism. This paper aims to study the viability of PrimaTourism in Kota Tinggi Johor using quantitative surveys assessing local acceptance by villagers between August 2017 and August 2018, and on-site exploratory qualitative interviews with local nature tourism operators on ways to improve the tourism quality in the area. The consistent positive views on PrimaTourism by residents of Kampong Johor Lama in 2017 and 2018 based on the surveys showed potential for PrimaTourism development and implementation. In-depth interviews with local nature guides were categorized into five clustered themes: (1) prioritization of conservation, (2) improvement in marketing, (3) improvement in infrastructure, (4) implementing the sustainable use of natural resources, and (5) community involvement with PrimaTourism as a future undertaking toward its better implementation in Kota Tinggi, Johor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnoprimatology can be defined as the interaction between human and nonhuman primates that share integrated social and ecological spaces through cultural, religious, and customary contexts. Orang Asli community is highly dependent on natural resources around them and utilise animals in their daily life, including primates, for many purposes such as food, medicine, and pets. However, indiscriminate hunting practice and overhunting have caused a major decline in the primate population, including the species with high conservation importance, which may lead to extinction. Hence, this study aims to document the information on primate utilisation by Temuan in Gunung Ledang, Johor, Malaysia, using an ethnoprimatological approach through a semistructured interview with the aid of a questionnaire. The results indicate that Temuan in Gunung Ledang mainly used five species of primates (Macaca fascicularis, M. nemestrina, Presbytis sp., Hylobates lar, and Trachypithecus obscurus) that comprised two families, namely, Cercopithecidae and Hylobatidae, as entertainment and pets. However, respondents acknowledged that these cultural practices rapidly eroded because of the decline in the primate population in their ranging area, thus making it harder for them to spot and hunt the primates. Findings from this study can be used for developing a sustainable action plan that involves Orang Asli toward conservation of primates and preservation of traditional knowledge of Temuan in Peninsular Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fruit bats are important pollinators for plants and play important ecological functions and services in the tropical rain forest. Fruit bats are considered more important for the ecological rehabilitation and health of the plant community on islands as other pollinators may not be able to fly across open sea and reach the island. This study was conducted to determine the diversity of fruit bats in three contrasting Terengganu offshore islands, namely, Pulau Perhentian, Pulau Bidong, and Pulau Redang. A total of 40 individuals of four species were captured using 10 mist nets during the 180 mist-net night sampling period from June 27, 2019 until February 29, 2020. Pulau Bidong had the highest number of bats captured (22), followed by Pulau Redang (18) and Pulau Perhentian (0). The most frequently captured species was Cynopterus brachyotis in both islands. No yield in Pulau Perhentian may be caused by tourism activity, seasonal movement following flowering and fruiting trees, or inadequate sampling effort in multiple sites. The data can be further used to determine factors in assessing threats and for future conservation by the management authorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dusky leaf monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus obscurus), are widely distributed in Peninsular Malaysia. The shortage of studies on phylogeographic structure of T. obscurus, at subspecies and population level, as well as the absence of study for the population in Gunung Ledang National Park, Johor, Malaysia, it may adversely affect their conservation management. This study aims to determine the phylogenetic position of T. obscurus at subspecies and population level, as well as the absence of study for the population in Gunung Ledang National Park, Johor, Malaysia, it may adversely affect their conservation management. This study aims to determine the phylogenetic position of T. obscurus in Gunung Ledang and compare it to those of other Malaysian populations using the D-loop region of mitochondrial DNA. Faecal samples were collected from the wild population in Gunung Ledang and sequenced, and used in phylogenetic analysis with six additional genetic samples of T.obscurus from other regions in Peninsular Malaysia, and one sequence of Presbytis melalophos from GenBank. Both neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony trees indicate that populations from Gunung Ledang should beclassified as T. o. obscurues and are monophyletic with thea populations from Endau-Rompin, Johor, and Selangor. This study provides a new insight and contributes to the conservation management strategies of T. obscurus in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]