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Habitat loss and degradation threaten forest specialist wildlife species, but some generalist mesopredators exploit disturbed areas and human-derived food, which brings them into closer contact with humans. Mesopredator release is also important for human health for known zoonotic disease reservoirs, such as Asian civets (Viverridae family), since this group includes the intermediator species for the SARS-CoV-1 outbreak. Here we use camera trapping to evaluate the habitat associations of the widespread banded civet (

Habitat loss and degradation can undermine wildlife communities and ecosystem functioning. However, certain generalist wildlife species like mesopredators and omnivores can exploit these disturbed habitats, sometimes leading to population increases (e.g. 'mesopredator release' in degraded areas). Although mesopredator release may cause negative effects on food webs and zoonotic disease management, some disturbance-tolerant species may help perpetuate important ecological interactions, such as seed dispersal. We evaluated the habitat associations of common palm civets Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, which are widespread generalist mesopredators in Southeast Asia. Common palm civets are also high-quality seed dispersers, and potential zoonotic disease hosts. We used published and new camera trapping data to map their probability of presence across Southeast Asia and evaluate regional-scale associations between capture rates and habitat variables such as elevation, ecoregion intactness and Human Footprint Index, among others. We also assessed the influence of habitat variables on their relative abundance at the local scale. At the regional scale, we found that common palm civets showed significant positive associations with landscapes characterized by lower ecoregion intactness, higher Human Footprint Index and lower elevations. At the local scale, their relative abundance showed a significant positive association with higher Human Footprint Index, but only to a certain point, after which it started decreasing. They also favoured lower elevations at the local scale. These multi-scale results indicate that common palm civets' abundance can increase under certain levels of human disturbances, consistent with the 'mesopredator release' hypothesis. This suggests they may be crucial seed dispersers in degraded forest landscapes, especially where more sensitive seed dispersers have disappeared. Our results are also consistent with previous studies reporting that habitat degradation increases populations of potential zoonotic disease hosts, and thus risks of transmission to humans.

Setyawan AD, Supriatna J, Nisyawati, Nursamsi I, Sutarno, Sugiyarto, Sunarto, Pradan P, Budiharta S, Pitoyo A, Suhardono S, Setyono P, Indrawan M. 2021. Projecting expansion range of Selaginella zollingeriana in the Indonesian archipelago under future climate conditions. Biodiversitas 22: 2088-2103. The expansion of plant species to outside areas of its original localities has attracted great interest in theoretical ecology. The scientific curiosity of such phenomenon is even deeper when the geographical expansion is confined by natural boundaries and affected by environmental changes, including climates. This study aimed to predict the current suitable habitat niche of Selaginella zollingeriana Spring, a species with original distribution in Java Island, and to project its potential suitable niche in the Indonesian archipelago accounting for future climate conditions. In doing so, we applied the Ecological Niche Modelings (ENMs) using MaxEnt algorithm by employing 30 presence data of S. zollingeriana and twelve enviro-climatic variables. The model predicted around 17.22% (22,095 km2) of the Java Island area is potentially suitable for current habitat niche of S. zollingeriana, consisting of 10.93% (14,028 km2), 4.75% (6,097 km2), and 1.54% (1,970 km2) of low, medium, and high suitability areas, respectively. Under future scenarios, the model predicted the possibility of species expansion into the other four big islands (i.e., Sumatera, Borneo, Sulawesi, and Papua). Nonetheless, the model also predicted a declining trend of the availability of suitable niches wherein from 2030 to 2080 the modeled niche declined about 58% and 59% under the most optimistic and most pessimistic climate change projections, respectively. While this study provides a primary example in predicting species expansion in tropical archipelago, similar studies in a range of contexts (e.g., species, region) are recommended to add more evidence to strengthen the theoretical ground of expansion ecology under climate changes.

Setyawan AD, Supriatna J, Nisyawati, Nursamsi I, Sutarno, Sugiyarto, Sunarto, Pradan P, Budiharta S, Pitoyo A, Suhardono S, Setyono P, Indrawan M. 2020. Anticipated climate changes reveal shifting in habitat suitability of high-altitude selaginellas in Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 5482-5497. High-altitude ecosystems with humid and cool climate are the preferred habitat for some Selaginella species (selaginellas). Such habitats are available in Java, Indonesia, which also has fertile soils with rich mineral contents resulted from volcanic activities. However, the high-altitude ecosystems in Java are threatened by various anthropogenic activities as well as changes in climate conditions, potentially affecting some Selaginella species. This study aimed to investigate the shift in suitable habitat of four species of high-altitude Selaginella spp. (Selaginella involvens, S. opaca, S. ornata, and S. remotifolia) in Java Island under current and future climate conditions predicted by several representative greenhouse gas concentration pathways. Presence data of Selaginella localities were collected from field survey between 2007 and 2014 across the island, as well as occurrence points from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility database. A total of 1,721 occurrence points data along with environmental and climate data were used to develop species distribution models using MaxEnt. Future habitat distributions were projected under four climate scenarios to see the shift in suitable habitat and altitudinal ranges. The results showed that the distribution of the four high-altitude Selaginella species are strongly influenced by altitude, annual average temperature, and annual rainfall. In the present time, 37.32% (48,974 km2) of the area of Java has been predicted to be suitable for high-altitude Selaginella. Under the optimistic climate scenario (RCP 2.6), the highly suitable area will likely to decrease by almost 35% in the year 2080, whereas the medium and low suitable areas will reduce by about 37.2% and 18.3%, respectively. Under the pessimistic scenario (RCP 8.5), about 21.2% of low suitable areas will be lost in 2080, whereas the medium and highly suitable areas are predicted to decrease by around 38.1% and 33.4%, respectively. Under the pessimistic scenario, there will be upward shift by 51.1 m in the year 2030 from the current’s mean altitude and will shift by almost 150 m in the year 2080. The maximum altitude of predicted suitable habitat is also predicted to increase to reach almost 3500 m asl in the year 2080. The results of this study imply that habitat shift of four high-altitude Selaginella species varies depending on the scenario, but in all cases, the losses are greater than gains.

Setyawan AD, Supriatna J, Nisyawati, Nursamsi I, Sutarno, Sugiyarto, Sunarto, Pradan P, Budiharta S, Pitoyo A, Suhardono S, Setyono P, Indrawan M. 2020. Predicting potential impacts of climate change on the geographical distribution of mountainous selaginellas in Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 4866-4877. Selaginella is a genus of non-flowering plant that requires water as a medium for fertilization, as such, it prefers mountainous areas with high level of humidity. Such unique ecosystem of Selaginella is available in some parts of Java Island, Indonesia, especially in highland areas with altitude of more than 1,000 meters above sea level. However, most mountainous areas in Java are likely to be affected by climate change due to global warming, threatening the habitat and sustainability of Selaginella. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of climate change on the geographical distribution of Selaginella opaca Warb. and Selaginella remotifolia Spring. In doing so, we predicted the suitable habitats of both species using Species Distribution Model (SDM) tool of MaxEnt under present climate conditions and future conditions under four climate change scenarios. Species occurrence data were obtained from fieldworks conducted in 2007-2014 across Java Island (283 points: 144 and 139 points for S. opaca and S. remotifolia, respectively) and combined with secondary data from Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) (52 points: 35 and 17 points for S. opaca and S. remotifolia, respectively), and this dataset was used to model present geographical distribution using environmental and bioclimatic variables. Then, future distribution was predicted under four climate change scenarios: i.e. RCP (Representative Carbon Pathways) 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, and RCP 8.5 in three different time periods (2030, 2050, and 2080). The results of the models showed that the extent of suitable habitats of S. opaca and S. remotifolia will be reduced between 1.8-11.4% due to changes in climatic condition, and in the areas with high level of habitat suitability, including Mount Sumbing, Mount Sindoro and Mount Dieng (Dieng Plateau), the reduction can reach up to 60%. This study adds another context of evidence to understand the potential impacts of climate change on biodiversity, especially on climate-sensitive species, such as Selaginella, in climate-risk regions like mountainous areas of Java Island.

Setyawan AD, Supriatna J, Nisyawati, Sutarno, Sugiyarto, Nursamsi I. 2018. Predicting impacts of future climate change on the distribution of the widespread selaginellas (Selaginella ciliaris and S. plana) in Southeast Asia. Biodiversitas 19: 1960-1977. The current global climate is moving towards dangerous and unprecedented conditions that have been seen as a potentially devastating threat to the environment and all living things. Selaginella is a fern-allies that needs water as a medium for fertilization, hence its distribution is presumed to be affected by climate change. In Southeast Asia (SEA), there are two widely distributed selaginellas, namely Selaginella ciliaris and S. plana. S. ciliaris is a small herb (up to 4 cm), annual, abundant during the rainy season, and found in the middle-high plains, whereas S. plana is a stout large herb (up to 80 cm), perennial, and mainly found in the lowlands. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential niche distribution of S. ciliaris and S. plana under current climatic conditions, and to predict its future distribution under the impacts of climate change. We used Maxent software along with bioclimatic, edaphic, and UV radiation variables to model the potential niche distribution of those two selaginellas under current and future predictions climate conditions. We generated future predictions under four detailed bioclimatic scenarios (i.e., RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, and RCP 8.5) over three times intervals (2030, 2050, 2080). The results showed that future climatic conditions in the SEA had been predicted to significantly disrupt the distribution of suitable habitat of S. ciliaris and S. plana, and alter their geographic distribution patterns. Although some areas were predicted to become suitable habitat in the early period of future climate change, the overall projections show adverse effects of future climate conditions on the suitable habitat distribution of S. ciliaris and S. plana, as estimated losses of suitable habitat will be higher than the gains.

Nursamsi I, Partasasmita R, Cundaningsih N, Ramadhani HS. 2018. Modeling the predicted suitable habitat distribution of Javan hawk-eagle Nisaetus bartelsi in the Java Island, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 1539-1551. Javan hawk-eagle (Nisaetus bartelsi) is an endemic raptor of Java Island. The conservation status of Javan hawk-eagle (JHE) according to IUCN is endangered (EN) and included in CITES Appendix II list, and this species is also protected by the Indonesian government law based on act no. 5, year 1990. The position of Javan hawk-eagle as a top predator is now very threatened by habitat fragmentation, wildlife trade, and the declining quality of its habitat. The primary purpose of this study was to give preliminary information about the distribution of predicted suitable habitat for JHE as a means of finding potential releasing sites, as an evaluation for habitat protection, and even as an option for the development of new JHE protected areas. However, mapping the spatial distribution of potential habitat for JHE using terrestrial survey is problematic because it requires enormous time, fund, and human resources. The most possible approach is by using Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM)/species distribution modeling (SDM). In this study, modeling exercise was conducted by using a maximum entropy method as an adaptation from Maxent software ver. 3.4.1, with the utilization of JHE-nest coordinate data and 16 environmental variables datasets as the main input. The predicted suitable habitat distribution map has shown a good match with historical and present records of JHE and has fairly succeeded in capturing a wide range of habitat patches from tiny spots to quite large suitable habitat. Modeling results also showed that altitude, annual mean temperature, and two types of land cover (closed shrub, and forest area) are considered to be most important variables affecting the distribution of potential habitat for JHE. Moreover, about 17.77% (23,209 km2) area of Java Island has been projected to be suitable for Havan Hawk-Eagle's habitat, which mostly spread in mountainous areas while also appear in several lowland areas. This study suggests the importance of topographic, climatic, and land cover as pivotal predictors in determining the suitability of habitat for JHE. This study also shows that the modeling results have a good match with the historical records of JHE across the island, which suggests the overall accuracy of the model.

Nursamsi I, Komala WR.2017. Assessment of the successfulness of mangrove plantation program through the use of open source software and freely available satellite images. Nusantara Bioscience 9: 251-259. Mangrove forest has a major role in the process of human-environment interaction, but almost every mangrove forest in the world is under threat. In Indonesia alone, 25% of South East Asia’s mangroves are at a risk. The continued decline in mangrove forest induced by anthropogenic activity has made all the stakeholders who have the concern at the mangrove forest preservation worried, including the government. There were several programs have been performed by the government to preserve the mangrove forest. One of the programs was “Mangrove Rehabilitation Program in three districts: Ciamis, Indramayu, and Subang” held by Forestry Department of West Java Province in 2007. The aims of this study were to assess the changes in mangrove forest area before the program performed and to evaluate the successfulness of the program, using the increasing of mangrove forest area as a parameter. This study was conducted only in Subang and Indramayu Districts of West Java, Indonesia. The assessment was conducted using Landsat 4-5 TM, Landsat 7 ETM+, and Landsat 8 OLI acquired in 1996, 2006, and 2016 respectively. For each image, a supervised classification method was performed using open source GRASS GIS software. The resulting maps were then compared to quantify the changes. Field work activity conducted and confirmed the changes that occurred in the study areas. Our study shows that all of the two districts exhibit successfulness of the plantation program. Ground truth survey confirmed that the successfulness of the plantation program is due to the participation of communities in the area of study. This study also shows that by using open source software and freely available satellite images, the fast, robust, and reliable data as an initial step to monitor both short-term and long-term plantation program can be collected effectively and inexpensively.

Setyawan AD, Supriatna J, Darnaedi D, Rokhmatuloh, Sutarno, Sugiyarto, Nursamsi I, Komala WR, Pradan P. 2017. Impact of climate change on potential distribution of xero-epiphytic selaginellas (Selaginella involvens and S. repanda) in Southeast Asia. Biodiversitas 18: 1680-1695. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges for all life on earth, as it may become the dominant driver of changes in ecosystem services and biodiversity loss at the global level. Selaginella is a group of spike-mosses that seem easily affected by global warming (climate change) due to requiring water medium for fertilization. However, some species have been adapted to dry condition and may grow as epiphytes, such as S. involvens and S. repanda. Both species are commonly found in opposing a range of elevation. S. involvens is often found in high-altitude regions, whereas S. repanda is often found at lower-altitude regions. The difference in this altitudinal distributions is expected to limit redistribution mechanism of each species to adapt the climate change projections. This study model examines the potential geographic distribution of S. involvens and S. repanda under current climatic conditions and models the impact of projected climate change on their potential distribution. Future climate predictions are made with four detailed bioclimatic scenarios (i.e. RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, and RCP 8.5) and three-time intervals (2030, 2050, 2080), which combine various climatic factors. In this modeling, it can be concluded that S. involvens and S. repanda can adapt to future climate change, and continue to be sustainable, although it is strongly influenced and shifting habitat distribution in some areas.