GUIDEBOOK TO KERINCI ONLINE

This is just a short post to announce that I have uploaded jpeg pictures of every page in An Inside Look at the "Secret Valley" of Sumatra: A Guidebook to Kerinci.  This is an outstanding guidebook for the region and is a great resource for travelers.  To access the page look to the right of this post and click on the link "A Guidebook to Kerinci" to be directed to the page.  I will try to make a PDF available for download; when I get it figured out I will post the link here.

Hopefully this works.  If you want to download a PDF of the book (about 23mb) click here.

Sungai Penuh: Sleepy Mountain Town or Portal to Hell?

This week I started a subscription to the local newspaper, Radar Kerinci.  It's important to pay attention to the local news because it helps me stay abreast of political developments that might be directly or indirectly related to forest clearance activities.  Today, though, it was not a story about illegal logging or a new road through the national park that grabbed my attention.  Rather it was two golden nuggets of small town reporting that have exposed a different side of my adopted home. 

Heboh, Kesurupan Massal di SMAN 1 

Loosely translated this headline is "Commotion, Mass Demonic Possession at Sungai Penuh High School #1".  The front page, above-the-fold story is accompanied by a picture of a distraught young lady being led off by (presumably) her parents.  Evidently over the past week scholastic activity has ground to a halt at Sungai Penuh's elite high school owing to a growing wave of possession by demonic spirits.  The trend started last week, when on Friday the souls of two students were overtaken by spirits from the Pit.  Three more students fell under the sway of dark powers on Saturday, 15 on Monday, and 20 more on Wednesday.  All in all the legions of the Evil One have infected more than 40 students, the majority of which were females.  On Thursday some students took it upon themselves to close the street next to school in the interests of public safety.  "Maaf Pak," one motorist was told.  "Tidak bisa lewat.  Ada kesurupan di SMAN 1 Sungai Penuh" (Sorry sir, you can't pass.  There's been a possession at Sungai Penuh High School #1).  Things got so bad that the headmaster was forced to close the school. 

The incident is not surprising to local residents, because evidently it happens every year or so.  In addition to this (and I am not making this up), the school is built on the site of an old graveyard.  One local resident familiar with the history of the school suggested that the resting place of the dead had been disturbed, and so they in turn disturbed the living.  The way these types of occurrences are usually handled involves inviting an "orang pintar" (1) to dispel the mysterious spirits, after which a traditional banquet is held and a buffalo sacrificed.  I would imagine similar measures will be taken this year, so next week hopefully I'll be posting about the feast.

I couldn't get this story out of my head for two reasons: 1) the sheer oddness of it, and 2) I, like all normal males, have a fascination with high school girls and demonic possession.  So I spent the evening talking with my friends about the hottest news in Sungai Penuh.  I wanted to know if they believed the story.  Only a few said they doubted the validity of the demonic possession.  I expected this response; mysticism is strong in rural areas of Indonesia, and in many places there is a mixing (syncretism) between local beliefs and the big universalizing religions (Islam and Christianity).  At the same time, this area of Sumatra is known for being devoutly Muslim, and so I was curious as to how people reconciled stories of demonic possession with Islam.  Most all of my friends didn't see any incompatibilities between the two, but there were a couple that described the possessions as superstitious and therefore sacrilegious.  One of my friends even took me over to the school.  I felt a little cold there, but that's most likely due to the altitude.  Below you can see a picture I took of the entrance gate.  WHOOOOOOO!!!!

Keluyuran PNS Nakal Digaruk

This headline translates to "Naughty Truant Civil Servants Nabbed".  Before I go into the details of this one, a little background is in order.  Here in Sungai Penuh on any given workday you will witness teeming masses of civil servants on motorcycles and stepthoughs cruising around town, strolling around the square, or milling about in coffee stalls seemingly without a care in the world.  They are easy to spot because they are all in uniform.  To the newcomer it's quite a striking sight indeed.  In fact, I had a conversation about this very subject with my new American friend here.  We wondered why this sort of behavior was tolerated.  Apparently someone high up in the ranks decided to put his or her foot down.  A multi-agency task force was assembled and dozens of police officers hit the streets to round up civil servants that were out of the office without permission.  The police collected ID information and sent the naughty civil servants back to work.  The paper says that action will be taken later.

I'd never heard of anything like this before, but after being in Sungai Penuh for 4 weeks it makes perfect sense.  My friends told me that civil servants have a reputation for lax attitudes towards work.  I don't want to compromise myself too much here, but let's just say that as someone that has had extensive dealings with the bureaucracy here, I understood where they were coming from.

Scores of civil servants were caught in the sting.  I'm sure, though, that the numbers are exaggerated.  Most of the civil servants couldn't get the proper permission because the boss was out of the office!

(1) literally "smart person" but I assume this has a local connotation having to do with someone versed in the ways of the beyond

Amphibians, the Environment, and Kerinci Seblat National Park

Amphibians are remarkable creatures.  They spend part of their lives in water and part of their lives on land.  They were the first land-based vertebrates (backbone-having) creatures to evolve millions of years ago.  Several characteristics of amphibians make them very much dependent on their geography, as we'll discover in today's post. 

For starters, amphibians do not regulate their own body temperature, like humans and other mammals can.  They are what scientists call thermal conformers.  The outside temperature is very important for amphibians because it plays an important role in many of the body processes of amphibians, including how much oxygen they take in, their heart rate, how they move, their digestive system, how fast (or slow) they develop and grow, and how well their immune system functions.  This makes them very sensitive to temperature changes in the external environment.  It also ties many species of amphibians to a particular area with certain environmental characteristics (niche).  These types of species have limited dispersal abilities, which means that it's hard for them to find new homes and to spread to new areas. 

The Wide World of Amphibians...

Cartogram from Wake and Vredenburg.  See references.

The cartogram (1) above shows the distribution of amphibian species around the world.  As you can see, many of the countries with the most amphibian species are in the tropics.  This mirrors a general pattern of biodiversity for most kinds of plants and animals.  A good rule of thumb is the closer to the equator you get, the greater the biodiversity there is.  From the cartogram we can see that Indonesia has a lot of amphibian species (between 251-450 species).  Now let's look at another cartogram.

Cartogram from Wake and Vredenburg.  See references.

This second cartogram shows the distribution of amphibian species discovered between 2004 and 2007.  As you can see, Indonesia is a hotspot for new discoveries.  The interesting thing about this is that the number of described amphibian species has increased by about 50% over the past 20 years; in others words more than 2000 of the now-known 6300 or so species has only recently been discovered!  Thus we can assume that Indonesia has many more species waiting to be discovered.  But the question is, for how long? 

Threatened Amphibians

Diagram from Blaustein, et al.  See references.

Over the past several decades, scientists have noticed that lots of species of amphibians have gone extinct, and that many others are threatened (2).  In fact, a worldwide assessment of amphibians indicates that one-third or more of the 6300 described species of amphibians are threatened with extinction!  Another study says that the current rate of amphibian extinction is about 211 times the background extinction rate.  The background extinction rate refers to the number of extinctions there should be just in the course of natural evolution.  However, there is a significant amount of debate over the cause or causes of the extinctions and declines.  Below I've summarized a few of the factors that have been suggested to play a role.

The introduction of alien species.  Alien species are those that are brought intentionally or unintentionally to a new habitat where they did not originate.  In some cases the alien species is able to out-compete the native species that naturally exist in the area.  Sometimes the invasive species preys upon the naturally occurring species as well (3).  One example affecting amphibians on the continental US is the introduction of lake trout for recreational fishing.  The lake trout feed on tadpoles, thus affecting frog populations.

Over Exploitation.  This simply means that people use too many of the species in one way or another.  Historically demand for frog legs as a delicacy has caused big declines in frogs in many places. 

Land Use Change.  This is another factor that is easy to understand; it simply refers to the way that people change the landscape.  When we clear forests to make farms or to build settlements, it leaves less habitat for many types of animals, including amphibians.

Global Warming and associated changes.  Over the past few decades it has become increasingly clear that people are altering the Earth's atmosphere.  One change involves the amount of UV radiation that makes it to the Earth's surface.  UV is a type of high-energy radiation from the Sun.  This is what causes sunburns on your skin.  Our atmosphere filters out most of the UV radiation, which is fortunate for us because UV is very dangerous to humans (and other animals).  However, human-caused pollution has altered the atmosphere's ability to block our UV rays, and so more UV reaches the Earth's surface than before.  Amphibians appear to be especially susceptible to the effects of UV radiation. 

A bigger problem, though, is global warming.  The changes we have unintentionally made to the atmosphere is causing the planet to warm up gradually.  Over the next century or so scientists predict that the average global temperature will increase by 3-7 degrees.  While this might not sound like much, it will have tremendous impacts on local environments.  One really good example of this can be seen on mountains.  If you've ever climbed a mountain (think of Mauna Loa or Haleakala) you've probably noticed that it gets colder as you go up.  On these high mountains it gets so cold you have to put on a heavy coat!  You may have also noticed that the amount of moisture changes as you go up.  From a geographic perspective, what you've noticed is that you pass through several climate zones on the way to the top of the mountain (4).  Each of these climate zones has different collections of plants and animals; there are different ecosystems adapted to the specific climate conditions.  This variability was first described in the 19th century by uber-geographer Alexander Humboldt, who wrote about the different types of agricultural activity taking place with increasing elevation in the Andes Mountains (look for a future post on this topic; I've included a diagram on the left to give you an idea how it works).  Now, think about the effects of global warming.  As the whole planet warms up, these different climate zones should move up the mountain, shouldn't they?  But there is only so far they can go.  If it warms up too much the climate zones will basically slide off the top of the mountain, disappearing forever.  If this happens we lose the species associated with those climate zones (5).   Now let's think about the example of amphibians.  We already learned that they are closely tied to their natural environment.  This includes not only the climate but the land on which they live.  When the climate zone moves up the mountain away from the land they are used to, it makes it harder for the amphibian species to survive.

Diagram from Sodhi, et al (see references)

More Pesticide Use.  Pesticides are artificial chemicals farmers use to kill farm pests.  They also use fungicides, herbicides, and a host of other chemicals to increase crop productivity.  The problem is that once these chemicals get into the natural environment (often via runoff or wind) they sometimes have unexpected consequences.  Chemicals may weaken amphibians, making them less successful in reproduction and development, or they may affect other parts of the food webs that amphibians depend on. 

Emerging Infectious Diseases.  There are numerous instances of amphibian declines being partially attributed to new or introduced diseases.  One of the main culprits is a fungal pathogen with the intimidating name of Batrachonchytrium Dendrobatidis, or Bd for short.  As habitats get opened up diseases are able to spread to new populations.  They are also spread by humans and other invasive species.  Many scientists are worried that increased temperatures will help the spread of diseases too. 

So as you can see there are a number of possible causes for amphibian declines and extinctions.  The reality, though, is that it is probably a combination of these factors at work.  Different studies tell different stories.  One recent study indicates that small range size is the most important factor, followed by body size of the amphibian.  Small ranges make amphibians more susceptible to habitat destruction, but they also increase the risk posed by extreme weather events like droughts and hurricanes, which may possibly be increases in part due to increased global temperatures.  Body size is an important variable because the bigger the animal is, the longer it takes it to grow and develop and hence recover from disturbances which kill off part of the population.  But there are other studies as well.  Part of the problem is the complex interrelationships between factors working at the local level and those operating at global scales.  For example, one study argues that El Nino, a global climate event, leads to decreased snow in the Oregon Cascade mountains.  Since the snow pack is not as thick, there would be less water when the snow melts in the spring, making streams and lakes shallower.  The Western Toad breeds in these water bodies in the early spring, and so because there is less water protecting the eggs they are exposed to higher levels of UV radiation, resulting in increased infection and death due to water mold.  Fascinating, isn't it?  It's like trying to fit together the pieces of a mystery or solve a puzzle.

Amphibians and Kerinci Seblat National Park

Huia modiglianii

What does all of this have to do with Kerinci Seblat National Park?  Well, it's simple really.  KSNP is a huge protected area that encompasses many different habitats and ecosystems.  A recent inventory of herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) was conducted over several years to determine exactly what kind of amphibians are out there in the park.  The study encompassed 14 survey sites across a variety of altitudes (50m-2000m) and general habitat types, including hilly cultivated land, highland hill forest, lowland hill forest, marshland, edificarian (near houses and gardens), flat cultivated land, secondary hill forest,

Limonectes laticeps

and heavily degraded forest.  The study found 70 species of frogs, 4 of which had never been described before!  This study was the largest of its kind ever in Kerinci, but there is still a lot of work to be done.  The results show that the park, which is most known for its tigers, has other important species of note.  These amphibians are important because, like we saw above, they are particularly sensitive to changes in the environment.  That means that if you monitor the amphibians, you might be able to get some clues about threats to the environment before they get too severe.  The amphibian census also potentially indicates small areas in the park which could be targeted for strict conservation.  This would enable park managers to c

Megophrys nasuta

hannel their scarce resources where they are needed the most.  KSNP is a huge park, and it faces a lot of pressures.  So anything that can help managers do their jobs better is very useful. 

The photos of frogs are from Kurniati's inventory of amphibians for KSNP. 

Notes:

(1)  Cartograms are neat cartographic data-visualization tools.  They exaggerate the size of the country, making it bigger or smaller to illustrate the magnitude (size) of the particular variable in question.  Can you find some more cartograms on the internet?  What types of things to they indicate?

(2) Scientists have noted a general trend of extinctions and decreasing diversity among many types of animals, but amphibians seem to be experiencing greater than average declines and extinctions. 

(3) Can you find some examples of invasive species in Hawai'i?  What native species have they affected and how?

(4) Geographers classify climates on the basis of two characteristics: temperature and precipitation.

(5)  Many species on mountains are unique, because mountains function as "islands" for plants and animals.  What I mean by this is that they are isolated areas where populations of creatures evolve without contact with other populations, and so they rapidly diverge from other species.  Think back to my post on the Wallace Line and the example of snails in Hawai'i.  Do you see how the isolation of a mountain top could serve as a barrier for a species?  The Hawaiian silverswords are a good example of this. 




References and Further Reading

Blaustein, Andrew et al.  2011.  The Complexity of Amphibian Population Declines: Understanding the Role of Cofactors in Driving Losses.  Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1223 pp108-119.

Blaustein, Andrew, Susan Walls, Betsy Bancroft, Joshua Lawler, Catherine Searle, and Stephanie Gervasi.  2010.  Direct and Indirect Effects of Climate Change on Amphibian Populations.  Diversity 2, pp281-313.

Collins, James, and Andrew Storfer.  2003.  Global Amphibian Declines: Sorting the Hypotheses.  Diversity and Distributions 9, pp89-98.

Kurniati, Hellen.  2008.  Biodiversity and Natural History of Amphibians and Reptiles in Kerinci Seblat National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia, 2005, 2006, 2007.  Cibinong, Indonesia: Research Center for Biology, LIPI.

Rohr, Jason, and Thomas Raffel.  2010.  Linking Global Climate and Temperature Variability to Widespread Amphibian Declines Putatively Caused by Disease.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences v107#18.

Sodhi, Navjot, et al.  2008.  Measuring the Meltdown: Drivers of Global Amphibian Extinction and Decline.  PLOS One v3#2.

Wake, David, and Vance Vredenburg.  2008.  Are We in the Midst of the Sixth Mass Extinction?  A View from the World of Amphibians.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Vol15 Supplement 1.

A Day in the Life of Sungai Penuh

I woke up, fell out of bed, and dragged the comb across my head. Found my way off the floor and had a cup, and looking up, I noticed I was late. I found my backpack and grabbed my clean shirt and made the ojek in seconds flat. This is Sungai Penuh. I'm not quite sure how many people live here, but this the regional hub for Kerinci Valley. It's a nice and quiet town and the scenery is nice. It's very distinctive because it is still relatively untouched by big-city influences. One big thing has changed since the last time I was here, though...they have the internet now. And although it's slow, it's everywhere. There are little internet stores all over town, more than I've ever seen in such a small area. And usually they are full. I have developed a theory about this...I believe that the rapid spread of the internet to remoter parts of Indonesia is due to one factor above all others: Facebook. Everyone here does Facebook; in fact, Indonesia has the second-most Facebook users on the planet.

There are two ways to get around in Sungai Penuh (besides walking, of course). One is called ojek. Ojek drivers are people that have a motorcycle and will take you where you want to go for 2000 rupiah, which is about 25 cents. They are everywhere and so this is a convenient way to get around. You can see one of the ojek posts in the picture I've included. I like the sign for this one. The second way is by bendi, or horse cart. This was is a bit slower, but it's also more colorful (and sometimes smelly). It doesn't take that long to get any place because the town is relatively small. Most of the time I just walk, but since it rains about every day the ojeks and bendis come in handy. Everyone is very friendly here, and I hear "Hello Mister!" about a thousand times a day. Since there are not many foreigners through Sungai Penuh there is always someone that is eager to talk for a while. I had a nice conversation with the guys in the picture below. Believe it or not, that scooter thing they are sitting on actually runs. I call this guy the "Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah".

Today was Friday, which is the holy day for Muslims. On Fridays Muslims go to the mosque at around noon for Friday prayers. I estimate 95% of the population of this town to be Muslims, and so the streets were very lively today in the early afternoon. Most government offices shut down at noon on Friday so the workers can go to the mosque, and so today I got kicked out of the park office at 12. I walked around the town a bit and took some pictures. To the right you can see rice drying in the street. Remember I told you that this is an agricultural area, and so many of the people living in Sungai Penuh are farmers. Then I went to the market to buy a present for my friend Agung because he's been nice enough to let me stay at his place while I'm here. Then I went home, worked on my reports a bit and took a nap. I've been pleased with how much work I've been able to accomplish here. Everyone has been very helpful, and a local non-governmental-organization (NGO) has agreed to be my partner for my research. This is very important in Indonesia because it helps in obtaining the visas and research permits that are required to work here. It's also good to have a local partner because they know all about this area along with the problems and opportunities. The organization I am going to be working with when I come back here is called Lembaga Tumbuh Alami. They have a lot of great projects to help the villagers living around the park so the villagers don't have to be so dependent on resources in the park for their livelihoods. They help with economic development and also with alternative energy sources, so villagers don't have to use so much wood to cook.

In the evening there is not much to do in Sungai Penuh. Last night I rented a couple of movies. Tonight I don't have many plans. One of the big events is taking a "shower". You can see the bathroom in the picture I've included. That big concrete container is called a "bak mandi". I fill it with water that I use to flush the toilet, wash clothes, and get clean. The little green dipper is what I use to pour the water over myself. Now, you might notice that there is only one pipe coming out of the wall. That's because the water here comes at one temperature, and it ain't warm. I would go so far as to call it "bone-chillingly cold". But water is water, and it does the trick. It has the added benefit of really waking me up.

That's about it for today. Tomorrow is my last full day in Sungai Penuh; after that I take the long ride back to Padang, and then back to Jakarta. I am going to try to have some more meetings in both of those places, but for the most part my work for this trip is almost done. I've learned a great deal, but the best thing for me is that I realize that my research project is important for the people here, including those that work for the park and those that are in conflict with the park. For a researcher that's a really exciting prospect.