Collaborative Research: Biotic Inventory of the Reptiles and Amphibians of Sulawesi, Indonesia

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Collaborative Research: Biotic Inventory of the Reptiles and Amphibians of Sulawesi, IndonesiaThis project will document the biodiversity of the reptile and amphibian fauna of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The island is part of Wallacea, a region that is one of 25 biodiversity "hotspots" listed by Conservation International. The reptiles and amphibians remain poorly known because the area has received very little attention. A recent survey has doubled the known species of amphibians and there is reason to believe that the number of indigenous species will double againThis project is a collaboration between the University of Texas, Louisiana State University, the Bandung Institute of Technology, the University of Indonesia and the Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense. The co-investigators and their Indonesian collaborators will survey selected forested regions of Sulawesi over three years. Sites were selected to allow thorough sampling of the four arms of Sulawesi as well as the island's central core, in both dry and wet seasons. By emphasizing elevational transects, the sites also maximize the diversity of sampled vegetational types. In addition to specimens, collections will include frog calls, tissue samples for DNA analysis, photographs, and extensive habitat and ecological data. Selected endoparasites and ectoparasites will be sampled also. This collaboration includes a training program that will introduce Indonesian students to methods of biodiversity study, including computer cataloguing, specimen preservation, and field inventory. The significance of Sulawesi's role in the history of biogeography cannot be overstated. The field of biogeography was born from Wallace's attempts to understand faunal breaks between Borneo and Sulawesi in the north and Bali and Lombok in the south. Recent knowledge about the region's geological history has begun to illuminate the complementary roles of vicariance and dispersal in shaping biogeographic patterns. The data collected during the course of this project will be the foundation for fine-scale biogeographical studies of the Southeast Asian herpetofauna and its diversification in one of the geologically most complex regions. This information is crucial for decisions about management and conservation of resources in this region.