Collaborative Research: A Survey of the Elasmobranchs and their Metazoan Parasites of Indonesian Borneo (Kalimantan)

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This project brings together shark, ray, and parasite experts from 13 institutions throughout the United States, Australia, Indonesia, and England. Recent survey work in the northern (Malaysian) regions of the island of Borneo will be extended to include the southern (Indonesian: Kalimantan) region. Collections will be conducted at 10 sites throughout the coast and rivers of Kalimantan at fish markets and in conjunction with fishermen. More limited, deeper water sampling will be conducted in the Java Sea and Makassar Strait using an Indonesian government trawling vessel. Neither sharks and rays, nor their parasites, have been sampled from Kalimantan previously. The discovery of new species (multiple sharks and rays and hundreds of parasites) is anticipated. The project will include description of all new species, establishment of representative collections in museums in the United States, Indonesia, and Australia, production of a guide to the sharks and rays of Borneo, and generation of the first checklists of the parasites of sharks and rays of the island. This project provides significant opportunities for the training of US and Indonesian students in shark, ray, and parasite identification. The baseline distributional information generated will assist with the development of a fisheries management plan for Indonesia. Data on the sharks and rays, and their parasites, will be made publicly available via the internet.