Effective disease surveillance is critical for preventing and controlling the spread of infectious diseases. Where reliable case data are scarce, non-traditional data sources like media reports offer a valuable alternative. Our study focuses on African Swine Fever (ASF), a highly contagious and lethal viral disease affecting domestic and wild pigs. Since late 2018, ASF spread rapidly across 20 Asian countries, reaching a critical point where it poses an extinction risk to the region's endemic wild pig species and cascading impacts on apex predators, rural livelihoods and the pork industry. We compiled online media articles using ASF-related keywords to describe spatio-temporal spread of ASF across Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,380 islands, containing seven wild pig species and supporting localized domestic pork production. Media-derived data were supplemented with expert interviews to provide additional context on ASF impacts. From September 2019-December 2023, we identified 149 media reports documenting 385,499 domestic pig deaths and 596 wild pig deaths, mostly involving forestedge wild boar, followed by forest-dwelling bearded pig and Sulawesi warty pig. ASF was first detected in western Indonesia and subsequently spread eastwards, reaching 22 of 38 provinces within 47 months. Supplementary field data indicated possible collapses of wild pig populations in several provinces, revealing impacts not captured through media monitoring alone and underscoring the importance of integrating media monitoring data with expert interviews or citizen science. Nevertheless, our findings demonstrate the value of a low-cost, timely and non-traditional surveillance method for detecting disease outbreaks and mapping their spread in countries lacking comprehensive monitoring systems.

Protected areas face immense pressure for their resources and the space that they occupy. To protect them and their wildlife, management approaches such as ranger patrols and measures to counter wildlife trafficking across the broader landscape have been implemented, despite integration of both approaches remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate such implementation in one of Asia's most significant protected area landscapes. This was done by analysing 1) an adaptive ranger patrolling strategy to reduce tiger (Panthera tigris) and ungulate prey poaching rates; 2) a government-civil society partnership to reduce tiger trafficking in adjoining rural and urban areas; and 3) tiger and prey population trends in response to these interventions. From 2015 to 2019, five ranger teams conducted 457 anti-poaching foot patrols, covering 10,963 km and removing 780 snares commonly encountered in accessible lowland. Over the years, snare occupancy did not change but detection was found to increase. From 2010 to 2019, law enforcement responded to 26 tiger trafficking cases with earlier cases mainly prosecuted using administrative sanctions. After 2013, most received penal sanctions with significant increases in fines levied. Camera trapping from 2010 to 2020 revealed a likely stable tiger population with high turnover of individual tigers. Only one male captured on all three sampling occasions and one adult female captured on two occasions. From 2010 to 2020, three tiger prey species (muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak), serow (Capricornis sumatraensis), and pig-tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina)) remained widespread during the study, whereas wild boar (Sus scrofa) and sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) remain localised. Despite effective snare removals and arrests, the threat of poaching persists, suggesting that patrolling in at-risk areas needs to be coupled with new, persuasive, and more targeted approaches, while ensuring sustainable funding for these interventions.

Protected areas worldwide are strongholds for safeguarding biodiversity, natural habitats, ecosystem services and cultural values. Yet despite their importance, the effectiveness of protected area management varies greatly. Indonesia is a biodiversity hotspot, with 554 protected areas that cover 27 million ha across the archipelago. To assess and improve the management effectiveness of these protected areas, the Government of Indonesia applied an adapted version of the Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool (METT) to assess 422 of the country's protected areas, of which 170 were repeatedly assessed in 2015, 2017 and 2019. We investigated the METT score changes across these protected areas and the factors explaining the varying scores. Over the study years, METT scores significantly improved (mean increase of 44.1%). National parks had the highest mean score, which was 13.4 points higher than other protected area types. After correcting for spatial autocorrelation using a generalized least-squares model, we found that METT score increase was positively influenced by year of assessment and having a well-resourced management authority, with no influence of protected area size or mean protected area budget allocation per ha. The assessments identified five main threats to protected areas: poaching, illegal logging, human settlements, tourism and non-timber cultivation. The widespread and repeated use of METT across the protected areas of Indonesia and the increasing METT scores indicate an overall improvement in management and professionalism. Building on the foundational work in our study, future studies should assess the association between METT scores and progress made towards achieving the conservation objectives of protected areas.

Human-induced forest loss has had devastating impacts on biodiversity. Mammal populations in the tropics have been hit particularly hard by the resulting habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation, as well as by overhunting which often goes hand-in-hand. While declines in these populations are generally well documented, few studies offer a pathway for their recovery. Here, we test the association between changes in forest habitat and occupancy trends of Sumatran megafauna (elephant and tiger) and key tiger prey species (wild boar and sambar) in the Leuser Ecosystem: a large forest landscape on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. For elephant and tiger, we develop additional occupancy models to predict their respective spatial distribution under different scenarios of forest loss and gain (through restoration and increased connectivity) to provide a blueprint for avoiding future species loss and assisting with their population recovery. From 2000 to 2019, 254,722 ha (6.7%) of natural forest was converted, primarily to plantations and shrubs. The species-specific responses over the study period revealed that the occurrence of elephant declined along the west, with a range shift to the northeast of Leuser, whereas wild boar underwent a dramatic widespread decline and although sambar experienced losses around the forest edge, it remained widespread in the interior forest, while tiger occupancy remained stable. Modelling habitat loss and fragmentation led to an unsurprising demise of Sumatran megafauna, whereas strategic investments that reconnected several forest patches provided disproportionately large benefits for their recovery through the recolonization of former parts of their range. Indonesia has achieved six consecutive years of declining forest loss rates, and our study’s findings can build off this conservation success by supporting improved provincial spatial planning and field-based restoration efforts that avoid declines of threatened megafauna species and act as a catalyst for rewilding a landscape of global importance.

Understanding coexistence between humans and threatened wildlife is a central focus in conservation. Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra Island, Indonesia, harbors one of the largest populations of the critically endangered Sumatran elephant ( Elephas maximus sumatranus ). The people who live alongside this population are affected by intensive crop foraging. Our study investigated the factors which influenced attitudes toward elephants. We then evaluated the implications of reported attitudes for future willingness to live with elephants. We surveyed 660 respondents in 22 villages around the park. People generally reported positive attitudes toward elephants (smartness 95%, usefulness 62%, importance 57%, and pleasantness 53%), apart from where human safety was concerned (safety 11%). Each dimension of attitude was explained by different factors including age, gender, knowledge of elephants, and distance to crop foraging locations. Most respondents (62%) expressed no willingness to coexist with elephants. Such willingness was lower when elephants were perceived to be more dangerous, but higher if beliefs in the benefits of elephants were greater. Efforts to improve crop foraging mitigation practice and to increase people's awareness of elephant benefits may promote support for their conservation. Through this study, we advocate the integration of social science to promote human–wildlife coexistence strategies, an approach that is currently limited in Indonesia.

Animal ConservationVolume 24, Issue 2 p. 149-152 Letters To The EditorFree Access Planning to remove UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sumatra from being 'In Danger' T. Setyawati, T. Setyawati orcid.org/0000-0001-7775-1548 Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this authorS. Nando, S. Nando Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this authorW. Marthy, W. Marthy orcid.org/0000-0002-7511-290X Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this authorN. Andayani, N. Andayani orcid.org/0000-0002-1888-193X Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this author Sheherazade, Sheherazade orcid.org/0000-0002-0070-250X Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this authorM. Linkie, Corresponding Author M. Linkie mlinkie@wcs.org orcid.org/0000-0002-0679-3684 Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, Indonesia Correspondence Matthew Linkie, Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, Indonesia. Email: mlinkie@wcs.orgSearch for more papers by this author T. Setyawati, T. Setyawati orcid.org/0000-0001-7775-1548 Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this authorS. Nando, S. Nando Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this authorW. Marthy, W. Marthy orcid.org/0000-0002-7511-290X Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this authorN. Andayani, N. Andayani orcid.org/0000-0002-1888-193X Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this author Sheherazade, Sheherazade orcid.org/0000-0002-0070-250X Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, IndonesiaSearch for more papers by this authorM. Linkie, Corresponding Author M. Linkie mlinkie@wcs.org orcid.org/0000-0002-0679-3684 Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, Indonesia Correspondence Matthew Linkie, Wildlife Conservation Society, Indonesia Program, Bogor, Indonesia. Email: mlinkie@wcs.orgSearch for more papers by this author First published: 13 August 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12626AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Protected areas are a cornerstone of biodiversity conservation. They form the basis of national strategies for meeting Convention on Biological Diversity and climate change targets. UNESCO has afforded World Heritage Site (WHS) status to 213 natural sites, primarily protected areas, in recognition of their outstanding universal value. However, 17 of these sites are currently inscribed on the 'World Heritage in Danger' list because their integrity and functioning are primarily threatened by anthropogenic threats (UNESCO, 2019). Infrastructure development, notably roads and dams, is the highest ranked threat, accounting for 25% of the inscriptions, including the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (TRHS) in Indonesia, which has been on the Danger List since 2011 (Fig. 1). Figure 1Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Natural World Heritage Sites (WHS) on the 'Danger List', their period of inscription and number of major direct and indirect threats, which are ranked by their occurrence in all natural WHS (bar graph inlay). The threats are labelled as deforestation/illegal logging (a), infrastructure development (b), poaching/hunting (c), security problems (d), increased human population/settlement (e), key species severely threatened (f), mining (g), invasive species (h), illegal/over-fishing (i), pollution (j), grazing/cattle ranching (k), tourist related activities (l), deterioration of aquatic ecosystem (m), natural disaster/microclimate change (n), drug trafficking (o), disease (p), fires (q), and conservation status declined (r) [Data source:whc.unesco.org/en/danger.] [Colour figure can be viewed at zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com] The TRHS encompasses a cluster of three national parks (Bukit Barisan Selatan, Kerinci Seblat and Gunung Leuser) covering 2.5 million hectares of rainforest or >4 million hectares with their intact forest landscapes (Fig. 2). These landscapes contain 85% of all Sumatran orangutans Pongo abelii, 65% of Sumatran tigers Panthera tigris sumatrae, 55% of Sumatran elephants Elephas maximus sumatrensis, the only viable population of Sumatran rhinos Dicerorhinus sumatrensis and a wealth of biodiversity (UNESCO, 2011; Fig. 3). Figure 2Open in figure viewerPowerPoint The outstanding universal value of the 25,000km2 Leuser Ecosystem, with Gunung Leuser National Park in its core (credit: Eleanor Briggs, WCS). [Colour figure can be viewed at zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com] Figure 3Open in figure viewerPowerPoint A rare record of a male-female pair of Critically Endangered adult Sumatran tigers camera-trapped inside Gunung Leuser National Park in 2017 (credit: Gunung Leuser National Park authority-WCS). [Colour figure can be viewed at zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com] In 2013, the IUCN conducted a monitoring mission to assess the state of the TRHS, including threats and the required corrective measures (IUCN, 2013). From this, criteria for the 'Desired State of Conservation for the Removal of properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger' (DSOCR) were developed and ratified by the WHS Committee in 2014 and upheld by an IUCN monitoring mission in 2018 (IUCN, 2018). This describes 12 broad ranging corrective measures, including closing/rehabilitating mines, improving species monitoring and managing the wider landscape. Here, we focus on the measure concerning road development. Based on discussions with colleagues from the ministries of National Development and Planning (BAPPENAS), Public Works and Housing (PUPR) and Environment and Forestry (MoEF), we present three new types of action that are urgently needed to mitigate this threat (Alamgir et al., 2017). Firstly, we recommend establishing a multi-agency government body consisting of these three ministries and mandated to address the DSOCR criteria and, more broadly, road construction through forest areas. This would raise awareness of the TRHS issues that require an inter-agency response, share responsibility among ministries and improve their communication and coordination on this critical issue. Kerinci Seblat National Park provides an example of how this could work. In 2012, local governments proposed nine new roads that, if realized, would fragment the TRHS into ten sections. Despite the roads lacking the required environmental impact assessment and national government approval, partial construction of five began anyway. In 2018, the national park authority assessed all nine road proposals to determine their need and conformity to the prevailing MoEF regulations. The park authority held a workshop in 2019 with local government, Fauna & Flora International (long-term national park partner), UNESCO, WCS and, for the first time, the three ministries (MoEF, BAPPENAS and PUPR). This produced a set of joint recommendations to: halt road construction because of the predicted detrimental impacts; undertake road impact assessments and formulate appropriate mitigation actions; and, engage the Coordination Ministry of Human Empowerment and Culture, as the responsible party for the WHS. Secondly, improve the design and implementation of Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs) on infrastructure development in forest areas to ensure that they are conducted to a high standard. SEAs are crucial in informing the development of provincial spatial plans and medium-term (5-year) economic development plans, which govern the fate of vast areas of forest (GoI, 2009). The SEAs are monitored by the government's Corruption Eradication Commission, thereby giving them extra weight. To ensure consistency and standards are met, the Government of Indonesia should develop an accredited training syllabus (including training of trainers) that becomes a mandatory part of provincial government annual work plans and budgets. This would empower provincial agencies to run their own trainings and independently conduct high-impact SEAs. Gunung Leuser National Park provides a recent example of how this could work. Figure 4Open in figure viewerPowerPoint Aerial photograph, taken by a drone, of the Karo-Langkat road that bisects the North Sumatra province section of Gunung Leuser National Park (credit: Gunung Leuser National Park authority). [Colour figure can be viewed at zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com] The 2013 and 2018 IUCN missions highlighted two national roads and one provincial (Karo-Langkat) road that required immediate attention because they bisected Gunung Leuser National Park, including areas frequently used by tiger, elephant and/or orangutan (Fig. 4). The 5-km Karo-Langkat road had existed as a gravel path, until it was tarmacked by the army in 1982. The road then became derelict and naturally reforested until it was reopened and resurfaced in 2011 by the North Sumatra provincial government (Sloan et al., 2018). As a step to address this issue, the national park authority is working with PUPR to ensure that the UNESCO-requested SEA and mitigation plan is prioritized in its 2020–2021 work plan and budget. Thirdly, we welcome the issuance of the MoEF regulation on road construction in forest areas in 2019 (MoEF, 2019). In relation to this, we encourage related ministries to work together to broaden this regulation to cover all infrastructure, and elevate it to an overarching cross-sector policy, such as Presidential regulation, that supersedes all existing ministerial regulations and inconsistencies. The past removal of 15 natural WHS from the danger list took, on average, 9 years (ranging from 2 to 21 years; UNESCO, 2019). This included corrective measures such as road closure in Iguaçu National Park (Brazil, 'in danger' from 1999 to 2001), minimizing environmental damage from a constructed road in Sangay National Park (Ecuador, 1992–2005) and rerouting a planned road in Simien National Park (Ethiopia, 1996–2017) (Figure 1). The three TRHS protected areas span 7 provinces, each with its own subnational government that repeatedly propose new roads, dams and geothermal plants, which are at odds with central government policy and the DSOCR. The challenges are stark, but if they are to be effectively tackled, then an inter-ministerial body must play a central role in ensuring that infrastructure development adheres to national law, ideally as a new presidential regulation. This approach is broadly applicable across Indonesia's other forest-rich provinces, such as West Papua, Papua and North Kalimantan, where >5000 km of roads are planned for construction or being constructed (Alamgir et al., 2019; Sloan et al., 2019). References Alamgir, M., Campbell, M.J., Sloan, S., Goosem, M., Clements, G.R., Mahmoud, M.I. & Laurance, W.F. (2017). Economic, socio-political and environmental risks of road development in the tropics. Curr. Biol. 27, R1130– R1140. CrossrefCASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Alamgir, M., Campbell, M.J., Sloan, S., Suhardiman, A., Supriatna, J. & Laurance, W.F. (2019). High-risk infrastructure projects pose imminent threats to forests in Indonesian Borneo. Sci. Reports 9, 140. CrossrefPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar GoI. (2009). Government of the Republic of Indonesia (GoI) Law No. 32/2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management, Articles 15–16. Jakarta, Indonesia. Google Scholar IUCN. (2013). State of conservation of the properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. 16–27 June 2013. UNESCO. Google Scholar IUCN. (2018). Report of the IUCN Reactive Monitoring mission to the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Indonesia), 5–16 April 2018. UNESCO. Google Scholar MoEF. (2019). Ministry of Environment and Forestry Regulation No.P.23/Menlhk/Setjen/Kum. 1/6/2019 concerning Strategic Roads in Forest Areas. Jakarta, Indonesia. Google Scholar Sloan, S., Campbell, M.J., Alamgir, M., Collier-Baker, E., Nowak, M.G., Usher, G. & Laurance, W.F. (2018). Infrastructure development and contested forest governance threaten the Leuser Ecosystem, Indonesia. Land Use Policy 77, 298– 309. CrossrefWeb of Science®Google Scholar Sloan, S., Campbell, M.J., Alamgir, M., Engert, J., Ishida, F.Y., Senn, N., Huther, J. & Laurance, W.F. (2019). Hidden challenges for conservation and development along the Trans-Papuan economic corridor. Environ. Sci. Policy 92, 98– 106. CrossrefWeb of Science®Google Scholar UNESCO. (2011). https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/1167.pdf. Google Scholar UNESCO. (2019). https://whc.unesco.org/en/danger/. Google Scholar Volume24, Issue2April 2021Pages 149-152 FiguresReferencesRelatedInformation

Reliable density estimates of threatened species provide important information on their conservation status and effectiveness of conservation efforts. Here, we provided the first density estimates that utilize detection probability of four hornbill species in Ketambe Research Station area, Leuser Landscape. Moreover, we made a preliminary investigation of the relationship between hornbill detections and fruit availability. We conducted line transect and phenology surveys during July-September 2019. Our findings highlighted the importance of Ketambe as a stronghold for hornbill populations, indicated by relatively higher density estimates of four species (Wreathed Hornbill Rhyticeros undulatus, Rhinoceros Hornbill Buceros rhinoceros, Bushy-crested Hornbill Anorrhinus galeritus, and White-crowned Hornbill Berenicornis comatus) than elsewhere. We noted the lack of Helmeted hornbill detections which might be due to illegal poaching. Further, we identified the positive influence of ripe fruit supplies on hornbill presence. Our study presented the baseline density data for future hornbill population monitoring studies. We also recommended conducting studies of hornbill diet and foraging behaviour and their responses to human disturbances.

Hornbills are vulnerable to extinction due to their low reproductive output and dependence on large trees as nesting sites. However, little is known about their breeding behavior in Sumatra, which is important to plan effective strategies to save the nine species from extinction. Here we present the nesting season and nest-site characteristics of sympatric hornbills at Way Canguk Research Station, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. We monitored in total 35 tree cavities in two monitoring periods: 23 tree cavities between 2006 – 2009 and 20 between 2015 – 2018; and recorded the nesting activities of hornbills. We also measured the characteristics of nest trees, nest cavities, and vegetation within 20-m radius of the nest trees. We found that there was a significant decrease of nesting frequency between the two monitoring periods, from a mean of 0.058 records/year in 2006 – 2009 to 0.013 records/year in 2015 – 2018. Of eight hornbill species known to occur in the study area, only four were found nesting during the study periods, i.e. Bushy-crested, Helmeted, Rhinoceros, and Wreathed Hornbills. Among the four species, there were no differences in the height of nest cavities, diameter, and height of nest trees. All species preferred emergent trees and trees with big trunks as nesting sites. Wreathed Hornbill preferred nests with more vertically-elongated nest entrance compared to the other three species which were found nesting in oval cavities. Bushy-crested Hornbill seemed to select nest cavities with entrance facing toward north-east direction, while the other hornbill species did not have preferences. Most tree species that were used by hornbills for nesting also have high timber value, thus are vulnerable to the risk of illegal logging. To ensure the survival of hornbills, sufficient number of tree cavities that are suitable for nesting must be maintained.

Conserving large carnivores that live in close proximity to people depends on a variety of socio‐economic, political and biological factors. These include local tolerance toward potentially dangerous animals, efficacy of human–carnivore conflict mitigation schemes, and identifying and then addressing the underlying causes of conflict. The Leuser Ecosystem is the largest contiguous forest habitat for the critically endangered Sumatran tiger. Its extensive forest edge is abutted by farming communities and we predict that spatial variation in human–tiger conflict (HTC) would be a function of habitat conversion, livestock abundance, and poaching of tiger and its wild prey. To investigate which of these potential drivers of conflict, as well as other biophysical factors, best explain the observed patterns, we used resource selection function (RSF) technique to develop a predictive spatially explicit model of HTC. From 148 conflict incidences recorded from 2008 to 2018 across the Leuser Ecosystem, the areas that were closer to villages and with lower occurrence of wild prey were most susceptible to tiger attacks. From 18 districts monitored, 6 stood out for having disproportionately high levels of HTC. We recommend that these areas be prioritized with increased support from conflict mitigation teams to prevent further injuries to people, livestock or tigers; district governments address one underlying cause of HTC by supporting improved animal husbandry practices, such as tiger‐proof livestock pen construction; and, an increase in ranger patrol effort to recover wild prey populations. This type of priority setting approach has wide application for better determining the required management response to reduce conflicts between people and large carnivores in both tropical and temporal landscapes.

Reliable information on wildlife populations and the threats they face is crucial for assessing the performance of conservation strategies. As part of its efforts to improve the effectiveness of Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia, and aid the recovery of flagship species, the Park's management authority designated a 1,000 km(2) forest block an Intensive Protection Zone. To set a baseline from which to evaluate the performance of this zone, we investigated the density of tigers Panthera tigris sumatrae, and spatio-temporal interactions between tigers, their principle prey and threats. The estimated density of tigers was 2.8 per 100 km(2), whereas in 2002 camera-trapping failed to record any tigers in the Intensive Protection Zone. We found the study area contained a rich prey base, with muntjac deer Muntiacus muntjak, macaques Macaca nemestrina and wild pigs Sus scrofa occupying 8598% of the area, and sambar Rusa unicolor 61%. Despite these promising findings we also recorded a relatively high number of people entering the Park illegally, with 77 incidents over 6 months, of which 20% involved armed poachers. The poachers operated mainly at night and were concentrated in two locations. Law enforcement patrol teams were active during the day, and therefore had little overlap with the poachers. Prioritizing these at-risk areas for increased protection by rangers would further secure the Intensive Protection Zone, and expanding ranger activity across the Park would support efforts to remove the Park from UNESCO's List of World Heritage In Danger.

Mixed-species flocking is an important avian social system that supports a large number of species. Current reviews of threats to mixed flocks have only examined two types of anthropogenic pressures: different land use intensity and fragmentation. We highlight the bird trade as another major potential threat for many mixed species flocking species in Southeast Asia. We examine the potential indirect impact of the bird trade by comparing social networks of flocking data collected over two periods nearly 20 years apart (1997 and 2016) from the same site in Sumatra, Indonesia. We find that the structure of the two networks was significantly correlated. However, of the 90 species observed, 49 had previously been identified as part of the bird trade. These species experienced a significantly greater decrease in network centrality over time compared to the non-traded species, resulting in a loss of structure in the mixed-species flocking network. Simulating further disturbances suggests that flocks may not be resilient to the complete loss of two or more traded species. Our results suggest that trapping is likely to be contributing to the degradation of flocks, and ultimately could lead to the widespread declines in those other species that also rely on mixed-species flocking.

Hornbills provide a seed dispersal service for rainforest trees, but the persistence of hornbill populations depends on the availability of old trees that provide cavities for their nests. The Helmeted Hornbill Rhinoplax vigil is Critically Endangered, due to both forest destruction and an inhumane illegal trade in their bill casques, yet little is known about its nests and breeding biology. Here we describe the nest tree and external nest characteristics of a pair of Helmeted Hornbills in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Lampung, Sumatra, and compare them with observations of two nests of the Wreathed Hornbill Rhyticeros undulatus less than 1 km away. As in a previous study, the Helmeted Hornbill (HH) nest was in a large dipterocarp, and possessed a stump next to the entrance that the male used as a perch when feeding the female or chick. The nest entrance dimensions and bole diameter of the nest tree were much larger than those of the two Wreathed Hornbill (W1 and W2) nests. Egg laying in HH took place in February, while in W1 and W2, eggs were laid much later, between late May and July. The maximum nesting cycle of the Helmeted Hornbill was an astonishing 137 days (4.5 months), close to the minimum period (range, 138-151) for a nest of the species in Peninsular Malaysia. This may be longer than the nesting cycle of the Wreathed Hornbill, but additional data are needed.

Continuing disappearance and degradation of primary tropical rainforests in Indonesia, and the ongoing conversion of degraded forest to monoculture plantations, threaten many bird species with local extinction. Yet, information on bird populations from the Sundaic region, which covers western Indonesia, is generally lacking, limiting our understanding of species responses to disturbance, extinction risks, and potential ways to counteract local species extinction processes. On the Indonesian island of Sumatra, bird density information is only known from two studies ( on four hornbill species and one pheasant species). Here, we compare bird densities between less degraded and highly degraded forests within the Harapan Rainforest Ecosystem Restoration Concession in Sumatra. From a total of 148 bird species recorded, densities were calculated for 47 species with the highest encounter rate, 33 of which were recorded in forests of both disturbance levels, allowing comparisons to be made. We found five species with higher densities in the highly degraded forest and seven species with higher densities in the less degraded forest. While our species-specific results were generally consistent with previous biological insights, there were exceptions, such as a species previously considered to be sensitive to habitat degradation, the sooty-capped babbler Malacopteron affine, being more abundant in the highly degraded forest. Our study revealed that despite its condition, degraded forest retains much value for Sumatran lowland forest birds, providing a compelling argument for securing its important conservation status under improved management, rather than assigning it for clearance as typically happens.

The trade in wild animals involves one-third of the world's bird species and thousands of other vertebrate species. Although a few species are imperiled as a result of the wildlife trade, the lack of field studies makes it difficult to gauge how serious a threat it is to biodiversity. We used data on changes in bird abundances across space and time and information from trapper interviews to evaluate the effects of trapping wild birds for the pet trade in Sumatra, Indonesia. To analyze changes in bird abundance over time, we used data gathered over 14 years of repeated bird surveys in a 900-ha forest in southern Sumatra. In northern Sumatra, we surveyed birds along a gradient of trapping accessibility, from the edge of roads to 5 km into the forest interior. We interviewed 49 bird trappers in northern Sumatra to learn which species they targeted and how far they went into the forest to trap. We used prices from Sumatran bird markets as a proxy for demand and, therefore, trapping pressure. Market price was a significant predictor of species declines over time in southern Sumatra (e.g., given a market price increase of approximately $50, the log change in abundance per year decreased by 0.06 on average). This result indicates a link between the market-based pet trade and community-wide species declines. In northern Sumatra, price and change in abundance were not related to remoteness (distance from the nearest road). However, based on our field surveys, high-value species were rare or absent across this region. The median maximum distance trappers went into the forest each day was 5.0 km. This suggests that trapping has depleted bird populations across our remoteness gradient. We found that less than half of Sumatra's remaining forests are >5 km from a major road. Our results suggest that trapping for the pet trade threatens birds in Sumatra. Given the popularity of pet birds across Southeast Asia, additional studies are urgently needed to determine the extent and magnitude of the threat posed by the pet trade.

The biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR) is foundational to our understanding of the global extinction crisis and its impacts on ecosystem functioning. Understanding BPR is critical for the accurate valuation and effective conservation of biodiversity. Using ground-sourced data from 777,126 permanent plots, spanning 44 countries and most terrestrial biomes, we reveal a globally consistent positive concave-down BPR, showing that continued biodiversity loss would result in an accelerating decline in forest productivity worldwide. The value of biodiversity in maintaining commercial forest productivity alone-US$166 billion to 490 billion per year according to our estimation-is more than twice what it would cost to implement effective global conservation. This highlights the need for a worldwide reassessment of biodiversity values, forest management strategies, and conservation priorities.

Forest degradation, forest fires, and wildlife poaching have devastated biodiversity in Indonesia. To assess the impact of forest degradation and the potential for recovery, we used birds as a proxy for biodiversity and assessed density estimates (hereafter density) in the degraded lowland forest of Harapan Rainforest Ecosystem Restoration Concession (HRF) in Sumatra. In this study, a total of 149 bird species (from 5,317 individuals) were recorded. Of the 103 species for which densities could be calculated, 45% were lowland bird specialists (i.e. species occurring below 200 m above sea level in Sumatra), including three globally threatened and 41 Near-Threatened species. Comparison with bird densities in degraded forest of Borneo revealed that there was broad similarity across taxa but three species had significantly higher density, and four had significantly lower density, in HRF. The mosaic of degraded forest habitats in different stages of regeneration in HRF appears to support more individuals of some species, especially woodpeckers, than the Bornean sites, but fewer individuals of other species. Determining bird densities is essential to establish population baselines, allowing comparisons between sites and over time. The present study fills one gap, but we urge others to conduct similar studies to provide a better understanding of the temporal and spatial variation in bird density in Southeast Asia's degraded forests. (Less)

Recovery of tropical secondary forest will require human assistance. The first important part in forest restoration is understanding the existing biodiversity and ecosystem service within the secondary forest and use this to decide appropriate forest restoration treatment and to measure of progress towards success. This knowledge is still limited for many secondary forest in Southeast Asia. This research aimed to provide this knowledge, specifically we looked at bird community structure, the birds seed dispersal, and bird densities in the secondary forest of the Harapan Rainforest Concession, Jambi Province, Sumatra, Indonesia, between 2011-2012. Our results showed habitat-scale variables that correlate with different bird functional groups hence can be used to identified appropriate forest restoration treatment to assist bird groups that have been found to decline after logging. We provided density information for 45% of lowland bird specialist in Sumatra (i.e. species occur below 200 meter altitude). This baseline densities could be used to assess progress in restoration, particularly for species with lower density in degraded forest (young secondary forest) compared to less degraded forest (old secondary forest). At network level, frugivore bird-seed interaction networks in young and old secondary forest were relatively similar and dominated by generalist birds. A change in species importance between the two forest types were observed, i.e. important frugivore species in one forest type was not important in another forest type, perhaps due to differences in bird densities (i.e. species with higher density is the most important frugivore bird). In short, bird densities and bird community structure in the secondary lowland rainforest of Sumatra were affected by forest characteristics at different spatial scales, which influenced also the birds seed dispersal and thereby, their contribution to forest regeneration. We provided detailed information on the forest use patterns of birds as a basis for improved restoration management practices.

The Sunda Blue Flycatcher (or Large-billed Blue Flycatcher) Cyornis caerulatus is endemic to Borneo and Sumatra and classified as globally Vulnerable (BirdLife International 2011). Its ecology remains poorly known, although it is characterised as an insectivorous lowland rainforest specialist occupying the mid-strata, usually recorded up to 500 m asl (BirdLife International 2001, Myers 2009). There are also suggestions that it is generally uncommon, rather patchily distributed, with a strong preference for primary forest habitat and highly sensitive to forest disturbance such as logging and fragmentation (Lambert 1992, BirdLife International 2001, Slik & van Balen 2005). Current records are heavily clustered in Borneo (particularly north Borneo), with only six published records from Sumatra, of which only two are post-1930 (BirdLife International 2001). Here we synthesise records of the Sumatran subspecies C. c. albiventer, including field reports from conservation/forestry organisations and birdwatchers, as well as records from museum collections. We also report on six recent records of this species from fieldwork in southern Sumatra. Fieldwork was conducted in the Harapan Rainforest ecosystem restoration site, which spans the border between Jambi and South Sumatra provinces. It is the first ecosystem restoration concession in Indonesia and covers 98,554 ha of post-logging secondary lowland rainforest (Burung Indonesia, Royal Society for Protection of Birds and BirdLife International 2010). Previous logging activities have left a mosaic of secondary forest habitats in different stages of regeneration. Surveys took place in 2008 and 2010, and focused on recording birds of different secondary forest habitats within Harapan. Surveys were conducted using point counts and mist-netting, and followed standard protocols for these methods (Bibby et al. 2000, Buckland et al. 2001). Between June and August 2008, 165 mist-netting hours (over 15 days) with 200 metres of nets, plus 120 points along transects, were used to sample birds across three locations. Between March and November 2010, 231 points along transects were surveyed across another three locations (some points were revisited, resulting in 387 total point counts). In December 2010, 198 mist-netting hours (over 18 days) with 360 metres of nets were completed across two locations. While some of these survey locations were near each other, none overlapped. In all cases, points along transects were spaced at least 200 m apart, mist-nets were set up in a continuous line, and any parallel net lines were spaced at least 130 m apart. Captured birds were ringed and measured according to standard procedures (Redfern & Clark 2001). The vegetation structure of points along transects and mistnetting locations was measured according to established protocols (BBIRD 2008). Vegetation measurements were recorded in 5 m radius circular plots centred on each transect point and mist-net pole location. The following measurements were taken: canopy height and cover; understorey density (measured as the percentage of a 50 × 50 cm plate held 2 m vertically above the ground at the plot centre that was covered by understorey vegetation, as observed from four directions 10 m away); leaf-litter depth; ground cover (measured as the percentage of ground covered by vegetation at 0–50 cm above ground); and the number of trees in four size classes (diameter at breast height [dbh] < 8 cm, 8–23 cm, 23–38 cm, and ≥ 38 cm) within 10 m of the plot centre. A search for published, unpublished and museum specimen records of C. caerulatus resulted in many records from Borneo (data not shown). The vast majority of these came from the Malaysian state of Sabah in north Borneo, particularly Danum Valley Conservation Area and neighbouring areas. However, we could find only 11 records of the subspecies albiventer, which is restricted to Sumatra (Table 1). These include five museum records (on seven specimens) collected before 1920, out of more than 70 specimens of C. caerulatus collected in many museums; and six observation records, with only one record out of 40 birdwatching trip reports from Sumatra. Additionally, this