1. science
2. biology
3. zoology
4. endangered species

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
(Updated 1/3/2015)
9th Annual Meeting of the
Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
Asia-Pacific Chapter
30 March – 2 April, 2015
Himawari Hotel Apartments, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 4
2. MESSAGE FROM THE HOST (RUPP) - H.E. Dr Chet Chealy ...........................................4
3. VENUE MAPS ............................................................................................................................... 5
4. EVENT PROGRAMME
A. Training, 24 – 30 March.................................................................................................................... 6
B. Conference Programme Overview 30 March – 2 April .......................................................... 7
C. Parallel Symposia Overview ........................................................................................................... 9
D. Detailed Schedule of the Parallel Sessions ..............................................................................12
E. Plenary Presenter Biographies....................................................................................................23
5. POSTER BOARDS AND DISPLAYS ...................................................................................... 29
6. ATBC-AP 2015 PHNOM PENH MEETING ORGANIZERS ............................................. 32
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ 33
8. CONFERENCE TOURS ............................................................................................................ 34
3
1. INTRODUCTION
The 2015 Annual Conference of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC)
Asia-Pacific Chapter will be held on the banks of the Mekong River, at the Himawari Hotel
Apartments in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from 30 March – 2 April 2015. The Conference is
hosted by the Royal University of Phnom Penh and the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation,
and supported by local conservation NGOs. ATBC President Dr Susan Laurance is joining the
event. The conference brings together dedicated tropical biology and conservation supporters
from across the globe – researchers, students, biodiversity specialists, conservation
practitioners and policy makers from universities, government agencies and NGOs.
The theme of this 2015 Asia-Pacific regional meeting is: The Future of Biodiversity in Tropical
Asia: addressing local and global challenges. In accordance with the general goals of the ATBC,
the objectives of the Phnom Penh Conference are:
● To promote and improve cooperation, communication, and interchange among people
interested in the study, conservation, and management of the Asia-Pacific region’s tropical
ecosystems.
● To present and discuss recent findings in tropical biology and conservation, and to
catalyze further advancement.
● To encourage and facilitate tropical biology and conservation research.
● To support the education of university students and assist them in career
development.
● To honor researchers who have had a long and outstanding impact on tropical biology,
or conservation, or both.
● To promote awareness amongst the general public of the importance of studying and
conserving tropical ecosystems.
● To link ATBC with conservation initiatives in Cambodia and the Asia-Pacific region.
2. MESSAGE FROM THE HOST (RUPP) - H.E. Dr Chet Chealy
On behalf of the staff and students of the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), I welcome
you to ATBC’s 2015 Asia-Pacific Chapter conference. The RUPP is Cambodia’s leading
university in the biological sciences and conservation. In partnership with Fauna & Flora
International (FFI), our Department of Biology established Cambodia’s first Masters of Science
degree, the MSc in Biodiversity Conservation in 2005. The Biology Department is also home to
the National Herbarium of Cambodia and one of Cambodia’s leading genetics laboratories. It is
fitting that the RUPP’s Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, a joint venture between the RUPP
and FFI, is hosting this conference, as 2015 is the 10th year of our partnership. This
partnership has: produced the aforementioned MSc in Biodiversity Conservation; has created
Cambodia’s only working zoological museum; publishes the Cambodian Journal of Natural
History; and undertakes conservation research. The RUPP Environmental Sciences and Natural
Resources Management and Development departments are also active in conserving and
managing Cambodia’s rich, yet threatened, biological resources and environment. I am
encouraged to see a large number of Cambodians presenting their work at the conference,
with many former RUPP graduates among them. Our nation lies at the centre of the IndoBurma Biodiversity hotspot, and I have no doubt that the conference will be a success, for we
have much to teach, and much to learn, from one another.
4
3. VENUE MAPS
5
4. EVENT PROGRAMME
A. Training, 24 – 30 March, 2015
ATBC has organized a number of training courses and workshops for students and
conservationists around the Phnom Penh Conference. This includes several popular courses
that are our trademark, as well as some new offerings. The courses aim to develop capacity
and skills in a range of areas needed by today’s tropical biologists and conservation scientists.
There are five extended workshops in addition to the first ATBC Early Career Day, which
concentrated on key skills for early career researchers to learn how to best disseminate and
discuss their research and other essential skills. More information on these events is available
on the conference website www.rupp.edu.kh/ap2015/index.php
These special events include:
Pre-conference extended training courses at the Frangipani Arts Hotel, Phnom Penh





Basic Statistics: Experimental Design and Data Analysis using Linear Models (24 – 29
March) with Kyle Tomlinson ([email protected]).
Camera Trap Database Workshop (30 March) with Jim Sanderson
([email protected]).
GIS Workshop (24 – 29 March) with Alice C. Hughes ([email protected])
Proposal Writing Workshop (29 – 30 March) with Matt Linkie
([email protected]).
Wildlife Statistics Bootcamp (19 – 29 March) with Mike Meredith
([email protected]), WCS Malaysia.
Special events during the conference
These are open events to anyone interested. The Early Career Day should be booked in advance
through the conference website.



30 March. 8:30am-4pm: Early Career Researcher Day led by Alice C. Hughes. Venue:
Biz Café Meeting Room, 2nd Floor, Himawari.
1 April. 4:30-5:30pm: Maximizing the Resilience of Biodiversity: Asia-Pacific Climate
Change Research Network (APCCRN) led by Stephen Williams. Venue: Biz Café Meeting
Room, 2nd Floor, Himawari.
2 April. 1-1:30pm: Panel discussion on how lessons from the case studies presented at
the symposium can be used to inform plans for a Thailand/Cambodia transborder
project to conserve coastal dolphins, chaired by Petch Manopawitr and Brian Smith.
Venue: Function 1, Dolphin Room.
6
B. Conference Programme Overview 30 March – 2 April
All plenaries will be held in the Palm Ballroom. (Details on the Parallel Sessions in Section D).
DATE
TIME
Day 1 – Mon,
Day 2 – Tues, 31 Day 3 – Weds, 1
Day 4 – Thurs, 2
30 March
March
April
April
7:307:30am:
8am: Registration
8am: Registration
9am
Registration
9-11am
10:2010:40am
10:30am
-1pm
8:30am:
Conference
opening
9:00-9:40am:
Plenary, Madhu
Rao – The
extinction crisis
and the
effectiveness of
protected areas
in South East
Asia
9:40-10:20am:
Plenary, Neang
Thy – Recent
herpetofaunal
research in
Cambodia:
importance of
taxonomy for
conservation
Coffee break
10:40am12:40pm:
Parallel Sessions
1 (Themes:
conservation of
Critically
Endangered
Species; fig trees
& associated
animals; DNA
sampling &
conservation
education)
Details Section D
7
9-9:40am: Plenary,
Frank Rheindt –
Conservation
genomics of
tropical non-model
species
9:40-10:20am:
Plenary, Ryan
Chisholm –
Mathematics in the
jungle: informing
tropical
conservation with
quantitative theory
9-9:20am: Plenary,
Wulan Pusparini –
Protecting the lesser
carnivores: diversity
and conservation of
small carnivores in
Sumatra
9:20-10:20am:
Panel discussion
Coffee break
Coffee break
10:30am-12:55pm:
Parallel Sessions 4
(Themes: South
East Asian
protected areas
network;
conservation of
South East Asian
bats; evolution &
biodiversity in
tropical Asia;
conflict & coexistence; and
REDD+) Details
Section D
10:40am-12:30pm:
Parallel Sessions 6
(Themes: making
incentives work for
conservation;
challenges to
conserve threatened
tropical marine
mammals; other
fauna; & monitoring
rare or elusive
species) Details
Section D
Lunch
1:304:30pm
Coffee
Break
4:306pm
Registration:
2:30-4:30pm
4.30-4.35pm:
Welcome
remarks by
H.E. Dr Chet
Chealy, Rector,
Royal
University of
Phnom Penh
4.35-4.45pm:
Opening
address by H.E.
Dr Chheng
Kimsun,
DirectorGeneral,
Forestry
Administration
12:30-1:30pm:
Lunch
1:30-2:20pm:
Plenary, David
Westcott – Living
at a landscape
scale: flying-fox
movement and its
consequences
2:20-4:05pm:
Parallel Sessions
2 (Themes:
conservation of
Critically
Endangered
Species; fig trees
& associated
animals; ex-situ
plants; &
conservation
education).
Details Section D
4:05-4:40pm:
Coffee break
5-6pm: Parallel
Sessions 3
(Themes: the
South East Asian
protected areas
network; Asian
savannas;
evolution &
biodiversity in
tropical Asia;
human impacts
on primates)
Details Section D
12:30-1:30pm:
Lunch
1:30-2:20pm:
Plenary, Merlin
Tuttle – Conserving
the worlds bats
2:20-4:20pm:
Parallel Sessions 5
(Themes: the South
East Asian
protected areas
network; Southeast
Asian bats; REDD;
climate change on
biodiversity; &
rare or elusive
species) Details
Section D
4:30-6pm: Coffee
break and Poster
Session
12:30-1:30pm:
Lunch
1:30-2:20pm:
Plenary, Shermin de
Silva – Behavioral
ecology and
conservation of
Asian elephants in
Sri Lanka
2:20-4:05pm:
Parallel Sessions 7
(Themes: making
incentives work for
conservation; plants
and system
dynamics;
miscellaneous; &
rare or elusive
species)
Details Section D
4:05-4.40pm: Coffee
break
4.40-5pm: Keo
Omaliss – Ecology
and conservation of
the Giant Ibis
Thaumatibis
gigantea in
Cambodia
5-5:40pm: Plenary,
Susan Laurance –
Impacts of human
activities on tropical
rainforest
communities
5.40-6pm: Elections
of country
representatives
4:45-5:25pm:
Plenary,
Professor
William
8
Laurance –
Tropical
logging and
roads: Avoiding
a fatal
synergism for
forests
6 – 9pm
5:25-6pm;
Professor
Kaoru Kitajima
– Frontier of
plant
functional
ecology in the
tropics: from
understanding
biodiversity to
sustainable
forest use
6-6:15pm:
Questions
6:15-8pm:
Networking
and welcome
reception
6-6:40pm:
Plenary, Richard
Corlett –
Welcome to the
Anthropocene;
what should we
do now?
8pm: Meeting
of chapter
committee to
draft
declaration
6-6:40pm: Plenary,
Nick Souter – Ten
years of the Masters
of Science in
Biodiversity
Conservation at the
Royal University of
Phnom Pehn
6-6:30pm:
Announcement of
Declarations and
Resolutions
6:30-7pm
Conference closing
remarks
7:30pm: Conference
dinner at the Bopha
– Titanic Restaurant
C. Parallel Symposia Overview
1.
Landscape scale conservation
1a Developing innovative and cohesive approaches for conservation of South East Asia’s Critically
Endangered species. (Chairs: Madhu Rao1 & Sarah Brook2: 1IUCN & 2 WCS Cambodia)
This aim of this session is to catalyze effective conservation of South East Asia’s Critically
Endangered species, identified as the world’s priority for averting imminent species
extinctions. We will introduce the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Asian Species Action
Partnership and demonstrate how innovative approaches have benefitted conservation of the
region’s Critically Endangered species.
1b Assessing and enhancing the resilience of the South East Asian protected areas network
(Chair: Alice C. Hughes, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden)
9
We aim to review some of the main threats to the effective maintenance of biodiversity within
protected areas, including grazing, fires, encroachment and hunting. Additionally, we will
conduct a gap analysis and assess how well biodiversity is represented in protected areas
throughout South East Asia and suggest areas which should be connected to maintain
connectivity into the future. We also review management strategies, and effective practice to
combat the threats to protected areas throughout the region.
1c Monitoring Rare or Elusive Species in Challenging Environments (Chairs: Hannah O'Kelly &
Matthew Nuttall: WCS, Lao & Cambodia)
The aim of this session is to highlight examples of where the inherent challenges to the
implementation of reliable monitoring programs in the tropics have been overcome through a
combination of adaptation, innovation and persistence, and to identify gaps where further
methodological advances are most needed.
1d Moving beyond integrated conservation and development: making incentives work for
conservation (Chairs: Simon Mahood1 & Henry Travers2: 1WCS Cambodia, 2Imperial College
London)
Participants will identify conditions that can be used to design conservation incentive schemes
that give community members an opportunity to make informed choices about natural
resource use, the means to use natural resources sustainably, and the motivation to choose to
do so, leading to improved protection of habitats and wildlife.
1e Local and global challenges to conserving threatened tropical marine mammals in
Asia (Chairs: Brian D. Smith1 & Petch Manopawitr2: 1WCS, 2 IUCN Asia Regional Office)
The symposium on local and global challenges to conserving threatened tropical marine
mammals in Asia will discuss case studies aimed at protecting this species group living at the
sharp edge of the human interface and on finding solutions for preventing species and
population extinction.
2.
Species and environment
2a Fig trees and associated animals (Chairs: Yan-Qiong Peng1 & Steve Compton2: 1
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden, China, 2Rhodes & Leeds universities)
Fig trees and their associated animals are model systems for co-evolutionary studies. This
session will highlight the diversity of current research being carried out in the region,
including taxonomy, pollination, gene flow and seed dispersal.
2b South and East Asian Savannas: poorly understood and under threat (Chair: Kyle
Tomlinson, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden, China)
A review of what is known on the biodiversity, ecology, and conservation status of the
remaining savannas in South and East Asia, and where research effort should focus in the
future.
2c Understanding and conserving the diversity and ecology of South East Asian bats (Chairs: Neil
Furey1, Alice C. Hughes2 & Merlin Tuttle3: 1FFI Cambodia, 2 Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic
Garden, China, 3Bat Conservation International, USA)
We review the threats faced, and the methods being implemented to combat these in addition
to the implications that the changes in bat diversity may have for the ecosystems which
depend on them.
10
2d Latitude-Altitude gradients-inferring the effects of climate change on biodiversity (Chairs:
Alice C. Hughes & Akihiro Nakamura, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden, China)
Climate change is stated to be a global treat to biodiversity, yet without an understanding of
species distributions and responses on more local scales we cannot understand the potential
effects of climatic change, which are needed to develop the most appropriate conservation
plans.
3.
Novel technologies in conservation
3a Knowing but not seeing: non-invasive DNA sampling for monitoring Asia’s threatened
biodiversity (Chairs: Thomas N.E. Gray1, Yin Qiu Ji2, & Sunarto3: 1WWF Greater
Mekong; 2Kunming Institute of Zoology, China; 3WWF Indonesia)
Non-invasive genetic sampling is increasingly used for detecting and monitoring some of
tropical Asia’s most threatened species. This session explores uses, and potential applications,
of non-invasive genetic sampling for field conservation biologists in tropical Asia.
3b Ex-situ Plant Conservation in Tropical Asia (Chairs: Daniele Cicuzza & Alison Wee,
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden, China)
This session focuses on the collection, breeding and re-introduction of threatened plant
species in tropical Asia. It reports on the best practice and interdisciplinary tools to improve
the capacity and efficiency of ex-situ conservation in botanic gardens, seed banks, tissue
culture collections, arboreta and nurseries.
3c Evolution and Biodiversity (Chair: Frank Rheindt: NUS, Singapore)
This symposium explores the interface of evolutionary and biodiversity research and
highlights some of the advances in which evolutionary insights can deepen our understanding
of natural communities of animals and plants, with a focus on Asia.
4.
Supporting humans and biodiversity
4a Conservation education symposium (Chairs: Nicholas Souter1 & Alice C. Hughes2: 1FFI,
Cambodia; 2Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden, China)
Building capacity for conservation in South East Asia. This region is a global conservation
priority, yet for conservation to work in practice it requires education and capacity building at
all levels. Here we review case studies at various levels to develop best practice guidelines to
help secure a future for biodiversity across South East Asia.
4b Continued Conflict or Co-existence (Chairs: Jackson Frechette1 & Benjamin Rawson2:
1FFI; 2FFI)
Human impacts on primate behavior and ecology. Using case studies from across Indochina,
this symposium will investigate and discuss the true impacts of humans on primate behavior
and ecology, which is an important, yet rarely discussed, aspect of primate conservation.
4c Achieving Emission Reductions under Each Element of the REDD+ Scheme (Chairs: Tom
Clements 1, Patrick Durst2 & Hwan Ok Ma3: 1WCS Indonesia; 2FAO; 3 ITTO)
This session is designed to discuss how to achieve reduced emissions or removals from the
activities undertaken to reduce carbon emissions or increase carbon stocks in forests.
11
D. Detailed Schedule of the Parallel Sessions
(For schedule overview please see Section B)
TUESDAY, 31 MARCH 2015
TIME
Ballroom –
Function 1 –
Function 2 –
Palm
Dolphin
Ibis Room
Ballroom
Room
10:40am
12:45p
m:
Parallel
Sessions
1
31
March
2015
10:4010:55am
10:5511:10am
11:10 11:25am
11:2511:40am
Function 3 –
Turtle
Room
1a.Developing
innovative and
cohesive
approaches for
conservation of
South East
Asia’s Critically
Endangered
species
2a.Fig trees and
associated
animals
3a.Knowing but
not seeing: noninvasive DNA
sampling for
monitoring
Asia’s
threatened
biodiversity
4a.Conservation
education
symposium:
building capacity
for conservation
in South East Asia
Thomas Gray:
Conservation and
research needs
for Critically
Endangered
Mekong mega
fauna
Simon Mahood;
Conservation of
Bengal Florican
(Houbaropsis
bengalensis) in a
farming
landscape
Phan Channa;
Conservation of
Critically
Endangered
white-shouldered
Ibis (Pseudibis
davisoni) in
Cambodia’s
Mekong flooded
forest
Benjamin
Rawson;
Development of a
multi-
Stephen
Compton;
Geographical
variation in the
pollination of an
Asian fig tree
Ross McEwing;
Conservation at
the blunt end: DNA
as a conservation
tool rather than an
academic
discipline
Andrew Tilker;
Endangered and
unseen: using
leeches to survey
mammalian
biodiversity in the
Annamites
Simon Hedges;
Fecal DNA-based
methods for
monitoring
wildlife
populations:
opportunities and
challenges
Neth Vibol;
Combating the
wildlife trade
through community
engagement
Douglas Yu; PCRfree mitogenomics
for highthroughput
Eben Goodale;
Changes in
publication rates
and the research
Pei Yang; How do
non-pollinators
locate ficus
hosts?
Shang-Yang Lin;
Niche
differentiation in
the ant
12
Rhett Harrison;
Understanding
patterns of plant
community
assembly in a
seasonal tropical
forest in Lao PDR
Madhu Rao;
Developing capacity
for wildlife and
protected area
management in Lao
PDR and Vietnam
11.40 11:55am
11:55am
12:10pm
12:1012.25pm
2.204.15pm:
Parallel
sessions
2
31
March
2015
2:20 -
stakeholder
Technical
Working Group
for the Critically
Endangered Cat
Ba Langur
(Trachypithecus
poliocephalus)
Jayempathi
Herath;
Evaluating the
status of an
inter-basin
translocation of
four species of
endemic Sri
Lankan fishes
Fangyuan Hua;
Fear in the
forest:
understory
avifauna exhibits
heightened risk
perception in
degraded
tropical forest
Rohit Singh;
Forgotten heroes
of the Asian
forest
Ballroom –
Palm Ballroom
1a.Developing
innovative and
cohesive
approaches for
conservation of
South East
Asia’s Critically
Endangered
species
Bosco Chan;
community on
the dioecious fig
tree (Ficus
benguetensis)
monitoring of bee
diversity
productivity of
tropical countries in
conservation
science: implications
for inclusive
conservation.
Huan Fan; A
transcriptome
analysis of the
two types of
female florets in
Ficus fistulosa
Jiaxin Wang; Using
bulk mosquito
samples to detect
vertebrates
Sun Yoeung;
Community-led nest
protection and
Pagoda-based headstarting of Cantor’s
Soft-shell Turtle in
Cambodia
Rhett Harrison;
After over a
century of
abstinence, Ficus
elastica
rediscovers sex in
Singapore
Yinqiu Ji; Using
leeches to monitor
and detect cryptic
mammals from
Laos and Vietnam
Alice C. Hughes;
Developing key skills
for the next
generation of
conservation
ecologists
Hui Yu;
Characterization
of
transcriptomes
from two
development
stages of female
flowers of Ficus
hirta Vahl.
(Moraceae)
Function 1 –
Dolphin Room
2a.Fig trees and
associated
animals
Rachel Crouthers;
Monitoring
Mondulkiri's
elephants – the use
of non-invasive
genetic sampling
for conservation
Tommaso Savini;
Establishing a
conservation
ecology graduate
program: past
experiences and
future developments
Function 2 –
Ibis Room
3b. Ex-situ Plant
Conservation in
Tropical Asia
Function 3 –
Turtle Room
4a.Conservation
education
symposium:
building capacity
for conservation
in South East Asia
Bo Wang;
Chen Ying;
Gneb Gnoeurn;
13
2:35pm
2:35 –
2:50pm
2:503:05pm
3:053:20pm
3:203:35pm
Habitat
Enhancement
Project of the
Critically
Endangered
Hainan Gibbon
and its
implications for
large-scale forest
restoration in
Indochina
Som Sitha;
Integrated in-situ
and ex-situ
conservation has
prevented the
extinction of the
Southern River
Terrapin
(Batagur affinis)
in Cambodia
Abu Naser
Mohsin Hossain;
Investigating the
use of camera
trapping to
quantify illegal
human activity in
three protected
areas of the
Sundarbans of
Bangladesh
Timothy.
Bonebrake;
Modeling
globally
endangered
Black-faced
spoonbill
population
viability under
environmental
change
Vicky Melfi;
Selamatkan Yaki:
Saving the
Critically
Endangered
Chemical
mimicry: a key
process in
maintaining a
mutualistic
network
Asymbiotic seed
germination and
in-vitro seedling
development of
Paphiopedilum
spicerianum: an
orchid with an
extremely small
population in
China
Monitoring and
combating forest
threats through
community
participation
Rui-Wu Wang;
Discriminative
host sanction
together with
relatedness
promote the
cooperation in
fig/fig wasp
mutualism
Karen
Sommerville;
Conservation of
sub-tropical
rainforest seeds –
can they be
banked?
J. Jauharlina; Fig
wasps, dioecious
fig trees and
their interactions
with fig
nematodes
Kate Hardwick;
Kew's Millennium
Seed Bank
Partnership:
safeguarding
Asia's plant
diversity for the
future
Inês Silva;
Reinventing the
image of the king
cobra
(Ophiophagus
hannah) as a
flagship species for
conservation
education in rural
Thailand
Jing-Xin Liu;
Reviewing six years
of the Program for
Field Studies in
Tropical Asia
Xiao-Yong Chen;
Population
genetic structure
of Eupristina
altissima in
native and
colonised regions
Alison Wee;
Genetic
optimization of the
living collection
for threatened
plant species in
Xishuangbanna
Lu Gang; Saving
Hainan Island’s
Yangshan
Landscape through
citizen science
HuanHuan Chen;
Projecting the
effects of climate
change on the
distribution and
Danielle Cicuzza;
Ex-situ plant
conservation in
tropical Asia
Anny Li; To unlock
the conservation
deadlock? Use a blog
14
3:353:50pm
3:504:05pm
4:054:20pm
4:405:40pm:
Parallel
Sessions
3
Sulawesi crested
black macaques
in an
anthropogenic
landscape
Ulmar Grafe;
Threats to
biodiversity from
forest conversion
diversity of
Chinese Figs
Chanthasone
Phommachanh;
Conservation
Ecology
Programme:
Saola
(Pseudoryx
nghetinhensis),
Serow
(Capricornis
sumatraensis)
and Sambar
(Rusa unicolor)
ecology by
interviews of
local people in
Lao PDR
Jan Kamler;
Ecology and
conservation of
endangered
dholes (Cuon
alpinus) in South
East Asia
Lillian Jennifer
Rodriguez; The
Pollinator
Species Complex
Associated with
Ficus septica
from Philippines
to Taiwan
Natalia Huang; Why
biologists need to be
non-biologists
Anthony Bain;
What ants do on
Ficus trees?
Antagonism or
mutualism?
Ballroom –
Palm Ballroom
Function 1 –
Dolphin Room
Function 2 –
Ibis Room
Julie Harris;
Catering for diverse
audiences in Lao
PDR: How can we
make conservation
education and
interpretation
relevant? Is it even
possible?
Function 3 –
Turtle Room
1b.Assessing
and enhancing
the resilience
of the South
East Asian
2b.South and
East Asian
savannas:
poorly
understood and
3c.Evolution and
biodiversity in
tropical Asia
Hsy-Yu Tzeng;
Relationship of
pollen traits to
pollination
mutualism
systems and its
significance in
Ficus (Moraceae)
15
Huan Fan; An
assembly and
alignment-free
method of
phylogeny
reconstruction
from nextgeneration
sequencing data
David O'Connor;
Understanding
attitudes and usage
of wild bear parts in
Laos and Cambodia:
A preliminary study
using citizen
scientists
4b.Continued
conflict or coexistence: human
impacts on
primate behavior
protected areas
network
under threat
Long Kheng;
Conservation
success of Prek
Toal Core Area,
Tonle Sap
Biosphere
Reserve,
Cambodia
Kyle Tomlinson;
Savanna in Asia:
status of a
vegetation type
and a science
4:555:10pm
Matthew Crane;
Defending small
reserves: A case
study on the role
of environmental
education
programs in
protected area
development
Kobsak
Wanthongchai;
Effects of
different burning
frequencies on
fire behavior and
vegetation in dry
dipterocarp
forest, Thailand
5:105:25pm
Chea Phallin; Do
communities
support marine
conservation
initiatives in
Cambodia?
Measuring local
perceptions in a
proposed Marine
Fisheries
Management
Area
Leng Phalla;
Filling data gaps
for Cambodian
marine habitats:
seagrass
diversity and
distribution in
the Koh Rong
Archipelago
Thomas Gray;
Reinventing the
Serengeti of Asia:
the savannah
forests of Eastern
Cambodia
31
March
2015
4:404:55pm
5:255:40pm
Bonifacio
Pasion; At what
level is recent
fragmentation
detectable in
landscapes?
16
and ecology
Vojtech Novotny;
Host specificity in
tropical insect
herbivores in
phylogenetic
context: methods
and examples from
New Guinea
rainforests
Xin Yao;
Comparative
biology study of
plant adaptive
evolution
responding to
climate change
among genus Ilex
in Yunnan, South
West China
Ayu Savitri
Nurinsiyah;
Effects of teak
plantation and
agroforestry on
forest snail
communities in
Java
Juan Manuel JoséDomínguez; Can
non-territorial
animals range and
behave like
territorial ones
when food is
provisioned?
Wen-Bin Yu;
Floral and
reproductive
ecology of Cycas
panzhihuaensis
Asmita Sengupta;
Feeding monkeys
and losing trees:
Consequences of
provisioning rhesus
macaques for seed
dispersal
Chanthon Cheb;
community-based
ecotourism as a tool
for sustainable
natural resource use
& livelihood
improvement
Eam Sam Un;
Conservation status
of the pygmy slow
loris (Nycticebus
pygmaeus) in
eastern Cambodia
TIME
Ballroom –
Palm Ballroom
WEDNESDAY, 1 APRIL 2015
Function 1 –
Function 2 –
Dolphin Room
Ibis Room
10:40am
12:45p
m:
Parallel
Sessions
4
1b.Assessing
and enhancing
the resilience
of the
Southeast Asian
protected areas
network
2c.Understandi
ng and
conserving the
diversity and
ecology of
South East
Asian bats
3c.Evolution and
biodiversity in
tropical Asia
Hong Chamnan;
Grassland
conservation
supports
threatened birds
and local
people's
livelihoods
Gopalasamy
Reuben
Clements; How
can we quantify
the impacts of
roads on South
East Asia's
protected areas?
Krizler Tanalgo;
Bat Cave
Vulnerability
Index: A method
for prioritizing
bat caves for
conservation and
protection
Vu Dinh Thong;
Bats of Vietnam:
systematics,
echolocation and
conservation
Zhang Wenliu;
Multiple-factors
contribute to
reproductive
isolation among
four co-existed
Habenaria species
(Orchidaceae)
Asako Matsumoto;
The coupling of
tropical Asia –
North Pacific in
cold water coral
fauna
Kim Sokha;
Lessons and
challenges in
participatory
design of
multiple-use
Marine Protected
Areas – a
Cambodian case
study
Alice C. Hughes;
Life in the
matrix: how can
we best protect
biodiversity in an
Thi Sothearen;
Black gold: Effect
of bat guano on
the growth of five
economically
important plant
species in
Cambodia
Caroline Dingle;
Urban blues: birds
change their tune
in noisy cities
Sok Pheakdey; The
ecology of the
endangered yellowcheeked crested
gibbon in areas of
high human
presence:
implications for
long-term
conservation
Jackson Frechette;
The importance of
large trees to gibbon
seed dispersal
Lim Thona; Cave
selection and
reproductive
phenology of
insectivorous
Wenbo Liao; De
novo assembly of
Firmiana
danxiaensis, an
endemic tree
Jackson Frechette;
Tree use by
Northern yellow
cheeked crested
gibbons (Nomascus
10:5511.00am
11:1011:25am
11:2511:40am
17
4b. Continued
Conflict or Coexistence
4c. Achieving
Emission
Reductions under
Each Element of
the REDD+
Scheme
1 April
2015
10:4010:55am
Function 3 –
Turtle Room
Alvaro Gonzalez
Monge; Impacts of
logging on ranging
patterns of silvered
langurs in North
Eastern Cambodia
increasingly
fragmented
landscape
11:4011:55am
Siddappa Setty;
Long-term
monitoring of
rock bees and
impact of ban on
harvest in
Southern India
11:55am
12.10pm
Li Fei; Protecting
an unprotected
area: a case
study of
conserving a
tropical
limestone forest
on Hainan Island,
China
Robert
Steinmetz;
Refilling empty
forests:
alleviating
poaching
pressure to
recover wildlife
in South East
Asia
Simon Hedges;
How can we
conserve
Banteng in
Eastern
Cambodia? A
case study in
making decisions
and developing a
conservation
strategy under
uncertainty
12.1012:25pm
12:2512:40pm
bats in southern
Cambodian karst
and their
conservation
implications
Sheema Abdul
Aziz; Challenges
of conserving
flying foxes in
Peninsular
Malaysia
Hul Vibol; Diet of
Lyle’s flying fox
(Pteropus lylei)
and potential
transmission
routes of Nipah
virus in
Cambodia
Julien Cappelle;
Flying foxes
(Pteropus spp.)
in Cambodia:
colony
assessments and
population
dynamics
Akbar Zubaid;
Bat Conservation
in South East
Asia and the
SEABCRU
18
species of Danxia
Landform
Lucia Lohmann;
An integrated
approach to
understanding the
assembly and
evolution of
Biotas: A case
study from the
Amazon
Song Yu; Control
of final fruit traits
in Machilus species
Keooudone
Souvannakhoum
mane; The
taxonomical
diversity of family
Zingiberaceae in
Luang Prabang
province, Lao PDR
annamensis) in
North Eastern
Cambodia:
Implications for
gibbon conservation
Sindhu
Radhakrishna;
Least Concern cause
for much concern?:
The impact of
human-macaque
conflict on bonnet
macaque
conservation status
Neahga Leonard;
Wild-to-wild
translocation of
Limestone Langurs:
a case study of
Trachypithecus
poliocephalus on
Cat Ba Island,
Vietnam
Christin Minge; Do
males care?
Patterns and
consequences of
male-immature
association in a wild
promiscuous
primate
Marsya Christyanti
Sibarani; Long-term
monitoring of
siamang in Bukit
Barisan Selatan
National Park: 17
years after ENSOrelated wildfires
2:204:20pm:
Parallel
Sessions
5
1 April
2015
2:202:35pm
2:352:50pm
2:503:05pm
3:053:20pm
Ballroom –
Palm Ballroom
Function 1 –
Dolphin Room
Function 2 –
Ibis Room
Function 3 –
Turtle Room
1b.Assessing
and enhancing
the resilience
of the South
East Asian
protected areas
network
2c.Understandi
ng and
conserving the
diversity and
ecology of
South East
Asian bats &
REDD
Alice C. Hughes;
New perspectives
on the ecology
and
biogeography of
South East Asian
bats
2d.Latitudealtitude
gradientsinferring the
effects of climate
change on
biodiversity
1c.Monitoring
rare or elusive
species in
challenging
environments
Roger Kitching;
Using tree-lines to
connect altitudinal
datasets: progress
Ross McEwing;
Conservation under
fire: the challenges
of wildlife
monitoring and
data reporting in
Karen State, Burma
Sara
Bumrungsri;
Rice production
saving by the
insectivorous bat,
Tadarida plicata
Pagi Toko; Do
butterflies and
moths have similar
diversity patterns
along altitudinal
gradients?
Adrian Dwiputra;
Dhole (Cuon
alpinus): Spatial
occupancy in
Baluran National
Park, East Java
Saveng Ith;
Taxonomic
implications of
geographical
variation in
Rhinolophus
affinis
(Chiroptera:
Rhinolophidae)
in mainland
South East Asia
Tuanjit
Sritongchuay;
Differential
effects of forest
proximity on
fruit set of
tropical tree
Nantida
Sutummawong;
Climate changeinduced range
shifts in Tropical
bird species of Doi
Inthanon National
Park, Thailand
Yik Fui Philip Lo;
Conserving the
Oriental Pied
Hornbill
(Anthracoceros
albirostris) in
Guangxi, China
Alice C. Hughes;
Onwards and
upwards: what do
latitude and
altitude mean to
biodiversity in the
real world?
Anita Bousa; Cryptic
cats and elusive
ungulates: multiple
methods for
monitoring large
mammals in Laos
Eric Baran;
Studying fish
passage in Khone
Falls (Lao PDR)
for a better
connection
between Mekong
environmental
hotspots
Matthew
Struebig;
Targeted
conservation to
safeguard a
biodiversity
hotspot from
Climate and
Land-Cover
Change
Phien Sayon; The
role of GIS and
remote sensing in
conservation in
Cambodia
Antony John
Lynam; The
SMART approach
for tackling
poaching, illegal
trade and other
forest crime:
19
3:203:35pm
3:353:50pm
3:504:05pm
4:054:20pm
10:40am
12:30p
examples from
developing Asia
and Africa
Charlotte Chang;
The social
determinants of
hunting birds in
Xishuangbanna,
China and Luang
Namtha, Laos
Zhuang Xueying;
Role of
topography in
distributions of
island endemic
trees in Hainan
tropical rain
forest, South
China
Phok Samphos;
Assessment of
wildlife species
present in
selected areas in
North Western
Cambodia: A
report from
surveys in 2013
and 2014
Sun Visal;
Overcoming the
challenges of
monitoring large
waterbirds in a
seasonally
flooded forest,
Prek Toal Core
Area, Tonle Sap,
Cambodia
crops depend on
pollination guilds
Stephen Elliott;
Forest
restoration for
carbon stock
enhancement
under REDD++:
the potential of
natural
regeneration
Alex Diment;
Implementing
REDD+ in the
Seima Protection
Forest, Cambodia
Akihiro
Nakamura;
Plotting the future:
long-term
biodiversity
monitoring in
South East Asia
Yeang Donal;
Local Community
Perspectives on
REDD+ Benefit
Sharing: a case
study on REDD+
demonstration
project in
Cambodia
Stephen Williams;
Maximizing the
Resilience of SE
Asian Biodiversity:
a Asia-Pacific
Research Network,
APCCRN
Aniruddha
Marathe; Potential
effects of warming
on ant species
distributions
across elevation
gradient in the
Eastern Himalaya
Brett Scheffers;
Can species climb
away from climate
change?
Ballroom –
Palm Ballroom
THURSDAY 2 APRIL 2015
Function 1 –
Function 2 –
Dolphin Room
Ibis Room
1d.Moving
beyond
integrated
1e.Local and
global
challenges to
20
Other Fauna
Jian-Huan Yang;
Current distribution,
status and
conservation
challenges of the
Asian Water
Monitor (Varanus
salvator) on Hainan
Island
Susana RostroGarcía; Density, diet,
and prey selection of
the Indochinese
leopard in Eastern
Cambodia
Oudone
Phakphothong;
Distribution and
distance-based
density estimation
of langurs
(Trachypithecus
spp) in Hin Nam No
national protected
area, Lao PDR
Aiwu Jiang;
Investigations of
nest predation on
ground nests in rock
cavities in a
limestone forest in
Southern China
Function 3 –
Turtle Room
1c.Monitoring
rare or elusive
species in
m:
Parallel
Sessions
6
2 April
2015
10:4010:55am
conservation
and
development:
making
incentives
work for
conservation
Eleanor WarrenThomas; Can we
cost-effectively
manage
increasing
demand for
natural rubber?
10:5511:10am
Ashish John;
Communities can
manage
conservation
incentive
schemes
11:1011:25am
Henry Travers;
Conservation
incentive
schemes:
predicting
conditions for
success
11:2511:40am
Alastair Mould:
A Status report
on Giant Ibis
(Thaumatibis
gigantea) nesting
in the Northern
Plains of
Cambodia: A
direct payments
for conservation
program and
fledgling success
results from
2005 to 2014
Philip Dearden;
Diving as an
11:4011:55am
challenging
environments
conserving
threatened
tropical marine
mammals in
Asia
Symposium
Introduction and
dedication to
Kanjana
Adulyanukosol
by Petch
Manopawitr and
Brian Smith
Long Vu;
Conservation
status of
cetaceans in Kien
Giang biosphere
reserve, Kien
Giang province,
Vietnam
Lou Vanny;
Conservation
status of
Irrawaddy
dolphins in the
Peam Krasop
Wildlife
Sanctuary,
Cambodia
Rubaiyat
Mansur;
Detecting the
unseen through
application of a
robust markresight design for
estimating
humpback
dolphin
demographics in
Bangladesh
Loh Tse-Lynn;
Constructing a
species
distribution map
for rare seahorses
using anecdotal
information and
in-water surveys
Chution Savini;
Foraging Patterns
and flocking of
sympatric
hornbills during
the non-breeding
season
Ben Swanepoel;
Assessing Nomascus
gibbon population
status at two key
sites in Lao PDR
Zoe Greatorex;
Observations of
domestic bush
meat trade in
markets in Lao
PDR
Chouly Ou; Fishes
and food security in
the Mekong River
and its tributaries: a
preview of life after
the new dams are
constructed
Ida Ayu Ari
Janiawati;
Amphibians
response in
human- modified
landscape at
Gianyar Regency
Bali
Nutjarin Petkliang;
Foraging habitat
selection of the
Northern greyrumped swiftlet
(Aerodramus
inexpectatus)
germani in Southern
Thailand
Chalatip
Janchompoo;
Quek Yew Aun;
Horses in the
Sherryl Lipio-Paz;
Habitat
21
Anthony Lau;
Estimation of core
terrestrial habitat of
the Hong Kong newt
(Paramesotriton
hongkongensis)
incentive-based
conservation
mechanism:
what have we
learned in
Thailand in the
last 20 years?
11:55am
12:10pm
Amalia Maling;
Forest Impact
Venture: linking
conservation
goals and
business in
sustainable
manner
12:1012:30pm
Ballroom –
Palm Ballroom
2:204:35pm:
Parallel
Sessions
7
2 April
2015
2:202:35pm
1d.Moving
beyond
integrated
conservation
and
development:
making
incentives
work for
conservation
Rebecca Riggs;
Land Tenure and
Livelihoods in
Indonesia: A case
study of land
conflict in
Rempek Village,
Population
estimate of
Irrawaddy
dolphins
(Orcaella
brevirostris)
using Markrecapture
method in Trat
Bay, Trat
Province
Surasak
Thongsukdee;
Study of Bryde’s
Whale in the
Upper Gulf of
Thailand
Lindsay
Aylesworth; How
do you know it's
not there?
Searching for
rare marine
species
Function 1 –
Dolphin Room
Other: Plants
and system
dynamics
22
Orient: A Seahorse
Population Survey
off Penang Island,
Malaysia
determinants of bird
communities in the
selected key mine
areas of Mindanao,
Philippines:
Implication for
conservation
N. Samba Kumar;
Hierarchical spatial
models of
abundance using
Distance-sampling
data: A
methodological
advance to evaluate
conservation
efficacy
Luke Gibson; Shifts
in rainforest
mammal
communities from
fragments to edges
to interior forest
Function 2 –
Ibis Room
Function 3 –
Turtle Room
Miscellaneous
1c.Monitoring
rare or elusive
species in
challenging
environments
Carmelita Garcia
Hansel; Tapping
the free and
unlimited energy
of the sun for
biodiversity
conservation: case
Thanee Dawrueng;
Long-term density
variation and the
effect of landscape
on Great Argus
(Argusianus argus)
in the rainforest of
Lombok
2:352:50pm
Paola Mejía;
Monitoring the
effectiveness of
Community
Conservation
Areas in the
Eastern Plains
Landscape,
Cambodia
Ekananda
Paudel; Leaf
litterfall, nutrient
return and
decomposition
across a tropical
forest
disturbance
gradient
2:503:05pm
Stephen Turton;
Paradise lost?
The status and
future of East
Rennell World
Heritage Area,
Solomon Islands
3:053:20pm
Abu Saleh Md
Golam Kibria;
Potential of the
participatory
resource
management
approach: a case
study of Cox’s
Bazar
participatory
forestry program
of Bangladesh
Soun Sakmay;
Rice protects
critically
endangered birds
Rinmanat
Waiyarat; Litter
production in
rubber
agroforestry and
rubber
plantation,
Southern
Thailand
Carla Monoy;
Temporal
changes in tree
species and trait
composition in a
typhoon-prone
Pacific
dipterocarp
forest
3:203:35pm
3:353:50pm
Sao Sotheary;
Best practices in
development of
the Environment
Ferry Slik; How
many tree
species are there
in the world’s
tropical forests?
Akhmad Rizali;
Ants and their
role in forest
transformation
23
study of a “proofof-concept” project
Ian Niel De La
Cruz; New species
of Perlidae
(Insecta,
Plecoptera) in the
Philippines:
Characterization
and its molecular
evidence in
associating life
stages
Alice C. Hughes:
Environmental
stability and
biodiversity
Southern Thailand
Francis
Magbanua; Effects
of geothermal
operations on
stream macro
invertebrate
community
structure
Rachel Crouthers;
Multi-species, multiagency monitoring
for conservation: an
example of best
practice from the
Eastern plains of
Cambodia
Leocris Batucan
Jr.; Integrated
Species
Identification of
Mayflies (Insecta,
Ephemeroptera)
from Layawan
River of Mt.
Malindang,
Philippines
Kingsly Chuo
Beng; Competing
land use practices
in Xishuangbanna
Tedi Setiadi;
Predicting the
distribution of Green
peafowl (Pavo
muticus) in Java,
Indonesia using a
species distribution
model
Bhagawan Dahal;
Impacts of
extractive forest
uses on bird
assemblages vary
with landscape
context in lowland
Nepal
Hannah O'Kelly;
Wildlife detection
dogs: lessons
learned and future
potential in tropical
Asia
Francois Guegan;
Can environmental
DNA save the
Mekong Giant
3:504:05pm
Impact
Assessment law
in Cambodia
Truong Ba
Vuong;
Biodiversity in
Hon Ba nature
reserve Khanh
Hoa, central
Vietnam: its
threats and
solution
systems such as
rubber and oil
palm plantations
Damayanti
Buchori; Natural
enemies in oil
palm plantation:
their role and
utilization
threaten regional
biodiversity
Catfish? in
Symposium
Matthew Nuttall;
The flexibility of
distance sampling
data for monitoring
rare species: an
evaluation of
density surface
models versus
conventional
distance sampling
E. Plenary Presenter Biographies
Professor Susan Laurance
Associate Professor Sue Laurance is an Australian Research
Council Future Fellow and President of the Association for
Tropical Biology and Conservation. Sue’s research focuses on
understanding the impacts of human activities on tropical
rainforest communities. She has mostly studied the effects of
land-use change in tropical rainforests around the world, but
recently has expanded into climate change studies, and has
initiated an in-situ drought experiment to study its effects on
rainforest communities.
Dr Shermin de Silva
What do we mean when we say an animal is "social"? And how does its ecology shape its social
life? Dr Shermin de Silva investigates the social networks of Asian
elephants in the wild, comparing them to their close cousins the
African savannah elephants, in order to understand what factors
shape social evolution. In parallel, she is interested in how the
study of behavior can inform conservation of this endangered
species. A Sri Lankan-born American, Shermin received her BA
from the University of California at Berkeley and her Ph.D. from
the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She has won
multiple grants and fellowships to support her unique research,
and also featured in the BBC documentary "Sri Lanka, Elephant Island." She is the Founder and
President of Trunks and Leaves, a non-profit that seeks to promote the conservation of wild
Asian elephants and numerous species that share their habitat through science and education
in elephant range countries and abroad.
Web: www.elephantresearch.net/ www.trunksnleaves.org Twitter: AsianEle
Blogs: www.asianelephant.wordpress.com | http://thoughtsforbreakfast.wordpress.com/
24
Mr Neang Thy
Leading Cambodian herpetologist Thy Neang from the Ministry of
Environment (MoE) has been researching amphibians and reptiles since
2003. He studied forestry in the former Soviet Union for six years before
returning to Cambodia to work with the Forestry Administration. Thy
works as a counterpart to Fauna & Flora International (FFI), managing
the Cambodian Elephant Conservation Group. He is also Head of the
Botanical Garden office for the Department of National Park within the
General Department of Administration for Nature Conservation &
Protection, MoE. Thy has published one field guide about Cambodian
amphibians and more than 20 scientific publications. Thy has an impressive record of
Cambodian species discoveries including the: 2015 Ichthyophis cardamomensis caecilian; 2014
wolf snake (Lycodon zoosvictoriae); 2012 Cambodian Kukri snake (Oligodon kampucheaensis);
and the 2011 Dalai Mountain blind lizard (Dibamus dalaiensis). In 2010, Thy was honored with
a namesake gecko, the South East Asian Cnemaspis neangthyi. Thy will present the Plenary’s
“Recent herpetofaunal research in Cambodia: importance of taxonomy for conservation”.
Professor Kaoru Kitajima
“Frontier of plant functional ecology in the tropics: from understanding
biodiversity to sustainable forest use” is the key topic of Dr Kaoru
Kitajima from the University of Kyoto, Japan. Kaoru is known for her
comparative work of functional traits of seedlings and adult trees in
tropical forests, in particular, the first demonstration of the functional
basis for growth-survival in tropical tree seedlings. Her work has been
conducted mainly in Panama and other neotropical locations, but after
moving to Kyoto University recently, she is actively engaged in new
research collaborations and tropical ecology education in East and South
East Asia.
Professor William Laurance
Dr William Laurance will spotlight “Tropical logging and roads:
avoiding a fatal synergism for forests”. Bill is a Distinguished Research
Professor at James Cook University (JCU) in Cairns, Australia. He holds
an Australian Laureate Fellowship, one of Australia’s highest scientific
awards. He joined JCU in 2009 after having spent 14 years as a Senior
Staff Scientist with the Smithsonian Institution, based in Brazil and
Panama. Bill also holds the Prince Bernhard Chair in International
Nature Conservation at Utrecht University, Netherlands, and is a
research associate at Harvard University and the Smithsonian. At JCU,
Bill is Director of the Centre for Tropical Environmental and
Sustainability Science. He also founded and directs ALERT—the Alliance of Leading
Environmental Researchers and Thinkers—a scientific group that advances environmental
sustainability and reaches more than 100,000 informed readers and activists each week. Bill
received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1989. His research focuses on
the impacts of intensive land-uses on tropical forests and their biodiversity. He is also
interested in protected areas, climatic change and conservation policy.
25
Dr Frank Rheindt
“Conservation Genomics of Tropical Non-Model Species” is the
topic of Dr Frank Rheindt, from the National University of
Singapore. Following a Ph.D. on the evolutionary history and
cryptic diversity of neotropical tyrant-flycatchers at the
University of Melbourne, Frank moved to Harvard University to
apply modern next-generation sequencing technology to
vertebrate evolutionary and conservation biology. He is now an
Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore, where
his main interests relate to the study of genetic introgression and
the identification of factors that lead to genetic impoverishment in
fragmented populations.
Dr Ryan Chisholm
Dr Ryan Chisholm from the National University of Singapore will address
“Mathematics in the jungle: informing tropical conservation with
quantitative theory”. Ryan uses the mathematical and computational
tools of theoretical ecology to solve problems in ecology and
conservation biology, with a particular focus on tropical forests. The
broad questions he tackles are: (1) what determines the distribution of
biodiversity in time and space; and (2) what are the consequences of
biodiversity for the functioning of earth’s ecosystems and for human
well-being.
Professor Richard Corlett
From the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden,
China, Dr Richard Corlett will be addressing
“Welcome to the Anthropocene; what should we do
now?”. Richard Corlett graduated from the University
of Cambridge in 1974, followed by a Ph.D. in plant
ecology at the Australian National University, with
fieldwork in Papua New Guinea. He has subsequently
held posts at the University of Chiang Mai (1980-82),
National University of Singapore (1982-87, 20082012), and University of Hong Kong (1988-2008). In
2012 he moved to the Xishuangbanna Tropical
Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Yunnan, to head a new Center for
Integrative Conservation. His major research interests include terrestrial ecology and
biodiversity conservation in tropical East Asia, plant-animal interactions, urban ecology, and
the impacts of climate change. In addition to many scientific papers, he is the author or coauthor of several books, including The Ecology of Tropical East Asia, with a second edition just
published by Oxford University Press, and Tropical Rain Forests: an Ecological and
Biogeographical Comparison, co-authored with Richard Primack, with a second edition
published by Wiley in 2011. He was a lead author for the ‘Asia’ chapter in the Working Group
II contribution to the Fifth (2014) Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) and is on the steering committee of the IUCN Species Survival
Commission’s Climate Change Specialist Group.
26
Dr Nicholas Souter
“Ten years of the Masters of Science in Biodiversity Conservation
at the Royal University of Phnom Penh” is the presentation topic of
Dr Nick Souter, from Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Cambodia.
Nick is the Project Manager of FFI’s University Capacity Building
Project at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. He holds a Ph.D. in
endangered species conservation. Before moving to Cambodia Nick
worked for the South Australian Department of Environment,
Water and Natural Resources' Riverine Recovery Program. Nick is
a former President of the Royal Society of South Australia.
Dr David Westcott
Rainforest ecologist, Dr David Westcott studies animal movement
and is particularly interested in its consequences for ecosystem
processes and management. David joined CSIRO in 1995 and since
this time has been based at CSIRO’s Atherton Laboratory in Far
North Queensland, Australia. David has research experience in
Australia, Canada, Central America, India, Papua New Guinea and
China. He is a subject editor for the journal Biodiversity and
Conservation (2008 to present) and was a subject editor for the
journal Biotropica (2005-2013). He is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at
James Cook University and was a visiting Fellow with the Chinese
Academy of Sciences’ Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Gardens
(2005). David has held a number of Governmental and Ministerial Advisory positions and is
currently a member of the Wet Tropics Management Authority’s Scientific Advisory
Committee and leads the implementation of the National Flying-Fox Monitoring Program.
David will present “Living at a landscape scale – flying-fox movement and its consequences”.
Dr Madhu Rao
“The extinction crisis and the effectiveness of protected
areas in South East Asia” is the Plenary topic of Dr
Madhu Rao. Madhu is a Regional Advisor (Asia
Program) with the Wildlife Conservation Society and
the Development Coordinator of the Asian Species
Action Partnership, an IUCN Species Survival
Commission initiative aimed at averting the extinction
of Critically Endangered South East Asian vertebrate
species. She earned her Ph.D. from Duke University and
is currently adjunct faculty at the Department of
Biological Science, National University of Singapore. She
has been involved in developing and implementing
science-based conservation projects focused on
addressing threats to endangered species and natural ecosystems within and outside
protected area systems in South East Asia and China. She has broad experience with capacity
development for protected area management in the South East Asia region. Her research
interests include protected area policy, the exploitation of wildlife and human-wildlife conflict.
27
Dr Merlin Tuttle
“The Amazing World of Bats and a Novel View of Conservation”
is the topic of Dr Merlin Tuttle from the University of Texas, USA.
Merlin’s research specialty is bat ecology and behavior. He has
studied, photographed and lectured on bats worldwide for more
than 50 years. He founded and led Bat Conservation
International for 30 years. His bat photos have been featured in
five National Geographic articles. He continues his work on
behalf of bats through his new organization, Merlin Tuttle’s Bat
Conservation (www.merlintuttle.org/).
Ms Wulan Pusparini
“Protecting the lesser Carnivores: Diversity and
Conservation of Small Carnivores in Sumatra” is the
Plenary topic of Ms Wulan Pusparini from Wildlife
Conservation Society’s (WCS) Indonesia Programme.
Wulan began her conservation career almost 10 years ago
with an undergraduate research on Sumatran rhinoceros
with the University of Indonesia. Ever since, rhinos guide
her to many conservation endeavors mostly on mammal
conservation using statistical models, such as species
distribution modeling, population estimate, occupancy
modeling, and multivariate statistics. Currently she works
for WCS Indonesia as a Species Conservation Specialist. She
is a Ph.D. candidate with the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst. Her geographic conservation experience is
mostly in Sumatra, Indonesia. Currently her interest is
shedding light on Sumatra’s less known or data deficient species. Follow her on @wpusparini.
Dr Keo Omaliss
Dr Keo Omaliss is Director of the Cambodian Government
Department of Wildlife and Biodiversity. His Ph.D.
dissertation research on the ecology and conservation of the
Giant Ibis in Cambodia will be the subject of his ATBC
presentation entitled “Ecology and conservation of the Giant
Ibis Thaumatibis gigantea in Cambodia”. During his Ph.D.
and subsequent work, he received recognition and support
from the Christensen Conservation Leader Scholarship and
Clive Marsh Award (Wildlife Conservation Society), Russell E. Train Fellowship (World Wide
Fund for Nature), Smythies Memorial Fund (Oriental Bird Club), Club 300 for Bird Protection,
Kushlan Research Award (Waterbird Society), Joe and Rosa Frenkel Trust, BirdLife
International, Hardship Fund and Overseas Research Scheme Award (University of East
Anglia), Zoologische Gesellschaft für Artenund Populationsschutz, and the Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds. Dr Omaliss spent 18 months working at the Department of Zoology,
University of Cambridge, where he was supported by the Conservation Science Group.
28
5. POSTER BOARDS AND DISPLAYS
Please take the time to visit displays in the foyer from:

Van Hoang Dao (Wildlife Artist)

WWF

Conservation International

Sam Veasna

SMP Ibis Rice

Wildlife Alliance

Centre for Biodiversity Conservation

Fauna & Flora International

James Cook University

Ranger Federation of Asia

Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation
Poster # and
Topic
1. Species and
environment
2. Species and
environment
3. Animal
Behavior
4.Fig trees and
associated
animals
5. Journal review
6. Landscape
scale
conservation
7. Landscape
scale
conservation
Authors
Subject
Adrian Dwiputra, Achmad
Sjarmidi, and Endang
Hernawan, School of Life
Sciences Institut Teknologi
Bandung
Ganjar Cahyadi; Bandung
Institute of Technology,
Indonesia, with Umilaela
Arifin & Djoko T Iskandar,
Lien-Siang Chou, National
Taiwan University, with
Da-Mien Wong, Shiuh-Feng
Shiao & Anthony Bain
Xiao-lan Wen & Rui-wu
Wang Kunming, Chinese
Academy of Sciences,
Kunming, Yunnan
Zhao Wanyi, Sun Yat-sen
University, Guangzhou,
China, with Xu Kewang, Ma
Jinshuang, Fan Qiang &
Liao Wenbo
Renchao Zhou, Sun Yat-sen
University, Guangzhou,
China, with Seping Dai &
Shuqiong Wang
Jiaqi Zhang, Alice C.
Hughes & Richard T.
Corlett, from
Xishuangbanna Tropical
Dhole (Cuon alpinus Pallas 1811) Spatial
Occupancy in Baluran National Park, East
Java
29
Feeding activities and prey composition of
the Sumatran cascade frogs: are they
generalist predator?
Dimorphism and mating strategies in
male Sycoscapter fig wasps
(Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae)
Cooperative conflict in fig-fig wasps
system: the Arms Race between style and
ovipositor length
The Contributions to the Botanical Journal
Sunyatsenia from 1930 to 1948
Extremely low genetic diversity and
extensive genetic admixture at the
northern range margins of Bombax ceiba
Forest islands in a rubber sea: developing
methods to maintain and protect forests
in a rubber matrix
8. Landscape
scale
conservation
9. Landscape
scale
conservation
10. Species and
environment
11. Species and
environment
12. Species and
environment
13. Species and
environment
14. Species and
environment
15. Species and
environment
16. Species and
environment
Botanic Garden, Chinese
Academy of Sciences
Salindra K. Dayananda,
Xishuangbanna Tropical
Botanical Garden, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, with
Rui-Chang Quan,Jia-Jia Liu,
J. W. Ferry Slik, Kyle W.
Tomlinson & Eben Goodale
Kingsly Chuo Beng,
Xishuangbanna Tropical
Botanical Garden, Chinese
Academy of Sciences,
China, with Ferry Slik &
Alice Hughes
Ellen Mc Arthur, Universiti
Malaysia Sarawak, with
Michael G. Schöner,
Caroline R. Schöner,
Nursyafiqah Shazali,
Rebecca Ermisch, Linda
Dombrowski & Faisal Ali
Anwarali Khan
Nida Rosyidah & Endah
Sulistyawati, School of Life
Sciences and Technology
Institut Teknologi Bandung
Indonesia
Lien-Siang Chou, Kang-Yu
Fan & Ling-Long KuoHuang, National Taiwan
University, Taipei, Taiwan
Noel Ruting, James Cook
University, Cairns,
Australia
Rahmawati Ihsani
Wetadewi & Dr. Endah
Sulistyawati, Bandung
Institute of Technology
Prasit
Wangpakapattanawong &
Pornwiwan Pothasin,
Chiang Mai University,
Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Hong-Qing Li, Zhong-Ling
Lu, Qing-Mei Zhou, Zhen
Zhang, Jing Lu & Huai-Zhen
Tian, from East China
30
Understanding how the spatial
distribution of forest fragments influences
birds in a deforested landscape of
southern tropical China
When two or more land use types
compete, it is the biodiversity that suffers
Echolocation calls of insectivorous bats in
Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak,
Malaysian Borneo
Environmental Factors Influencing
Understory Cover and Composition across
the Forest Boundary in Mount
Papandayan Nature Reserve, Indonesia
Exploring the interactions between Ficus
(Moraceae) and non-pollinating fig wasps
by comparative anatomy of fig wall
structure
Floristic diversity and patch dynamics in
cyclone-disturbed and fragmented
rainforests of North Queensland
Forest Regeneration at the Boundary of
Mount Papandayan Nature Reserve, West
Java, Indonesia
Phenology of Ficus squamosa (Moraceae)
in a riparian habitat in Northern Thailand
Species Delimitation of Ficus
gasparriniana-F. erecta Complex of
Subsection Frutescentiae (Moraceae) with
Additional Molecular Data
17. Species and
environment
18. Species and
environment
19. Species and
environment
20. Species and
environment
21. Species and
environment
22. Supporting
humans and
biodiversity
23. Supporting
humans and
biodiversity
24. Supporting
humans and
biodiversity
25. Supporting
humans and
biodiversity
26. Bat
conservation
Normal University
Mochammad Fikry
Pratama & Dr. Endah
Sulistyawati, Bandung
Institute of Technology
Yun-Peng Chiang &
Anthony Bain from
National Taiwan
University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Benjamin Thorne, from
Song Saa Foundation, with
Marianne Teoh & Jessica
Savage
Toby Bakos, Caleb Jones &
Peter Brakels, Angkor
Centre for Conservation of
Biodiversity
Xue Xia, College of Forestry,
Guangxi University, China,
with Guy Beauchamp, John
H. D. Husson, Chen Jin,
Katsiaryna Malykhina &
Eben Goodale
Samsul Maarif & Subeno,
Faculty of Forestry, Gadjah
Mada University
Nguyen Trang, University
of Cambridge, with Zain
Sabri
Hang Chandaravuth,
FA/FFI, with Chantha
Nasak, Neang Thy &
Jackson Frechette
Ross McEwing, The Royal
Zoological Society of
Scotland, with Seree
Wantai, Saw Sha Bwe Moo,
Adam Oswell & Clare
Campbell
Hoem Thavry, Royal
University of Phnom Penh,
Cambodia, with Julien
Cappelle, Lim Thona, Hul
Vibol & Neil M. Furey
31
Structure and Composition of Tree
Community along Elevational Gradient in
Mount Gede Pangrango National Park
The adaptive phenology of Ficus
subpisocarpa and Ficus caulocarpa in
Taipei, Taiwan
The Song Saa Marine Reserve –
Cambodia’s first government recognized
marine conservation area
The status and distribution of primates in
Phnom Kulen National Park, Cambodia: A
report from surveys in 2013 and 2014
Can vocal characteristics predict
leadership patterns in mixed-species
flocks?
Bird diversity in various forest types
in KPH Probolinggo Plantations, East Java,
Indonesia
Ivory and rhino horns consumption and
consumers in Asia with a focus on China
and Vietnam
Patterns of Human-Elephant Conflict and
Mitigation Techniques in Cambodia
The Karen Wildlife Conservation initiative
(KWCI): Wildlife and forest conservation
in Karen State, Burma
Diet and reproductive phenology of cave
nectar bat (Eonycteris spelaea) in
Cambodia and its conservation
implications
6. ATBC-AP 2015 PHNOM PENH MEETING ORGANIZERS
Overall Organization and Coordination:
1. Antony Lynam – Secretary of ATBC Asia, Pacific Chapter, and Regional Adviser for
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Bangkok, Thailand.
2. Alice C. Hughes – Associate Professor, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China.
3. Kung Sophea – Tnaot Khmer, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Local Organizing Committee:
1. Phal Des (Chair) – Vice-Rector, Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP), Cambodia.
2. Antony Lynam (Co-chair) – Secretary of ATBC Asia-Pacific Chapter, and Regional
Adviser for WCS, Bangkok, Thailand.
3. Nick Souter – Project Manager, Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (CBC), Fauna &
Flora International (FFI), Cambodia.
4. Nophea Sasaki – Associate Professor, Graduate School of Applied Informatics,
University of Hyogo, Japan.
5. Neang Thy – Cambodian Elephant Conservation Group Manager, Ministry of
Environment, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
6. Thi Sothearen – CBC, RUPP, Cambodia.
7. Alex Diment – Senior Technical Advisor, WCS, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Scientific Committee:
1. Neil Furey (Chair) – Research Associate, FFI, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
2. Tommaso Savini (Co-chair) – Post-doctoral Researcher, Conservation Ecology
Program, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand.
3. Aldrin Mallari – Country Director, FFI, Manila, The Philippines.
4. David Westcott – Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Atherton, Australia.
5. Steve Turton – Professor of Geography, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences.
James Cook University, Cairns, Australia.
6. Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz – Associate Professor, School of Geography’, University of
Nottingham, Selangor Darul Ehsan. Malaysia.
7. Catherine Yule – Associate Professor, School of Science, Monash University, Bandar
Sunwa’, Malaysia.
8. Soumya Prasad – Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi, India.
9. Alice C. Hughes (Co-chair)– Associate Professor, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic
Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China.
Course and Workshop Committee:
1. Alice Hughes (Chair) – Associate Professor, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanic Garden,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, China.
2. Soumya Prasad – Assistant Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, India.
3. Rhett Harrison – Professor, World Agroforestry Centre, East & Central Asia Region,
Kunming, China
4. Robert Bagchi, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland.
5. Nick Souter – Project Manager, CBC, FFI, Cambodia.
32
7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Local Organizing Committee for the ATBC Asia-Pacific Chapter Annual Meeting 2015
would like to express its sincere gratitude to the following individuals and organizations:











For hosting the meeting, H.E. Dr Chet Chealy and the Royal University of Phnom Penh
(RUPP) and Dr Nick Souter and the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (CBC). To
supporting organizations Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) and the Rufford Foundation.
To Dr Antony Lynam (WCS) in his role as ATBC Asia-Pacific Chapter Secretary and
Local Organizing Committee member.
To the ATBC Scientific Committee for reviewing more than 250 talk and poster
abstract submissions – Dr Neil Furey, Dr Tommaso Savini, Dr Alice C. Hughes, Dr
Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, Dr Cathy Yule, Dr Aldrin Mallari and Dr Steve Turton. To Dr
Jenny Daltry for proposing to publish the abstracts from the meeting in the Cambodian
Journal of Natural History, and then for her tireless efforts to edit abstracts for the
publication.
To the Course and Workshop Committee led by Dr Alice C. Hughes, who reviewed and
approved five pre-conference workshops, inspired four symposia, and helped recruit
and facilitate many of the participants from China to join the meeting, and assisted
logistics and scheduling.
To our local collaborators who offered field trips: Elephant Valley Project, Sam Veasna
Foundation, Cambodia Rural Development Tours, and WCS - Cambodia Programme
and to Dr Alex Diment who helped coordinate with the tour companies to obtain
information on the trips for ATBC.
To Dr Patricia Sampaio (ATBC Treasurer) for providing invaluable support in
handling meeting payments. To Mr Heng Sokha (RUPP) for website design and
administration.
To the ATBC Country Representatives for motivating scientists in the region to
participate in this meeting.
To the champions of our successful ATBC Asia-Pacific Chapter Declarations and
Resolution and the ATBC Conservation Council for approving the final statements.
To the Event Organizer, Ms Kung Sophea (Tnaot Khmer) who helped coordinate the
conference and workshop venues, arranging discounts on accommodation for
participants, and coordinating the meeting registration and other events. To Louisa
McKerrow (FFI) for designing the conference programme booklet and assisting with
media and displays. To Birds of Cambodia Education and Conservation, Jeremy Holden,
MoE, FFI, Gerard Ryan, Forestry Administration and WWF for use of their images in
this booklet.
To Prof Phal Des, Vice-Rector of RUPP, who generously offered his time and that of his
staff to assist in the organization of the meeting from the start to finish.
Finally, to the Plenary Speakers, Symposium Chairs, Presenters, RUPP volunteers
and Participants for making this meeting possible. We wish you all a successful
meeting.
33
8. CONFERENCE TOURS
A range of exciting tropical conservation themed trips are available, departing from Phnom
Penh or Siem Reap, and visiting conservation sites across the country. See the meeting website
for more details – www.rupp.edu.kh/ap2015/special-events.php
Nine tours will be held after the conference:

Free the Bears: Bear Keeper for a Day program

SVC Bird-watching Tours

Ibises and Cambodian Tailor Bird and Critically Endangered vultures tour

Dolphins and turtles along the Mekong

Elephants and Primates

Waterbird colony at Prek Toal

Sarus cranes and ancient temple tour

Koh Ker and Beng Mealea - A Temple and Forest Tour

Phnom Kulen National Park - A Temple and Forest Tour
34
35
36
37
38
39
40