About
My PhD research aims to assess the effects of human-driven forest fragmentation to small ape (family Hylobatidae) populations in Sumatra, Indonesia. Sumatra has lost its rainforests rapidly within the last few decades which was primarily driven by agricultural expansion. Forest degradation and fragmentation resulted in forest “islands” surrounded by “sea” of agricultural land. The Island Biogeography Theory predicts that species extinction risk is higher in smaller island and that colonization rate is higher if an “island” is closer with the “mainland”.
Small apes are strictly arboreal, i.e., they spend >90% of their time in the forest canopy. Their main mode of locomotion is brachiation which makes them rely heavily on continuous forest canopy. They are able to cross small canopy gaps, but larger canopy gap becomes a barrier for their movement, hindering gene flow between populations in fragmented habitats.
Research interest: primate evolutionary biology; primate ecology & conservation; ecological niche modelling
