Ecology of Sulawesi. Tony Whitten

      The Sangihe-Talaud Islands have proven fertile grounds for other ornithological discoveries. Frank Lambert and colleagues uncovered three species new to science, including two rails and an owl (Lambert 1998a, b), verified the continued existence of the Sangihe shrike-thrush (Rozendaal and Lambert 1999), and uncovered two distinct scops owl species from Sangihe and Siau (Lambert and Rasmussen 1998). Similarly, surveys for mammals on Sangihe-Talaud have produced the first records this century of an endemic rat, a distinct form of bear cuscus, and a the Talaud fly ing fox—the latter found in a small restaurant, presumably headed for the pot.

      Back on the mainland, biologists and other modern-day explorers have been making similar discoveries, including taxa as diverse as fungi (Rogers et al. 1987), freshwater crabs (Ng 1993), turtles (McCord et al. 1995; Platt et al. in press), rodents (Musser 1991; Musser and Holden 1991), snakes and lizards (Iskandar 1999a; Lazell 1987; Bosch and Ineich 1994), insects (Conde 1992a, b, 1994; van Tol 1987, 1994; Monk and Butlin 1990) and plants (Dransfield 1989, 1992) as well as co-evolved relationships between ants and trees (Maschwitz and Fiala 1995). Parks and protected areas have revealed a number of secrets, underscoring their importance for species protection. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, expeditions to Lore Lindu National Park revealed two new tarsier species (Musser and Dagosto 1987; Nemitz et al. 1991). More recently, a Ninox owl, previously known only from a single museum specimen (Rasmussen 1999), and the Matinan flycatcher were recorded in Gunung Ambang Nature Reserve (Lee and Riley in press). Most recently, a Heinrich's nightjar was observed in Panua Nature Reserve and unexpectedly large populations of anoa and babirusa have been found in Bogani Nani Wartabone (formerly known as Dumoga-Bone) National Park (Lee pers. comm.). The Sulawesi palm civet, thought to be tumbling towards the vortex of extinction, was photographed by a team from The Nature Conservancy in the forests of Lori Lindu National Park (Indonesian Observer 2000).

      In addition to species discoveries and rediscoveries, the 1990s experienced an explosion of medium- and long-term research projects. These projects focused primarily on large vertebrates, especially Sulawesi endemics. Sulawesi's seven species of endemic macaques received the lion's share of attention with research covering taxonomy (Bynum 1999; Evans et al. 1999; Watanabe et al. 1991), conservation status (Bynum 1999; O'Brien and Kinnaird 1996), ecology (Lee 1997; Matsumura 1993, 1996, 1998; O'Brien and Kinnaird 1997; Rosenbaum et al. 1998), and the dramatic scale of hunting (Alvard 2000; Lee 2000a, b; O'Brien and Kinnaird 1996, 2000). The previously unknown natural history of the rare babirusa was unfolded by Clayton (1996) and Clayton and MacDonald (1999) during her intensive studies at a salt lick in Paguyaman forest, North Sulawesi. First-ever studies were published on the ecology of bear cuscus (Dwiyaherni et al. 1999), endemic forest kingfishers (Sunarto 1999), and hornbills (O'Brien 1996; Kinnaird and O'Brien 1993, 1999a; Kinnaird et al. 1996; Suryadi et al. 1994, 1996). Dekker and colleagues (Argeloo 1994; Dekker 1990; Dekker et al. in press) provided the first detailed information on the status and distribution of Sulawesi's oddest avian endemic— the Maleo. Gursky (1994, 1998) has greatly improved our knowledge of tar-sier behavior and ecology, Alvard and Winarni (1999) assessed bird communities in relation to habitat disturbance in Morowali Nature Reserve, and Bynum (1999) developed new habitat monitoring techniques for use in Lore Lindu National Park.

      Sadly, all this ground-breaking research and discovery is occurring against a background of destruction. Since the publication of the first edition of The Ecology of Sulawesi, deforestation has continued unchecked. In spite of the efforts of international donor agencies (e.g., United States Agency for International Development [USAID], the World Bank, United Nations Development Program [UNDP], Asian Development Bank [ADB]) and the dedication of many NGOs, habitat loss on Sulawesi has actually accelerated. In a shocking report by Derek Holmes (2000) for the World Bank and the Ministry of Forestry and Estate Crops, Holmes shows that between 1985 and 1997 Sulawesi lost 20% of its natural forest cover. This figure does not account for forest quality, and land classified as forest could contain logged or burned forest, areas of reduced value for biodiversity conservation. Most startling, Holmes states that lowland dry forest, the most valuable type of Indonesian forest for logging and biodiversity conservation is 'essentially defunct as a viable resource in Sulawesi'. This should have been a wake-up call to the Indonesian government but instead the list of causes of forest destruction grew longer and more complex.

      The leading cause of deforestation has been large-scale logging by a few conglomerates and the use of timber concessions for political patronage— huge tracts of state-owned forests were held in the 1980s and 1990s by family and business associates of former president Suharto (Richardson 2000).