A recent paper led by Truly Santika shows that there has been a steep negative trend for the Bornean orangutan during the past decade. The paper is open access and can be downloaded here.
The Bornean orangutan is now a critically endangered species
A Bornean orangutan female and infant at the Tuanan research station
There are new PhD application opportunities at LJMU. See: https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/research/phd-scholarships
If you are a student with an MSc and one or more published papers and are interested to potentially collaborate with me on primate or drone projects get in touch. These scholarships are highly competitive and the proposal topic depends to a large extent on the interest of the student.
Another paper. This time on orangutan calls and how they inform the evolution of human speech. Read more here.
We published a new paper on automating the detection of animals and humans on thermal imaging obtained with a drone. Click here to download the full paper. This paper was the result of a unique collaboration between researchers in ecology and astrophysics.
We just published a new paper on the combined use of drones and satellites for land cover classifications in Sumatra (Indonesia). It is open access so available from this link
New Report by the Great Apes Survival Partnership.
Summary
Global demand for palm oil has grown rapidly over the last two decades as a result of rising human populations and expanding food demands, but has come at a terrible cost: biodiversity is lost and critically endangered orangutans and other iconic species are closer to extinction than ever. As Asian development transitions to Africa, the conservation community has no choice but to recognize that this $62 billion USD industry is here to stay and begin working constructively with responsible companies to ensure that lessons learned and best practices from Asia and implemented in Africa. Adopting responsible practices in the development of sustainable palm oil and other agriculture is a key strategic objective for ensuring that chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos do not face the same threats as their Asian cousins.
Click here for the full report
We just published a review paper on Ebola and great apes in Mammal Review. It is open access so you can download it from here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mam.12082/full
Together with Lorna Scott and Lian Pin Koh I authored a chapter titled “Wings for Wildlife: the use of Conservation Drones, challenges and opportunities” in the new book The Good Drone by Kristin Sandvik and Maria Jumbert.
Serge Wich's research and projects 