Marcus Aik Hwee Chua

The 2018 arrival of African swine fever (ASF) in China was followed by reports of wild pig deaths across most countries in Southeast Asia. However, the magnitude and duration of population‐level impacts of ASF on wild pig species remain unclear. To elucidate the spatiotemporal spread of ASF in the region for native pig species, we gathered qualitative information on wild pig population dynamics in Southeast Asia between 2018 and 2024 from 88 expert elicitation questionnaires representing sites in 11 countries. Peak reported population declines occurred in 2021 and 2022, with more than half of respondents reporting declining wild pig populations, far higher than in earlier years. The reported declines waned to 44.23% in 2024, whereas simultaneously, the number of populations reported to be “increasing” increased from 11.3%–13.2% in 2019–2022 to 28.9% in 2024. These reports suggest that the ASF outbreak may have peaked for wild boars and bearded pigs in mainland Southeast Asia, Borneo, and Sumatra, with some subsequent recovery. However, the disease is still expanding into the ranges of island endemic species, such as new reports for the Sulawesi warty pig ( Sus celebensis ) in September of 2024. Island endemics remain particularly vulnerable to extinction from ASF and require urgent monitoring and conservation action.

In Singapore, the Critically Endangered Sunda pangolin Manis javanica is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and road traffic collisions. To mitigate these threats, an understanding of its spatiotemporal distribution is needed, as identified in the National Conservation Strategy and Action Plan for the species. However, Sunda pangolin occurrence data are held in multiple separate databases, are typically collected using non-standardized methods, and often lack accurate location details. To compile a complete georeferenced database of Sunda pangolin records in Singapore, we consolidated occurrence data from heterogeneous databases and mainstream and social media, and converted locality descriptions into geographical coordinates. We demonstrate the use of this database to analyse data on rescued pangolins and those killed on roads, to aid conservation efforts in Singapore, and describe other potential applications. We georeferenced 482 records of pangolin sightings, rescues and roadkill for 1996–2021, finding an increase in all three over the study period. Roadkill and rescues occurred mostly in central and western Singapore, close to forested areas, and were predominantly of subadults and adult males. The data can be used to inform threat mitigation strategies, post-rescue release plans and further research. The database has already been used in practice, contributing to environmental impact assessments and conservation recommendations. Overall, this georeferenced database demonstrates the value of citizen science and collating wildlife data from multiple sources, and the methods used can be applied to other taxa to aid conservation strategies.

We here present a comprehensive integrative taxonomic review of the genus Hylomys, using molecular (mitochondrial genomes and up to five nuclear loci) and morphological data from museum specimens across its distribution, resulting in the description of two new species and the elevation of three subspecies to specific status. This revision significantly increases the known diversity of Hylomys from two to seven extant species, challenging the traditional view of species-level diversity within gymnures. We discuss the implications of the taxonomic findings for conservation, particularly in relation to the restricted distribution ranges of several species that may be threatened by habitat loss and/or climate change. Our research emphasizes the importance of scientific collections and underscores the potential of museum genomics and additional field sampling to identify new species and improve our understanding of species diversity in poorly studied regions. Speciation events within Hylomys occurred during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene, possibly driven by shifting climate conditions such as the strengthening of the Indian monsoon and the expansion of seasonally dry conditions. This study supports northern Sumatra and the southern Annamites as centres of localized endemicity and suggests the need for additional small mammal surveys across Sumatra’s Barisan Range.

Fragments and edges account for most remaining forest habitats globally. Apex predators and megaherbivores often decline in these degraded habitats while smaller generalist omnivores can persist or thrive in forest edges, especially if they can utilize nonnative resources (“cross‐boundary food subsidies”). Outcomes for small‐medium carnivores (mesopredators) remain unclear or idiosyncratic. We tested responses of a widespread and common forest mesopredator to edges and the composition of the adjacent nonforested areas using 91 camera trapping surveys in Southeast Asia. Leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis and Prionailurus javanensis) showed a hump‐shaped relationship with forest cover and a positive association with oil palm plantations, but they did not increase near other types of nonnative land cover. Leopard cats' success in edges appears due to their hunting abundant rodent prey inside oil palm plantations, providing natural pest management for farmers. Abundant leopard cats also hunt and suppress native small vertebrates, which may trigger negative ecological cascades and suppress biodiversity in forest edges.

Re‐establishing extirpated wildlife—or “rewilding”—is touted as a way to restore biodiversity and ecosystem processes, but we lack real‐world examples of this process, particularly in Southeast Asia. Here, we use a decade of aggregated camera trap data, N ‐mixture occupancy models, and input from local wildlife experts to describe the unassisted recolonization of two native large herbivores in Singapore. Sambar deer ( Rusa unicolor ) escaped from captivity (in private or public zoos) in the 1970s and contemporary camera trap data show they have only colonized nearby forest fragments and their abundance remains low. Wild pigs ( Sus scrofa ), in contrast, naturally recolonized by swimming from Malaysia in the 1990s and have rapidly expanded their range and abundance across Singapore. While wild pigs have not recolonized all viable green spaces yet, their trajectory indicates they soon will. We also note that a third ungulate, the muntjac deer ( Muntiacus muntjak ), was captured in camera trapping in 2014 and 2015 but was never recorded afterward despite increased sampling effort, and thus we do not focus on their presumably unsuccessful recolonization. The divergent rewilding trajectories between sambar deer and wild pigs suggest different conservation outcomes and management requirements. Sambar deer may restore lost plant–animal interactions such as herbivory and seed dispersal without requiring significant management. Wild pigs, in contrast, have reached high numbers rapidly and may require active management to avoid hyperabundance and negative ecological impacts in regions, such as Singapore that lack both hunting and large predators.

Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species‐level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity.

The Fishing Cat is not a species known to inhabit Singapore. However, a historical specimen stated to have come from Singapore in 1819 and attributed to Pierre-Médard Diard (RMNH.MAM.59688) is now housed at Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. Two hundred years after it was obtained, the mounted skin and skull of this specimen, including specimen labels, were photographed and digitally catalogued. Four sets of annotations from labels and a document detailing records and a receipt of specimens sent by Diard to Leiden are presented to ascertain the specimen’s identity, followed by a historical account of Diard based on a reconstruction of the timeline of key events of Singapore’s natural history. Subsequently, the specimen is examined to confirm its taxonomic identity using comparative morphometrics with other museum specimens, and data associated with the specimen are analysed to determine the origins of this specimen. We conclude that the current evidence does not allow confirmation of the specimen’s status as having been collected in Singapore or being obtained from the pet trade. If the specimen was an imported specimen, it would point towards a trade in rare and large animals in Singapore and the region from as early as 1819. Presently, the specimen remains one of the few extant zoological specimens obtained in Singapore in 1819 and the only one currently known outside of England.