MALAYSIA is home to over 150,000 species of invertebrates, 15,000 vascular plants and 306 species of mammals, including the endangered Malayan tiger and the critically endangered Asian elephants.
Our untouched natural landscape is filled with famous dipterocarp forests, montane forests, as well as coastal and marine areas, such as mangrove forests and diverse coral reefs.
Yet, there remains plenty of biodiversity yet to be discovered within our borders and waters, says Universiti Malaya (UM) Faculty of Sciences Institute of Biological Sciences senior lecturer Dr Yong Kien Thai.
“Many highly diverse groups, such as fungi, beetles, worms, bacteria, lichens and slime moulds, remain underexplored due to a lack of attention or expertise.
Yong“At the same time, new discoveries and species are regularly reported from more extensively studied groups, like orchids, mammals, trees and birds,” he told StarEdu.
Although some believe that about 80% to 85% of our plant species have been discovered and studied, he said it is “a bold assertion”.
“Botanists working in this region are well aware that some plants are still difficult to categorise,” said Yong, who is a bryologist, a botanist specialising in the study of bryophytes.
Bryophytes are nonvascular seedless plants, such as mosses, hornworts and liverworts.
Although Yong has been able to venture into various jungles across the country for research and to collect samples – contributing to the herbarium and the Rimba Ilmu Botanic Garden at UM – he said researchers in biodiversity face many challenges when conducting their studies.
“There is never enough research funding for exploration, particularly for studies that require long-term monitoring or revisiting different seasons to properly document species.
“Funding priorities often focus on the economic potential of research, while the vital work of exploring and documenting the country’s rich biological diversity receives less attention,” he said.
MaizahHe added that on top of that, the process for obtaining research funding and permits has become more complex over the years, and the degazettement of forested land is often carried out without careful scrutiny by scientific committees.
“Furthermore, illegal harvesting and poaching activities continue to threaten biodiversity, destroying species before researchers even have the chance to study them.
“There is also a severe shortage of human resources in the field of biological diversity – too many disciplines and organism groups, but too few researchers,” he said, adding that there are limited job opportunities and career prospects for university graduates who specialise in biodiversity.More action needed
Yong said the government should elevate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals agenda and ensure every industry allocates budgets for research into the impact of economic development on the natural environment, while also supporting biodiversity research.
“The government must strengthen its commitment to safeguarding biodiversity by enhancing the understanding of this issue across relevant offices, providing up-to-date training for officers involved in biodiversity management.
“It is also crucial for the government to pledge support for and ratify key international treaties related to nature and biodiversity conservation,” he said, adding that there also needs to be stricter enforcement of regulations.
At the government level, the Ecological Fiscal Transfer (EFT) has been introduced, where the federal government transfers money to state governments based on their protected areas.
“This amount allows states to take better care of their natural ecosystems and can also be used to partially offset the opportunity costs that states face from protecting their nature,” said the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in October last year.
Introduced in Budget 2019, its allocation has increased from RM60mil to RM250mil in Budget 2024.
However, the WWF suggested RM1bil as an appropriate amount for the EFT in order to encourage state governments to increase protected areas to 20% of our total land mass and 10% of coastal and marine areas, as specified in the National Policy on Biological Diversity.
Additionally, said Yong, the government should create more job opportunities for young researchers, establish a transparent reward system, and recognise exceptional efforts in biodiversity exploration and conservation.
“Finally, establishing well-equipped reference centres, natural history museums and living collection centres would greatly facilitate research activities and foster collaboration between local and international researchers,” he said.
Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) marine biology researcher Assoc Prof Dr Maizah Mohd Abdullah said Malaysia’s tropical biodiversity, especially since it is within the coral triangle region – a highly reproductive area of coral reefs within the South China Sea – is invaluable.
Hence, she said, many new discoveries could be made if local researchers partnered with foreign collaborators who have more advanced equipment.
Although UMT, with its niche in marine and aquatic sciences, has its own research vessel, it is still limited.
According to UMT’s website, the ship, named the Research Vessel Discovery (RV-Discovery), is 35m long and weighs 300 tonnes.
The RV-Discovery vessel was specifically designed for oceanographic research and can sail over 4,000 nautical miles without refuelling, remaining at sea for two weeks.
While it is equipped with technologically advanced equipment, it lacks what is available onboard OceanXplorer, owned by OceanX.
OceanXplorer was recently in Malaysia, specifically in Pahang waters, for a 16-day mission that involved researchers from UMT and International Islamic University Malaysia.
“We believe that within Pahang waters, there is much to discover in terms of ecology, animal migration and unique oceanographic features.
“Those are the things we started to explore, but once we arrived here (onboard OceanXplorer), we realised we could do more,” she said.
“In the two weeks, we tried to fully utilise everything that OceanXplorer has to offer, and we managed to not only achieve all the objectives we had set at the beginning of the mission, but also exceed our plans.”
Mission accomplished
With access to the right tools and technology, the Malaysian scientists who took part in the OceanX Malaysia Mission 2024 successfully achieved their research objectives at a faster pace. Among their findings was the presence of over 120 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins and more mesophotic coral reefs around Pulau Tioman than initially anticipated. They also catalogued the flora and fauna, and studied the recovery of reefs affected by coral bleaching.
Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) team member Nick Smith introducing Chimera, the main ROV used by the Malaysian scientists to explore, map, and collect samples and footage from the waters around Pahang. It is a manoeuvrable underwater robot capable of descending to 6,000m below the surface. The ROV is equipped with dexterous arms, giving it a wide range of motion. It can access difficult or otherwise unreachable areas of the ocean, including underwater volcanoes and hydrothermal vents.
Viewed as the central nervous system of the ship, mission control is where scientists gather to monitor multiple big screens displaying what the ROV is “seeing” as it dives. This is where the Malaysian team observed the condition of coral reefs located more than 30m below the surface. Separate screens show the water conditions and the location of the ROV. A pilot and co-pilot operate the ROV, with one controlling its movement and the other managing the winch and robotic arms. The scientists sit behind the pilot and co-pilot, making real-time observations and guiding the pilot on where to manoeuvre the ROV.
Another key part of mission control is the mapping and acoustics centre. One of OceanXplorer’s main goals is to map ocean environments and ecosystems using sonars housed in a gondola beneath the ship. The sonars send sound waves to the sea floor, and sensors receive the echoes, “painting” a picture of the seabed. They also map marine life. This data is crucial for oceanographers, marine biologists and geologists, helping them understand the underwater environment before deploying cameras.
Considered the “busiest room” on OceanXplorer, the wet laboratory is where scientists photograph and process their sea samples. It is the first stop for the water and plankton samples collected by the ROV. The laboratory allows scientists to modify it to their needs, such as converting tables into aquariums, and enables them to filter, analyse and study samples without returning to shore. A seawater sampling system analyses the surrounding sea’s composition and parameters, while adjustable overhead lights ensure optimal media footage.
After being processed in the wet laboratory, the samples are taken to the dry laboratory for imaging, microscopy or genetic sequencing using the onboard advanced equipment. During the Malaysian mission, the focus was on planktonology. The scientists captured ultra-high-resolution images and videos of their samples and conducted livestream classes while performing microscopy and plankton identification. The space also accommodates any additional equipment required onboard.
One of the molecular tools most extensively used on OceanXplorer is environmental DNA (eDNA). It allows scientists to conduct forensic analysis in the water column to identify animals present or that have passed through an area. Scientists can purify and quantify the DNA almost immediately after sample collection and, if necessary, collect additional samples. The DNA sequencing equipment can process up to 48 samples at a time. Using this device, the Malaysian scientists detected dolphins off the coast of Pahang by finding their eDNA in the water samples.
