Papers by Gianluca Polgar
The mudskipper Periophthalmus walailakae (Gobiidae) is here first recorded from the Vellar estuar... more The mudskipper Periophthalmus walailakae (Gobiidae) is here first recorded from the Vellar estuary, southeast India. A total of 5 specimens were collected from three stations in April-December 2017. Their total length (TL) ranged from 40 mm to 159 mm and their body weight ranged from 8.3 g to 29.8 g. Diagnostic morphometric and meristic characteristics were measured and compared with museum specimens donated by the Natural History of Museum, Singapore (LKCNHM, ZRC). Despite their abundance in the Vellar estuary, its mudskipper assemblages are poorly studied, and very few reports are available on their diversity. These results greatly extend the known distribution of P. walailakae, previously reported from the Straits of Malacca, along the west coast of the Malay Peninsula.
Endangered Forested Wetlands of Sundaland, 2018
Ecotonal Networks (ENTs) 3.1 Ecological Diversity in an Urbanised World: From Conversion to Susta... more Ecotonal Networks (ENTs) 3.1 Ecological Diversity in an Urbanised World: From Conversion to Sustainable Management 3.1.1 The Resilience Theory The goal of sustainable environmental management of Sundaland forested wetlands and associated habitats can be discussed by adopting the ecological resilience theory (Holling 1973; Gunderson and Holling 2002; Walker et al. 2004; Resilience Alliance 2010). Ecological resilience is defined as the capacity of an ecosystem to withstand perturbations without changing its identity i.e. its structures, functions, and ecological feedbacks (Pisano 2012). According to this theory, social-ecological systems (SESs) are self-regulating and complex adaptive systems that do not reach single state equilibria definable by differential equations; instead, they cycle adaptively in a non-linear way through multiple states within regimes, or 'basins of attraction', created by stabilising or amplifying feedbacks, and accommodating uncertainty. Disturbance above critical thresholds of key variables, or 'tipping points', can move the SES to different basins of attraction (sometimes irreversibly), where states have drastically different structures and functions, i.e. performing regime shifts, or 'transformations'. Resilience can be defined as the distance between a focal SES and these critical thresholds. Different regimes of the SES imply different delivery from the biophysical subsystem in terms of services and goods. Management can aim at decreasing the probability of transition to undesirable regimes, increasing or preserving resilience and adaptive capacity of the SES, or at increasing transition probabilities to more desirable regimes. Even if the position and quantity of the critical thresholds to change is unknown, as it is often the case, the same knowledge of their existence can inform management strategies. Command-and-control management approaches that maximise efficiency or stability assuming a static model of the SES are therefore replaced with approaches that aim at sustainable longterm delivery of resources and services, analysing SES dynamics while avoiding erosion of resilience. Resilience assessment protocols can be applied to different
Fig. 5. Species richness (grouped by family): per survey, at all sites (a); per survey, at each s... more Fig. 5. Species richness (grouped by family): per survey, at all sites (a); per survey, at each site (b); per site, in all surveys (c); per site, in each survey (d); chr = Chrysopetalidae, eun = Eunicidae, gly = Glyceridae, lum = Lumbrineridae, ner = Nereididae, onu = Onuphidae, phy = Phyllodocidae, pil = Pilargidae, pol = Polynoidae, sab = Sabellariidae, spi = Spionidae, ter = Terebellidae.
Fig. 3. Diagram illustrating the observed conditions of the polychaete communities. December 2010... more Fig. 3. Diagram illustrating the observed conditions of the polychaete communities. December 2010/January 2011: a = reef barriers; b = detail of a clump of Sabellaria sp. 1 (scale bar = 5 cm). August 2012: c = exposed shell bed, with erosive ridges perpendicular to the shore line with small (longest dimension: 5–20 cm) and scattered clumps of Sabellaria sp. 1; d = detail of a polychaete clump, on top of the shell lag (scale object's diameter = 5 cm). November 2012: e = polychaete reef, with larger and more tightly packed clumps than in c; f = detail of a clump mainly formed by tubes of spionids (scale bar = 3 cm). April 2013: g = the shore covered by a mud layer; h = detail of a patch of coarse sediments, heavily colonised by terebellid worms (scale bar = 10 cm); hatched lines: water's edge during spring low tide
Fig. 4. Bar charts of Sabellaria sp. 1 tubes' density (a) and tubes' diameter (b) measure... more Fig. 4. Bar charts of Sabellaria sp. 1 tubes' density (a) and tubes' diameter (b) measured in December 2010. Bars indicate mean values, and whiskers indicate one-sigma intervals based on standard deviations.
Polgar, Gianluca, Nishi, Eijiroh, Idris, Izwandy, Glasby, Christopher J. (2015): Tropical polycha... more Polgar, Gianluca, Nishi, Eijiroh, Idris, Izwandy, Glasby, Christopher J. (2015): Tropical polychaete community and reef dynamics: insights from a Malayan Sabellaria (Annelida: Sabellariidae) reef. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 63: 401-417
Fig. 1. Jeram Beach and sampling sites. Diagram of the polychaete reef as in December 2010. Sites... more Fig. 1. Jeram Beach and sampling sites. Diagram of the polychaete reef as in December 2010. Sites: A, B (inner reef patches); C (back reef); D (reef flat); E (northern exposed margin); and F (western exposed margin). Hatched line = water's edge during spring low tide; crosses = trees of Avicennia alba and Sonneratia sp.; stippled area = sand berm; shaded areas with black contours = polychaete reefs. Map redrawn from a satellite image (Google Earth Plus, v. 7.0, 2012). Inset: black arrow = Jeram.
Fig. 2. Live specimen of Periophthalmus pusing sp. nov., approximately 35 mm SL, collected in Sum... more Fig. 2. Live specimen of Periophthalmus pusing sp. nov., approximately 35 mm SL, collected in Sumba Island, Indonesia.
Fig. 1. Holotype of Periophthalmus pusing sp. nov. MZB 23015, female, 35.3 mm SL, collected in Su... more Fig. 1. Holotype of Periophthalmus pusing sp. nov. MZB 23015, female, 35.3 mm SL, collected in Sumba Island, Indonesia (Photograph by: Sandra Raredon).
Fig. 2. Boleophthalmus poti: A, holotype, MSNG 56891; B, paratype, preserved specimen, female (10... more Fig. 2. Boleophthalmus poti: A, holotype, MSNG 56891; B, paratype, preserved specimen, female (108.2 mm) (BMNH 2011.1.27.1); C, an individual in its natural habitat, on the mud banks of Wapi Creek, Purutu Island, Fly River delta. Scale bars =10 mm.
Polgar, T.U, Grafe, H.Y., Pang, Brahim, Cicuzza, J.W., Slik (2018): The Universiti Brunei Darussa... more Polgar, T.U, Grafe, H.Y., Pang, Brahim, Cicuzza, J.W., Slik (2018): The Universiti Brunei Darussalam biological collections: history, present assets, and future development. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 66: 320-336
FIGURE 1. Map of the Malay Archipelago and Jeram Beach. A—Malay Peninsula, B—Jeram Beach (with an... more FIGURE 1. Map of the Malay Archipelago and Jeram Beach. A—Malay Peninsula, B—Jeram Beach (with an arrow) and adjacent area: detail of arrowed site in A near Kuala Lumpur, C—view of Sabellaria jeramae n. sp. reef, D and E – detail of small clumps of Sabellaria jeramae n. sp.
The complete D-loop dataset (334 sequences
The 26 d-loop sequences used to build the combined tree in BEAST
The 16S fish sequences used in the 16S molecular cloc
Endangered Forested Wetlands of Sundaland, 2017
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Papers by Gianluca Polgar
The first chapter introduces fundamental concepts of ecosystems, ecological processes and ecosystem services of coastal and inland wetlands. The second chapter provides an overview of the global and regional conservation status of these ecosystems. The third chapter advances the importance of wetlands management at the landscape level (drainage basins), and proposes to adopt the concept of Ecotonal Networks (ENTs) as a sustainable management method, within the theoretical framework of Resilience Theory. The fourth chapter showcases potential flagship species that can aid in raising awareness on these endangered but poorly-known ecosystems. The fifth chapter discusses sustainable ecotourism as a viable and profitable industry to manage non-urban wetland areas of Sundaland, while providing specific suggestions for future developments.
The book is written for ecosystem managers, conservation scientists, ecologists, and nature enthusiasts. It consists of a coherently arranged set of scientifically accurate tools that consider societal, cultural, and economic factors to succeed in the conservation of the Sundaland wetlands, as well as other wetland habitats in the world.