The : costs of being a generalist in a human-dominated landscape.

Agricultural expansion in Southeast Asia has converted most natural landscapes into mosaics of forest interspersed with plantations, dominated by the presence of generalist species that benefit from resource predictability. Dietary shifts, however, can result in metabolic alterations and the exposure of new parasites that can impact animal fitness and population survival. Our study focuses on the Asian water monitor lizard (), one of the largest predators in the Asian wetlands, as a model species to understand the health consequences of living in a human-dominated landscape in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.

The effect of oil palm-dominated landscapes on the home range and distribution of a generalist species, the Asian water monitor.

The Asian water monitor lizard, , is one of the largest predators in Southeast Asia which persists in human-dominated landscapes and, as such, is a suitable model to understand the behavioral plasticity of generalists in anthropogenic landscapes. We used Local Convex Hull with adaptive algorithm to estimate the home range size of 14 GPS-tagged individuals, followed by a MAXENT approach and community prey composition to understand the habitat preferences within the landscape. We estimated larger home ranges in forest than in oil palm plantations, as well as a larger diversity and abundance of mammals.

The critical role of natural forest as refugium for generalist species in oil palm-dominated landscapes.

In Borneo, oil palm plantations have replaced much of natural resources, where generalist species tend to be the principal beneficiaries, due to the abundant food provided by oil palm plantations. Here, we analyse the distribution of the Asian water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) population within an oil palm-dominated landscape in the Kinabatangan floodplain, Malaysian Borneo. By using mark-recapture methods we estimated its population size, survival, and growth in forest and plantation habitats.

Spatial Ecology of Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) Nesting in a Fragmented Landscape.

The role that oil palm plays in the Lower Kinabatangan region of Eastern Sabah is of considerable scientific and conservation interest, providing a model habitat for many tropical regions as they become increasingly fragmented. Crocodilians, as apex predators, widely distributed throughout the tropics, are ideal indicator species for ecosystem health. Drones (or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)) were used to identify crocodile nests in a fragmented landscape.