Erik Meijaard

11 Questions 46 Answers 0 Followers

Questions related from Erik Meijaard

Who can help me find a German text by zoologist Salomon Müller who collected mammals in Sumatra in the 1830s?

Last year I found a text in German in which Salomon Müller describes how he climbs Mount Singgalang in Sumatra, sees a pygmy squirrel on a mossy tree, and shoots it. I shared the text with a...

03 April 2018 5,510 9 View

What did Borneo's forest look like prior to the arrival of modern humans some 70,000 years ago?

Based on descriptions of 19th century explorers, we have this image of the original forests of Borneo consisting of huge trees, with little undergrowth and a completely closed canopy. But did the...

14 November 2017 1,144 4 View

Why do many of us still think that species are real?

In a recent critique of our paper on the third orangutan species, the author of a blog wrote that: "a “species” is not an arbitrary segment of nature’s continuum, but real entities that maintain...

12 November 2017 9,766 98 View

Are there any studies that link dark chest (pectoral) bands in shore birds to pebbly breeding sites?

While recently looking at Ibisbills on the banks of a mountain river in Bhutan it struck me how well camouflaged the birds were with their dark chest bands being similar in colour and shape as the...

10 February 2015 7,771 5 View

What examples exist of transformative social change resulting in substantially altered interactions between humans and their environments?

I am trying to work out where in the world people have really changed the way they interact with their environment, either at regional (e.g., country-wide) or local scales (e.g., a town,...

13 May 2014 6,700 12 View

How could one estimate the total number of people in the world for whom wild pigs and peccaries are a major source of protein?

I am interested in quantifying and describing the social, cultural and economic importance of wild pigs and peccaries. The FAO estimates that more than 1.6 billion people depend to varying degrees...

03 September 2013 8,175 0 View

What are the main societal processes that have enabled recovery of wild boar populations in many European countries?

As Chair of the IUCN/SSC Wild Pig Specialist Group I am interested in how population recovery and growth of wild boars occurred in Europe, and why populations are now expanding. Presumably a...

21 August 2013 948 6 View

Does anyone know of any specimens of giant forest hog, Hylochoerus, outside the main zoological collections?

We are reviewing the taxonomy of the Giant Forest Hog and it appears that the eastern populations in Kenya, Ethiopia, and possibly also Sudan are distinct. The differences are clearly not clinal....

26 June 2013 3,664 3 View

Are species names published in a dissertation but not peer-reviewed literature taxonomically valid?

We are looking into naming a new species of mammal. There is a name available based on 70,000 year old teeth from a population not far from where the new species occurs. That name was published in...

20 June 2013 4,225 65 View

Are there good examples of science positively influencing land use decision making in tropical forest areas. Who was targeted and how?

I am coordinating the Borneo Futures initiative, a research program focused on generating scientific insights that will result in more optimal use of land, forests, and forest services, and better...

05 June 2013 6,184 18 View

Do no-deforestation policies preclude development, and can development in forest areas happen without deforestation?

I am thinking about the consequences of no-forestation policies, called for by a range of environmental groups such as Greenpeace and TFT, and what this could mean for development in forested...

01 January 1970 4,006 10 View