Yogyakarta, September 12, 2024, The Biology UGM Halmahera Walking Shark Research Team has been awarded a distinguished research grant under the Indonesian Youth Elasmobranch Scholarship (IYES) program, which is facilitated by Conservation Indonesia and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). Their study, titled “Diet Analyses and Population Genetic Structure of Hemiscyllium halmahera,” will explore the dietary patterns and genetic structure of the Halmahera Walking Shark, an endemic species that was granted full protection by the Indonesian Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs in 2023.
The team is led by Calvin Muliawan (Biology 2021), with Andari Sekarningrum (Biology 2020) and Raihan Widarianto Putra (Biology 2020) as team members. They are under the supervision of Dr. Dwi Sendi Priyono, S.Si., M.Si., and Dr. Rury Eprilurahman, S.Si., M.Sc., from the Animal Systematics Laboratory, as well as Akbar Reza, M.Sc., from the Ecology and Conservation Laboratory.
The study is design to achieve two objectives:
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Dietary Composition Analysis: This objective involves determining the diet composition of Hemiscyllium halmaherathrough fecal DNA (fDNA) metabarcoding, an advanced, non-invasive technique that facilitates the identification of prey species without causing harm or stress to the sharks.
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Genetic Population Structure: The study will examine the genetic structure, diversity, and connectivity between populations ofH. halmahera
within the Halmahera region using molecular genetic approaches.