The Faculty of Science (FOS) and the Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research (IBER), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), in collaboration with the US Embassy in Brunei Darussalam, will hold a public lecture at 2.30pm tomorrow at the Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor, ILIA building, UBD.

Open to the public, the lecture is entitled 'Frog diversity hidden in plain view' and will be delivered by Professor Dr. David S McLeod, Visiting Researcher of FOS, UBD and James Madison University, USA.

It will address how for over 200 years, frogs like the Southeast Asian stream frog, Limnonectes kuhlii, have been considered a single species with a wide ranging distribution. However, recent studies using molecular data have revealed that 'species' like L kuhlii, which were thought to be a single species, may really be multiple distinct evolutionary lineages.

A closer examination of these cryptic species complexes has demonstrated that the molecular diversity can be justified by morphological diversity. This underestimation of species diversity is not limited to the Limnonectes kuhlii complex, and is likely more common than anticipated.

Dr. McLeod, along with 12 students from James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Virginia, is in Brunei as part of the Global Discovery Programme organised by the Continuing Education Centre (CEC), UBD. Under this programme, they are introduced to some of Brunei's places of interest such as Kampong Ayer and Tasek Merimbun.

The group also visited the world-renowned Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre (KBFSC) where Dr McLeod conducted a 10-day joint field course for both JMU and UBD students.

The US Embassy in Brunei Darussalam has awarded sponsorship for the participation of UBD students in the abovementioned field course, which aims to help build the capacity and involvement of local students in a collaborative research activity between JMU and UBD.

Source:
@BRUDIRECT.COM

by BruDirect.com

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