Tapanuli orangutan endangered by Sumatran hydropower scheme

Citation

Laurance WF, Wich SA, Onrizal O, Fredriksson G, Usher G, Santika T, Byler D, Mittermeier R, Kormos R, Williamson EA & Meijaard E (2020) Tapanuli orangutan endangered by Sumatran hydropower scheme. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 4 (11), p. 1438–1439. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1263-x

Abstract
First paragraph: The Tapanuli orangutan survives today in less than 1,200 km2 of rainforest in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, in an area known as Batang Toru, where it was scientifically discovered in 1997. Teeming with endangered fauna and flora, the Batang Toru forest has been partially felled and fragmented and parts of the remainder allocated to agriculture, mining, hydropower and geothermal-energy production. The Tapanuli orangutan is estimated to number just 767 individuals, divided among three subpopulations. Its total remaining habitat is merely a tenth of the size of Sydney, Australia.

Keywords
Conservation biology; Ecology

Journal
Nature Ecology and Evolution: Volume 4, Issue 11

People

Professor Liz Williamson

Honorary Professor, Psychology