Mount Merbabu National Park

Mount Merbabu National Park is a conservation area of 57.25 square kilometers covering a forest area on Mount Merbabu (3,145 m) in Boyolali Regency, Magelang Regency, and Semarang Regency in Central Java Province, Indonesia. The national park was declared on May 4, 2004 which was previously a protected forest and a natural tourism park.

Mount Merbabu National Park is very important as a source of water in the three Regencies and the flora and fauna habitat is protected and preserved. The area consists of mountain forest zones as stated by van Steenis. Lower mountain forest zone at 1,000 - 1,500 m has changed and overgrown by Tusam (Pinus merkusii), Puspa (Schima wallichii ssp. Noronhae) and Bintuni.

The upper mountain forest zone at 1,500 - 2,400 m is overgrown with acacia (Acacia decurrens and Acacia virgata), Puspa, Sengon gunung (Albizia lophanta), Sowo (Engelhardtia serrata), mountain cypress (Casuarina junghuhniana), Pasang (Quercus sp), and Tanganan. The sub-alpine forest zone at 2,400 - 3,142 m is overgrown with grass and Javanese edelweiss (Anaphalis javanica).

Some animal species in this region include Javan Hawk (Nisaetus bartelsi), Black eagle (Ictinaetus malayensis), Spotted kestrel (Falco moluccensis), Crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela), Green junglefowl (Gallus varius), Spotted dove (Spilopelia chinensis).

Wren stones, deer (Muntiacus muntjak), Javan hedgehogs (Hystrix javanica), Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), Crab-eating macaque (Macaca fascicularis), Leopards (Panthera pardus melas), and others.

Cockspur coral tree (Erythrina crista-galli)

Velvet coral tree or cockspur coral tree ( Erythrina crista-galli ) is a species of plant in the Fabaceae family. It is a small tree, 5-8 meters tall, with a trunk circumference of about 50 cm, irregular branches, light wood, and fissured, soft, and light brown bark. The taproot is white. The leaves are ovate, with three strands, dark green and glossy on the upper surface, and pale green on the underside. The central lobe is up to 17 cm long and up to 11 cm wide. The left and right lobes are up to 15 cm long and up to 10 cm wide. The flowers are red, arranged in racemes, at the apex, pentameric, complete, and bilaterally symmetrical. The flowers are up to 6 cm long and 4 cm wide. The pods are long, containing about 8 seeds, green when young and turning brown as they mature. The seeds are ovate, flat, and brown. It grows well in lowlands up to an elevation of 1,500 meters, with an annual rainfall of 800-1,500 mm/year, and a temperature of 20-32°C. It thrives in well-drained soils, but...

Tanglehead (Heteropogon contortus)

Tanglehead ( Heteropogon contortus ) is a species of Poaceae, an erect grass, up to 65 cm tall, with leaves up to 13 cm long and 0.5 cm wide. The inflorescence is at the top and hairy. The tip is black. This plant forms dense colonies in forests, agricultural lands, roadsides, and abandoned areas. TAXON : Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Subfamily: Panicoideae Tribe: Andropogoneae Subtribe: Anthistiriinae Genus: Heteropogon Pers. in Syn. Pl. 2: 533 (1807) Species: Heteropogon contortus (L.) P.Beauv. in J.J.Roemer & J.A.Schultes, Syst. Veg., ed. 15[bis]. 2: 836 (1817) HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS : Andropogon contortus L. in Sp. Pl.: 1045 (1753) Heteropogon contortus var. hirtus Hack. in C.F.P.von Martius & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Bras. 2(3): 267 (1883) Heteropogon hirtus Pers. (1807) Holcus contortus (L.) Stuck. in Anales Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, ser. 3, 4: 48 (1904) Sorghum contortum (L.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. ...

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...

Dlium