NEWS - Indonesia ranks sixth as a country with the highest biodiversity decline in the world, causing many species to be threatened with extinction. One of these species is the rare orchid Dendrobium capra J.J.Smith.
This species is listed in Appendix II status in CITES and Endangered or threatened with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Lack of attention to this orchid has caused D. capra to experience a very significant population decline.
Now a new population of D. capra has been discovered in a productive forest area in Gunungkidul, an area that is vulnerable to human intervention. A number of students from the Faculty of Biology, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) who are members of the Student Creativity Program team in the field of Exact Research (PKM-RE) are conducting research related to the existence of Dendrobium capra which is starting to become rare.
"This is also a new record because it was just discovered in the Gunungkidul area, Yogyakarta Special Region some time ago," said Akmal Bunyamin at the Faculty of Biology, Wednesday, August 7.
The PKM-RE Team conducted a population study of D. capra as an effort to monitor the existence of this orchid in its natural habitat. The team also conducted DNA barcoding construction to facilitate the identification process.
"It is difficult to distinguish between Dendrobium species only by observing morphology, we also provide a barcode as the identity of Dendrobium capra in the database," said Akmal.
The PKM-RE Team are students from the Faculty of Biology who call themselves the PKM-RE D'caprangers Team. The team consists of Akmal Bunyamin as the leader with members Syafira Nurul Aisya, Astrid Rayna Afandi, Nimas Sukma Puspita and Dary Saka Fitrady under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono. The team in its research received funding from the Indonesian Government.
Akmal said the orchid population study survey was conducted in a small forest located in Playen District, Gunungkidul Regency, which is at an elevation of 192-211 meters. In this population, 103 individuals of D. capra were found living as epiphytes attached to mahogany trees (Swietenia sp.) and water apple trees (Syzygium sp.).
Barcode products can be submitted to public genetic databases such as The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) as the official molecular identity of D. capra. Until today, there has been no sequence data in the database and it is needed to facilitate the identification process of increasingly rare species.
"This data can also be used to develop further conservation strategies. We hope that this research can be one of the efforts to preserve biodiversity, especially the Dendrobium capra orchid as one of Indonesia's charming flowers so that it does not become extinct," said Akmal.
This species is listed in Appendix II status in CITES and Endangered or threatened with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Lack of attention to this orchid has caused D. capra to experience a very significant population decline.
Now a new population of D. capra has been discovered in a productive forest area in Gunungkidul, an area that is vulnerable to human intervention. A number of students from the Faculty of Biology, Gadjah Mada University (UGM) who are members of the Student Creativity Program team in the field of Exact Research (PKM-RE) are conducting research related to the existence of Dendrobium capra which is starting to become rare.
"This is also a new record because it was just discovered in the Gunungkidul area, Yogyakarta Special Region some time ago," said Akmal Bunyamin at the Faculty of Biology, Wednesday, August 7.
The PKM-RE Team conducted a population study of D. capra as an effort to monitor the existence of this orchid in its natural habitat. The team also conducted DNA barcoding construction to facilitate the identification process.
"It is difficult to distinguish between Dendrobium species only by observing morphology, we also provide a barcode as the identity of Dendrobium capra in the database," said Akmal.
The PKM-RE Team are students from the Faculty of Biology who call themselves the PKM-RE D'caprangers Team. The team consists of Akmal Bunyamin as the leader with members Syafira Nurul Aisya, Astrid Rayna Afandi, Nimas Sukma Puspita and Dary Saka Fitrady under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Budi Setiadi Daryono. The team in its research received funding from the Indonesian Government.
Akmal said the orchid population study survey was conducted in a small forest located in Playen District, Gunungkidul Regency, which is at an elevation of 192-211 meters. In this population, 103 individuals of D. capra were found living as epiphytes attached to mahogany trees (Swietenia sp.) and water apple trees (Syzygium sp.).
Barcode products can be submitted to public genetic databases such as The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) as the official molecular identity of D. capra. Until today, there has been no sequence data in the database and it is needed to facilitate the identification process of increasingly rare species.
"This data can also be used to develop further conservation strategies. We hope that this research can be one of the efforts to preserve biodiversity, especially the Dendrobium capra orchid as one of Indonesia's charming flowers so that it does not become extinct," said Akmal.