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Investigating beneficial chemical compounds of plant extracts is one of the ways to prevent biodiversity loss. This study evaluated the antimicrobial activity of indigenous plant extracts from Toba , North Sumatra, and Mt. Merapi National Park regions against Escherichia coli , Bacillus subtilis , Salmone l la typ h i , Staphylococcus aureus , Candida albicans , and Candida tropicalis by calculating the zone of microbial growth inhibition. Among the plant extracts, T 5 that identified as Toona sinensis showed the highest microbial inhibit ion to the growth of C. albicans , B. subtilis , S. typhi, and E. coli with the diameter growth of approximately 2.00, 1.80, 1.33, and 1.33 cm, respectively. Based on those results, T. sinensis was then subsequently fractionated using n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol , respectively. The resulted fractions also were evaluated for antimicrobial bioassay. A ll fractions have shown activity in inhibiting the growth of the microbes at 1% concentration. However, each fraction show ed growth inhibition against certain microbe s . The n-hexane fraction show ed the greatest inhibitory activity for E. coli and S. typhi ; ethyl acetate fraction for B. subtilis and C. albicans ; and methanol fraction for E. coli and S. typhi . The results revealed that T. sinensis plant extract has great potential as an antimicrobial agent . Further investigation is needed to observe the mode of anti microbial action of fractionated crude extracts of T . Sinensis . The exploring potency of Indonesian biodiversity opened up a new way for the utilization of plants for economic development and conservation . Keywords: antimicrobial plants, indigenous knowledge, Toba-North Sumatra, Mt. Merapi

Linear and geometric morphometrics approaches were conducted to analyze the head capsule (HC) shape of collected soldier caste specimens of Coptotermes from various locations in Indonesia. The soldiers’ morphology was observed and measured. The results of the principal component analysis of the group of all species showed two important groups of variables, i.e., the body size and setae characteristics of the pronotum and head. The multicollinearity of the morphometric variables showed the importance of body measurements as well as important alternative characteristics such as the pronotum setae (PrS) and HC setae. Four trends of HC shape were observed across the species. Interestingly, three extreme shapes were depicted by geometric morphometrics of the C. gestroi HC. The phylogenetic tree inferred from 12S and 16S mitochondrial gene fragments showed high confidence for C. gestroi populations. The lateral expansion of the posterior part of the HC across the species was in accordance with the increasing of the number of hairlike setae on the pronotum and HC. These differences among species might be associated with mandible-force-related defensive labor and sensitivity to environmental stressors.

The domestic drywood termite, Cryptotermes domesticus (Haviland), has been referred to in past literature as a native species originating in the Southeast Asia region. The species come to prominence due to its destructive damage to a dried wood log by creating passages and nests inside the wood. Its economic importance makes the species one of the monitored species in inter-island transport as part of a biosecurity initiative by the Indonesian Government. In the present study, we collected drywood termites’ specimens from four locations in Riau Province, Sumatra Island, and conducted morphological identification. In the end, we verify the presence of C. domesticus in all four sites studied. This finding establishes the continued presence of the species in Sumatra, one of the areas reported as the native distribution of the species other than Java and Kalimantan following the Holmgren reports in 1913. We believe this report can be an addition to the current status of C. domesticus in Sumatra and also be an addition to the biosecurity initiative list of monitored species regarding the C. domesticus native range in Indonesia.

The Indo-Malayan drywood termite, Cryptotermes cynocephalus (Light) (Kalotermitidae), is considered one of the most invasive drywood termites in the Southeast Asian region. Once infesting a timber, the colony of a drywood termite is very difficult to be controlled. Thus, the best way to mitigate a new infestation of a drywood termite is by applying chemical protection on wood. In recent years, particular attention has been given by researchers to develop and use organic termiticides, such as essential oils extracted from plants as active ingredients. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the repellency performance of several economically important essential oils from Indonesia, such as Clove (Eugenia caryophyllata), Cubeb Pepper (Piper cubeba L), and Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt) against a drywood termite, C. cynocephalus. The test was performed by subjecting various concentrations of essential oil toward C. cynocephalus in the force-feeding test method. Sample weight-loss was evaluated after two weeks test. The results suggested that Clove oil has the highest repellence performance against C. cynocephalus, followed by Lemon Grass and Cubeb Pepper oils. The Termite mortality rate was also recorded to understand the toxicity performance of those essential oils.

Cymbopogon nardus, Syzygium aromaticum, and Citrus sinensis have been well known to possess insecticidal activity. Here, we investigated the repellent activity of individual of three essential oils (C. nardus, S. aromaticum, C. sinensis) and a combination of essential oils (C. nardus + C. sinensis, C. nardus + S. aromaticum, and C. sinensis + S. aromaticum) against a dengue vector, Aedes aegypti and a filarial vector, Culex quinquefasciatus. The essential oils (1 mg) were smeared evenly on the surface of the left arm (three volunteers) and then subjected to 25 females of A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus in the cage. The number of landed mosquitos was observed every hour for 7 hours to determine the protection index (PI). The result showed that individuals of three essential oils and a combination of essential oils generated > 90% of PI until 7 hours of application for both mosquitos species tested. Overall, the data demonstrated that individual of three essential oils, i.e., C. nardus, S. aromaticum, C. sinensis, and various combinations of essential oils (C. nardus + C. sinensis; C. nardus + S. aromaticum; C. sinensis + S. aromaticum) are promising as repellent agents against A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus.

Simple Summary The fact that termites attack healthy living trees is little known, being overshadowed by termite attacks in urban settings. Nonetheless, termites do attack living trees, especially on plantations, and this issue needs greater visibility. Here, we investigate termite attacks on fast-growing teakwood, Tectona grandis L.f., and the development of termite communities over time on experimental plantation landscapes located in Cibinong, West Java, Indonesia. Teakwood is a valuable and popular material in the wood industry that has various uses. Our results indicated that termite communities become more complex over time, as demonstrated by the increasing number of species and occupied areas. At the same time, damage observed on tree trunks was limited to bark and was related to the activities of termites that consume fresh biomass, like fungus-growing termites (functional group IIf). In addition, landscapes with overgrown weeds and shrubs were observed to have more damage on tree trunks than did groomed landscapes. Managing understory vegetation might suppress termite attacks on fast-growing teakwood, although we also observed that termite attacks on trunks were inevitable if termites that belong to functional group IIf have managed to occupy large areas. Abstract We conducted surveys of termite assemblages and tree trunks damaged by termites in teakwood (Tectona grandis L.f.) plantations. The surveys were conducted in five-, six-, and nine-year-old plantations. We used a standardized belt-transect to collect termites and build tree inventories. Data of collected termites at the genus and functional-group levels and termites’ diversity between plantations were compared with their attack rate. The results showed that four genera of soil recycler termites belonging to groups IIf and III were present across the plantations. Distribution analysis suggested that termite communities might develop from a stochastic distribution to a nonrandom co-occurrence distribution over time. Diversity analysis showed an increased nestedness-resultant diversity contribution to the total dissimilarity over time. Observed attacks on tree trunks were superficial and limited to the outer bark, with group IIf as the main contributor. Furthermore, the level of damage done by termites to tree trunks was positively correlated with increases in the group IIf occupancy area and overgrown understory vegetation. Plantation management by maintaining an adequate understory might suppress termite attacks on fast-growing teakwood, although in the case of our study, termite attacks are inevitable when termites from group IIf were already present.

Mosquitoes are known for their bites which caused discomfort and its role as vector for various dangerous diseases that has been the bane of humanity since antiquity. One of them is Culex quinquefasciatus which facilitates the spread of arbovirus and nematodes that caused debilitating impact for human life. To eliminate mosquito, the study for evaluating plant-based mosquito larvicidal extract of Cerbera odollam extract against C. quinquefasciatus was conducted. Twenty-five second instar of C. quinquefasciatus were subjected to the crude and fractionated extracts of C. odollam, and the larval mortality was observed at 24, and 48 h of exposure. The results showed that the crude extracts of leaves, rinds, and stem bark exhibited low larvicidal activities. Interestingly, crude extract of the seed kernel exhibited high larvicidal activity. We found that the fractionated extract derived from the seed kernel extract using ethyl acetate and n-hexane exhibited high larvicidal activities, suggesting that C. odollam extract could be promoted as a material for larval control.

The objective of this research was to determine the wood basic properties of eight years-old fast-growing teakwood (Tectona grandis – Platinum teak wood), in the radial direction of the stem. The anatomical features of the examined teak wood showed semi-ring porous and in general, they had a similarity to those of the conventional teak wood. The ray cell proportion was increased along with the increased distance from the pith area. The size of vessel cell tended to change from pith to the outer part. The radial (R) and tangential (T) shrinkage had improvement compared to those of five years-old Platinum teak wood. The R and T shrinkages were 2.89% and 6.2%, respectively. The present results suggested that wood properties of eight years-old Platinum teak wood is more stable than those of five years-old as reported in the previous study. The compression strength was also increased during the increase of growth age. The values of compression perpendicular and parallel to the grain were 76.74 kg/cm2 and 367.9 kg/cm2, respectively. The increasing of the radial properties indicated that eight years-old Platinum teak wood was still in juvenile stage.

Termite species diversity and assemblage structures differ in ecosystems and habitats. Termite distribution is also highly influenced by temperature, humidity and altitude. Greater species richness and greater density have been reported in humid forests than in arid or semiarid environments. However, termites biodiversity is known to be strongly affected by anthropogenic alteration, wich affect their functional assemblage structure. The humus-feeders were as the most sensitively affected, while the wood-feeders were the most resilient group among others. Therefore, the functional structures of termite communities in changing habitats and ecosystems are important subject to discuss in order to capture more understanding on termite and ecosystem relationship.

The wood-rot fungus is one of the most destructive organisms for wood, wood products and building structures besides termites and beetles. Until today, wood-root fungi are still difficult to control, so it is necessary to search for new natural ingredients to be developed as wood preservatives. The purpose of this study was to screen some plant extracts from the area surrounding Lake Toba as anti-wood-rot fungi. This study evaluated antifungal properties of 6 different plant extracts dissolved in methanol against 9 species of wood-rot fungi. The activity was determined using the method of Mohareb [1] by growing the fungi on PDA supplemented with the plant extracts. Parameters observed included diameter of fungal growth and inhibition percentage of fungal growth by plant extracts. Extracts of Tithonia diversifolia, Chromolaena odorata, Saurauia bracteosa dan Azadirachta indica displayed extraordinary activity in inhibiting the growth of wood rot, up to 100%, therefore these plant extracts have the potential to be further investigated as wood rot control agent.

Cryptotermes, one of the major drywood termite genera in Indonesia, is a cryptic species that isolates their presence inside a wood piece. Due to its cryptic lifecycle hidden away inside wood, monitoring its presence and also identifying the corresponding species has been a difficult process. One of the Cryptotermes species, native to Java island, Indonesia, is Cryptotermes dudleyi. In this preliminary study, we used C. dudleyi as a species model to find out whether fecal pellet physical characteristics can be used as a stable species marker to assist in non-destructive monitoring surveillance. The characteristics used were maximum diameter, diagonal width of maximum diameter, and 2D surface area and area perimeter. The study used fecal pellets from orphaned and mature colonies and three different dietaries (grass, hardwood, and softwood) to check whether the characteristic value of fecal pellets is narrow over various influences. The results showed that each characteristic tends to have unique mean and also its unique value range which depends on their collection site condition. Due to unique means and value range, the species marker become not so accurate and not robust enough as consequences in accommodating these unique means and value range. On the other hand, employing completely new clustering based on like-like axiom on individual fecal pellets may results in robust species marker as long as adequate data comparison from other species fecal pellets to validate the species marker is available.

Colony founding activities in drywood termite is difficult to assess, since the colony forage and nest inside the wood. Non-destructive observation using X-ray computed tomography was used to evaluate nest-gallery establishment and colony breeding of the incipient colonies. The infested timbers were marked by year of infestation and were left on its original position to allow termite colonies develop in natural environment. Selected timbers were subjected for X-ray scanning analysis in Kyushu National Museum, Japan, in which colony founding from 5 royal pairs in the first year development was monitored. The CT data of the first six months colony founding indicated two different outcome in colony founding; two colonies distributed the energy to breed and slowed down in foraging simultaneously and other three concentrated in foraging. The CT scan after one year showed that only one royal pair showed no breeding activity, while the other four had been observed to have 2 – 5 new colony members. Colony extraction also confirmed that colony size in the first and second year varied from 0 – 5 new colony members. The new colony members were mostly in larval instars, sometimes with the presence of one small soldier. Colony founding through nuptial flight is a risky process, as 59% of the observed chambers were failed colony founding, resulted from the dead of a royal pair or being abandoned (empty chamber)., Humanosphere Science School 2017 & The 7th International Symposium for a Sustainable Humanosphere 1–2 November 2017, Bogor, Indonesia

Preliminary study on termite recognition for food source location was carried out by the subjection of volatile compounds emitted by Sumatran Pine (Pinus merkusii Jungh. & de Vriese). Food source recognition by termite was evaluated using a set-up model on the inverted Y-tube apparatus. The apparatus consisted of a release chamber, in which five workers had been released; an intersection chamber, in which termite movement would be evaluated for clockwise and counter-clockwise movements; and a pair of food chamber. Between the intersection chamber and food chambers, a tunnel with 5 cm length was divided into five scale ranges, in which each range was related to a preference score. Various set-up models had been prepared from these concentrations: 0%; 0.5%; 1%; 2%; 4%; 8% of the macerated extract of Sumatran Pine sapwood in 8 mm paper dish. Each set-up consisted of a pair of concentrations: low & high concentration, which was located on different food chambers. The results suggested that termite showed directional preference to a low concentration, even in a set-up model of 0% & 0.5% (F= 16.65, P = 0.002), which indicated that the extracts might have a repellent effect against termite. When the results were clustered based on termite’s movement, clockwise and counterclockwise, significant preference for low concentration was observed in two and one set-up models, respectively. Behavioural observation showed that in most of the set-up models, the first food chamber explored by a termite would generate more preference scores, regardless of the concentrations.

To understand the effects of various dietary sources on the biological changes of a subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, the three lignocelluloses, i.e: softwood, hardwood, and grass with the different of samples shape/size (intact and powdered) were subjected to C. formosanus, and we analysed the biological changes of C. formosanus workers (survival, body mass and the presence of protists). The results showed that at the end of observation, the survival, body mass and presence of Pseudotrichonympha grassii and Holomastigotoides hartmanni in the guts when consumed wood diets were much higher than those of the termite workers when consumed rice culm straw diet, whereas the presence of Spirotrichonympha leidyi in the guts were similar for all the samples. We failed to detect significant difference between intact and powdered diets from each lignocellulose, suggesting that the difference of lignocellulose shape/size (intact and powdered) had no effect on the biological changes of a subterranean termite, C. formosanus.

Termite’s biodiversity is known to be strongly affected by disturbance, particularly in an urban area. The present study evaluated termite biodiversity and distribution in Batam Botanical Garden, an urban conservation area in Batam Island. In the surveyed area, termites could play a major beneficial role through the promotion of essential ecological processes in ecosystems, such as soil modification and rehabilitation; as well as their well-established role as pests for vegetation. Therefore, biodiversity evaluation of termite is very important to identify economically and ecologically important species. Termite survey had been conducted by a 100 × 2 m belt-transect. Transect area was divided into 20 sections (5 × 2 m), in which each section was surveyed for 30 minutes by two trained people. In total, 106 specimens (15 termite genera) were collected from three sampling sites: Plantation, Mangrove forest, and Forest.

Toba, North Sumatera is famous not only for its tourism destination but also for biodiversity. The aim of this research is to explore the potency of the local plant from Toba as bioinsecticide. Six local plant samples, which consists of genus Compositae, Meliaceae, Staphyleaceae, and Actinidiaceae, were obtained from the Toba region,. The macerated extracts were tested their insecticidal activity against Coptotermes gestroi and Spodoptera litura. Bioassay results showed that leaves extract of Ingul (Toona sinensis) at a concentration of 10% (w/v) had the highest mortality effect against Coptotermes gestroi on the tenth day of observation. Whereas, leaves extracts of Pirdot (Saurauia bracteosa), Ingul (Toona sinensis), and Haurese (Azadirachta indica) at the concentration of 1% (w/v) showed the best insecticidal effect with 80% mortality percentage respectively against Spodoptera litura in 4 hours of observation.

High demand for Agarwood (Gaharu) from natural forest causes the decreasing of their population. In 2004, Indonesia proposed that all natural Agarwood from Gyrinops and Aquilaria generas should be included in the Appendix II CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) list, which could be internationally traded but in certain quota. This paper deals with anatomical observation and characterization on basic properties to find out the difference between Gyrinops and Aquilaria for classification and standardization. Explorations have been conducted at community forests in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara for Gyrinops versteegii (Gilg) Domke; while A. malaccensis Benth., A. microcarpa Baill., A. beccariana Tiegh., and Aquilaria sp. were extracted from Sangau and Ketapang Regencies, West Kalimantan. Wood samples were taken by drilling the trees stem by using a Drill tool to get a pencil-shaped sample of about 20 cm in length and 0.5 cm in diameter. Another sample in form of chips contain bark and wood were also extracted. The results showed that the average specific gravity of Gyrinops and Aquilaria was between 0.31 – 0.35, therefore it was included in the Strength Class IV. Chemical components of injured G. versteegii contained 50.74% holocelullose, 30.50% α-cellulose, 31.98% lignin, and 16.69% extractives. The composition of ray cells in G. versteegii was more complex than Aquilaria generas.

Fungi are common organisms in natural forests as well as human-made ecosystem such as botanical gardens. Likewise forest, botanical gardens provide lignocellulose substrates and other organic media for fungi to grow and develop especially fungal species which belong to class Agaricomycetes. Regarding those roles, it is necessary to do more research on fungal exploration in Indonesia to provide taxonomy and diversity on fungi which belong to Agaricomycetes. This research is conducted to study Agaricomycetes fungi in Kuningan Botanical Garden based on their macroscopic morphology. The fungal collection was conducted in July 2017. Fungal samples were collected from four sampling areas, then the samples were identified based on morphology such as the character of cap, stalk, gill, veil, and spore print. Based on morphological observation, fungal samples found in botanical garden were grouped in to twelve families, i.e./namely: Polyporaceae, Ganodermataceae, Stereaceae, Sclerodermataceae, Russulaceae, Schizophyllaceae, Auriculariaceae, Amanitaceae, Tricholomataceae, Irpicaceae, Auriculariaceae, and Agaricaceae. The fungal genera that were identified are: Auricularia, Scleroderma, Collybia, Russula, Stereum, Lycoperdon, Schizophyllum, Coprinellus, Limacella, Lentinus and Leucopaxillus.

Termites and fungi play an important role through promotion of essential ecological processes in ecosystems such as soil modification and rehabilitation, also decomposition of lignocellulosic materials. However, termite is also known as pest toward vegetation, while fungi can also cause bio-deterioration problems. Biodiversity evaluation of termites and fungi are essential for sustainable management and area planning of botanical garden. Hence, this study reviews the importance of recording biodiversity of fungi and termites in botanical garden in Batam, Riau Island Province and Kuningan, West Java province. The research was conducted by active searching method or exploration on termites and fungi on selected plot areas in the aforementioned botanical gardens. The result of this study indicated that biodiversity of termites and fungi were high on selected areas. The presence of termite and fungi in the ecosystem might beneficially support the ecosystem. However, further studies on ecological condition, soil type and climate need to be addressed to determine their influences on biodiversity of termites and fungi.