Judul: Breeding Behavior of Javanese Tree Frog (Rhacophorus margaritifer, Schlegel, 1837) in Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park.
Abstrak: Penelitian perilaku berbiak katak pohon Jawa (Rhacophorus margaritifer Schlegel, 1837) memiliki tujuan 1) mengetahui karakteristik morfologi dan intensitas berbiak katak pohon Jawa, 2) mengetahui pemilihan waktu dan tempat berbiak katak pohon Jawa, 3) mendeskripsikan sistematika perilaku berbiak katak pohon Jawa dimulai dari pra- kawin sampai dengan paska kawin termasuk hal-hal yang mengganggu proses berbiak, 4) mendeskripsikan akustik suara katak jantan. Penelitian pendahuluan dilakukan pada bulan November sampai Desember 2008 di Taman Nasional Gunung Gede Pangrango. Penelitian pendahuluan ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui konsentrasi katak, lokasi berbiak, dan waktu berbiak. Pengambilan data perilaku berbiak dilakukan pada bulan Maret sampai November 2009. Data yang diambil berupa data primer dan sekunder. Data primer berupa karakteristik morfologi katak berbiak dan musim berbiak, pemilihan waktu dan tempat berbiak katak, sistimatika perilaku berbiak katak, dan akustik suara katak jantan. Data sekunder mencakup kondisi umum, data iklim, dan curah hujan. Katak Pohon Jawa berbiak memiliki ciri morfologi pada jantan yaitu berkembangnya kantung suara di bawah mulut; sedangkan pada betina ditandai dengan perut menggembung dan berisi penuh telur. Selama pengamatan terdapat frekuensi perjumpaan 271 jantan 40 betina yang melakukan aktivitas berbiak. Terdapat 19 pasangan amplexus yang dapat diamati dengan 5 pasangan yang dapat diamati secara menyeluruh. Puncak katak berkumpul dan melakukan amplexus terjadi pada bulan Desember. Puncak katak melakukan amplexus terjadi pada rentang waktu jam 18.00 WIB sampai dengan jam 22.00 WIB. Pada pengamatan perilaku berbiak didapatkan sistematika berbiak katak pohon jawa yaitu: 1) katak jantan memanggil, 2) katak betina merespon panggilan katak jantan, 3) katak betina memilih jantan yang sesuai, 4) posisi amplexus, 5) pencarian lokasi bersarang, 6) pengeluaran telur, 7) katak berpisah setelah jantan membuahi telur yang dikeluarkan betina. Gangguan dengan pemakaian spool track, gangguan dari individu lain saat amplexus, gangguan individu lain saat bersarang, gangguan oleh sigung, gangguan oleh kelelawar, dan gangguan oleh pengamat.Jantan bersuara memiliki 3 pola utama, yaitu suara panggilan panjang, suara panggilan pendek, dan suara panggilan pendek lirih.
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Judul: Pola Pergerakan Harian dan Penggunaan Habitat Mikro Katak Pohon Jawa (Rhacophorus margaritifer) di Taman Nasional Gunung Gede Pangrango Jawa Barat.
Abstrak: Studies on amphibian movement have been reported abroad, including selection of appropriate method. However, there is only one study on amphibian movement reported in Indonesia (Sholihat 2007). The purposes of this study are to 1) find suitable material for spool track that well suited with body weight of R. margaritifer, 2) map the daily movement patterns of R. margaritifer using spool track method; and 3) describe the micro habitat used by R. margaritifer in Gede Pangrango National Park. This study was conducted at Ciwalen and Cibereum. Three kinds of spool were tried to test-frogs and the frog movements were observed every three hours for 72 hours. Data from observations were then analyzed descriptively and quantitatively. Eight frogs (4 males, 4 females) were observed for 72 hours, each using a spool weight under less than 10% of body mass. Additionally, three male frogs were successfully observed using a spool weight more of 10% of their body mass. Result showed that suitable spool equipment materials differ for males and females according to their body mass. The best materials for the male frog are made by plastic straws and mica, while for female frog it is made from plastic and mica pallets. Kruskal Wallis test on 11 individual frogs indicated that there was a significant differences between day and night movement, both in male (H = 0.026) and female frogs (H = 0.03) (P value < 0.05). However, there was no significant differences in both male’s and female’s movement during the day (H = 0.888) and night (H = 0.685) (P value > 0.05). Chi square test for straightness index values for eight frogs observed in 72 hours showed that all frogs moved not far from the initial location of observation. Observations on micro habitats used showed that most frogs used location with low level of light exposure, i.e. between leaves, litter, and branches sheltered from the sun, while at night most activities were carried out on the leaves. R. margaritifer mostly in contact with plants, whereas contact with the other frogs is rare. Therefore it is estimated that the possibility of disease transmission by contact among frog is low. Since frog movements are associated with the existence of plants, there should be more efforts to keep the existence of the plants, especially plants that grow around water sources.
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Judul: Membran Komposit Kitosan-Natrium Alginat untuk Aplikasi Direct Methanol Fuel Cell
Abstrak: Composite of chitosan and sodium alginate can be utilized as base material of proton exchange membrane (PEM). The composite membranes were produced by various concentrations of chitosan-sodium alginate, namely 3:3, 3:4, 3:5, 3:6, 4:3, 5:3, and 6:3 (% b/v). The composites were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and were tested for the performance as PEM from the proton conductivity obtained by using impedance spectrometer. The FTIR spectrum indicated the NH3C group at 1637.29 cm-1 and symmetrical COO group at 1253.68 cm-1 indicating interactions between chitosan and sodium alginate. SEM micrographs showed that the composite membrane was nonporous. Composite membrane with 3:5 chitosan-sodium alginate composition had the highest proton conductivity, namely 9.594 × 10-7 S/cm. Based on this research results, chitosan-sodium alginate composite membrane can be applied well in direct methanol fuel cell system.
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