Webinar on Borneo’s inland fishes invites public to participate

KUCHING: The Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) will be presenting an educational webinar on Borneo’s inland fishes on Aug 15 staring at 10 am and is welcoming about 500 people to join in the live stream webinar.

According to SBC press statement, the webinar will be hosted by Dr. Tan Heok Hui, who is the curator of fishes at the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore (NUS).

Dr. Tan relayed that the webinar will highlight about fishes that originated from the peat swamp and hill stream habitats.

He pointed out that currently, there were more than 350 endemic fish documented in Borneo, which boasted an endemism rate of approximately 50 per cent.

“The discussion will highlight the main fish families, including Cyprinidae (around 100 species), Gastromyzontidae (around 60 species), and Osphronemidae (around 50 species)

“The webinar will also address conservation issues related to these unique species,” he said.

For the record, Dr. Tan holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honours (1995), a Master’s of Science (1998), and a Doctoral degree (2003) from the National University of Singapore.

He also contributed significantly to the conservation and ecology of fish in Singapore, including mangrove and coastal species.

“My research works include the taxonomy of fighting fishes (genus Betta), a faunistic survey of the Batang Hari basin in Central Sumatra, and the systematics of Gastromyzon of Borneo,” he said.

Those interested to participate in the webinar may register at https://qrco.de/bfHWEv, or alternatively, they can watch the live stream on SBC’s official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sarawak.biodiversity.centre.

For more information about the webinar, please contact 082-610610 (Selwynn Edward or Constance Vanessa) or email [email protected]