Charles Clarke
Tropical Botany and Ecology
Potential Honours Projects (Sunway Campus)
- Spatial distribution and feeding behaviour in co-occurring fiddler crabs (Uca species) on an intertidal mudflat. Several months of field work at Kuala Selangor.
- Studies on the pitcher contents of Nepenthes lowii on Gunung Mulu*. This project will involve various field experiments to investigate the nature of the aquatic environment in N. lowii pitchers on the summit of Gunung Mulu, Sarawak. This species has recently been found to have a unique nutrient-acquisition strategy and the fluid held within the pitchers supports an invertebrate fauna that appears well adapted to low oxygen levels. By investigating the chemical and biological features of the pitcher contents, we hope to add to our knowledge of how nutrients that enter the pitchers are processed and utilised by the plant.
- Nutrient inputs and the trapping mechanism in the pitcher plant, Nepenthes ampullaria at Gunung Mulu. Several weeks of field work at low altitude at Gunung Mulu National Park.
- Effects of canopy cover (as a measure of habitat disturbance) on food web structure and complexity.
*This project is only available to students with a high level of physical fitness, no medical conditions that could affect their ability to reach the summit of Gunung Mulu and conduct field experiments effectively, and experience in undertaking extended treks and/or field work in remote areas. Students will be under close supervision at all times while in the field. Further details can be supplied on request.
