Abdulla-Al-Asif
@upm.edu.my
Department of Animal Science and Fishery
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Abdulla-Al-Asif, a scientist, researcher, editor, and author from Bangladesh, specializes in marine ecology and biology. His research focuses on the seagrass-mangrove complex, associated benthos ecology, and blue carbon dynamics in the South China Sea (Western Pacific Ocean). He has a keen interest in aquaculture, particularly fish farming-related technologies, such as Responsible Aquaculture Practices (RAP), and has received training in studying marine ecology and biodiversity. Previously, he worked as a professional consultant and advocate for freshwater aquaculture disease management at the in-situ level. Abdulla-Al-Asif is an experienced academic marine ecologist who has investigated seagrass-mangrove-associated gastropods, bivalves, and other benthos, mainly in Sarawak, Malaysia. His past work experience with Spirulina platensis aquaculture and diversity assessment of other marine phytoplankton has influenced his current research.
EDUCATION
1. Universiti Putra Malaysia
February 2019 - March 2023
Location: Putrajaya, Malaysia
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Field of study: Marine Ecology and Biodiversity (Focused on seagrass morphology and ecology, seagrass-mangrove associated benthos ecology and interaction with blue carbon)
2. Bangladesh Agricultural University
January 2015 - December 2016
Location: Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Degree: Master of Science
Field of study: Aquaculture
3. Jessore University of Science and Technology
July 2009 - December 2013
Location: Jessore, Bangladesh
Degree: Bachelor of Science
Field of study: Fisheries and Marine Bioscience
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Marine Ecology, Biodiversity, Mollusca, Bivalvia, Systematics, Invasive, Alien Species, Aquatic Invasion, Blue carbon, Seagrass, Seagrass Ecology, Biogeography, Aquaculture
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Anderson Bidat, Abdulla Al-Asif, Amy Halimah Rajaee, and Hadi Hamli
Persatuan Biologi Gunaan Malaysia
Freshwater Gastropoda can be considered as the biological indicator in ecosystems such as rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds. The objectives of this study are to identify freshwater gastropod species, diversity, and distribution along Sungai Penebak, Sungai Nanga Tiga, and Sungai Kabo in the Betong division. The study was conducted on 10 November 2020. A 50 m transect was laid on the riverbank of all three stations. The existing specimens were counted and collected from each sampling point and stored were taken to the laboratory for species identification. The diversity index and morphological study of freshwater gastropods were performed. Five species of freshwater gastropods belonging to four families were discovered. The five species of freshwater gastropods consisted of Sulcospira pageli, which shows great abundance, followed by Clea nigricans, Brotia costula, Pila ampullacea, and Vittina pennata. The diversity indices of collected Gastropoda species from the different stations, for instance, Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H’), Pielou’s evenness index (J’), and Margalef’s richness index were assessed; where station 3 showed higher diversity of Gastropoda compared to other two stations. The information presented in this paper might be helpful for ecological wealth studies and considered as the baseline data for the stream ecosystem in Sarawak, Malaysia.
Abdulla- Al-Asif, Hadi Hamli, Mohd Hanafi Idris, Geoffery James Gerusu, Ji Feng Ng, and Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal
Elsevier BV
Abdullah Asif, , Abu Kamal, Mohd Idris, Mohd Bhuiyan, AFM Rahman, , , , and
Galaxy Science
The seagrass ecosystems found in the marine and coastal areas, with substantial eco-nomic and ecological services and span all over the globe excluding the Antarctic region. The Coral Triangle and Southeast Asia are recognized as a worldwide hotspot of seagrass species and habitats, encompassing 10-21 species of seagrass in every na-tion, although the study, understanding, and quantity of publications on seagrass eco-systems are rather limited in the region, including Malaysia. Malaysia contains 18 seagrass species from three families, which occupy 16.8 km2of coastal area, where the study and discovery of seagrass species and meadows began in 1904 with the re-port of Beccari. All of the published papers reviewed reported on Malaysian seagrass-related research, which was divided into nine topic groups: biology and distribution, carbon sequestration, fauna, remote sensing, impact and pollution genetic study, res-toration, microbiological investigation, and others. The extensive study of the seagrass ecosystem began in 1993, and we have identified 183 published papers from Scopus, 141 publications from Web of Science, and 42 from Google Scholar. However, the average trend of the number of publications from 1993 to 1999 was 0.71 ± 0.36, while from 2000 to 2022 was 7.70 ± 1.16 followed by the average trend of the yearly number of publications was 6.78 ± 1.08. The highest number of publications was found on faunal categories (43.17%), followed by biology and distribution (21.85%). The num-ber of articles that were published on Malaysian seagrass meadows each year has been discovered to be rising, which indicates that the trends in seagrass study and publish-ing were progressively garnering the attention of researchers, academics, and the gov-ernment. However, to better understand the sustainable ecology and ecosystem ser-vices provided by seagrass habitats, an emphasis on certain research niches, such as the genetic study of flora and fauna in seagrass meadows, microbial ecology, and res-toration as well as conservation of seagrass species might be helpful.
Abdulla Al-Asif and
Turtle Conservation and Research Programme Foundation
The Swinhoe's softshell turtle, Rafetus swinhoei (Gray, 1873),) is one of the world's largest freshwater turtles, and possibly the most endangered turtle species on the planet (Stanford et al., 2018). It has an overall length of over 100 cm and a width of up to 70 cm, and it can easily weigh up to 70–100 kg, maximum weight was recorded at 169 kg (Solimine, 2013; Trong, 2018).
MOHD HANAFI IDRIS, , MUHAMMAD ATIF AWANG, ABU HENA MUSTAFA KAMAL, AZIZ ARSHAD, HADI HAMLI, ABDULLA AL-ASIF, KUSTIAWAN TRI PURSETYO, ENDANG DEWI MASITHAH, ,et al.
Penerbit UMT, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Snapper shrimp is a symbiotic organism usually hidden under the rocks, sponges and pen shells in the seagrass and coral habitats. The relationship study within snapper shrimp and pen shell was conducted from Merambong shoal, one of the biggest seagrass beds in peninsular Malaysia. A total of 40 individual pen shells were collected randomly and four species of pen shells were identified. 40 Anchistus custoides were found inhabiting symbiotically in the mantle cavity of the pen shell as solitary males and females and heterosexual pairs. Pen shell, Pinna bicolor and Atrina vexillum recorded the highest average SH 217.79±53.15 mm, SV 2.62±1.36 dm3 and SH 164.10-224.78 mm with the SV 1.18±0.43 dm3, respectively compared to the other species. The size of Anchistus custoides ranged from 15.00 to 20.00 mm in length and it was determined to be female due to the presence of eggs in the pleopods. The length of the cephalothorax and its length were highly related (rs=0.563, p≤0.01, N=40) and found wider in females. A little difference in size between the left and right chela in males of identical length was noticed, although the left chela is much bigger than the right. The significant relationship (rs=0.450, p≤0.01, N=40) between the pen shell length and shrimp (male-female) length revealed that the size of the shell is important to be hosted the snapper shrimp in the shell cavity.
ABU HENA MUSTAFA KAMAL, ANN SINDEN, MOHD HANAFI IDRIS, ABDULLA- AL-ASIF, HADI HAMLI, NAJIAH MUSA, RUMEAIDA MAT PIAH, MOHD EFFENDY ABD WAHID, ROSLIZAWATI AB LAH, NADIAH WAN RASDI,et al.
UNIMAS Publisher
Information on fisheries resources in East Malaysia is scarce and poorly known. The current review aims to compile a checklist of fisheries resources in the Northwest Borneo (Sarawak, Malaysia) from available published literature, address the resources' present status, and suggest future monitoring needs for selected critical species. The study also aims to determine several Sarawak land-use issues that are in flux and responsible for habitat degradation. Five hundred sixty-four species belonging to 123 families and 32 orders were recorded from Sarawak waters. Freshwater fish species comprised 48.0% of the total, followed by a marine (36.6%), marine-euryhaline (12.9%), and brackish water (2.5%) species. Of this, Cyprinidae was the most dominant group accounting for the greatest number of species (82 species), followed by Balitoridae (34 species), Bagridae (21 species) and Penaeidae (21 species). Therefore, available fisheries resources should be managed carefully as 48 species (9.0%) are currently vulnerable to extinction. Furthermore, the presence of 20 alien species in Sarawak water bodies also requires attention from the authorities due to the potential disruption of aquatic ecological balance. Changing land use issues in Sarawak such as forest degradation, agricultural expansion, peatland deforestation and conversion, logging, destruction of mangrove forests, and construction of hydroelectric power dams and flood mitigation channels pose significant challenges to fishery management in Sarawak. Our study documents the priority of fishery monitoring and conservation in Sarawak water bodies to ensure sustainable management of fisheries resources.
Abdulla- Al-Asif, Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal, Hadi Hamli, Mohd Hanafi Idris, Geoffery James Gerusu, Johan Ismail, Md Khurshid Alam Bhuiyan, Muyassar H. Abualreesh, Najiah Musa, Mohd Effendy Abd Wahid,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal, Mohd Hanafi Idris, Abdulla Al-Asif, Md Khurshid Alam Bhuiyan, Nadiah Wan Rasdi, Rumeaida Mat Piah, Roslizawati Ab Lah, Najiah Musa, Mohd Effendy Abd Wahid, and Muyassar H. Abualreesh
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Phytoplankton are the primary producer of the food chain in any aquatic ecosystem, and play a crucial role in maintaining fishery resources. The community structure of phytoplankton in tropical mangrove estuarine and adjacent coastal waters was investigated in the South China Sea from January 2013 to December 2013 to compare the significance of two water bodies. Study revealed, 102 species of phytoplankton species under 43 genera covering 6 species of Cyanophyceae, 4 species of Chlorophyceae, 63 species of Bacillariophyceae and 29 species of Dinophyceae from estuarine mangrove area. Whereas 67 species from coastal waters were recorded which comprised of 47 species of Bacillariophyceae, 16 species of Dinophyceae, 2 species of Cyanophyceae with 1 species of both the Dictyochophyceae and Chrysophyceae. The phytoplankton community structure and mean abundance (cells/L) were recorded in a systematic order of Bacillariophyceae > Dinophyceae > Cyanophyceae > Chlorophyceae in mangrove waters. While from coastal waters the systematic order was found as Bacillariophyceae > Dinophyceae > Cyanophyceae > Dictyochophyceae > Chrysophyceae. Phytoplankton mean abundance fluctuated from 567 to 88,890 cells/L in different seasons over the study period with its higher value in the dry season. The mean phytoplankton cell abundance in mangrove estuarine area (38,313.74 ± 5614.26) found significantly ( p < 0.0001) higher than the coastal water (1964.33 ± 666.68). Phytoplankton species observed from the estuarine waters were dominated by Pleurosigma normanii , Coscinodiscus sp., Coscinodiscus centralis , Coscinodiscus granii , Dinophysis caudata , Ceratium carriense , Ceratium fusus , and Ceratium lineatum . While the blue green algae, Chaetoceros pseudocurvisetus , and Thalassionema sp. found most dominant in the coastal waters. Significant differences (R = 0.23–1, p < 0.05) were noticed in the phytoplankton species community assemblage between intermediate and wet seasons. The findings suggest that mangrove estuarine waters in South China Sea region were more productive in terms of phytoplankton abundance and diversity than coastal waters, which are influenced by the season.
W. Z. W. Morni, L. Y. Abit, K. Latif, S. Nerurkar, R. Hassan, and A. Al-Asif
Consorci del Museu de Ciencies Naturals de Barcelona
Ylistrum balloti is one of the Pectinidae species distributed within the Indo-Pacific region. Recently, 15 live specimens of Y. balloti were recorded from the continental shelf of Sarawak, Malaysia. The main morphological characteristics were displayed on the outer valve, these being a brown-red colour and a clear concentric pattern of thin brown lines. The prominent internal ribbing numbers on both valves also helped species identification. The preliminary report of Y. balloti revealed that the species is present in Sarawak waters and can be further explored in the future.
Abdulla- Al-Asif and A. Al-Asif
Seameo Biotrop
Hadi Hamli, Abdulla-Al Asif, Johan Ismail, Geoffery James Gerusu, and Sayali Nerurkar
Bombay Natural History Society
1Accepted September 20, 2021 First published: March 31, 2022 | doi: 10.17087/jbnhs/2022/v119/159849 2Department of Animal Science and Fishery, Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Jalan Nyabau 97008, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. 3Department of Forestry Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Jalan Nyabau 97008, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. Email: geoffery@upm.edu.my 4Institut Ekosains Borneo, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Jalan Nyabau 97008 Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. 5Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, S.B. Singh Road, Mumbai 400 001, Maharashtra, India. Email: sayali.mavalankar@gmail.com 6Email: hadihamli@upm.edu.my 7Email: jessoreboyhemel@gmail.com 8Email: ijohan@upm.edu.my *Corresponding author
Abdulla-Al-Asif, Hadi Hamli, Mohd Hanafi Idris, Carles Gili, AFM Arifur Rahman, and Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal
IOP Publishing
Abstract The aquatic gastropods (marine and freshwater) in Malaysian Borneo (MYB) have an ancient history of 255 years, while the first record was observed in 1767 by the pioneer Carl Linnaeus. Over time, many European, native taxonomists and conservationists have worked on the diverse group of gastropods in the Malaysian part of Borneo (states of Sabah and Sarawak). No previous work has been conducted to assess the historical status of this particular class of Mollusca. The study objective was to reveal the types of aquatic gastropods and the number of published research and expeditions conducted in MYB. The bibliometric analysis found 145 research publications mentioning the names of the region and reporting at least one gastropod species from this geographic region. Over the history of 255 years, a total of 559 gastropod species were reported by different research groups. Between 1767 and 1900, a total of 150 gastropod species were reported, followed by 79 species from 1900 to 2000 and 330 species from 2001 to 2022. The Grubbs test (p<0.05) identified outlier years for the reporting of gastropod species from MYB with 54 new species each in 2011 and 2020 and 39 species in 2001. Over the history of aquatic gastropod research in MYB, the taxonomists making the greatest contribution were Han Raven and his colleagues from Naturalis Biodiversity Center, The Netherlands, The Netherlands, who reported 111 new species from the region, followed by Nur Leena Wong from Universiti Putra Malaysia (54 new species). The results suggested that reporting of new species from MYB is increasing, which may reflect the many unexplored sites and suggests the existence of as yet unrecorded species in this ecoregion. In this regard further expeditions and research should improve estimates of the true number of aquatic gastropod species in this area. These results can help the regional governments in making a regional biodiversity database as well as in taking decisions regarding aquatic gastropod research and management.
Keswarran Kalimuthu et al.
Egypts Presidential Specialized Council for Education and Scientific Research
1. Sarawak Energy Berhad Menara Sarawak Energy, No. 1, The Isthmus, 93050 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. 2. Department of Animal Science and Fishery, Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, Jalan Nyabau 97008, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia 3. Department of Forestry Science, Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, P.O. Box 396 Jalan Nyabau 97008, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. 4. Institut Ekosains Borneo, Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Sarawak Campus, P.O. Box 396 Jalan Nyabau 97008, Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. * Corresponding Author: hadihamli@upm.edu.my
Abdulla-Al-Asif, Hadi Hamli, Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal, Mohd Hanafi Idris, Geoffery James Gerusu, Johan Ismail, and Muyassar H. Abualreesh
Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society
Species checklists enlist the species existing within a distinct geographical biome and assist as an indispensable input for evolving conservation and administration strategies. The arenas of conservation ecology and biology face the challenge of exaggerated biodiversity, accredited to the non-recognition of taxonomic inconsistencies. The study’s goals are to organize all scattered taxonomic information regarding bivalve molluscs from Malaysian Borneo, i.e. Sarawak and Sabah, under one umbrella. Available literature regarding Malaysian Borneo was reviewed. The published taxonomic data on bivalve species, conservation status, inconsistencies, habitats (marine, fresh, and brackish), research aspects, threats, and conservation strategies are presented. A critical review of the checklists and distributional records of the class Bivalvia from Malaysian Borneo and subsequent validation of species names with the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) database revealed that currently 76 bivalve species from 12 orders and other entities, 18 superfamilies, and 27 families have been recorded from the area. Twenty-six inconsistencies with WoRMS were found, and the corrected names are presented. The study indicates most of the enlisted bivalve species have not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List authority and have ‘Least Concern’ or ‘Data Deficient’ status for Malaysian Borneo. To date, published documents on conservation decision strategies and guidelines for future research are not good enough. Nevertheless, potential threats and their remedies for bivalves in the enriched Malaysian Borneo ecosystems are discussed herein.
Johan Ismail, Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal, Mohd Hanafi Idris, S. M. Nurul Amin, Hadi Hamli, Leong Sui Sien, Abdulla Al-Asif, and Muyassar Abualreesh
Pensoft Publishers
Seagrass habitats are considered to be some of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet and safeguard some ecologically and economically important fauna, amongst which are some globally threatened species, including dugong. Malaysian seagrass ecosystems are not widespread, but their existence supports some significant marine fauna. A rigorous zooplankton study was conducted from May 2016 to February 2017, in the seagrass habitat of Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia, to examine their temporal composition and diversity, together with their ecological influences. A total of 45 zooplankton species from 13 significant groups were recorded in the seagrass habitat. The population density of zooplankton ranged between 2,482 ind/m³ and 22,670 ind/m³ over three different seasons. A single zooplankton copepod was found to be dominant (47.40%), while bivalves were the second largest (31.8%) group in terms of total abundance. It was also noticed that the average relative abundance (0.62) and important species index (62.08) of copepods were higher than for other groups that exist in the seagrass meadow, whereas copepod Parvocalanus crassirostris showed both the highest average relative abundance (0.41) and the highest important species index (41.15). The diversity (H') and richness index of the intermediate season were found to be highest due to favourable physico-chemical conditions. Within the referred seasonal cluster, the wet and dry seasons were almost similar in terms of species abundance, while the intermediate season was distinct, with high species diversity backed by ANOSIM analysis results. Copepod and bivalves formed one group with a common similarity level of 0.80. The CCA (Canonical Correspondence Analysis) model established that abiotic factors, especially turbidity, NO2, rainfall, dissolved oxygen and pH were significantly correlated with abundance of individual groups of zooplankton. Zooplankton assemblage and abundance in Lawas were found to be very rich in multiple seasons, indicating that the productivity of uninterrupted seagrass habitat might be high and the system rich in biodiversity.
ABDULLA AL-ASIF, HADI HAMLI, Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal, MOHD HANAFI IDRIS, GEOFFERY JAMES GERUSU, JOHAN BIN ISMAIL, and NURUL ULFAH KARIM
UNS Solo
Abstract. Al-Asif A, Hamli H, Abu Hena MK, Idris MH, Gerusu GJ, Ismail JB, Karim NU. 2020. Benthic macrofaunal assemblage in seagrass-mangrove complex and adjacent ecosystems of Punang-Sari Estuary, Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia. Biodiversitas 21: 4606-4615. Present study dealt with the on faunal and in faunal assemblage from seagrass bed, mangrove area, and adjacent non-mangrove and seagrass (NMS) in Punang-Sari estuary, Lawas, Sarawak, Malaysia. Samples were collected from June to July 2019 by using quadrates and handpicking from the outside the sampling area to know the real checklist of surface macrofauna in this area. A ten-meter transect line was settled in three habitat areas where sampling was performed by putting three quadrates (0.35m×0.35m). Epifauna and infauna samples were collected from inside the quadrate and sieved using 0.4 mm mesh size sieve. A total of 111 species of gastropod (87 species from 30 families), bivalve (18 species from 9 families), Polychaeta (2 species), echinoderms (1 species), and crustacean (3 species) were recorded during the study period. Seagrass meadows comprised most diverse and abundant faunal (50 species) assemblage followed by mangrove habitats (48 species), and NMS (20 species). The dendrogram revealed two significant habitats in the sampling site. PCA analysis revealed, seagrass habitat sheltered a higher number of species followed by mangrove and NMS area. Jaccard similarity index revealed seagrass and mangrove habitats (0.42) contains the highest similar species amongst all habitats compared to mangrove and non-seagrass-mangrove area (0.26). Out of total species recorded (101), only ten species were reported as least concern, and 2 species hold deficient data status, and the rest are not evaluated. Bio-assemblage in seagrass habitat was found rich compared to other habitats, which could be useful for future ecological investigation and marine ranching.
WAN MOHAMAD AIMAN, FATIMAH MD YUSOFF, AZIZ ARSHAD, Abu Hena Mustafa Kamal, JOHAN ISMAIL, MOHD HANAFI IDRIS, NURUL ULFAH KARIM, and ABDULLA AL ASIF
UNS Solo
Abstract. Aiman WM, Yusoff FM, Arshad A, Kamal AHM, Ismail J, Idris MH, Karim NU, Asif AA. 2020. Distribution of zooplankton community in Toli shad (Tenualosa toli) habitats, Sarawak, Malaysia. Biodiversitas 21: 4022-4033. The river ecosystems of Sarawak has been identified as important-spawning ground for economically important Toli shad (Tenualosa toli) fisheries. In these river ecosystems, zooplankton serves as a secondary producer to the different types of fish larvae including Toli shad. The productivity and biomass of zooplankton are important factors to control the production of higher trophic level organisms like fish larvae and fishes in different stages including T. toli larvae. In this viewpoint, the composition and abundance of zooplankton were investigated at 5 (five) sampling stations (considered to be spawning and nursing areas of Toli shad) at Batang Lupar and Batang Sadong estuaries from July 2016 to June 2017. A total of 29 zooplankton taxa were recorded that belong to 14 major groups comprised of Copepoda (Arthropoda), Crustacean nauplii (Arthropoda), Fish larvae (Chordata), Mollusca (Mollusca), Luciferidae (Arthropoda), Cnidaria (Cnidaria), Ostracoda (Arthropoda), Cirripedia (Arthropoda), Polychaete larvae (Annelida), Chaetognatha (Chaetognatha), Appendicularia (Chordata), Amphipoda (Arthropoda), Echinodermata larvae (Echinodermata) and Cladoceran (Arthropoda). Copepod was dominant group of zooplankton (82.40-94.41%) at all stations, contributing 477.37-25921.89 ind/m3 and 88.38% of total abundance. The second highest was crustacean larvae (2.45-9.38%) in all stations, contributing 0-2391.7 ind/m3 and 5.88% of total abundance. Zooplankton abundance was higher at downstream station 1 (8460.72 ind/m³) followed by station 2 (5479.80 indi/m³), station 3 (4571.95 ind/m³), station 4 (4394.20 ind/m³) and upstream station 5 (4156.73 ind/m³). Canonical Correspondence Analysis showed that the abundance of copepods was highly influenced by total turbidity and nitrate in the riverine and estuarine ecosystems. Abundance of zooplankton was relatively higher (9549.31 ind/m³) during the post-monsoon and lower (3534.56 ind/m³) during the southwest monsoon.