Bug Ladies, Bird Men and Fish People

"THERE are no cliffs on the island," Universiti Malaya Associate Professor Richard Dorall bellows.
"We have to tell JUPEM (Department of Survey and Mapping Malaysia). They have to change the map."
He is referring to Pulau Jarak, the map of which contains symbols that denote cliffs. They are just rocks.
Using the white board in the dry laboratory located on the lower deck of the MV Reef Challenger, Dorall sketches an outline of the island while accessing references on his laptop computer. Assisted by S. Gokilan, he marks out what he believes are boulder corals in the waters off the island.
"I don't know what the brown patch here is. You guys find out," he tells the divers.
Dorall is on the six-day Scientific Expedition to the Seas of Malaysia (Sesma) together with more than 30 other Universiti Malaya scientists and researchers. Their study covers a large tract in the northern part of the Straits of Malacca - Pulau Jarak, the Pulau Sembilan cluster and Pulau Perak (since renamed Pulau Kedah by the Kedah government).
Pulau Jarak is off Bagan Datok in Perak, Pulau Sembilan an hour from Pangkor and Pulau Perak about 60 nautical miles north of Langkawi close to international waters.
Dorall and Gokilan oversee the mapping and GIS (geographic information systems) activities of the expedition. They are able to tell the other participants, among other things, the highest point on an island and the depth of a spot in the ocean.
The scientists prepare to go ashore to collect samples and specimens, their studies being aimed at updating the database on the resources of the Straits of Malacca. They also hope to determine the state of health of the ecosystems.
The findings will be published and be used by the relevant authorities to help devise a more integrated management of this part of the straits.
In all, there are 15 components to the expedition: fisheries and zooplankton, phytoplankton, seaweeds and seagrasses, corals, dragonflies, butterflies, beetles, birds, marine fungi, macrofungi (mushrooms), microbiology, water quality, geology, mapping and GIS, and plants.
With the exception of those undertaking fisheries and zooplankton, microbiology and water quality studies, the others go ashore on the islands.
"I need at least 12 hours, maybe from 7am to 7pm...to set up the traps then collect the specimens," says Associate Professor Dr Fauziah Abdullah, a beetle expert. On most landings, she is the last to leave for the ship.
For all the islands, the first thing Professor Dr Norma Yusof wants to know is whether there are streams or rivers. That's where she finds her dragonflies.
"Bird men" associate professors Dr Rosli Hashim and Dr Rosli Ramli are suitably armed with powerful binoculars, while Professor Dr Sufian Azirun brings nets - the butterfly kind.
Professor Dr Chong Ving Ching and Dr Lee Choon Weng "control" the bow of the ship, where the wet laboratory is located. They collect water samples for the various study groups. Chong also brought two Pulau Ketam fishermen with him to help gather fisheries specimens.
Halim Mazmin Bhd's diver George Charles and Universiti Malaya's Badrul Huzaimi Tajudin, Jillian Ooi and Yong Ai Lin go for day and night dives, bringing along underwater cameras and specimen bags.
The expedition's key focus is on Pulau Jarak and Pulau Perak. Scientifically, little is known about them, the main source of information being materials published in the 1950s.
Pulau Sembilan is easily accessible from the mainland and only three hours away from Pulau Jarak. The voyage to Pulau Perak however takes some 20 hours.
Anchored off one of the Pulau Sembilan islands, Associate Professor Dr Azhar Hussin's walkie-talkie cackles: "We seek your approval to light fireworks... to scare off the pigs."
Pigs? Not wild boars?
"The last time I was here, a few years ago, there were piglets on the island," Badrul Huzaimi says. "Someone from the mainland must have brought them here. They would be fully grown by now."
After an entire day and night of sailing, Pulau Perak comes into sight.
Dorall has discovered that the map's coordinates for the island are wrong, requiring another report to JUPEM.
From a distance, Pulau Perak is just a rock sticking out of the water, with birds as its only obvious inhabitants. There is reportedly a cherry tree on the island but the expedition members can't find it.
There is, in fact, vegetation, including coconut trees, and signs of human habitation - a jetty; and a helipad too, the latter used by the Royal Malaysian Navy in their patrols of the area.
For security reasons, we have to leave before nightfall. The Reef Challenger does so none too soon, as it is contacted by a passing Royal Malaysian Navy gunship, enquiring about our presence.
That settled, it's time to go home - a 30-hour journey, which many of the expedition participants use to conduct briefings and exchange notes.
Universiti Malaya's maritime research centre chief, Professor Dr Phang Siew Moi, says another expedition is planned: "Want to come?"
"On a bigger boat?" I ask.