Fighting Fire with Data

By Dr. Andrea DiGiorgio

Photo by Beth Barrow (c) TORP 2015 — Photo by Beth Barrow 2015

We’ve been quiet on our blog for a bit, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working! Two of the many research projects the Tuanan Orangutan Research Project and CORE Borneo have been working on examine the impacts of fire on orangutan health. One, spearheaded by post-baccalaureate researcher Gabrielle Rosenthal, will look at activity budgets and endocrine responses to fires, including cortisol (the “stress hormone”) and urinary C-peptide (a marker of energy balance). The other, led by Dr. Andrea DiGiorgio, will investigate orangutan nutrition during fire periods as compared to the times before and after fires. These projects will provide insight into the urgency of reducing forest fires, and clues as to how to better protect orangutans during fire periods.

The Tuanan field site experiences near-annual fires, such as the ones in 2015 and 2019 that almost burned down the research station. These fires have become more severe and frequent with climate change, and are causing significant damage to the unparalleled biodiversity of the Indonesian rainforests and releasing enormous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. At Tuanan, we help the local and national governments with fire control by maintaining a full-time, year-round fire team to clear potential fire hazards in the forest and to fight fires when they occur. CORE Borneo helps fund these initiatives, and with that funding, we are able to continue to provide intensive prevention and fire-fighting efforts.