Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Research projects for fiscal year 2006 include: 2 City Gov-ernment annual projects, 9 Central Government commissionedprojects, and 11 staff research projects. For fiscal year 2005, atotal of 11 research projects and staff researches were awarded(including 1 first prize, 3 second prizes, 6 third prizes, and 1special award).

List of City Government Research Projects for Fiscal Year 2006
(1) Survey of Odonata Species in Taipei Zoo
(2) Reproductive Physiology and Artificial Breeding of Species of the Family Ursidae

List of Central Government Commissioned Projects for Fiscal Year 2006
(1) Operation Plan of the Conservation Wildlife Rescue Center
(2) Establishment of the Wildlife Products Identification Laboratory in Northern Taiwan
(3) Wetland Conservation Education Project
(4) Study on the Conservation Biology of the Watanabei Lanternfly
(5) Wildlife Restrait Techniques Video and the Management of Confiscated Elephant Tusks
(6) Animal Protection Promotion Project
(7) New City Landscape -- Education and Environmental Protection in Communities Along Keelung River
(8) Population Genetic Structure and Echolocation Calls of Cave-Dwelling Formosan leaf-nosed bats (Hipposideros terasensis) and Japanese long-winged bats (Miniopterus schreibersii)
(9) Insects and Modern Technology Educational Promotion Project

List of Staff Research Projects for Fiscal Year 2006
(1) Helicobacter pylori gastric infection in Leptailarus serval in Captivity
(2) Morphology and Life Cycle of Cicindela batesi
(3) Fungal Infection on the Plastron of the African Spurred Tortoise (Geocholone sulcata)
(4) Survey of Green Island's Terrestrial Vertebrate Fauna
(5) Leaf Dynamics and Phenology of Cyathea lepifera at Taipei Zoo
(6) Three New Odonata Species in Taiwan
(7) 2006 Taipei Zoo Visitor Satisfaction and Overall Status Study
(8) Population genetic structure and demographic history of the endemic Formosan lesser horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus monoceros)
(9) Estimation of ecological high flow
(10) Mitochondrial phylogeny reveals the artificial introduction of the pale chub Zacco platypus (Cyprinidae)in Taiwan
(11) AFLPs congruent with morphological differentiation of Asian common minnow Zacco (Pisces: Cyprinidae) in Taiwan

In addition to the above research and conservation projects subsidized by the City Government and the Central Government, Taipei Zoo continued to conduct studies of im-portant conservation species such as the Formosan Black Bear, Chinese Pangolin, and Taipei Frog. Also, the Green Island Terrestrial Ecology Conservation Project was launched. After a whole year of survey and tracking, the research team redis-covered the endangered Formosan Flying Fox, and rare foot-age of 3 individuals were taken. This was the first wild Formosan Flying Fox footage in Taiwan's Natural history.

Green Island Terrestrial Ecology Conserva-tion Project
A survey of the terrestrial vertebrates of Green Island was conducted, which will serve as future reference for educational tours and conservation planning. In addition, long-term moni-toring of Green Island's natural resources is the key to future conservation, because island ecosystems are the most fragile of all ecosystems, and can easily be thrown off balance due to damage caused by inappropriate development and utilization.

From August 2005 to November 2006, Green Island field sur vey results recorded a total of 120 terrestrial vertebrate species be-longing to 5 classes, 24 orders, and 52 families, including 10 spe-cies of mammals, 88 species of birds, 15 species of reptiles, 3 spe-cies of amphibians, and 4 species of bony fish. Despite the aforementioned achievements, it should be noted that the Formosan Flying Fox used to be very common on Green Island. However, 20 years ago, hunters began using nets to capture large numbers of Formosan Flying Foxes to be sold in Taiwan. As a result, the population declined rapidly, and almost disappeared.. During the 2006 survey, 3 of these endangered animals were recorded. They often moved as a group in the valleys, and fre-quently interacted with one another during flight and rest, indicat-ing that the Formosan Flying Fox lives in groups. Also, individuals were sighted throughout the year, proving that the Formosan Fly-ing Fox can be found on Green Island all year round. Are there other Formosan Flying Fox populations on Green Island? Are the observed individuals residents of Green Island or did they come from the Ryukyu Islands or other islands? These questions will remain unanswered until more data is collected and analyzed.