Manusela National Park is located on Seram

Seram

Seram is an island in the Maluku province of Indonesia. It is located north of Ambon Island. The chief port/town is Masohi.- Geography and geology :...

 island, in the Maluku

Maluku Islands

The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...

 archipelago of Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

. It is made up of coastal forest, swamp forest, lowland and montane rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 ecosystem types. Mount Binaiya

Mount Binaiya

Mount Binaiya is the highest point on the Indonesian island of Seram . At an elevation of , it is one of the one hundred most topographically prominent peaks on Earth....

 at 3,027 meters, is the highest of the park's six mountains. Seram is remarkable for its high degree of localised bird endemism.

Vegetation and fauna

Among the plants that grow in this park are Avicennia

Avicennia

Avicennia is a genus of flowering plants currently placed in the bear's breeches family, Acanthaceae. It contains mangrove trees, which occur in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas and are characterized by aerial roots. Species of Avicennia occur worldwide south of the Tropic of Cancer.The...

, Dryobalanops

Dryobalanops

Dryobalanops is a genus of flowering plants and the genus of family Dipterocarpaceae. The name Dryobalanops is derived from Greek and describes the acorn-like nut. The genus has seven species, confined to the tropical forests of West Malesia...

and Pandanus

Pandanus

Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...

species, Alstonia scholaris

Alstonia scholaris

Alstonia scholaris Alstonia scholaris Alstonia scholaris (Apocynaceae, commonly called Blackboard tree, Indian devil tree, Ditabark, Milkwood pine, White cheesewood and Pulai; syn. Echites scholaris L. Mant., Pala scholaris L...

, Terminalia catappa

Terminalia catappa

Terminalia catappa is a large tropical tree in the Leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. The tree has been spread widely by humans and the native range is uncertain. It has long been naturalised in a broad belt extending from Africa to Northern Australia and New Guinea through Southeast Asia and...

, Shorea selanica

Shorea selanica

Shorea selanica is a species of plant in the Dipterocarpaceae family. It is endemic to Indonesia, including Buru.It is a Critically endangered species threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* Ashton, P. 1998. - Downloaded on 23 August 2007*...

, Octomeles sumatrana

Octomeles sumatrana

Octomeles sumatrana is a species of plant in the Datiscaceae family. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, and the Solomon Islands.-References:...

, Bruguiera sexangula, Melaleuca leucadendra

Melaleuca leucadendra

Melaleuca leucadendra is a tree belonging to the Melaleuca genus. The common name, Cajuput Tree, is derived from the Malay word kayu putih - meaning "white wood".-Description:...

, Pometia pinnata, Rhizophora acuminata and various species of orchid

Orchidaceae

The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...

.

Of the 117 species of bird on the island, 14 are endemic

Endemism in birds

An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....

, including the Eclectus Parrot

Eclectus Parrot

The Eclectus Parrot, Eclectus roratus, is a parrot native to the Solomon Islands, Sumba, New Guinea and nearby islands, northeastern Australia and the Maluku Islands...

, Purple-naped Lory

Purple-naped Lory

The Purple-naped Lory, Lorius domicella is a monotypic species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. It is forest-dwelling endemic to the islands of Seram, Ambon, and perhaps also Haruku and Saparua, South Maluku, Indonesia. It is considered vulnerable, the main threat being from trapping for the...

, Salmon-crested Cockatoo, Lazuli Kingfisher

Lazuli Kingfisher

The Lazuli Kingfisher is a species of bird in the Alcedinidae family.It is endemic to Indonesia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, and plantations .It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* BirdLife International 2004....

, Sacred Kingfisher

Sacred Kingfisher

The Sacred Kingfisher is primarily a woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests, and river valleys of Australia, Lord Howe Is., Norfolk Is., New Guinea, N...

, Grey-necked Friarbird

Grey-necked Friarbird

The Seram Friarbird , also known as the Grey-necked Friarbird, is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family. It is endemic to Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.-References:* BirdLife International...

, Moluccan King Parrot

Moluccan King Parrot

The Moluccan King Parrot, Alisterus amboinensis, is a parrot that is endemic to Peleng Island, Maluku and West Papua in Indonesia. It is sometimes referred to as the Ambon King Parrot or Amboina King Parrot, but this is potentially misleading, as it is found on numerous other islands than Ambon...

, Bicoloured White-eye

Bicoloured White-eye

The Rufescent Darkeye , also known as the Bicoloured White-eye, is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Tephrozosterops. It is endemic to the island of Seram in Indonesia...

 and Black-chinned Monarch

Black-chinned Monarch

The Black-chinned Monarch is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family. It is endemic to Indonesia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist shrubland....

.

The mammals found on Seram include Asian species (murid rodents

Muridae

Muridae is the largest family of mammals. It contains over 600 species found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. They have been introduced worldwide. The group includes true mice and rats, gerbils, and relatives....

) as well as Australasian marsupial

Marsupial

Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...

s. The montane area of Seram supports the greatest number of endemic mammals of any island in the region. It harbors 38 mammal species and includes nine species that are endemic or near endemic, several of which are limited to montane habitats. These include the Seram Bandicoot, Moluccan Flying Fox, Seram Flying-fox

Ceram Fruit Bat

The Ceram fruit bat or Seram flying fox is a species of megabat in the Pteropodidae family. It is endemic to the mountainous forests of two Indonesian islands, Buru and Seram, including the Manusela National Park on Seram. They were present on the nearby Ambon Island but probably not anymore...

, Manusela Mosaic-tailed Rat

Manusela Mosaic-tailed Rat

The Manusela Mosaic-tailed Rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found only in Indonesia. It lives in the rainforests on the island of Seram in Indonesia. Specimens of it weigh 66.5g and have a head and body length of 118-135mm and a tail length of 126–140mm.-References:*...

, Spiny Ceram Rat

Spiny Ceram Rat

The spiny Ceram rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Indonesia and is named after the Indonesian island of Seram.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 19 July 2007....

 and the Ceram Rat

Ceram Rat

The Ceram Rat is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.It is found only in Indonesia.-References:* Baillie, J. 1996. . Downloaded on 20 July 2007....

, all considered threatened.

Human habitation

There are four villages in the park: Manusela, Ilena Maraina, Selumena and Kanike. Manusela is also the name of one of the mountains within the park, the local ethnic group

Manusela

The Manusela population of over 9,000 is centered in the Manusela mountains of North Seram, Maluku, Indonesia.They are also found along Teluti Bay in south Seram, which suggests their name of their tribe....

 and their language. In the local language

Seram languages

The Seram languages are a group of forty Malayo-Polynesian languages, spoken on and around the island of Seram. They are moderately supported as a family...

 Manusela means "bird of freedom".

Conservation and threats

In 1972 two areas in central Seram were designated as nature reserves: Wae Nua (20,000 ha) and Wae Mual (17,500 ha). After a survey in 1978 a proposal was made to unite the two areas to form Manusela National Park. Manusela National Park was established in 1997, to protect an area of 1,890 km², representing 11% of the land area of Seram island.

A major threat is posed by deforestation

Deforestation in Indonesia

Deforestation in Indonesia has been a massive environmental impact on the country, home to some of the most biologically diverse forests in the world, ranking third behind Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo. As late as 1900, Indonesia was still a densely forested country with the total...

, with logging concessions covering 48% of Seram's forest, and illegal logging

Illegal logging

Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the...

even having been recorded inside Manusela National Park. Another threat is posed by illegal wild bird trading, particularly targeting the Salmon-crested Cockatoo. The population of the endemic Salmon-crested Cockatoo is now gravely threatened due to hunting and the destruction of its habitat, and the park remains its last stronghold. For the first time in 2006 nine cockatoos have been released in the wild after being confiscated from a smuggler in 2004.