Date Posted (Final Published Version) : September 10, 2018

by Vanessa V. Martinez and Jonathan Carlo A. Briones

Abstract

Date Posted (Final Published Version) : October 16, 2018

Abstract

A study originally intended to update the taxonomy and distribution of calanoid copepods in selected freshwater ecosystems of Central Luzon has led to the discovery of a new record of Phyllodiaptomus Kiefer, 1936 in Candaba Swamp, Pampanga. Since 1979, the only calanoid copepods recorded from this area included Filipinodiaptomus insulanus (Wright S., 1928) and Tropodiaptomus australis Kiefer, 1936. Later studies on calanoid copepods in the region have since been non-existent. Analyses of pertinent key morphological characters revealed that the specimens at hand belonged to Phyllodiaptomus (Ctenodiaptomus) praedictus sulawensis Alekseev & Vaillant, 2013, a freshwater diaptomid calanoid copepod subspecies discovered and known to be endemic only in Indonesia. Provided in this paper are baseline information on the morphological characters of the Philippine members of the subspecies accompanied by line drawings as well as a comparison between the recorded morphological data presented by Alekseev, Haffner, Vaillant & Yusoff (2013) and the current dataset to support the identification of the specimen. The discovery of P. (C.) praedictus sulawensis in the Philippines, which was thought to be endemic in Indonesia, presents a new record of this species in the country and the first such record outside of its country of origin.

KEYWORDS: Candaba Swamp, Copepod, Indonesia, Inland Waters, Limnology, Thailand 

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Date Posted (Final Published Version) : February 6,2019

Abstract

This history piece analyzes colonial-era correspondence and botany publications fascinated with Cycas wadei, a cycad observed only to grow on the island of Culion in the province of Palawan. First spotted in 1902 by U.S. botanist Elmer D. Merrill, the cycad became the preoccupation of U.S. and Filipino scientists alike. It took nearly three and a half decades before the species was introduced in the Philippine Journal of Science in 1936 as C. wadei, named after Herbert W. Wade, head physician of the Culion leper colony established by the U.S. colonial government at the turn of the century. Tracking the history of this species—from its first sighting to its debut before the international botany community—reveals much about the institutional workings of colonial science in the Philippines in the years leading up to the Commonwealth era. It further inspires us to take stock of the ways in which the politics of Latin binomial nomenclature of a species can be historicized across scales of human and institutional interaction. Such an intellectual practice can help us continue to shed light on the history of taxonomy in the Philippines.

KEYWORDS: cycads, taxonomy, Philippine history, Bureau of Science, U.S. colonialism

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Date Posted (Final Published Version) : March 16,2019

Abstract

In 2016, municipal ordinances to expand the protected area of the MHRWS were issued with the aim of protecting and preserving the remaining biodiversity of the buffer zones and to strengthen the core zone. The municipal ordinances however, have limitations and do not guarantee legal promulgation. Hence, this study is on the gathering of complete and concrete floral data so that these expansion sites will become part of the protected area and encompassed in legal promulgations. Botanical fieldworks conducted from Oct to Dec 2017 were carried out in five study sites of the MHRWS expansion sites using 40 20 x 20 m sampling plot with a distance of 20 m between plots and opportunistic transect walk techniques. The study disclosed 228 taxa of plants, of these, 74 species were ferns and lycophytes, 6 species of gymnosperms, 30 species of herbs and vines and 118 species were trees and shrubs. There were three new records of ferns and lycophytes increasing the number of species to 155. There are 13 (5.7%) threatened species, 22 (9.6%) and endemic species. Findings suggest that species in each site are unique and maybe attributed to the vegetation present, elevation variations of the different sampling sites and anthropogenic activities. The proposed expansion sites harbor diverse threatened and plants deserving protection and conservation efforts. Results of this study support the contention that the expansion sites, which are included in the municipal ordinances, be part of the official protected area.

KEYWORDS: biodiversity, Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary expansion sites, Mindanao, Philippines, buffer zone

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Date Posted (Final Published Version) : March 29,2019

Abstract

Current distributional data on Philippine butterflies suggests that colonization and exchange of species between Luzon and Mindanao are hypothesized to have occurred during the Miocene Epoch (23-5.3 million years ago). Species from the families Pieridae, Hesperiidae, and Zygaenidae were set as an example to explain some disjunction of distribution of some species in the archipelago. The hypothesis will definitely become an interest in the field of biogeographical and phylogenetic studies in the country.

KEYWORDS: butterfly, colonization, biogeography

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Date Posted (Final Published Version) : March 29,201

Abstract

Seven charred wood fragments from the archaeological site of Ille in El Nido, Palawan were identified as an undetermined monocot and representatives of the families Caesalpiniaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, and Araucariaceae/Podocarpaceae. Though very few pieces were determined, the results gave a glimpse of the types of woody plants most likely present in the vicinity of Ille, 14,000 to around 4,000 years ago. This report also aims to provide taxonomic identification based on the available literature to serve as baseline information for future use.

KEYWORDS: anthracology, archaeobotany, hardwood, softwood, monocotyledon

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Date Posted (Final Published Version) : June 28,2019

Abstract

Cavite’s remaining upland forest fragments are either remnant from commercial logging activities ca. 25-45 years ago or as a direct result of land conversions for agriculture or human settlements. These forest fragments are very significant because they represent areas where pockets of wildlife habitat still remain. The terrestrial vertebrates are often used to assess animal diversity because they are ideal biological indicators of environmental change and anthropogenic disturbances. The study aimed to determine terrestrial vertebrate diversity, conservation status, and identify major anthropogenic threats in these fragments. Terrestrial vertebrates were surveyed using a combination of strip-transect sampling, time-constrained searches, visual encounter survey (VES), and acoustic encounter survey (AES; for amphibians only), point counts, live trapping and mist netting from October 2014 to March 2016. Species richness and biodiversity estimation were computed using Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index, linear regression, detection and probability modeling using PAST, and confidence limits for nestedness (0.05α) using EpiTools. A total of 175 terrestrial vertebrates were documented and among the vertebrate groups, the birds had the highest observed diversity. Twenty-nine (19 birds, 3 mammals, 3 lizards, and 4 anurans) species are listed as threatened. Habitat loss and degradation due to the conversion of habitats to agricultural and/or residential areas remained to be the most prevalent threat in the remaining forested areas in upland Cavite. Baseline data generated shall be used in the different government biodiversity monitoring activities as the basis for impacts and mitigation and initial planning for the management and conservation of these remaining forest patches.

KEYWORDS: amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, Luzon Island, modeling, anthropogenic threats

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Date Posted (Final Published Version) : June 27, 2019

Abstract

Silago is a municipality in Southern Leyte in which logging for high-quality timber and land clearing for agricultural purposes threaten stream ecosystems. The objective of this study was to assess the response of diatom assemblages in relation to land use. Diatoms and water quality sampling was done at 27 sites on two sampling occasions (June and July 2014). Multiple diatom metrics were calculated to measure the response of diatoms to changes in land use. In all, 135 diatom species distributed to 48 genera were recorded. The results showed that diatom species and their attributes gave similar responses to those obtained in environmental variables. Pollution tolerance index classified all sampling sites as oligo-b-mesosaprobic. Meanwhile, Cymbella richness, percent motile taxa, and percent Achnanthidium minutissimum indicated good water quality in forested areas, distinguishing them from other land use types. Contrary to other studies, species richness was found to increase with greater degrees of disturbance, thus giving unreliable evaluation of water quality. Overall, the study suggests that epilithic diatoms can be applied in biomonitoring of freshwater bodies in the country.

KEYWORDS: bioindicators, biomonitoring, community structures, diatom attributes, multimetric, water quality

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Appendices