Pamela Reblora Business Mirror 25 Feb 12;
THOUGH a lot of species have already been discovered through scientific explorations and studies, it is believed that 90 percent of life on the planet is yet to be known.
Though the Earth is just a pinprick of a planet in the universe, it is the only known planet that supports life. Humans, the most intelligent form of life, have been struggling to identify other life forms through scientific explorations. And the Philippines, being considered as one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world, has been a treasure trove of new species discoveries.
The 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition
AIMING to conduct the first “comprehensive survey of both terrestrial and marine diversity” in the Philippines, scientists, biologists, taxonomists, science educators and students from the University of the Philippines (UP) and the California Academy of Sciences (CAS) conducted the “2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition” which explored the forests of Mount Makiling, Mount Banahaw, Mount Isarog, the freshwater of Taal Lake, the shallow waters of marine ecosystems of the Verde Island Passage in Mabini and Anilao, Batangas, and the deep sea around Lubang Island, Mindoro.
The expedition was funded by a generous $500,000 gift from Margaret and Will Hearst III of the US as well as resources from the University of the Philippines.
From April 26 to June 8, 2011, the 94-member expedition team, including a group of American and Filipino journalists, documented the sites’ biodiversity and discovered new species. Dr. Terrence Gosliner, dean of the CAS, led the American team while Dr. Perry Ong, director of the UP Diliman Institute of Biology and Dr. Edwino Fernando of the UP Los Baños College of Forestry and Natural Resources, led the Filipino contingent.
The expedition was a baptism of fire for the then-newly installed administration of UP President Alfredo Pascual, who was able to mobilize the university’s resources to be actively involved in undertaking this international research collaboration on an extremely urgent environmental issue, that of biodiversity conservation. The 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition is a reflection of the priorities of what the university intends to pursue in the coming years.
On February 9, 2012, Dr. Gosliner presented a follow up report on the results of the expedition at a forum held in UP Diliman.
“We were inspired to conduct the study here in the Philippines not just because of its biological richness but also because of the enthusiasm and receptivity to conservation recommendations expressed by our Filipino partners,” said Dr. Gosliner.
Discoveries
COMPRISED of more than 7,000 islands, the Philippines is home to a wide variety of species. This was reaffirmed by the expedition with the discovery of approximately 500 new species found in rainforests, coral reefs and the ocean floor.
According to Dr. Gosliner, among the interesting species discovered include a deep-sea, shrimp-eating shark that inflates its stomach with water to bulk up and scare off other predators; a cicada that makes a “laughing” call; three new lobster relatives that squeeze into crevices instead of carrying shells on their backs; a worm-like pipefish that hides among colonies of soft coral; a starfish that only eats sunken driftwood; and a crab with needle-like teeth on its pincers.
To confirm that these species are indeed new to science, scientists will now proceed to the next stage of exploration, using microscopes and DNA sequencing to complete the species’ identification and ultimately to publish these results.
Realizations
THE expedition did not just unveil new species but also validated the existence of environmental problems such as the continuous dumping of human waste in different bodies of water and the destruction of coral reefs caused by human activities.
According to Dr. Gosliner, the expedition made them realize the importance of biodiversity and research, science and environmental education, especially for children; connecting people to nature; individual actions; making education locally relevant; long-term sustainability versus short-term profit; partnerships; and integration of education, research, public policy and economics.
“We’re doing all these not just for the sake of knowledge but more important, for future generations. We are trying our very best to come up with best environmental-conservation efforts so as to ensure that our children will also experience the benefits from nature that we are enjoying now,” said Dr. Gosliner.
According to Dr. Perry Ong, “The discoveries made during this expedition reinforced the stature of the Philippines as a megadiverse country and as the hottest of the biodiversity hot spots. The importance of taking action now cannot be overemphasized. UP as the national university is taking on this challenge head on. Lest it be forgotten that most of Philippine biodiversity are endemic, that is found nowhere else except in the Philippines, and, thus, represents part of global patrimony, hence the responsibility of keeping them from becoming extinct lies not only with the Filipino people, though we should take the lead, but the global community as well. Thus, we appreciate all the help that we can get from the international research and conservation community such as the CAS, in partnerships and in the spirit of mutual respect and cooperation.”
Dr. Fernando expressed his willingness to be part of future scientific explorations to be held in the country, more especially in Mount Makiling.
“I believe that there’s still a lot to discover in the country, even in Mount Makiling alone. We are more than willing to participate in expeditions like this in the future. This is also a great opportunity for academic institutions to engage their students in this kind of work for them to appreciate the beauty of nature and eventually help conserve biodiversity,” said Dr. Fernando.
Rodrigo Fuentes, executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity hailed the efforts and the results of the expedition.
“The discovery of new species in the Philippines once again proves the richness of the Philippines’s and Southeast Asia’s biodiversity. We have more natural treasures just around us waiting to be discovered. I hope that our young generation will have an interest in researching and learning the values of biodiversity—the variety of life on Earth—which sustains human life.”
Recommendations
AFTER the discoveries, the expedition team came up with the following recommendations for marine conservation: reduce marine debris and sedimentation; place more moorings at popular dive sites; enforce marine protected areas (MPAs) and increase their sizes; and establish new MPAs in unique habitats.
“It is unfortunate that Philippine forests and marine ecosystems have been continuously destroyed by human activities. Protected areas should be expanded and deforestations should be stopped,” said Dr. Gosliner.
The 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition was able to demonstrate that environmental concern can be reinforced, not just by imagining life without all these natural wonders but also by appreciating what we still have.
The marine research team of the 2011 Philippine Biodiversity expedition did not just find new species of octocorals, barnacles, annelids and other marine life forms, but also a lot of waste polluting bodies of water and the terrestrial research team of the Philippine Biodiversity Expedition identifies and documents samples of flora and fauna found during the expedition. The team explored the peaks of Mount Makiling, Mount Isarog and Mount Banahaw.
