Teodora D. Balangcod
Department of Biology, University of the Philippines Baguio, Governor Pack Road, Baguio City
Email for correspondence: tdbalangcod@up.edu.ph
The UP Baguio Herbarium is the first and only functional herbarium in the Cordillera region. Its establishment in UP Baguio was inspired by the late seasoned Taxonomist, Leonard Co. The herbarium started its collection from a research on the Biodiversity of Busol Watershed and its collections were augmented by students in Botany 109-Taxonomy of Higher Plants. With a meager collection of about 3,000 herbarium samples, the herbarium was registered first internationally under the name Northern Luzon University Herbarium (NLUH) but was updated as UP Baguio Herbarium recently. The then NLUH was opened to the public in November 2002 and has served the public since then. Through the years, the collection of the UP Baguio Herbarium started to grow and to date has an estimate of 20,000 collections. It currently serves as a repository of plant collections of the Cordillera region. It is frequently visited and used by students and researchers from various high schools and state universities. Students come to the herbarium for identification and validation of the identification of their specimens which are used for their investigatory projects. Some postgraduate students and researchers use the facility for their thesis and research projects. In the coming years, the facility will be transferred to the Plant Diversity Center, a new building which will be realized soon. A herbarium database and library are being planned to augment the facility.
Jane B. Carlos1, Jasminda R. Ceron2 and Victor J. Paz1
1Archaeological Studies Program, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City; 2University of Otago, New Zealand
Email for correspondence: carlosjaneb@yahoo.com
The Plants and Sediment Laboratory of the U.P. Archaeological Studies Program houses a small reference collection of contemporary seeds, vines, wood and parenchyma tissues. This collection, in the form of dry and charred specimen as well as digital images, facilitates the identification of plant remains recovered from archaeological sites. The collection started in 2001 and currently includes 102 species of wood from 38 families, 381 species of seeds from 62 families, 78 species of woody vines from 28 families and 8 species of tubers comprised of 27 individuals from 24 populations. Most, if not all, archaeological materials (like shells, animal and human bones) are identified using contemporary reference collections. Since archaeobotanical remains are altered when recovered in the archaeological sites, the modern comparative reference is useful. Identification of archaeobotanical remains is critical in understanding past subsistence and palaeoenvironments, among others, but mainly it serves in comprehending human-plant relationships in the past.
Armin S. Coronado1,2 and Ma. Eleanor C. Salvador1
1Department of Biology, College of Science, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa, Manila, 2Institute for Science and Technology Research, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sta. Mesa, Manila
Email for correspondence: mecsalvador@pup.edu.ph
A taxonomic survey of spermatophytes was performed in the main campus from the period of July 2014 to February 2016. Opportunistic sampling of plants was conducted and the representative shoots collected were preserved and mounted in herbarium sheets after identification. These herbarium specimens were deposited at the newly constructed research herbarium, the PUP Herbarium (PUPH). A total of 208 species were found distributed in 34 orders and 71 families. The collected species were identified based on their distinguishing morphological characters. Native plants were found among the cultivated plants, generally propagated as landscape materials as well as for possessing edible parts. However, exotic plants outnumber native plants as these were introduced in the Philippines for having ornamental value. There were 69 weed species, mostly from families Poaceae and Asteraceae that are typically found in waste areas and riparian sites. There were only few species reported globally with invasive potential that requires close monitoring and control. Most of the fruits and seeds of weeds and their herbarium specimens were made used as reference materials in other riparian vegetation studies by B.S. Biology students and faculty. In addition to floras, compendiums and other literary works available in PUPH, it likewise became a venue of various botanical ventures including taxonomy of seaweeds.
Luisito T. Evangelista, Edwin R. Tadiosa and Danilo N. Tandang
Botany and National Herbarium Division, National Museum of the Philippines, Manila
Email for correspondence: luisitoevangelista@yahoo.com; sue93653@yahoo.com
The Philippine National Herbarium registered in the Index Herbariorum as PNH, is the largest and oldest herbarium in the Philippines. It is the home to more than 250,000 dried and systematically arranged plant specimens collected all over the Philippines and the world. Dr. Elmer D. Merrill, an American botanist and Director of the Bureau of Science in 1906 established the Bureau of Science Herbarium and Library. In his desire to make the herbarium the center for taxonomic research in Southeast Asian Region, Merill collected thousands of specimens. From a small room in Herran St. (now Pedro Gil St.) to the Executive House Building (now the National Museum of Fine Arts) it finds its permanent home in the new National Museum of Natural History Building (former Department of Tourism Building) located in T.M. Kalaw St., Manila.
Ivy Amor F. Lambio1,2
1Institute of Biological Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna and 2Botanical Herbarium, UPLB Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna
Email for correspondence: iflambio@up.edu,ph
Leaf architectural characters have been used to describe plant species when floral characters are absent or are hard to come by, especially during the vegetative season. Although relatively new to Philippines studies, classification of plant species by leaf characters is gaining momentum. Most of the early studies use ramets from a single plant in the characterization, but climatic and edaphic differences in localities where the plants were gathered from may cause some plastic traits to be expressed differently. Herbarium collections poses as a good source of materials for species description using leaf characters. Materials used come from, not only different places but different times in history. This gives a better girth of variation for the species along its distribution range, which would help determine which characters are more plastic than others.
Ronniel D. Pedales1,2, Carmela P. Española3 and Ian Kendrich C. Fontanilla2
1Natural Science Research Institute, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City; 2DNA Barcoding Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City; 3Terrestrial Research in Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City
Email for correspondence: ronnipedals@gmail.com
Insects in urban spaces are generally considered as pest species whose diversity is often times ignored. Urban forest fragments enable insects to flourish by withstanding anthropogenic pressures, marking an untapped diversity of synanthropic and/or relict species in such areas. This study aimed to assess the diversity of fly families (Insecta: Diptera) found in the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus with focus on the Threatened Species Arboretum (formerly known as Owl’s Nest) managed by the Institute of Biology. Using specimens collected by students from 2010-2016 at the Invertebrate Museum and in the DNA Barcoding Laboratory vouchers, it was revealed that the one-hectare arboretum and the surrounding campus is home to 22 of the 76 known families of Philippine Diptera. The higher Diptera is represented well while there is poor representation (six families) of members of the informal group Nematocera; however, it is presumed that there are more as aquatic habitats present in the campus were minimally sampled. Of particular note are two species of the ant-kleptoparasites in the genus Bengalia (Calliphoridae: Bengaliinae) that are present. The existence of this form of interaction in a very small forested area may indicate the importance of urban forest fragments and of collections which enable the study of them. Future studies on DNA barcoding and molecular phylogenetics of representatives as well those in other insect orders are encouraged. Existing species interactions in urban forest fragments needs to be explored to know the depth of importance of these habitats and how it enables such interactions.
Roger G. Dolorosa, Claribel B. Salazar, Nonillon M. Aspe, Herminie P. Palla and Benjamin J. Gonzales
Western Philippines University-Puerto Princesa Campus, Sta. Monica, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan
Email for correspondence: rgdolorosa@gmail.com
The establishment of the Western Philippines University (WPU) Museum was conceptualized in 2014 with the aim to rescue and archive WPU initiated projects specimens and provide additional learning hub. Since its opening in 2015, the museum has received specimens and cash donations from various individuals and organizations. At present, the museum holds more than 600 species of plants and animals, including several paratypes and a holotype of newly described species from Palawan. Few local artworks and aboriginal basketry are also on display. The museum has also attracted nearly 5,000 visitors within the last two years. To accommodate the increasing number of collections and to attract more visitors, the museum requires additional space, upgraded facilities and trained manpower.
Marianne Leila S. Flores, Therese Marie A. Collantes and Joseph F. dela Cruz
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna
Email for correspondence: msflores2@up.edu.ph
There are three veterinary exhibit halls within the University of the Philippines Los Baños’ College of Veterinary Medicine: the Parasite Collection and Reference Center (PCRC), the Dr. Jose A. Solis Museum of Veterinary Anatomy (Anatomy Museum) and the Veterinary Pathology Resource Facility (VPRF). They have been established at different times and are in different states of “maturity”. Elementary and high school students visit these halls on a regular basis. The PCRC is the country’s only exhibit hall that showcases parasites that are important to man and animals. It was housed in its present venue since the early 2000’s although the collection started decades earlier with contributions from Parasitology faculty members and veterinary students. The Anatomy Museum houses and displays mostly different animal skeletons, preserved animal heads and samples of animal fetal abnormal developments, among others. While the VPRF has an exhibit hall but nothing is on display. All of the specimens within are histopathologic tissue slices, stained and mounted on glass slides. The management of these exhibit halls is a challenge to say the least, especially since no personnel is hired specifically to attend to these venues. It is envisioned that place and function of these Exhibit Halls within the College and the University be known so that they can be improved and be the repository of non-literary reference materials that are of veterinary medicine importance, especially those that are related to the Philippines scene.
Melanie R. Montaño and Monique Eloise T. Mercado
University of the Philippines Cebu
Email for correspondence: mrmontano@up.edu.ph
Animal collections serve as deep wells of knowledge since they can be used to study biodiversity and evolution, among others. Academe-based collections are especially valuable because they are easily accessible to students and researchers. Hence, it is important to determine their status and to identify their challenges in maintaining and preserving the collection. With this, the macroscopic metazoan collections of five universities in Cebu City were inventoried and were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Their corresponding persons-in-charge were also interviewed. The combined collections amount to 53,057 specimens. About 96% of which is contributed by only one university. Around 98% of the aggregate collection are insects. Although insects comprise the bulk of the combined collection, gastropods and anthozoans are most commonly collected. Most of the specimens are acquired through field trips related to active researches and are supplemented by donations from students and researchers. Labeling issues are observable. Only one university follows proper labeling practices. About 60% of the specimens in the other universities have no labels while 2% are mislabeled. All universities keep an inventory of their specimens; however, these are not catalogued. The lack of storage facilities is one of the problems most commonly reported by the respondents. Most of them store their collections inside laboratory classrooms. The other challenges reported were lack of expertise in specimen identification and verification, lack of personnel, and maintenance. It appears that most of the universities in Cebu City need expert training to be able to properly maintain and expand their collections.
Dino Angelo E. Ramos1, Gizelle A. Batomalaque1,2 and Jonathan A. Anticamara1
1Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines Diliman, National Science Complex, Diliman, Quezon City; 2Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science, Drexel University, Philadelphia
Email for correspondence: dinoangeloramos@gmail.com
Mollusks are an invaluable resource in the Philippines, and to date there is a lack of recent reviews of its museum collections or mollusk research trends in the country. Such assessments would contribute to Philippine museum development and biodiversity management. This review showed that local museums in the Philippines have much to improve in terms of their infrastructure, taxonomic breadth, and geographic coverage in order to effectively cater to research and conservation needs of the country. For example, the UP Biology Invertebrate Museum has only 1,803 accessioned lots (i.e., individual/s of the same species from the same collection event that are assigned a unique catalog number) representing approximately 816 mollusk species—a small fraction of the estimated 22,000 Philippine species. Specimen collections mostly come from Region 4 (CALABARZON and MIMAROPA), while the Cordilleras were least sampled. Publications on Philippine mollusks are dominated by taxonomic research and biodiversity surveys, followed by fisheries-related studies. A considerable number of studies were focused on public health (about 10%) as well. Around 77% of publications were on marine species. Therefore, this review showed that there is a great need to (1) improve spatial and taxonomic coverage of mollusk sampling and collections; (2) fill important knowledge gaps (e.g., ecology and conservation) that will be useful in management and assessment of status of many mollusk species; and (3) build network of functional museums that could help facilitate mollusk and invertebrate researches and conservation in general.
Benjamin Vallejo Jr.
Biogeography, Environment, Evolution and Climate Laboratory, Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology, Science and Society Program, College of Science, National Science Complex, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City
Email for correspondence: bmvallejo1@up.edu.ph
The Darwinian sciences face two major data constraints. These are the Darwinian and Wallacean shortfalls. Named after the co-proponents of evolutionary theory, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, the Darwinian shortfall is on our lack of knowledge in phylogenetics and the Wallacean shortfall is on our lack of knowledge in biodiversity distribution and their spatial characteristics. Resolving one of the shortfalls consequently resolves the other. The Philippines is one of the world’s megadiverse countries. Information on the occurrence of biodiversity is available but are located in diverse locations. Natural History museums and libraries are places in which to start collating information and identify data gaps in distribution and many museums and libraries worldwide have digitized their records. In this presentation, I share my experiences in assessing the Wallacean shortfall in the distribution of shallow water coral reef mollusk species diversity in the Philippines. Coral reef mollusks are well known taxa in the Philippines. I used the Delaware Museum of Natural History (DMNH) Philippine mollusk database for assessing the Wallacean shortfall. The DMNH database is one of the world’s most extensive, with 35,000 records for Philippine mollusks. I note data quality, georeferencing problems and the distributional gaps that are likely related to ecological survey priorities and limitations and present suggestions on how to address these. I also present pressing data needs such as assessing the impact of invasive species.
Jessica B. Baroga1,2, Sheryl A. Yap,2,3 & Tony Robillard4
1Graduate School, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna ; 2Institute of Weed Science, Entomology and, Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and Food Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna; 3UPLB Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna; 4Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB - UMR 7205 – CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, EPHE, Sorbonne Universités, 57 rue Cuvier, CP50, F-75005, Paris, France.
Email for correspondence: jessicabaroga@gmail.com
The natural history museums hold biological collections from the past and in the present. These museum collections played important roles especially in doing taxonomic researches. In the present study, several biological institutions and natural history museums were visited to examine cricket specimens from their insect collections. Five new species under two genera (Lebinthus and Paranisitra) of subfamily Eneopterinae have been discovered solely from the collections. These were from insect collections of Bernice P. Bishop Museum (BPBM) USA, UPLB-Museum of Natural History Museum (UPLB MNH) Laguna, and Institute of Weed Science, Entomology and Plant Pathology-Taxonomy Laboratory, UPLB, such as: L. palaceus n. sp. (collected from Mindanao in 1959-1960); L. parvus n. sp. (collected from Mindanao in 1961); L. hamus n. sp. (collected from Palawan in 1957-1958) P. flavofacia n. sp. (collected from Mindanao in 1958-1961); and P. baltazarae n. sp. (collected from Luzon in 1962-1963). Aside from museum collections, five new eneopterine species were also described from recent personal collections, namely, L. dannybaletei n. sp., L. magayon n. sp., P. manobo n. sp., P. modecera n. sp., and P. esperanza n. sp. For some known species of Eneopterinae, new locality/country records were also described from personal and institutional collections of National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) in Manila, Osaka Museum of Natural History (OMNH) in Japan, Zoological Institute (ZIN) in Russia, BPBM, UPLB-MNH, and IWEP-Taxo. Lab. Despite of these discoveries, many species of the group remain undescribed. It is highly recommended to conduct more field collections, and to build collaboration and partnership between museums to help in the preservation and conservation and for future collaborative studies on the group.
Sheryl A. Yap
Associate Professor, Institute of Weed Science, Entomology and Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture and Food Science and Curator, UPLB Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna
Email for correspondence: sayap3@up.edu.ph
The Baltazar-Gapud (2001) inventory of Philippine entomofauna have described more than 20,000 different species with an overall endemism of 70%. Hemiptera represents about 12.5% of this known fauna with more than 14% known endemism (Gapud, 2005). Even though the Philippines is considered as a megadiversity hotspot, only few hemipterists have paid attention to the fulgoromorphan fauna of the Philippines. Only those species that are found to be economically important by attacking corn, sugarcane, coconut, and other economically important plants (Gabriel, 2000; Zelazny and Pacumbaba, 1982; Pemberton, 1963; Lepesme, 1947) were given much attention. Currently, the most accurate overview of Philippine fulgoromorpha can be viewed in the website Fulgoromorpha List on the Web (Bourgoin, 2017) consisting of 18 families, 165 genera and 461 species. Recent publications regarding Fulgoromorphan taxonomy research are mainly conducted by foreign experts and only 2 Filipinos have worked and published taxonomic articles: Barrion AT (riceland Delphacidae) and Yap SA (new species of Sikaianini: Derbidae). Subsequently, there is no doubt that with 7,107 islands that comprise the Philippine archipelago, the high endemicity of the Fulgoromorpha, many more species remain to be discovered. Well curated local collections are available in the Entomology Section of the Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños. Collaborative efforts between local and foreign institutions are very much appreciated to continue to train students on taxonomy and conduct research of Fulgoromorpha in the country.
Emerito Batara1, Eden V. Evangelista2, Chrissa Alyana M. Ortega3 and Luisito T. Evangelista4
1Officer-in-Charge, MSU – IIT Museum; 2Professor, Philippine Normal University, Manila; 3Laboratory Technician I, MSU – IIT Museum; 4Curator I, Botany and National Herbarium, National Museum of the Philippines, Manila
Email for correspondence: iitnsm@gmail.com
The Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology in Iligan City, in its desire to supplement the lessons learned in school, established the MSU-IIT Museum of Natural History. In its facility, it has several collections of natural history specimens both marine and terrestrial. Among the collections are macroscopic species of algae collected by teachers, students and enthusiasts numbering around 434 specimens mounted on sheets and an undetermined number preserved in bottles. Though they have a meager number of specimens as compared to other institutions, the collections represent the important species of algae found along the coasts of northwestern Mindanao, their ecological distribution and economic importance.
Marian P. De Leon1, Ireneo L. Lit, Jr.2 and Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez3
1University Researcher II and Curator, Microbial Culture Collection, UPLB Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna; 2Professor, Environmental Biology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences; Former Director and Curator of UPLB Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna; 3Professor, Animal Biology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences; Curator and Director of the UPLB Museum of Natural History, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna
Email for correspondence: mapdeleon11@gmail.com
The Microbial Culture Collection (MCC) of the University of the Philippines Los Baños-Museum of Natural History (UPLB-MNH) is a member of the World Federation of Culture Collection (WFCC) and the Philippine Network of Microbial Culture Collections (PNMCC), Inc. In 2008, MCC started to engage and commence in conducting research on microbial diversity of Philippines caves under the UPLB MNH Cave Biodiversity Program. The sustainability of this scientific pursuit was made possible through the UPLB Basic Research and UPLB MNH Core funds and in collaboration with academic and research institutions and culture collections in the Philippines and abroad. These include the Institute of Biological Sciences, UPLB; University of the Philippines Culture Collection (UPCC) and Natural Sciences Research Institute (NSRI), UP Diliman; Department of Agriculture Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) in the Philippines; and Korean Collection of Type Cultures (KCTC) in Jeongeup-si, South Korea. A combination of conventional phenotypic and high-throughput screening such as 16S rRNA sequencing was employed to a wide range of samples collected from Philippine caves to determine diversity as well as search for novel and biotechnologically important species of bacteria, yeasts and molds. To date, a total of more than 200 microbial strains from Philippine caves are deposited and added to MCC existing culture collection, most of which are further being characterized using polyphasic taxonomy for proper annotation as new species. With its commitment and responsibility of extending support and collaborative service to young researchers, MCC continues to assist secondary, undergraduate and graduate student researches from UPLB taking Cave Ecology and Microbiology courses and UP Rural High school working on cave microorganisms. Through partnership with government and private research institutions, MCC aims to be the center for Philippine cave microbial diversity studies and repository of cave microorganisms that will allow access of microbial cultures to researchers and students who wish to pursue cave microbiological studies with application of these microorganisms in agriculture, food and pharmaceutical industries.