Philippines: Islands of Palawan, Balabac, Ursula, and the

Calamain Group

Description 
 Location and General Description
This ecoregion includes the island Palawan plus Balabac, Ursula Island, and the Calamian
Group. Palawan itself is the sixth largest of the Philippine Islands. The climate of the
ecoregion is tropical wet (National Geographic Society 1999). In northwest Palawan, a dry
season lasts from November to May while the wet season lasts from June to October; the
rest of the island experiences a short, one- to three-month dry season. The east coast
becomes progressively drier than the west coast from north to south (Davis et al. 1995).
Palawan (along with the Calamianes and the island of Mindoro) was rifted (below water)
from the Asian mainland approximately 32 million years ago, transported through seafloor
spreading across the growing South China Sea, added to the growing Philippine
Archipelago approximately 17 million years ago, and uplifted above water approximately 5-
10 million years ago (Hall and Holloway 1998; Dickinson, Kennedy, and Parkes 1991).
Metamorphic rocks are found in the northern portion of the island north of Mt. St. Paul.
Volcanic rocks are found in the vicinity of Cleopatra's Needle, just south of Mt. St. Paul. Mt.
St. Paul itself and the El Nido Cliffs are karst landscapes. The southern third of the island,
south of the Quezon-Aboabo Gap, is dominated by ultramafics mixed with volcanic rocks
and Tertiary limestone. Tertiary sandstones and shales occur along the southwest coast
(Davis et al. 1995).

The channel between Palawan and Borneo is about 145 m deep. During the middle
Pleistocene, sea levels were 160 m lower than today, and the islands were connected.
During the last ice age (late Pleistocene), sea level was approximately 120 m below current
levels, and Palawan was separated from ice age Borneo by a narrow channel. Palawan has
always remained separated from the rest of the Philippines. Palawan is long and narrow,
consisting of a steep mountain range whose highest point is 2,085 m (Mt. Mantalingajan).
More than 45 percent of Palawan consists of mountains with slopes greater than 30 percent
(Davis et al. 1995).

Vegetation types on Palawan are diverse and include beach forest, tropical lowland
evergreen dipterocarp rain forest, lowland semi-deciduous forest, montane forest, and
ultramafic and limestone forest. Beach forest merges with other forest types away from the
coast and includes Calophyllum inophyllum, Canarium asperum var. asperum, Pometia
pinnata, Palaquium dubardii, and Ficus spp. (Davis et al. 1995).

The lowland evergreen dipterocarp rain forest, which naturally occupies 31 percent of the
island, is dominated by Agalai spp., Dipterocarpus gracilis, D. grandiflorus, Ficus spp.,
Tristania spp., Exocarpus latifolius, and Swintonia foxworthyi. Sygium spp., Dracontomelon
dao, and Pongamia pinnata are emergent. Lianas and cycads are common. In southern
Palawan, a Casuarina sp. dominates in the lowland forests (Davis et al. 1995).
The eastern half of the island is in a rain shadow and contains moist semi-deciduous
forests. Soils are thin on the steeper slopes and support medium-sized trees (up to 15 m
tall), which shed their leaves during the March-May dry season. The rainy season is June-
July. Common tree species include Pterocymbium tinctorium, Pterospermum diversifolium,
Hymenodictyon spp., and Garuga floribunda (Davis et al. 1995).

Montane forests, found between 800 and 1,500 m, are dominated by Tristania spp.,
Casuarina spp., Swietenia foxworthyi, and Litsea spp. in the lower elevations. Upper
montane forest trees include Agathis philippinensis, Dacrydium pectinatum, Podocarpus
polystachyus, Gnetum latifolium, Cycas wadei, Cinnamomum rupestre, Nepenthes
philippinensis, and Angiopteris spp. (Davis et al. 1995).

Limestone forests are found on the islets surrounding Palawan and over large areas in the
southern portions of the island. Represented are Euphorbia trigona, Aglaia argentea, and
Antidesma, Drypetes, Gomphandra, Sterculia, Pleomele, and Begonia spp. (Davis et al.
1995).

Victoria Peak, in south-central Palawan, contains the largest region of ultramafic forest on
the island. Although many of the ultramafic tree species are shared with semi-deciduous
forest, several species, including Scaevola micrantha, Brackenridgea palustris var.
foxworthi, Exocarpus latifolius, and Phyllanthus lamprophyllus are believed to be heavy
metal indicators (Davis et al. 1995).

Biodiversity Features
Relative to the size of Palawan, the ecoregion contains a rich fauna, including several
groups that are not found in the rest of the Philippines (carnivores, pangolins, porcupines,
and some insectivores) (Heaney 1986).
There are many endemic mammals in Palawan, but nearly all the genera (96 percent) are
also found in Borneo. Of twenty-five indigenous nonvolant mammal species, eleven (44
percent) are endemic to Palawan, and the remainder are shared with Borneo. Therefore,
the greater Palawan region is rightly considered part of the Sunda Shelf bioregion rather
than that of the Philippines. The large number of endemic species but few endemic genera
of Palawan are consistent with a separation of Borneo and Palawan of approximately
160,000 (since the middle Pleistocene) (Heaney 1986). There are fifteen endemic or near-
endemic mammals in greater Palawan (table 1).

Table 1. Endemic and Near-Endemic Mammal Species.

  Family Species
Pteropodidae Acerodon leucotis*
Cervidae Axis calamianensis*
Sciuridae Sundasciurus steerii*
Sciuridae Sundasciurus moellendorfi*
Sciuridae Sundasciurus rabori*
Sciuridae Hylopetes nigripes*
Muridae Chiropodomys calamianensis*
Muridae Maxomys panglima*
Muridae Palawanomys furvus*
Hystricidae Hystrix pumila*
Sorcidae Crocidura palawanensis*
Muridae Haeromys sp. A*
Sciuridae Sundasciurus hoogstraali*
Sciuridae Sundasciurus juvencus*
Tupaiidae Tupaia palawanensis*

An asterisk signifies that the species' range is limited to this ecoregion.

The Calamian deer (Axis calamianensis) is found only in the Calamian Islands, where it
survives in low densities on Busuanga, Calauit, and Culion Islands. The only protected area
for this species was established to protect free-ranging African ungulates on Calauit Island
(Wemmer 1998).

Balabac, Palawan, and the Calamian Islands also provide habitat for an endemic
subspecies of the bearded pig (Sus barbatus ahoenobarbus), another subspecies of which
is widely distributed in the Greater Sundas. The IUCN considers this species to be rare and
declining. This species naturally inhabits tropical evergreen rain forest but is able to use a
wide variety of habitats within forests. They are quite dependent on fruit supplies but
consume a wide variety of foods. Directional large-scale population movements in scattered
or condensed herds lasting days, weeks, or even months are reported for other subspecies
in Borneo and Sumatra; this is generally associated with the mast fruiting of dipterocarps.
Such movements have not been reported from the Philippines (Oliver 1993).

Several of Palawan's endemic mammals are considered threatened. Three endemic

mammal species are considered endangered, including the Calamian deer, a Sunda tree
squirrel (Sundasciurus juvencus) (recommended for delisting; Heaney et al. 1998), and the
Palawan rat (Palawanomys furvus), which was collected only four times in 1962. A
subspecies of mouse deer, the Balabac chevrotain (Tragulus napu nigricans), which is
confined to Balabac Island, is also considered endangered. Five endemic mammal species
are considered vulnerable, including Acerodon leucotis, the Palawan treeshrew (Tupaia
palawanensis), the Palawan stink badger (Mydaus marchei), the Palawan binturong
(Arctictis binturong whitei), and a Sunda tree squirrel (Sundasciurus rabori) (IUCN 2000).