Forest Science and Technology

ISSN: 2158-0103 (Print) 2158-0715 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tfst20

Wildlife diversity studies and conservation efforts

in the Philippines

Juancho B. Balatibat

To cite this article: Juancho B. Balatibat (2008) Wildlife diversity studies and
conservation efforts in the Philippines, Forest Science and Technology, 4:1, 1-4, DOI:
10.1080/21580103.2008.9656331

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/21580103.2008.9656331

Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Published online: 13 Dec 2010.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 4254

View related articles

Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at

https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tfst20
Forest Science and Technology Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 1~4 (2008)
Forest Science and
Technology

Wildlife Diversity Studies and Conservation Efforts in the Phil-

ippines
Juancho B. Balatibat*
Department of Forest Biological Sciences, College of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of
the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna, Philippines

(Received August 16, 2007; Accepted June 29, 2008)

Wildlife diversity studies through rapid assessment using transect method and uti-
lizing different trapping techniques were conducted in different habitat types in var-
ious parts of the Philippines. Results showed the presence of considerable number
of vertebrate wildlife species in the study sites from common to rare and threat-
ened species. Further, endemism was noted as remarkably high reaching an aver-
age of 45% particularly at the watershed areas sampled. In addition, possible new
species were also collected from the study sites. The computed Shannon-Wiener
Diversity Index for the different study sites indicated relatively high wildlife diver-
sity. El Nido Island in Palawan got the highest species diversity index ranging from
3.41 to 3.58. The varied habitat types and landscapes in the Philippines contrib-
ute to high degree of biological diversity that deserves a concerted conservation
effort. These studies further confirm that the Philippines is a biologically rich coun-
try and a significant biodiversity hotspot and conservation area in the world.
Key words : Conservation, wildlife, diversity

INTRODUCTION Of the more than 1,000 terrestrial wildlife species

The Philippines with diverse landscapes is a bio-
logically rich country and is regarded as a significant
biodiversity hotspot and conservation area in the
world. Per hectare, the Philippines probably harbors
more diversity of life than any other country on Earth,
but its biodiversity is also under tremendous threat of
endangerment (Ong and others 2002). In addition,
because of the large number of islands of different
sizes and geological histories, the Philippines may
have the greatest concentration of island endemism
in the world, which makes it one of the best places in
the world for ecological and evolutionary studies
(Alcala 2002, Catibog-Sinha and Heaney 2006).
Conservation International lists the Philippines
amongst the top ten “Megadiversity Countries” glo-
bally. Major international conservation organizations
currently regard the Philippines as one of the top glo-
bal priorities for conservation action (Oliver and
Heaney, 1996). Birdlife International, for example,
has ranked the country as one of the highest priori-
ties for bird conservation.
(576 birds, 172 terrestrial mammals, 101 amphibi-
ans and 258 reptiles) recorded for the Philippines,
almost half (49%) are unique to this country. Unfor-
tunately, these wildlife resources are continuously
under pressures due to loss and destruction of their
habitat, over-exploitation, environmental pollution
and the recent global climate change. About 128
endemic wildlife species are under various threat
categories (Ong and others 2002). Conservation
efforts for wildlife and other biological resources in
the Philippines began in 1987 with the creation of
Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB)
received more attention after the country signed
the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
These wildlife diversity studies, therefore, may con-
tribute important and reliable data on wildlife from
various sites for the implementation of wildlife con-
servation initiatives throughout the Philippines.
METHODS
Study sites-Rapid inventory and diversity assess-

1
2 Forest Science and Technology Vol. 4, No. 1 (2008)
ment study of wildlife was conducted in different
parts of the Philippines. The sampling area were
found in the following localities: 1) El Nido Island,
Palawan; 2) Kaliwa Watershed in Tanay, Rizal; 3)
Mountain ecosystems in Tampakan, South Cotabato;
4) Caliraya Watershed in Laguna; and, 5) Angat
Watershed in Bulacan. For Kaliwa Watershed and
Mt. Matutum ecosystems, only avifaunal inven-
tory was conducted.
Sampling techniques--Line transect method for
ocular observation of wildlife, mist netting for noc-
turnal and volant species, and cage trapping for
non-volant species. Known species collected from
the mist net and traps were released after proper
documentation and biometrics. Possible new spe-
cies were preserved accordingly for further spe-
cies verification.
Biodiversity measures--Biodiversity parameters
such as Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index, Sim-
psonís Dominance Index and Species Evenness
Index were computed for the various sampling
sites using bird-sampling data. Only the data on
Shannon are discussed here.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Species inventory--In El Nido Island, Palawan,
103 bird species, 24 mammals, 10 reptiles and 12
frogs were recorded to occur in different types of
vegetation (Magsino 200 and Osbucan 2000).
Secondary forest has the highest bird species
diversity, followed by mangrove vegetation. Pala-
wan is known for high rate of endemism. Thus,
the endemic wildlife recorded in the area includes
10 bird species, 6 species of mammals, one spe-
cies of reptile and 2 species of frogs. Among these
endemic species the Palawan peacock pheasant
(Polyplectron emhanum), the Grey Imperial Pigeon
(Ducula pickeringii) and the Blue-naped Parrot
(Tanygnathus lucionensis) are the endangered
species found in the area.
Avifaunal inventory at Kaliwa Watershed in Tanay,
Rizal recorded a total of 55 species in 31 families
found in different plant communities varying from
grassland, agricultural, bamboo stand and sec-
ondary forest (Urriza 2004). Among these species,
29% or 16 species are endemic to the Philippines of
which two species, the Philippine Duck (Anas luzon-
ica) and the Philippine Dwarf Kingfisher (Ceyx mela-
nurus), are listed as vulnerable (Collar and others
1999, WCSP 1997).
Bird diversity assessment along different eleva-
tion gradients with different habitat types varying
from grassland-agroforestry area, old secondary
growth and mossy forest in Tampakan, south
Cotabato mountain ecosystems reported by Duran
(2005) listed 55 species constituting 44 genera
and 29 families. About 42% of these species are
endemic to the Philippines. Three genera (Phapi-
treron, Rhabdornis and Sarcops) recorded in the
area are also endemic to the country. The grass-
land-agroforestry area and the mossy forest gave
the highest number of bird species, 35 and 34
respectively. During this study, an unidentified
frog species, which appears as a new species
was collected.
As a requisite for the preparation of conserva-
tion and development plant plan for the two water-
shed areas managed by the National Power
Corporation, the Caliraya watershed in Laguna
and the Angat watershed in Bulacan, a biodiver-
sity resource assessment was conducted in 2005
and 2006, respectively. The wildlife survey con-
ducted in a 500-hectare area at the Caliraya-
Lumot Watershed listed a total of 54 species in 45
families including freshwater fishes. The terres-
trial wildlife consisted of 27 species of birds, 7
species of reptiles, 4 species of frogs and 4 spe-
cies of mammals. Wildlife endemism in the area is
high at an average of 37%. Endemic birds com-
prised about 33%, reptiles 29%, amphibians 25%
and mammals 60%. Among the endemic spe-
cies, Luzon Bleeding-heart Pigeon (Gallicolumba
luzonica) is categorized as near-threatened. In
addition, the Luzon Tarictic Hornbill still abounds
in the area. For the Angat Watershed, a total of 66
species belonging to 34 families was recorded
from the six transect sites surveyed. It is com-
prised of 43 species of birds, 14 species of rep-
tiles, 5 species of frogs and 4 species of mammals.
Significantly, a possible new species of frog of the
genus Kaloula was collected from the water tribu-
tary in the area. Furthermore, endemism level was
remarkably high at an average of 45%. Among
the groups of wildlife, the mammals and amphibi-
ans gave extremely high percentage endemism at
100% and 80%, respectively. The group of reptiles
had 43% endemic species while the avian fauna
had 37%. The two endemic genera, Phapitreron
and Sarcops, are also present in the area. Thus,
Angat Watershed area can be categorized as an
important Endemic Wildlife Area (EWA) in the
Philippines.
Biodiversity indices--Wildlife diversity level in the
different study sites, based on Shannon-Wiener
index using bird sampling data taken from an
 Juancho B. Balatibat
approximately 2-km transect, appeared relatively
high. At El Nido Island, species diversity index
ranged from 3.41 to 3.58. For the Kaliwa water-
shed, bird species diversity ranged from 2.00 to
3.44 while in Tampakan mountain ecosystems,
species diversity got a low index value of 2.88 and
a high value of 3.11. At the Caliraya watershed,
species diversity index value averaged 2.43 while
Angat watershed gave an average of 2.11. El Nido
Island had the highest species diversity followed by
the Tampakan mountain ecosystems, then the Kaliwa
watershed. Furthermore, the data revealed that lower
species diversity index value was obtained from a
more disturbed and open habitat types. Accord-
ing to Magurran (1988), an area with an index
value ranging from 1.5 to 4.0 is considered highly
diverse. Thus, the wildlife composition of the dif-
ferent study sites is highly diverse.
CONCLUSION
Results of these different studies further con-
firm the biological richness of the Philippines and
the presence of high rate of endemism that makes
it one of the top megadiversity countries and one
of the hottest of the hotspots globally. It also
implies that several habitat types and landscapes
in the country are Important Biodiversity Areas
even the small island of El Nido, Palawan. Thus,
local and international organizations and even the
community must strengthen the concerted effort
for the conservation and/or protection of threat-
ened wildlife and other biological resources in the
country.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was partially supported by Korea For-
est Service.
This paper is a brief compendium of the outputs in
my various research involvements. My heartfelt grat-
itude to Dr. Rex Cruz and Dr. Enrique Tolentino of
the College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Uni-
versity of the Philippines Los Baos for giving me
the opportunity to be involved in the biodiversity
resource assessment in Caliraya and Angat
Watershed; to Mr. Blas Tabaranza through the
Haribon Foundation for the support given to my
advisees, Ms. Gina Magsino and Mr. Ivan Osbu-
can for their wildlife inventory in El Nido, Pala-
wan; to Dr. Nelson Pampolina and the Southern
Mining Company in Tampakan for the support for
my advisee, Mr. Neil Duran for his thesis on avi-
3
faunal diversity assessment at Tampakan moun-
tain ecosystems, South Cotabato, Philippines; and
to Prof. Joey Baril for the help extended to Mr.
Rolly Urriza, my thesis advisee, during the avifau-
nal inventory at the Kaliwa watershed.
LITERATURE CITED
Alcala, A.C. 2002. Vanishing Treasures of the Philip-
pine Rainforest. http://www.fieldmuseum.org
Catibog-Sinha, C.S. and L.R. Heaney. 2006. Philip-
pine Biodiversity: Principles and Practice. Que-
zon City: Haribon Foundation for the Conservation
of Natural Resources, Inc. 495pp.
Collar, N.J., N.A.D. Mallari and B.R. Tabaranza, Jr.
1999. Threatened Birds of the Philippines: The
Haribon Foundation/Birdlife International Red Data
Book. Makati City: Bookmark. 559pp.
Duran, N.J.E. 2005. Avifaunal Diversity Assessment
Along Different Elevation Gradients of Tampakan
Mountain Ecosystems and Vicinities, South
Cotabato, Philippines. College of Forestry and
Natural Resources, University of the Philippines
Los Baos. Unpublished undergraduate thesis.
Magsino, G.M. 2000. Inventory of Avifauna in El
Nido, Palawan. College of Forestry and Natu-
ral Resources, University of the Philippines Los
Baos. Unpublished undergraduate thesis.
Magurran, A. E. 1988. Ecological Diversity and Its
Measurement. Princeton Univ. Press, New Jer-
sey. 179 pp.
Oliver, W.L.R. and L.R. Heaney. 1996. Biodiversity
and conservation in the Philippines. Interna-
tional Zoo News 432: 329-337.
Osbucan, I.L.R. 2000. Inventory of Amphibians, Rep-
tiles and Mammals in El Nido, Palawan. College
of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of
the Philippines Los Baos. Unpublished under-
graduate thesis.
Ong, P.S., L.E. Afuang and R.G. Rosell-Ambal. 2002.
Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Priorities: A
Second Iteration of the National Biodiversity Strat-
egy and Action Plan. Department of Environment
and Natural Resources, Conservation Interna-
tional Philippines, Biodiversity Conservation Pro-
gram-University of the Philippines Center for
Integrative and Development Studies, and Foun-
dation for the Philippine Environment, Quezon
City, Philippines.113pp.
Progress Report. 2005. Land-use and Ground Verifi-
cation of Caliraya-Lumot Watershed. UPLB-Foun-
dation Inc. and National Power Corporation Funded
Project. (Unpublished report)
Progress Report. 2006. Biodiversity Resource Inventory
4 Forest Science and Technology Vol. 4, No. 1 (2008)

and Assessment at Angat Watershed. UPLB- Wildlife Conservation Society of the Philippines. 1997.
Foundation Inc. and National Power Corporation Philippine Red Data Book. Makati City: Book-
Funded Project. (Unpublished report) mark. 262pp.