Fourteen unique animals found on the Siargao islands took the spotlight in a three-day webinar for kids during the National Science and Technology Week celebration held Nov. 22-28.
In the webinar entitled, “Worth More than Gold: Siargao’s Biodiversity,” these animals show that the country’s surfing capital is more than cloud nine waves, white-sand beaches, Sugba Lagoon, and Magpupungko Rock Pools.
The webinar was hosted by the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Animation was used to creatively showcase basic research results and encourage the youth to start protecting the natural resources that they will inherit in the future.
In the animation, each animal briefly talks about themselves on what they are, where they live, and how humans can protect them. Aside from animation effects, the presentation was accompanied by video footage from the wild.
One of the featured animals is the Philippines’ native squirrel. Found only in Mindanao and Palawan, and now also in Siargao, the Mindanao tree squirrel eats fresh fruits then disperses the seeds in the forests. The seeds later on grow and become new trees.
Siargao also has thick mangroves where mudcrabs or Scylla serrata thrive. Mudcrabs can be cooked with coconut curry or garlic butter.
Other animals featured in the animation were:
Philippine duck, Anas luzonica
Sailfin lizards
Firefly or alitaptap
Paka gadikit or Kurixalus appendiculatus
Orange-fiddler crab
Saddle butterfly fish, Chaetodon ephippium
White-eared brown dove
Lesser long-tongued fruit bat
Philippine crocodile, Crocodylus mindorensis
A butterfly species, Ypthirea serrepea
Fanged river frog, from the genus Limnonectes
Orange-dotted tuskfish, Protogynous hermaphrodite
The Mindanao tree squirrel, mudcrabs, and the other 12 on the list are among the 403 animal species found in the municipality of Del Carmen, Siargao Islands.
The findings portrayed in the webinar were based on a recently concluded research project funded by DOST-NRCP that aims to catalogue the diverse flora and fauna on the Siargao islands.
According to Dr. Cecilia B. Moran, a professor from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and the project’s leader, there are also at least 100 plant species in the Siargao Islands.
“Sa pamamagitan ng video na inyong mapapanood, nais naming isulong o i-promote ang basic research at maipamahagi ang aming mga natuklasan sa isang [paraan na mas] malikhain at mas naiintindihan ng mga karaniwang indibidwal at lalong-lalo na ng mga mag-aaral,” Dr. Moran said.
Appreciating basic research results
Del Carmen Municipal Mayor Engr. Proserfina Matugas-Coro thanked the DOST for supporting ongoing biodiversity studies in Siargao Island.
“Growing up, we have our names for the flora and fauna found in the islands. But it is only recent, with the support of DOST… that finally we have scientific names attached to our endemic species and found new species to science,” she said.
She also encouraged all national government agencies, the academic community, and the private sector to continuously work together to protect the natural resources of what Time Magazine called one of the “World’s Greatest Places.”
DOST Sec. Fortunato T. de la Peña emphasized the role of ecological sustainability as it helps “build an environment with prosperity from within.”
“Today we will witness the outstanding works of our scholars and the brightest minds in the Philippines as they instrumentalize the power of knowledge in making harmony and sustainability possible,” he said. (David Matthew C. Gopilan / DOST-STII) – jlo
