Preliminary List of Coleoptera Fauna in Aliwagwag Protected Landscape, Mindanao Island, Philippines

Begomoviruses were found to be the major viruses infecting tomato plants in the Philippines based on the surveys conducted from 2005 to 2006. Pepper-infecting begomoviruses were also detected. Isolates of four distinct begomovirus species, Ageratum yellow vein virus (AYVV), Tomato leaf curl Cebu virus (ToLCCeV), Tomato leaf curl Mindanao virus (ToLCMiV) and Tomato leaf curl Philippines virus (ToLCPV), were characterised at the DNA sequence level by comparing 20 DNA-As from tomato samples comprising 13 from Luzon, 2 from Cebu and 5 from Mindanao Islands, along with 3 DNA-As from pepper samples, 1 each from Luzon, Cebu and Mindanao Islands. Two of these species (ToLCCeV and ToLCMiV) were distinct novel begomoviruses, while AYVV was detected for the first time in the Philippines. By geographic distribution, two tomato begomoviruses (ToLCPV and ToLCCeV) were detected in Luzon and Cebu Islands. The ToLCMiV was also detected in Luzon Island. The three tomato begomoviruses, AYVV, ToLCCeV and ToLCMiV, were detected in Mindanao Island. A ToLCPV isolate infecting pepper was also detected in Luzon Island, while ToLCCeV was detected in pepper samples from Cebu and Mindanao Islands. The diversity of viruses and their distinct geographic distribution need to be taken into consideration in the development and deployment of resistance against begomoviruses in the Philippines. Strategies for the use of post-transcriptional gene silencing for the control of tomato-infecting begomoviruses in the Philippines are discussed.

This study investigates non-tropical cyclone (TC) related boreal winter heavy rainfall events that lead to extensive flooding (HRF) over the Philippines through a case study and composite analysis. The HRF event examined occurred during January 16–22, 2017 over Cagayan de Oro City (CDO) in Mindanao Island (122–127°E, 5–10°N). The accumulated rainfall over CDO reached by about 180 mm from 00 UTC January 16 to 00 UTC January 17, 2017, exceeding the climatological maximum daily rainfall in January over this area. The interaction of a westward propagating cyclonic circulation over Mindanao Island (MCC) and a shearline that is associated with an eastward-propagating cyclonic and anticyclonic circulations along 20–40°N, led to enhanced moisture convergence and rainfall over CDO. The climatology of these non-TC related HRF events was examined through composite analysis of the HRF events documented in the Dartmouth Flood Observatory archive from 1979 to 2017. The authors identified 34 of such cases over the Philippines, in which 25 occurred over Mindanao Island. The composites of the circulation features of these 25 cases resemble those during the January 2017 case. A vorticity budget analysis was performed to explain the propagation tendency of the MCC. The results show that the MCC only propagated westward when the magnitudes of the stretching and advection terms of the vorticity tendency equation are almost comparable with each other, together with the weakening of the southerly winds around Mindanao Island. This study reveals how cold fronts over the north Pacific together with the MCC induces HRF events over the Philippines.

Six new species of the genus Sicciaemorpha van Eecke, 1920 which was previously considered to be monotypic are described: S. yumun sp. n. (Malaysia: northern Borneo Island), S. langgona sp. n. (the Philippines: Mindanao Island), S. nebulibia sp. n. (the Philippines: Luzon Island), S. pleiadina sp. n. (the Philippines: Mindanao Island), S. danepan sp. n. (the Philippines: Mindanao Island), and S. reducta sp. n. (the Philippines: Mindanao Island). Lectotype is designated for the type species of the genus, Sicciaemorpha ivyalba van Eecke, 1920. Adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated.

Abstract. Berame J, Lawsin N, Miguel F, Chavez J. 2020. Morphological variations of mangosteen fruits from Luzon and Mindanao Islands, the Philippines. Biodiversitas 21: 3094-3100. Luzon and Mindanao islands in the Philippines are the important mangosteen producing provinces whose growing areas are scattered on these two islands. With this, mangosteen variability was detected based on field fruit collections in summer of 2019. The morphological variations of mangosteen fruits were observed and collected in Quezon Province in Luzon and Davao-Zamboanga Provinces in Mindanao based on the total number of 175 mangosteen trees. The main objectives of the research were to find out the morphological variations of mangosteen fruits and using Tomato Analyzer 4.0 to determine the morphological characters that can be used to differentiate mangosteen accessions in the Philippines. The variables include fruit shape index (external and internal), curve fruit shape index, asymmetry, internal eccentricity and weight of the ripe fruits. The results show that fruit characters like ellipsoidal, circular, rectangular, lobe shape, size, pericarp area, and pericarp thickness. are highly resemblance particularly in its fruit shape characters, and even sharing a similar taste of ripe fruits. Data revealed that Garcinia mangostana shared a similar character with Garcinia malaccensis even though they are from different geographical areas. Based on the morphological variations and characters, the two varieties of mangosteen fruits in the Philippines, G. mangostana and G. malaccensis, are so closely related that they could be combined together as one species as identified in the morphological analysis of this study.

This study investigates the synoptic conditions that led to the heavy rainfall/flood (HRF) event in Mindanao Island, Philippines (122 −127°E; 5 −10°N), on January 2009 (JAN2009 HRF) that are less emphasized in previous works. Extensive flooding was reported over Cagayan de Oro City in the northern part of Mindanao, where the rainfall on January 10, 11, and 13, 2009, exceeded the 99th percentile of daily rainfall records of all January of the city from 1979 to 2017 by almost two times. A similar exceedance was also felt in Hinatuan station over the eastern coast of Mindanao Island on January 15, 2009. The interaction of a cold surge shearline over the northern Mindanao Island and the warm tropical easterlies led to enhanced moisture convergence. The warmer air mass is forced to ascend by the advancing colder air mass because it has lower density than the colder air mass. The enhanced moisture convergence and buoyancy difference by the air masses led to enhanced ascent and consequently rainfall along the cold surge shearline. Further analysis shows that enhanced anomalous easterly and northerly winds at 925 hPa are apparent over the Philippines. The anomalous easterly winds sustained the supply of warmer easterlies and collaboratively interacted with the northerly winds that supplied colder temperature air mass.The climatology of this HRF event was examined for all January from 1979 to 2017. The authors identified 15 other cases that are similar to the JAN2009 HRF event and performed lag composite analyses. The results show that the occurrence of these HRF events is facilitated by the southward expansion of the high-pressure system to the north of the Philippines, enhanced cold and warm temperature advections, and enhanced moisture convergence along the cold surge shearline. The results of this study have important implications for disaster mitigation during the northeast monsoon season when rainfall activities are, in general, less intensive over this region.

We conducted yearlyGlobal Positioning System(GPS) campaigns in the eastern part of Mindanao from March 2010 to March 2014. The obtained station velocities with respect to the Sunda plate (SU) show that WNW motions are dominant due to the convergence of the Philippine Sea plate (PHS). However, it was found that elastic deformations caused by a full coupling of the plate interface down to 80 km could explain a maximum of only 29% of the observed station velocities. In order to interpret the displacement pattern, we applied a rigid block rotation model and determined the Euler vector. As a result, we determined that Mindanao Island could be divided into at least three blocks and that the Philippine fault is one of the block boundaries. Although it was not possible to determine the coupling ratio at the Philippine trench, the dislocation pattern of the Philippine fault showed along-strike variation in Mindanao Island.

The shape of the giant African snail Achatina fulica Bowdich by visual examination seems to vary geographically. To test this observation, geometric morphometric analysis on a total of 976 A. fulica shells from several geographical locations in the Philippines was done. These were collected from the island of Bohol (Agapi, Ondol and Quinoguitan) and in the island of Mindanao - Davao City and Davao del Norte (Davao Riverside, Emily Homes, Las Arenas, New Corella, Nova Tierra and Panabo), Mindanao State University Main Campus, Mimbalut in Iligan City and Balangao, Zamboanga Sibugay. Images of the shells were captured, digitized and subjected to relative warp (RW), canonical variance (CVA) and linear regression analyses to determine whether populations in geographic isolation are phenotypically differentiated to serve as basis for the observation of geographical differentiation in A. fulica. Based on CVA, results showed differentiation of populations; however within population variability was also found to be high. This is in contrast with linear regression involving centroid shapes which revealed slight differentiation between populations. Based on RW analysis, results revealed shells of A. fulica have the following shapes - shells with elongated spire with narrow whorl and narrow aperture, elongated spire with narrow whorl and rounded aperture, short spire with wide whorl and rounded aperture, and short spire with wide whorl and narrow aperture. The findings in this study suggest that although there are notable morphological variations, it may not be substantial to conclude that speciation has taken place in this species.

The genus Sadyattes Stål, 1875 is a poorly understood clade of stick insects of the subfamily Platycraninae and tribe Stephanacridini, that currently comprises three species from Borneo as well as type-species S. borrii Stål, 1875 whose locality is as yet a mystery. In its present recognition the genus is here shown to be paraphyletic and research has revealed that a number of species currently attributed to other genera, one of which is not even closely related, actually belong in Sadyattes. To elucidate these shortcomings a taxonomic review of Sadyattes at the species level is presented along with a generic redescription. Sadyattes is distributed throughout the land masses of the Sunda Shelf (Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, Java and Sumatra with some of its surrounding islands) and the Philippine Islands. Differential diagnoses as well as notes on intraspecific variability and the distributions are provided for all known species, including new descriptions and combinations, with most species also illustrated. Keys are presented to distinguish females and males. The genus Eucarcharus Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1907 is found to be a synonym of Sadyattes and thus synonymised (syn. nov.). The two Philippine species previously contained in Eucarcharus, E. fallax Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1907 and E. feruloides (Westwood, 1859), are automatically transferred to Sadyattes, which results in two new generic combinations (comb. nov.). Four species are transferred to Sadyattes from other genera, which results in another four new generic combinations (comb. nov.): the Bornean S. decoris (Seow-Choen, 2016) and S. incertus (Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1907) from Peninsular Malaysia, Bangka Island and the Andaman Islands from the genus Phobaeticus Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1907 (Clitumninae: Pharnaciini), the Bornean S. nigricornis (Redtenbacher, 1908) from the genus Pharnacia Stål, 1877 (Clitumninae: Pharnaciini), and the Philippine S. leytensis (Zompro, 1997) from the genus Hermarchus Stål, 1875 (Platycraninae: Stephanacridini). Six new species from the Philippines are described: S. banwaon sp. nov. from the island of Mindanao from the female, S. maganda sp. nov. from the island of Mindoro from the female and male, S. matipuno sp. nov. from the island of Luzon from the female, male and egg, S. mindanaense sp. nov. from the island of Mindanao from the female, male and egg, S. panayense sp. nov. from the island of Panay from the female only, and S. tubaense sp. nov. from the island of Luzon from the male. A redescription of the male of the type-species S. borrii Stål, 1875 is presented, whose distribution is here shown to comprise Java and Sumatra, along with a description of the previously unrecorded female, which has proven to be represented by Nesiophasma zanus Hennemann, 1998 (syn. nov.). This latter synonymy renders the questionable locality "New Guinea" of Nesiophasma zanus as erroneous. The previously unknown males of S. feruloides comb. nov., S. fallax comb. nov., and S. incertus comb. nov. are described and those of the latter two species are illustrated for the first time. Also, the eggs of S. fallax comb. nov. and S. feruloides comb. nov. are described and illustrated for the first time. Nearchus grubaueri Redtenbacher, 1908 is re-synonymised with S. incertus (Brunner v. Wattenwyl, 1907; rev. syn.). Holotypes of the newly described species are deposited in the collections of Institute Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Brussels, Belgium (RBINS) and the Natural History Museum, London, U.K. (NHMUK).

Abstract. Paslon Jr FV, Parlucha JA. 2025. Biology and predatory potential of Eocanthecona furcellata on semi-looper, Chrysodeixis eriosoma in Sarangani, Mindanao Island, Philippines. Biodiversitas 26: 6197-6204. Predatory bugs play an important role in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) by naturally regulating populations of agricultural insect pests. Their use promotes sustainable agriculture by enhancing biodiversity and minimizing environmental impact. This study documents the first recorded observation of a predatory stink bug, Eocanthecona furcellata in Sarangani Province, Mindanao Island, Southern Philippines, collected from Sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) fields. The life cycle and predatory potential of E. furcellata were assessed under laboratory conditions using the corn semi-looper, Chrysodeixis eriosoma as prey. The freshly laid eggs of E. furcellata were initially white, gradually turning light brown, and measured 1 mm in length and 0.89 mm in width. Eggs became dark red just before hatching, with an incubation period of six days. The nymphs progressed through five instars, completing their development in an average of 15.7±0.46 days. Adult female E. furcellata were larger and lived up to 36.8±1.81 days, while male adult E. furcellata had a shorter lifespan of up to 32.3±1.34 days. Predation rates varied significantly among developmental stages, with the fifth-instar nymphs exhibiting the highest predatory efficiency, consuming an average of 23.27 second-instar C. eriosoma larvae within 48 hours. The results indicate that C. eriosoma serves as a suitable alternative prey for mass-rearing E. furcellata. Furthermore, the study highlights the potential of E. furcellata as an augmentative biological control agent for managing C. eriosoma populations in agricultural ecosystems.

Abstract. Loquez MO, Amper CD, Tulod AM, Gilbero DM. 2025. Teliospore morphology characterization of Uromycladium falcatariae in falcata plantations at different elevations in Mindanao Island, Philippines. Biodiversitas 26: 296-305. The fungus Uromycladium falcatariae causes gall rust disease in falcata (Falcataria falcata), with severe infections commonly observed at higher elevations (>400 masl). It produces teliospores that disperse through the air, contributing to its widespread prevalence. This study aimed to characterize the fungal teliospores across different elevations in Mindanao using Light Microscopy (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Mature galls with visible brown or rusty powder from falcata were collected from low (<400 masl), moderate (>400-800 masl), and high (>801 masl) elevations. Microphotographs of the teliospores were generated, examined, and compared for morpho-features and quantitative measurements across these elevations. This research provides the first SEM-based morphological characterization of U. falcatariae. The LM results revealed significant increases in teliospore length (P<0.05) and width (P<0.05) with elevation, with the largest dimensions observed at high elevations. SEM analysis demonstrated significant variation in the diameter of the germ pore (P<0.01) and the dorsal concave structure (P<0.05) across elevations, with the largest measurements recorded at high elevations. Detailed morphological features and quantitative measurements of teliospores were revealed from apical, dorsal, and equatorial orientations in SEM. Furthermore, this study provided morphological characteristics of teliospores across elevations, which can aid in the taxonomy and morphological classification of this rust fungus.

Abstract. This study evaluated the accuracy of the Forest And Buildings removed Copernicus DEM (FABDEM) over the Philippines. The evaluation was conducted at the country and island levels using 17,013 Geodetic Control Points (GCPs) partitioned into 3 independent sets. Results suggest that the FABDEM generally underestimates terrain elevation in the Philippines, as exemplified by a mean error of −1.44 m which is the average among the three sets of the GCPs used. Negative errors are primarily dominant in Luzon Island in the northern part of the Philippines, and positive errors are prevalent in the Visayas and Mindanao islands. At the country level, the DEM has an average Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of 4.74 m and average linear errors of 7.80 m and 9.80 m at 90% and 95% confidence levels, respectively. At the island level, the DEM's accuracy varies, with some islands having RMSEs as low as 3.03 meters and as high as 5.80 m. This DEM is also most accurate at elevations less than 100 m and slopes less than 2 degrees. Care must be taken when applying the FABDEM in an archipelagic country like the Philippines due to several factors, such as the general tendency of this DEM to underestimate elevations, the dominance of negative errors in the northern part of the country, the differences in accuracies of elevations from one island to another, and the pronounced influence of elevation and slope to its accuracy. Nevertheless, the FABDEM is one of the most accurate among several freely available global DEMs covering the Philippines. Its accuracy in Mindanao Island is comparable to AW3D30 and superior to SRTM DEM.

Three new species of Vaccinium endemic to the island of Mindanao, Philippines are here described and illustrated. Vaccinium fallax most closely resembles V. myrtoides, but differs by having smaller leaves, caducous bracts, shorter pedicels, a broadly obconical hypanthium, broadly triangular calyx lobes, and a deep pink and broadly urceolate corolla. It grows on exposed areas and among sulfur vents at and near the summit of Mt. Apo. Vaccinium gamay most closely resembles V. gitingense, but differs in having shorter inflorescences, early caducous inflorescence bracts, shorter pedicels, presence of clavate glands on the hypanthium, and an absence of anther spurs. It grows on exposed areas in the ultramafic forest of Mt. Hamiguitan. It is one of only two Philippine Vaccinium species possessing distinctly callose-thickened calyx lobes, the other being V. gitingense. Vaccinium vomicum most closely resembles V. carmesinum, but differs by having smaller leaves, presence of glands on the extreme end of the leaf blade base, presence of clavate glands on the hypanthium, shorter stamens, and presence of stalked glands on the dentate apex of the tubules. It grows in the mossy rainforest of Mt. Kitanglad, and it is the only Philippine species of Vaccinium with glands on the extreme end of its leaf blade base. Following IUCN guidelines, we propose a conservation status of Critically Endangered for V. fallax, Endangered for V. gamay, and Data Deficient for V. vomicum. With these discoveries, the number of Vaccinium species in Mindanao Islands increases to 22 and in the Philippines to 44. Furthermore, the Mindanao Islands can now be considered the center of Vaccinium diversity in the Philippines.

A new mayfly species, Sparsorythus buntawensis sp. nov. (Tricorythidae) from Layawan River of Mt. Malindang in Mindanao Island, the Philippines is described based on nymphal and adult morphologies. Sparsorythus buntawensis sp. nov. differ from all known members of the genus primarily in the deeper cleft of the hypopharynx and wider distance between compound eyes. Conspecific specimens of various life stages and sexes of this new mayfly were associated using DNA barcode.

Upper plate deformation induced by subduction of a volcanic arc: the Snellius Plateau (Molucca Sea, Indonesia and Mindanao, Philippines)

Long-tailed macaques in the Philippines are understudied in terms of ecology and behavior, which includes their sexual behaviors, in their natural habitats. Masturbation is a natural, auto-erotic behavior rarely observed in the wild in most non-human primates. In this paper, we report an act of masturbation by a free-ranging male long-tailed macaque in a beach forest at an eco-tourism site in Tagum City, Mindanao Island, Philippines. The masturbation was performed by a sub-adult male resting on the handrail of a wooden staircase. A few seconds after masturbation, ejaculation was achieved. Although more detailed observations are needed, it is likely that limited access to female mates contributed to the male’s self-stimulation. This further calls for more scientific explorations on reproductive and non-reproductive sexual behaviors of long-tailed macaques in the wild. Moreover, this can be crucial for conservation purposes such as its application to the non-invasive collection of semen samples in wild populations.