Palawan Research Articles

Variation in species richness, composition and herpetological community structure across a tropical habitat gradient of Palawan Island, Philippines

Information on species richness and community structure is invaluable for guiding conservation and management of biodiversity, but is rarely available in the megadiverse biodiversity conservation hotspot of Philippines – particularly for amphibians and reptiles. This study provides the first report and characterisation of amphibians and reptile communities across primary habitat types of the Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range on Palawan Island along the western edge of the archipelago. A total of 41 amphibian and reptile species were recorded throughout our sampling sites (n = 27 species) or in targeted habitat searches (14 species). A species richness estimator predicted that 35 species may be present in our sampling sites, suggesting that a significant proportion of secretive species may continue to be unrecorded, especially for reptiles. Higher species richness was found in secondary growth than in mixed-use agricultural areas or even pristine forest. The low species richness recorded from pristine forest types may be due to these forests now being restricted to higher elevations where species diversity has been documented to decrease. Our results also show that complex community structures (species assemblages) are to be equally expected in both secondary growth and pristine forests. Together, our results show how species richness and community assemblages may vary across habitats, highlighting that old growth forest does not always support higher species richness, particularly in high elevations.

Review: Biodiversity of forests over limestone in Southeast Asia with emphasis on the Philippines

Abstract. Tolentino PJS, Navidad JRL, Angeles MD, Fernandez AP, Villanueva ELC, Obena RDR, Buot Jr IE. 2020. Review: Biodiversity of forests over limestone in Southeast Asia with emphasis on the Philippines. Biodiversitas 21: 1597-1613. A comprehensive review of literature was carried out to determine the status of plant and animal diversity on forests over limestone in Southeast Asia (SEA), particularly in the Philippines. Angiosperm records are available in Peninsular Malaysia (1216 spp.); West Java and Seram Indonesia (101 and 149 spp., respectively); Laos (135 spp.); Thailand and Myanmar (1 sp.); and Limestone areas in Vietnam. Pteridophytes were recorded in Malaysia (32 spp.) while Bryophytes are recorded in Peninsular Malaysia (59 spp.). In the Philippines, there are plant records in: Masbate (61 spp.); Isabela (169 spp. Pteridophytes); Bohol (12 spp.), and Samar forests over limestone (29 spp. palms and 20 spp. orchids). A floral assessment in Samar Island Natural Park (SINP) includes species (212 spp.) that can possibly be found but are not limited to karsts. New Philippine endemic species are also recorded in Cebu, Palawan, and Panay Island. There are animal records in SEA including Vietnam (Bats-36, Bird-1, and Langurs-5 spp.); Malaysia (Sciuridae-1, Bats-28, Birds-129, Reptiles-17, and Invertebrates-74 spp.); Thailand (Murids-12, Reptiles-11, and Amphibian-1 sp.); and Myanmar (Reptiles-15 spp.). Records in the Philippines include: Mammals (Bicol-9, Mt. Irid-24, Mt. Aruyan-1, and Cebu-1 species), and; Birds (Cebu-1 sp.). A terrestrial faunal assessment in SINP includes species (182 spp.) that can possibly be found but are not limited to karsts. Forests over limestone are still largely understudied and the potential of discovering species is high. Further research is critical to establish science-based initiatives and policies that will protect and conserve limestone ecosystem biodiversity while allowing the utilization of its biological resources at a sustainable level.

Recalibrating burdens of blame: Anti-swidden politics and green governance in the Philippine Uplands

In Southeast Asia, the presence of cleared and burned forests has long evoked deep emotions, symbolism and representations that powerfully inform the governance of forests and upland peoples. In particular, the palpable visibility of shifting (swidden) agriculturalists ‘slashing and burning’ forests has fuelled centuries-old political agendas to criminalise swidden farmers for supposedly destroying swaths of forests valued for timber, biodiversity and now ecosystem services. Swidden farmers who regularly clear and burn forests, have endured a disproportionate burden of blame for investing in and maintaining an old livelihood practice into the 21st Century. Drawing on Hall’s politics of representation, we examine the contrasting political frames, management and practices of clearing and burning forests among upland farmers, state and non-state actors who govern forests on Palawan Island, the Philippines. We describe the social, economic, and biophysical character of swidden clearing and burning among the indigenous Tagbanua of central Palawan, whose livelihoods and landscapes are impacted by green governance and enclosures. Informed by several years of ethnographic fieldwork, we explore how and why Tagbanua farmers continue to clear and burn forest despite state and non-state actors criminalising these practices for decades. We argue that, despite sustained vilification and reduced fallows arising from governance policies and enclosures, Tagbanua farmers continue to clear and burn knowing well that, despite the practices being illegal, levels of tolerance and leniency toward swidden is the local norm, rather than exception—highlighting the importance of what we call ‘atmospheres of consent’. Ethnoecological understandings of clearing and burning in the uplands, we argue, are crucial to recalibrating the burden of blame placed on poor farmers whose agriculture is deemed destructive by the region’s burgeoning sustainability discourse.

Studies on the genus Chrysodema (Coleoptera: Buprestidae: Chrysochroinae)part I.

Subgeneric classification of Chrysodema Laporte de Castelnau Gory, 1835 is revised and following synonymy is established: Chrysodema=Cyalithoides Fisher, 1922 syn. nov.; Pseudochrysodema Saunders, 1874=Leganya Hołyński, 1994 syn. nov.,=Marcsikiella Hołyński, 2014 syn. nov. Four subgenera are recognized as valid: Chrysodema s. str., Gelaeus Waterhouse, 1905, Pseudochrysodema Saunders, 1874, and Thymedes Waterhouse, 1905, and a key to the subgenera is given. Four species-groups are established in the subgenus Chrysodema s. str.: C. aeneoviolacea-group, C. aurostriata-group, C. eximia-group, and C. sonnerati-group. All known species, except the currently accepted synonyms of Chrysodema (Chrysodema) eximia Laporte de Castelnau Gory, 1835, included in these groups are revised based on comparative study of extensive material including types of all described taxa. Three new species and one subspecies are described: Chrysodema (Chrysodema) dany sp. nov. from Haruku Island, Indonesia; C. (C.) gottwaldi sp. nov. from Palawan Island, Philippines; C. (C.) lewisii nakatai subsp. nov. from Yaeyama Islands, Japan; and C. (C.) vrabeci sp. nov. from Thailand and Laos. Chrysodema (C.) aeneoviolacea Deyrolle, 1864 stat. rev., C. (C.) dohrnii Saunders, 1874 stat. rev., and C. (C.) fuscitarsis Kerremans, 1895 stat. rev. are removed from synonymy with C. (C.) mniszechii Deyrolle, 1864; C. (C.) tonkinea Kerremans, 1909 stat. rev. is removed from synonymy with C. (C.) aurostriata Saunders, 1866. Three new synonymies are established: C. (C.) aeneoviolacea=C. (C.) elongata Kerremans, 1900 syn. nov.=C. (C.) keyensis Théry, 1923 syn. nov. (the latter was formerly synonym of C. (C.) elongata); C. (C.) dohrnii=C. (C.) fairmairei Kerremans, 1895 syn. nov. (formerly synonym of C. (C.) mniszechii). Neotype is designated for C. (C.) sonnerati Laporte de Castelnau Gory, 1835 and lectotypes are designated for following taxa to ensure their correct application and recognition in future: C. (C.) aurostriata, C. (C.) fairmairei, C. (C.) fuscitarsis, C. (C.) sumatrensis Kerremans, 1895, C. (C.) tonkinea, C. (C.) yerburyi Waterhouse, 1905, C. (P.) coelestina Obenberger, 1922, and C. (P.) inslabilis Deyrolle, 1864. Additionally, dark species of the subgenus Pseudochrysodema are revised and as a result C. (P.) coelestina stat. rev. and C. (P.) instabilis stat. rev. are removed from synonymy with C. (P.) radians (Guérin-Méneville, 1830) and a new species C. (Pseudochrysodema) jakli sp. nov. is described from Timor Island, Indonesia. All herein included taxa are illustrated with colour photographs of habitus and the male aedeagus when available. All new taxa are diagnosed and a key to species of the C. aeneoviolacea-group is given.

Parachute geckos free fall into synonymy: Gekko phylogeny, and a new subgeneric classification, inferred from thousands of ultraconserved elements

Recent phylogenetic studies of gekkonid lizards have revealed unexpected, widespread paraphyly and polyphyly among genera, unclear generic boundaries, and a tendency towards the nesting of taxa exhibiting specialized, apomorphic morphologies within geographically widespread “generalist” clades. This is especially true in Australasia, where monophyly of Gekko proper has been questioned with respect to phenotypically ornate flap-legged geckos of the genus Luperosaurus, the Philippine false geckos of the genus Pseudogekko, and even the elaborately “derived” parachute geckos of the genus Ptychozoon. Here we employ sequence capture targeting 5060 ultraconserved elements (UCEs) to infer phylogenomic relationships among 42 representative ingroup gekkonine lizard taxa. We analyze multiple datasets of varying degrees of completeness (10, 50, 75, 95, and 100 percent complete with 4715, 4051, 3376, 2366, and 772 UCEs, respectively) using concatenated maximum likelihood and multispecies coalescent methods. Our sampling scheme addresses four persistent systematic questions in this group: (1) Are Luperosaurus and Ptychozoon monophyletic, and are any of these named species truly nested within Gekko? (2) Are prior phylogenetic estimates of Sulawesi’s L. iskandari as the sister taxon to Melanesian G. vittatus supported by our genome-scale dataset? (3) Is the high-elevation L. gulat of Palawan Island correctly placed within Gekko? (4) And, finally, where do the enigmatic taxa P. rhacophorus and L. browni fall in a higher-level gekkonid phylogeny? We resolve these issues; confirm with strong support some previously inferred findings (placement of Ptychozoon taxa within Gekko; the sister taxon relationship between L. iskandari and G. vittatus); resolve the systematic position of unplaced taxa (L. gulat, and L. browni); and transfer L. iskandari, L. gulat, L. browni, and all members of the genus Ptychozoon to the genus Gekko. Our unexpected and novel systematic inference of the placement of Ptychozoon rhacophorus suggests that this species is not grouped with Ptychozoon or even Luperosaurus (as previously expected) but may, in fact, be most closely related to several Indochinese species of Gekko. With our resolved and strongly supported phylogeny, we present a new classification emphasizing the most inclusive, original generic name (Gekko) for these ~60 taxa, arranged into seven subgenera.

A new species of Hornstedtia and a new species record of Globba (Zingiberaceae) from Palawan, Philippines

A new species of Hornstedtia and a new species record of Globba (Zingiberaceae) from Palawan, Philippines

Analysis of surface chlorophyll a associated with sea surface temperature and surface wind in the South China Sea

In this study, the spatial and temporal variability in surface chlorophyll a (Chl-a) in the whole South China Sea (SCS) was investigated in detail by using 8-day, 4-km, gap-free MODIS-A data (2003–2016). Monthly climatology and empirical-orthogonal-functions analysis of Chl-a were performed in association with sea surface temperature and surface wind to aid in better understanding the physical mechanisms responsible for the Chl-a variability. The results are as follows: (1) Chl-a has out-of-phase variability between the coastal and open-sea regions due to different major factors controlling phytoplankton growth in each region; (2) in particular, Chl-a increases in the northern SCS during winter and in the western and southwestern SCS during summer mainly due to the effects of monsoons and orography; and (3) wind-driven coastal upwelling is stronger in the western SCS than in the eastern SCS. A wind-induced coastal upwelling not reported in the literature was detected along Palawan Island (8–12∘N, 117–120∘E) during winter. In the SCS, the Chl-a variability is influenced by the El Nino–Southern Oscillation with a time lag of 4–9 months, depending on the variability scales.

The first Philippine species of Marcepania (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae).

The genus Marcepania is a sole member of the tribe Marcepaniini, known to occur in SE Asia. The five hitherto described species inhabit the Malay Peninsula and Borneo. The first species discovered in the Philippines, Marcepania princesa sp. n. is described here, based on a male specimen found on the island of Palawan. It is most similar to its geographically closest relative, M. elongata of northern Borneo.

Survey on the Predators of Abalone Haliotis asinina from the Perspective of the Local Fisherfolks in Selected Sites of Palawan, the Philippines

The abalone Haliotis asinina is among the highly valued aquaculture commodities in the Philippines. But, the production of abalone in general has declined primarily because of unregulated exploitation. Predation, both in the wild and in grow-out cages may also contribute to the decrease of abalone production. As there has been no record on the predation of H. asinina in the past, this study is the first to gather information on the predators of this species, taken from the perspective of local fisherfolks. Four sites in Palawan Island, the Philippines, identified to have active gathering of wild abalone were sampled. Descriptive survey method with a semistructured questionnaire was used to interview local fisherfolks regarding their knowledge on predators of abalone. A total of 84 respondents were interviewed of which 53 have observed actual predation of abalone. Twenty-five species of predators composed of fishes, crustaceans, molluscs, an octopus, and a sea turtle have been identified. Of this, four species, namely, the fishes Cyclichthys orbicularis and Diodon liturosus, Octopus sp., and the crab Charybdis feriata were consistently observed in the four sites based on the synthesis of data obtained from the fisherfolks. Most respondents suggest that aquaculture is an essential way to increase the abalone production. The information herein serves as baseline information to develop appropriate design and management of culture facility to minimize predation and to maximize the survival of cultured abalone. Further study on the ecology, particularly the actual observation of predation and its effects, is recommended.

Revised earthquake sources along Manila trench for tsunami hazard assessment in the South China Sea

Abstract. Seismogenic tsunami hazard assessments are highly dependent on the reliability of earthquake source models. Here in a study of the Manila subduction zone (MSZ) system, we combine the geological characteristics of the subducting plate, geometry, and coupling state of the subduction interface to propose a series of fault rupture scenarios. We divide the subduction zone into three rupture segments: 14–16, 16–19, and 19–21.7∘ N inferred from geological structures associated with the down-going Sunda plate. Each of these segments is capable of generating earthquakes of a magnitude between Mw=8.5+ and Mw=9+, assuming a 1000-year seismic return period as suggested by previous studies. The most poorly constrained segment of the MSZ lies between 19 and 21.7∘ N, and here we use both local geological structures and characteristics of other subduction zone earthquakes around the world, to investigate the potential rupture characteristics of this segment. We consider multiple rupture modes for tsunamigenic earthquake and megathrust-splay fault earthquakes. These rupture models facilitate an improved understanding of the potential tsunami hazard in the South China Sea (SCS). Hydrodynamic simulations demonstrate that coastlines surrounding the SCS could be devastated by tsunami waves up to 10 m if large megathrust earthquakes occur in these segments. The regions most prone to these hazards include west Luzon of Philippines, southern Taiwan, southeastern China, central Vietnam, and Palawan Island.

Burials in Anthropomorphic Jars in the Philippines

The fi rst joint study by Russian and Philippine archaeologists addresses an unusual variant of a burial tradition distributed in Island Southeast Asia – burials in anthropomorphic clay jars, found in Ayub Cave (southern Mindanao Island, Philippines), excavated by specialists from the National Museum of the Philippines in 1991–1992, and tentatively dated to 500 BC to 500 AD. Of special interest are lids of jars shaped as painted human heads with individualized facial features and expressions. The fi nds suggest that Ayub Cave was a necropolis of the tribe elite, and that vessels were produced by a special group of potters using elaborate “prestige technologies”. The Ayub ceramic collection has various parallels relating to clay fi gurines and decoration including painting, among Late Neolithic and Early Metal Age assemblages from the Philippines (Luzon, Palawan, and Negros Islands), Indonesia (Sumba, Flores, and Bali Islands), and other regions of the Pacifi c Basin from Japan (Jomon) and Korea (Early Iron Age burials) to Vanuatu Islands (Lapita culture). These parallels suggest that the source of the anthropomorphic symbolism was the Austronesian migration with one of its routes passing from southern China via Taiwan, the northern Philippines, Mariana Islands, and further south to Melanesia and Polynesia.

Plasmodium knowlesi and other malaria parasites in long-tailed macaques from the Philippines

BackgroundMacaca fascicularis (long-tailed macaque) is the most widespread species of macaque in Southeast Asia and the only species of monkey found naturally in the Philippines. The species is the natural host for the zoonotic malaria species, Plasmodium knowlesi and Plasmodium cynomolgi and for the potentially zoonotic species, Plasmodium inui. Moreover, other Plasmodium species such as Plasmodium coatneyi and Plasmodium fieldi are also natural parasites of M. fascicularis. The aims of this study were to identify and determine the prevalence of Plasmodium species infecting wild and captive long-tailed macaques from the Philippines.MethodsA total of 95 blood samples from long-tailed macaques in the Philippines were collected from three locations; 30 were from captive macaques at the National Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (NWRRC) in Luzon, 25 were from captive macaques at the Palawan Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Center (PWRCC) in Palawan and 40 were from wild macaques from Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (PPSRNP) in Palawan. The Plasmodium spp. infecting the macaques were identified using nested PCR assays on DNA extracted from these blood samples.ResultsAll 40 of the wild macaques from PPSRNP in Palawan and 5 of 25 captive macaques from PWRCC in Palawan were Plasmodium-positive; while none of the 30 captive macaques from the NWRRC in Luzon had any malaria parasites. Overall, P. inui was the most prevalent malaria parasite (44.2%), followed by P. fieldi (41.1%), P. cynomolgi (23.2%), P. coatneyi (21.1%), and P. knowlesi (19%). Mixed species infections were also observed in 39 of the 45 Plasmodium-positive macaques. There was a significant difference in the prevalence of P. knowlesi among the troops of wild macaques from PPSRNP.ConclusionWild long-tailed macaques from the island of Palawan, the Philippines are infected with P. knowlesi, P. inui, P. coatneyi, P. fieldi and P. cynomolgi. The prevalence of these Plasmodium spp. varied among the sites of collection and among troops of wild macaques at one site. The presence of these simian Plasmodium parasites, especially P. knowlesi and P. cynomolgi in the long-tailed macaques in Palawan presents risks for zoonotic transmission in the area.

A cryptic new species of bulbul from Borneo

Cream-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus simplex of Borneo was previously considered to be polymorphic in iris colour, having either red or white (creamy-yellow) irides. Mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons, however, indicate that white- and red-eyed Bornean individuals are not closely related to one another. Instead, white-eyed birds are sister to Ashy-fronted Bulbul P. cinereifrons of Palawan Island, in the south-west Philippines, and red-eyed birds are sister to white-eyed P. simplex of the Thai-Malay Peninsula. Consequently, we elect to treat the white-eyed Bornean population as a distinct, previously overlooked species. In respect to plumage, white- and red-eyed individuals are almost identical, varying only slightly in the amount of yellow coloration in their feathers. The two taxa are sympatric at some localities, but white-eyed individuals are rarer and more consistently associated with mature forest than red-eyed birds.

Cenozoic tectonic events and their implications for constraining the structure and stratigraphic styles from rifting to collision at the southeastern margin of the South China Sea

The southeastern margin of the South China Sea (SCS) connects the Southwest sub-basin of the SCS to the north and the collision zone of Nansha–Liyue blocks and Palawan Island to the south, and it records a complex process of the superimposed regional tectonics. Based on recently collected 2D seismic profiles, constraint by wells and outcrop data, our study establishes a stratigraphic framework across different structural units related to various tectonic settings. We identified six major unconformities from the Cenozoic sediment succession and analyzed their geological significance through a comprehensive interpretation of the regional seismic profiles and related well data. Results show the unconformity T7 represents the cessation of the initial rifting along the whole continental margin, which corresponds to the N-S spreading in the central part of the SCS oceanic basin. Reflector T4 is the breakup unconformity that represents the structural evolution transitioning from rifting to post-rifting in the study area. It also synchronizes with the initial deposition of the Nido carbonate platform. Reflector T3 is the most significant regional structural unconformity that corresponds to the cessation of seafloor spreading in the Southwest sub-basin and collision between the Nansha–Liyue blocks and the Cagayan Arc, choking the proto-SCS subduction zone. These tectonic events, also referred to as Sabah Orogeny, indicate the inception of peripheral foreland basin developed from northwest Palawan to the Reed Bank. Major tectonic events recorded in the study area include southward subduction and closure of the proto-SCS as well as opening and cessation of ridge spreading of the SCS, all of which lead to the Nansha–Liyue–North Palawan blocks successively rifting from the South China continent, subsequently drifting southward and ultimately colliding with the Cagayan volcanic arc. Therefore, we propose that the southeastern margin of the SCS has undergone a multi-stage tectonic evolution from the rifting basin through the post-rifting depression to the collisional foreland basin in the Cenozoic.

A new species of Tithaeidae (Arachnida: Opiliones: Laniatores) from Mindanao reveals contemporaneous colonisation of the Philippines by Sunda Shelf opiliofauna

The Philippine archipelago harbours a remarkable diversity of harvestmen, with respect to both taxonomy and complexity of biogeographic origins. Among the armoured harvestmen (suborder Laniatores), six families of distantly related groups occur in this archipelago. Here, we describe a new species of the family Tithaeidae, Tithaeus odysseus sp. nov., discovered during a collecting campaign on the island of Mindanao. The description of this species expands the known distribution of the family and demonstrates another exception to the zoogeographic boundary known as Huxley’s Line which putatively separates the biota of the Philippines (excluding the Palawan island group) from the Sunda Shelf biota. Given the coincident distributions of Tithaeidae and the mite harvestman family Stylocellidae (Cyphophthalmi), a group renowned for its poor dispersal ability, we inferred phylogenetic relationships and divergence times of the Philippines lineages of both families by using a comprehensive molecular dating analysis of all Opiliones. The internal phylogeny of Tithaeidae mirrored the biogeography of Philippine Stylocellidae, showing a close affinity between the Philippine and Bornean species. Molecular dating showed contemporaneous colonisation of Mindanao by both families in the Cretaceous. We infer these patterns to reflect faunal connections between the southern Philippines and Borneo via the Zamboanga Peninsula. To render the genus Tithaeus monophyletic, we synonymise Metatithaeus with Tithaeus (new synonymy).

Augustinian Recollect Contributions to the Church History and Cultural Patrimony of Palawan

The paper explores the historical presence and contributions of Agustinian Recollects in Palawan, particularly to the Church history and cultural patrimony of the island. Father Larry Garces, then provincial secretary and ex-officio provincial archivist, wrote: “The first Recollects accordingly arrived through the smaller island of Cuyo even as early as 1622. And from then on, a great tradition of Recollection ensured. Among the illustrious Recollects who came to the island of Palawan was Saint Ezekiel Moreno. They were builders and organizers of churches and cities. They were good preachers and evangelizers bringing the Good News to the farthest boundaries, and the innermost territories. We are indeed very fortunate that the last Recollects of the 80’s left the island and its vast agricultural and coastal territories with impressive memories of hard work, religiosity and real care and concern for the flock. But that was the past—and yes, indeed, the glorious past.”

The cave population of Chaerilus Simon, 1877 from Palawan, Philippines, and description of a new species (Scorpiones: Chaerilidae)

The study of an important collection of scorpions, belonging to the genus Chaerilus, recently collected from a cave in the Palawan Island, Philippines, allows the clarification of the identity of this population, often misidentified with Chaerilus chapmani Vachon & Lourenço, 1985 known from caves in the Gunong Mulu National Park in Sarawak (Borneo). Chaerilus agnellivanniorum sp. n. is described from the Puerto Princesa Underground River Cave in Palawan Island based on 14 specimens, males, females, and juveniles. The new species is totally distinct morphologically from Chaerilus chapmani, a true troglobitic species. Chaerilus agnellivanniorum sp. n. may also be a true troglobitic element, but with a less marked degree of regression for several characters. Some comments on the ecology of the new species and on regional biogeography of Borneo and Palawan islands are also proposed.

Postembryonic development of the Tri-spine Horseshoe Crab Tachypleus tridentatus (Merostomata: Xiphosura) in a nursery habitat in the Philippines

Populations of the Tri-spine Horseshoe Crab Tachypleus tridentatus have dramatically decreased over their distribution range and conservation efforts are now crucial. The implementation of appropriate management strategies and stock assessment rely on accurate growth-rate estimates. The postembryonic development of the species in the tropics, however, is not elucidated. To provide the information needed to assess the demographics of juvenile populations and to judge the status of T. tridentatus in the Philippines, we conducted a mark-recapture experiment in a nursery habitat on Palawan Island. The results obtained during the 10-month period provide the first consecutive data on the stepwise growth of the species in the Philippines and the first near comprehensive dataset collected within a single population of juveniles in the tropics. By analyzing size-frequency (prosomal width) distributions of 853 individuals and by using 94 juveniles that molted during the study, 13 molt stages were differentiated. Based on the intermolt periods of six instars, we estimated the growth curve of T. tridentatus following two models (non-linear and power function). The data support the assumption that growth continues year-round in the tropics and also indicate that the average age of mature male and female T. tridentatus in the Philippines ranges from three to four years. The agreement with a field study in Japan suggests that 14 postembryonic stages may be characteristic for the development of natural populations throughout the range of the species. Though more data are needed to validate these results, the study provides a sound baseline for future studies in the tropics.

Commercializing traditional non-timber forest products: An integrated value chain analysis of honey from giant honey bees in Palawan, Philippines

Commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) has been one of the strategies in addressing rural poverty and forest degradation. This strategy has been explored on the island of Palawan in the Philippines for indigenous wild honey hunter and gatherers through a community forestry enterprise, which transformed a traditional practice of honey gathering into an economic activity. In this paper, we conducted an integrated value chain analysis to assess whether the enterprise is able to support livelihoods in a fair and just manner, maintain its natural capital, and preserve indigenous culture. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, we found that downstream actors capture most of the economic value of wild honey by having a gross margin of 585.00 Philippine Peso (PhP) per kilo of honey compared to 30.74 PhP per kilo gross margin of honey hunters. The Tagbanua honey hunters do not perform hunting rituals previously performed by their ancestors. Majority of the community members still use honey, but in low amounts, i.e. less than one liter per year. In conclusion, we establish that commercializing traditional indigenous practices as a livelihood strategy should not only focus on positive gross margins but also consider socio-cultural practices and ecological sustainability.

Dental Pathology, Wear, and Diet in a Hunting and Gathering Forest-Dwelling Group: The Batak People of Palawan Island, The Philippines

Described are observations on Batak foods,tooth use, oral hygiene, and resulting wear and oralpathology in dental casts of 29 Batak ranging from 15 to 49years of age. Commonly consumed foods are roughly 80percent plant, and 20 percent animal products. Cookingis common. Eating includes one or two main daily mealswith occasional snacking. Cariogenic commerciallymanufacturedflour and sugar are rarely available.Oral hygiene involves “finger-brushing” of anteriorteeth with fine sand. The practice is more common infemales than in males. Caries are rare in both sexes as isantemortem tooth loss. Tooth chipping is more commonin males. Periodontal disease is generally slight andnearly equal in the sexes. Tooth wear is relatively slightbut strongly age-related as in many other populations.