Abstract Detail



Floristics & Taxonomy

Fritsch, Peter [1], Penneys, Darin [2], Nickrent, Daniel [3], dal Forno, Manuela [4], Amoroso, Victor [5], Coritico, Fulgent [6], Shevock, James [7], Brinda, John [8], Gerlach, Alice [9], Mancera, Jeffrey [10], Galindon, J Michael [11], Tandang, Danilo [11], Handley, Vanessa [12].

Plant and lichen discovery in the southern Philippines: results from initial expeditions.

The Philippines archipelago contains highly endemic floral, faunal, and fungal diversity that is critically threatened, with only 3-7% of original habitat remaining. To address the urgent need for documenting this diversity in the face of climate change, habitat destruction, and catastrophic species extinction, a four-year project funded by the United States National Science Foundation is studying the land plants and lichens of the southern Philippines through large field expeditions and taxonomic studies. The major objectives are to make observations on the occurrence and abundance of species, each documented by georeferenced voucher collections for museum study accompanied by high-resolution photographs, with images and data all made available online in easily searchable formats. A biorepository of silica gel-dried leaves of each collection number will be archived and available for molecular evolutionary studies. The data will be used to 1) document new species discoveries and rediscoveries; 2) publish species inventories of the most ecologically sensitive areas for use in forest management, restoration, and conservation; 3) produce florulas and taxonomic revisions; and 4) analyze patterns of species richness and endemism. Project personnel will train and educate U.S. and Filipino undergraduate students, graduate students, and parataxonomists in field methods and the systematics, evolution, and biodiversity of land plants and lichens, thereby reinforcing and expanding international collaborations. Preliminary results from the first two field expeditions occurring in 2019 are presented.


1 - Botanical Research Institute Of Texas, 1700 University Drive, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, United States
2 - University of North Carolina Wilmington, Biology & Marine Biology, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC, 28403, USA
3 - Southern Illinois University, Department Of Plant Biology, 1125 Lincoln Drive, Life Science II Room 420, Carbondale, IL, 62901, United States
4 - Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 1700 University Drive, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, USA
5 - Central Mindanao University, Center for Biodiversity Research and Extension in Mindanao (CEBREM), Musuan, Bukidnon, Philippines
6 - Central Mindanao University, Biology, University Town, Musuan, BUK, 8710, Philippines
7 - California Academy of Sciences, Department of Botany, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA, 94118, USA
8 - Missouri Botanical Garden, 4434 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
9 - Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques de la ville de Genève, Chemin de L´Impératrice 1, 1292 Chambésy, Geneva, Switzerland
10 - University of the Philippines Manila, Department of Biology, Rizal Hall 311, Padre Faura Street, Ermita, Manila , 1000, Philippines
11 - National Museum of the Philippines, Botany Division, P. Burgos Street, Manila, Philippines
12 - University of California Botanical Garden, 200 Centennial Drive, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

Keywords:
Philippines
Biodiversity
Floristics
Taxonomy
conservation
Lichens
Land plants.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: FT1, Floristics & Taxonomy I
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Monday, July 27th, 2020
Time: 11:00 AM
Number: FT1FT005
Abstract ID:635
Candidate for Awards:None


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