Biodiversity

• Biodiversity - refers to the variety of life forms on Earth.
• smallest microorganisms, the mycoplasma
• the largest animal, the blue whales.
• Biodiversity is the short term for ‘biological diversity’.
• There are three levels of biodiversity

  1. Genetic Diversity
  2. Species Diversity
  3. Ecosystem Diversity
• Genetic Diversity - It refers to the variations in the different genes present in individual organisms. For instance, among humans, there are differences in terms of thegenetic sequences.
• Species diversity - refers to the variations within and among populations in a species, as well as the differences between and among species.
• Ecosystem diversity - defines the diversity observed among the ecosystems in a particular region.
• Endemic species refer to species that are native or restricted in a particular area.
• the Philippine Eagle, the Philippine tarsier and Rafflesia speciosa are endemic species of the Philippines.
• Endangered species refers to species which has been categorized as very likely to become extinct in the near future.
• Philippine Eagle - Lives in the rainforests of Isabela, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao.
• Philippine Eagle - One of the largest bird in the world
• One of the world's rarest mammals lives in the dwindling forest of Panay Island: Philippine spotted deer (Cervus alfredi), considered by many as the most endangered deer in the planet
• Deer that cannot be found elsewhere: the Calamian hog deer or Calamian deer have longer and darker legs, compared with other hog deer.
• pygmy water buffalos - The largest endangered animal
• Philippine tarsier (Tarsius syrichta) - measures only about twelve centimeters in length. • Its two big eyes cannot move and do not have a tapetum - the upper protective tissue; can turn its head 180 degrees.
• Ensuring the continued existence of the Philippine tarsiers is the Philippine Tarsier Foundation Inc.
• The Palawan bearcat population is threatened by human activities also known as BINTURONG.
• Pilandok - World's smallest hoofed mammal
• South of Palawan, lies the Balabac Island, home of the world's smallest hoofed mammal - the Philippine mouse deer.
• Dugongs or sea cows, the only herbivorous marine mammals, are often sighted in Philippine waters, particularly near Palawan province and southern Mindanao.
• A dugong can live more than 70 years.
• Golden capped fruit bat - the Largest bat
• Golden capped fruit bat - Over the years, these two species of giant fruit bats have roamed around the 10,000-hectare Subic Forest National Protected Area, which is considered the biggest roosting site of bats in the world.
• Philippine bamboo bat - The smallest bat in the world is the (vespertilionid), which belongs to the vespertilionid family. This bat measures about four centimeters (1 1/2 inches) in length and has a wingspan of 15 cm. Approximately, it weighs 1.5 grams (1/20 ounce).
• Bare backed fruit bat - Believed to have become extinct in 1970s as a result of the combination of forest destruction, disturbance by guano miners, and hunting
• Flying Lemur or kagwang - The continuous denudation of tropical forests in the country threatens the remaining population of this, which used to abound in the wilderness of Basilan, Leyte, Samar, Bohol and Mindanao.
• Salt water Crocodile - There were tales that a 27-foot was killed near Lake Taal in Batangas in 1823.
• It reportedly took 40 men to bring the salt water crocodile body ashore.
• Philippine flat headed frog - • inhabits clear, unpolluted swift-flowing mountain streams and rivers in lowland rainforests where it usually floats near the surface of the water unless disturbed, when it will hide under submerged rocks
• Gray's monitor lizard - southern Luzon and Catanduanes Island in the Philippines, where it inhabits the forested slopes of low mountains
• Donsol, a fishing town in Sorsogon province, serves as a sanctuary to a group of 40 whale sharks (Rhincodon typus), which are considered as the largest fish in the world.
• Butanding or Whale sharks - which are considered as the largest fish in the world.
• whale sharks - visit the waters of Donsol from November to May. They travel across the oceans but nowhere else have they been sighted in a larger group than in the waters of Sorsogon.
• The dwarf goby - The world's smallest freshwater fish is found in the Philippines. (Pandaka pygmaea) measures 1.2 centimeters or less than half of an inch, the tiniest known vertebrate.
• Albert Herre - American Ichthyologist first discovered the dwarf goby in Malabon River in 1925.
• Sinarapan - World's smallest commercial fish: (Mistichthys luzonensis) found only in Lakes Bato and Buhi in Camarines Sur province. Sinarapanit grows to an average length of 1.25 centimeters, only slightly longer than the dwarf goby.
• Coral Triangle - a region in the Pacific Ocean which more than 500 of the world's 700 coral species are found under the waters of the Philippines.
• The seahorse's scientific genus name, Hippocampus is a Greek word, which means, "bent horse."