CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
The Philippines, a group of 7,101 islands in Southeast Asia, is bordered
on the west by the Pacific Ocean and the east by the South China Sea. It
is endowed with abundant natural resources, including unique corals
and fishes found nowhere else on the planet.
Philippines is rich in marine lives but some of them are being gravely
endanger in this research we are trying to figure out the cause of it.
Marine animals face a wide range of threats, which are often difficult to
identify, assess, and treat due to the nature of the marine environment,
which includes vast expanses and depths. Fisheries interactions
(entanglement in nets and lines), human hunting and capture, ship
strikes, pollution and habitat degradation, and climate change are all
major anthropogenic hazards to marine species' existence.
The Philippine archipelago has a wide variety of marine life. A long
coastline, deep inner seas and trenches, off-shore waters, shallow shores
with reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests are among the
habitats provided by the almost 7,000 islands. The Philippines is located
within the Coral Triangle, which is the world's most biodiverse maritime
ecosystem. With this wealth comes the duty to regulate human activities in
the vicinity of these resources in order to conserve ecological processes
and provide a healthy environment for millions of Filipinos.More than 30
marine mammal species (cetaceans and dugong) are thought to exist in the
country, occupying a variety of environments. Marine animals are some of
the most fascinating creatures on the planet.Human-caused problems in
the marine environment, on the other hand, have led in the decline of
marine animal populations, with many of them becoming extinct.
threatened. Harvesting, poaching, by-catch, and pollution have all harmed
marine mammals.
Although natural forces can destroy or strain an animal population,
increasingly the activities of man have caused a large numbers of animals
to become endangered. Admittedly some animals and plants, especially
domesticated ones such as crops, livestock, and pets, have benefited and
even flourished from the alterations man has made to the world. However,
some animal populations have been placed under tremendous pressure as
the result of these changes and, in some cases, the populations are
dropping to significantly lower levels. Small populations or organisms with a
limited distribution are extremely sensitive to the factors causing
endangerment, whether one relies on the ordinary sense of the word or the
endangered species definition embodied in federal law.

Loss of Habitat
One of the most significant causes of endangered animals is habitat loss.
While habitat may be lost due to natural forces (climate shifts, geologic
changes), much of the habitat lost today is due to human activity. The
construction of dams, highways, canals, urbanization, and agriculture
dramatically affect the inhabitants of native ecosystems. Even when
portions of the ecosystem remain intact creating “islands,” the resulting
habitat may be too small or too widely dispersed to support a species.

Invasive Species
Invasive species are one of the key biotic reasons for animals being
endangered. Many species arriving in a new ecosystem are ill-adapted and
quickly die off. However, some species are able to exploit the ecosystem to
the detriment of native organisms. Small ecosystems such as those on
islands are significantly affected by the introduction of invasive species but
even native continental and oceanic populations can be devastated through
competition or predation by the invader.

Overexploitation of Resources
Overfishing a particular fish species is an obvious and direct cause for an
animal to become endangered. But other organisms within the ecosystem
may also be harmed (or benefitted) by the overexploitation of a particular
species. For example, concern that the California sea otter was devastating
the abalone population led to indiscriminate killing of the sea otters, altering
the balance of the biotic competition between several organisms. The
reduction of sea otters led to an explosion in the population of sea urchins
which grazed upon the hold fasts of kelp. As the kelp broke free of the
bottom and washed ashore, organisms that depended on the kelp forests
were placed under increased strain.

Pathogens and Disease

The spread of domesticated animals has also spread the diseases
associated with them to new areas of the world. In some cases, the
diseases infected native populations which had little resistance to the
invading pathogen. These diseases may reach epidemic levels in the
native population, decimating their numbers.

Environmental Pollution
Pollution in many forms has endangered many animals. Pesticides and
other chemicals introduced to an ecosystem may significantly harm
untargeted species. For example, DDT used to fight mosquitoes was
eventually linked to declines in the reproductive rates of birds. Other forms
of pollution such as thermal, light and noise pollution can each reduce
survival rates of local animal populations.