Principles of Biodiversity

Conservation &
Management

Dave P. Buenavista, PhD

Department of Biology, Central Mindanao University
f.dave.buenavista@cmu.edu.ph
What is “Biodiversity???
Thomas Eugene Lovejoy III
• Lovejoy introduced the term biological diversity to
the scientific community in 1980.
• He was a past chair of the Scientific Technical
Advisory Panel (STAP) for the Global Environment
Facility (GEF).
Saribuhay o Samot saring Buhay is the Filipino
word for Biodiversity
• Scientific construct of Biodiversity
• From “bios, which refers to all kinds of living
things, and “diversity”, which means variety
or differences.

It literally means the variety and

extent of differences among living
things, whether they’re well known
or to be discovered ranging from
the size of microscopic bacterium to
the gigantic size of whales.
 • The notion of biodiversity first
appeared in the late 1950’s in
the technical writings of
George Evelyn Hutchinson and
Robert Helmer MacArthur –
they referred to it as “natural
diversity”
• Edward O. Wilson’s
“Biodiversity” in 1998 sounded
the alarm of rapid species
extinction and caught the
world’s attention on the
concept of biodiversity (albeit
the term was used
interchangeably with “species
richness”)
Photos: Yale University, www.americanscientist.org, National Academy of Sciences
 • Scientists start recoding the loss of
species and set off the alarm
warning of imminent species loss.
• It resulted to many pioneering work
on biodiversity
• In 1920’s Edward Harrison Taylor
Edward Harrison Taylor pioneered the field of Herpetology
Pseudorabdion taylori Taylor’s Burrowing in the Philippines; Richard
Snake, Mindanao (Photos: Pitogo, 2021)
McGregor published “A Manual of
Philippine Birds” in 1909.
• Francisco Manuel Blanco on Flora
de Filipinas. Según el sistema sexual
de Linneo, Manila: 1837.

Richard McGregor
Francisco Manuel Blanco
 Definition of Biological Diversity

(Photo: UN Photo/Michos Tzovaras)

• CBD defined "Biological diversity" as the variability among living organisms from all sources
including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological
complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and
of ecosystems.
 Definition of Biological Diversity
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
• Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life you’ll find in one
area—the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even
microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world.
• Each of these species and organisms work together in
ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and
support life.
• Biodiversity supports everything in nature that we need to
survive: food, clean water, medicine, and shelter.

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/what-is-biodiversity
 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
• Biodiversity refers to the variety of life: the diversity of all living
organisms from the various ecosystems of the planet.
• It “includes diversity within species, between species and of
ecosystems” in which they live (Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity (2005): Handbook of the Convention on
Biological Diversity, 3rd Edition).

https://www.iucn.org/theme/ecosystem-management/our-work/global-drylands-initiative/iucns-work-
drylands/world-initiative-sustainable-pastoralism-wisp/pastoralist-portal/biodiversity
 Levels of Biodiversity
• Three levels of biodiversity are commonly discussed —
genetic, species and
ecosystem diversity.
1. Genetic diversity is all the different genes contained
in all the living species, including individual plants,
animals, fungi, and microorganisms.
2. Species diversity is all the different species, as well as
the differences within and between different species.
3. Ecosystem diversity is all the different habitats,
biological communities and ecological processes, as well
as variation within individual ecosystems
• 4*. Biocultural diversity comprises the diversity of life in
all of its manifestations – biological, cultural, and
linguistic – which are interrelated (and likely co-evolved)
within a complex socio-ecological adaptive system
Figure: Somsack et al., 2015
• Whilst there has been much research
on species diversity in the Philippines (
and much remains to be done), less is
known of the other components of
biodiversity at the genetic, ecosystem,
and landscape levels.
• In fact, the notion of biodiversity in the
context of Philippine natural resource
policy began only when the country
took the “Road to Rio” in 1990s.
 Cámara-Leret, R., Fortuna, M. A., & Bascompte, J. (2019). Indigenous knowledge networks in the face of
global change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(20), 9913–9918.
Maffi, L., & Woodley, E. (2010). Biocultural Diversity Conservation: A Global
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1821843116
Sourcebook (1st ed.). Earthscan.
 Contribution of
Indigenous peoples and
Local communities to
biodiversity

Díaz et al. 2019. Science

• There are two main components that contribute to biodiversity –
species richness and species evenness
• Species richness describes the number of different species
present in an area (more species = greater richness)
• Species evenness describes the relative abundance of the
different species in an area (similar abundance = more
evenness)
Measuring species diversity in three hypothetical
communities using the Shannon-Weiner index
• A & B have the same species
richness
• B & C have similar relative
abundance of each species (or
high evenness) since each of the
species has the same no. of
individuals.
• A is highly uneven – 40% (6 out
15) belong to one species
• Using Shannon-Weiner index,
which community has the highest
species diversity? Why?
Dynamic nature of biodiversity
• Ecosystem processes – the dynamic functioning of life. The connectivity of
the organisms with each other and with their environment creates complex
and interesting phenomena in the natural world.
Biodiversity is a product of human activities
 Expanding the meaning of biodiversity
• Not all the answers and explanations will come from Science!
• There’s ecological wisdom from tradition, culture, and unrecorded
knowledge of indigenous communities all over the world.

Batak tribe of Palawan by Dario Novellino

Chapin III, F. et al. Consequences of changing biodiversity. Nature 405, 234–242 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35012241
Environmental ideologies

• Anthropocentrism (homocentrism) vs ecocentrism (biocentrism)

 Environmental ideologies
• Different views of the environment are represented by a
spectrum of beliefs and ideologies.
• Human-centred view or homocentrism/anthropocentrism
• Focuses on the utilitarian value of biodiversity and is based on the
centrality of humans as the dominant force in the use and
management of natural resources.
• Nature-centred view or ecocentrism/biocentrism
• The “deep-green” ethos – the beliefs are based on the ethical ground
that all living organisms have value in themselves regardless of the
value people put on them.

• How people treat nature or respond to environmental issues is influenced by their relative position in this and ideological
spectra.
• Cultural bias towards the exploitation and consumption of the resources has been the norm in the modern society.
• The use of natural resources in traditional societies is often in harmony with nature, which is the central element of their
physical existence and spirituality, and which often works to the benefit of the community.
 The Unfortunate Case of Lolong

• Lolong was caught in a Bunawan creek in the province of Agusan del Sur in the Philippines on 3 September 2011
• Bunawan made Lolong the centerpiece of an ecotourism park for species found in the marshlands near the township. Mayor
Elorde said, "We will take care of this crocodile because this will boost our tourism and we know it can help in terms of
town's income and jobs to our village communities.“
• The ecopark charged a P20 entrance fee for adults and P15 for children, which supported the park's maintenance and
procurement of Lolong's food
Environmental ideologies
• A worldview upheld by an increasing number of
conservationists is the intrinsic value of nature and
the right of non-human species to exist.
• Many environmentalists and “deep ecologists”
advocate the philosophies and teachings of Asian
religions (i.e., Taoism and Buddhism) that place
nature in the centre of the universe.
• To them, the loss of biodiversity or extinction of
species is a strong and valid moral issue.
A Shift in Value Positions- the Paradigm Shift
• Paradigm – is a “system of standards, behavioural
norms and conceptual approaches to problem
solving”. The prevailing paradigm in a society
influences how that society relates to and perceives
its natural environment.
• A paradigm shift from extreme materialism toward
more respect for the limits of nature can help
reduce the emphasis on excessive economic
growth.
• That is, to move toward a paradigm that accords more
with nature and to use its resources more sustainably for
the present and future generations.
 Holism in Biodiversity Conservation
• The holistic (or integrated) approach to
biodiversity conservation deals with the
interactions between and among the
different levels of biodiversity as well as their
relationships with human communities.
• Holism has been suggested as the most
appropriate strategy to find the
complementarities between the scientific and
Reductionism vs Holism
social meanings of biodiversity.
Holism in Biodiversity Conservation
Pascual, U., Adams, W.M., Díaz, S. et al. Biodiversity and the challenge of pluralism. Nat Sustain 4, 567–572 (2021).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00694-7
Major aspect and elements of two contrasting
environmental paradigms
Aspect of paradigm Alternative environmental paradigm Dominant paradigm

Core values Intrinsic value of nature Nature as valuable resource

Harmony with nature Human domination over nature
Non-material Material (economic) wealth often to a
few

Nature Nature benign Nature

Limits of nature Hostile/unforgiving/neutral
Delicate ‘balance’ of nature Ample/plentiful natural resources
Controllable environment

Knowledge Limits of science and technology Confidence in science and technology

Rationality of ends Rationality of means
Integration of facts, values, and feelings Separation of facts, values, and feelings
Definitions:
• Environment ethics – a system of moral principles that focuses on the
behaviour of humans toward the environment; it addresses
accountability, responsibility and obligation in the way nature and
people are treated.
• Environmental ideology – a systematic way of thinking by certain
social groups or institutions based on some environmental doctrines,
symbols, and myths; it could be the philosophical underpinning in
practice and decision-making.
• Environmental economics – a field of study that examines the cost
and benefits of economic activity over long periods, to all segments of
human society.
• Environmental paradigm – a set of environmental concepts, models
or positions shared by scholars.
 Codes of Environmental Practice
• The CBD of 1992 acknowledged the ethical principle of the intrinsic value
of nature. Such a principle can be used as the foundation of codes of
environmental practice to guide individuals, communities, governments,
business entities, and organisations in their relationships with nature and
other people.
• The code of environmental practice can incorporate the principles
recognizing the limits of nature, the consumptive and non-consumptive
values of biodiversity, the inter-generational equity issues, and the need for
a multidisciplinary approach to help integrate conservation and
development programs and policy decisions
• Extensive and thoughtful analysis of economic cost and benefits that
include the environment and all segment of human society.
Biodiversity at the Species Level
• Refers to the numbers of genetically and evolutionarily independent
groups of organisms on earth.
• These organisms may be plants, animals, fungi, or bacteria, each with
a unique set of features and characteristics.
• A defined geographic area supporting a large number and wide
variety of organisms is said to be “biodiversity-rich”.
• Species diversity estimates depend on prevailing taxonomic views
about what constitute a species, how species are recognized, study
techniques used in field sampling and data collection, and the
mathematical methods applied in estimating species diversity.
 Species richness and
uniqueness of Philippine
flora and fauna
Flora of the Philippines
 Biodiversity at the Species Level

Mora C, Tittensor DP, Adl S, Simpson AGB, Worm B (2011) How Many Species Are There on Earth and in the Ocean? PLoS Biol 9(8): e1001127.
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.100112
 Philippine mammals
• At least 206 native species (plus 7
introduced species), in an area of only
a bit over 300,000 square kilometers,
one of the highest densities of native
mammals in the world.
• Moreover, most of the species are
found nowhere else: of the 206 native
terrestrial species, 117 (57%) are
endemic, and among the 103 non-
flying native mammals, 93 (90%) are
unique to the Philippines.
• “We suspect that the Philippine
islands have the highest level of
endemic mammalian species richness
of any country on a per-unit-area
basis.” – The Field Museum

http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/philippine%5Fmammals/introduction.asp
Can you name them?
Philippine Birds
https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?orderbyaw=Order&rel-isocc=eq&where-isocc=PH
• Between 1919 and 1961, E. H. Taylor
described all three recognized species of
Philippine caecilians: Caudacaecilia weberi is
endemic to Palawan, Ichthyophis glandulosus
is known from Basilan Island and from a single
locality on Mindanao Island, and Ichthyophis
mindanaoensis is restricted to Mindanao.
• Herpetologists last recorded C. weberi in
Iwahig, Palawan, in 1961.
• The type locality of I. glandulosus on Basilan
has not been visited by herpetologists since
1921 while the record (of I. glandulosus) from
Mindanao remains tentative.
• Only I. mindanaoensis has been collected
fairly recently from several areas on
Mindanao.
 Barbourula busuangensis Platymantis bayani Pelobatrachus stejnegeri
(Philippine flat-headed frog) Walter's Limestone Forest Frog Mindanao Horned Frog

Sanguirana igorota Nyctixalus spinosum Leptobrachium lumadorum

Balbalan Frog Spiny Tree Frog “Lumad frog”
Philippine reptiles: snakes
• The terrestrial snake fauna of the Philippines includes
112 species from 12 families (Acrochordidae,
Colubridae, Cyclocoridae, Elapidae, Gerrhopilidae,
Homalopsidae, Lamprophiidae, Pareidae, Pythonidae,
Typhlopidae, Viperidae, and Xenopeltidae) and 41
genera, including 5 genera that are endemic to the
archipelago.
• The Philippine-endemic snake genera include the coral
snakes of the genus Hemibungarus (Elapidae) and all
members of Cyclocoridae, which contains
Cyclocorus (Triangle-spotted Snakes), Hologerrhum
(Stripe-lipped Snakes), Oxyrhabdium (Philippine
Burrowing Snakes), and Myersophis.
• Cyclocoridae was only recently recognized as a distinct
evolutionary lineage and currently includes four
Philippine-endemic genera, 7 species, and 3 subspecies.
Weinell et al., Copeia 108, No. 4, 2020
Calamaria alcalai, Alcala's Reed Snake
• Levitonius mirus - Waray Dwarf Burrowing Snake
Philippine reptiles
• Crocodylus mindorensis is considered to be the most severely threatened
crocodile species in the world, listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. A
population estimate of 100 non-hatchling individuals underlines the critical
status of the species
Some invertebrates
• Butterflies - 927 species; one-third are endemic (Treadaway & Schroeder 2012)
• Aquatic and riparian beetles - 850 species (Freitag et al., 2016)
• Ants - 474 species and subspecies names for ants in the Philippines (General & Alpert 2012)
Why are species counts/estimates not
consistent?
1. The species debate – “Splitters” VS “Lumpers”
Based on various data – morphology, DNA sequence, etc.
What’s a species?
• Typological species concept
• Biological species concept
• Evolutionary species concept
• Phylogenetic species concept
Nepenthes alata group – 14 different species!
Nepenthes alata group - 19 species
Leptobrachium hasseltii – 3 new species
Estimate of phylogeny and genetic
distances between the taxa indicate
the genetic distinctiveness of three
new species, including one from
Mindoro Island, one from the Palawan
faunal region, and one from the
Mindanao faunal region (Mindanao,
Basilan, and possibly Dinagat Islands.
Each new species is phenotypically, acoustically, and genetically
distinct from the others and from close relatives, including the
more distantly related L. hasseltii
• Leptobrachium mangyanorum sp. nov.
• Leptobrachium tagbanorum sp. nov.
• Leptobrachium lumadorum sp. nov.
 Pettersson Elektronik M500 USB Ultrasound Microphone + BatSound Touch Lite 1.3 software

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jay
Fidelino/publication/350742254_Toward_a_Philippine_Bat_Call_Library_Acoustic_characterization_of_insectivorous_bats_in_Bulacan_Luzon_island_Philippines/links/606fa40f299bf1c911ba1924/Toward-a-
Philippine-Bat-Call-Library-Acoustic-characterization-of-insectivorous-bats-in-Bulacan-Luzon-island-Philippines.pdf
E. pandanicarpa is synonymised with the
Bornean E. fimbriobracteata
Is R. leonardi or R. banaoana?
• Because of the large intraspecific
differences in flower size observed
in Rafflesia, flower diameter is NOT
suitable as the sole criterion for
species delimitation.
• “In view of this, and after
examining the original description
of R. banaoana, we therefore
conclude that Malabrigo’s (2010)
Rafflesia and R. leonardi are
conspecific and that the name R.
leonardi has priority”.
Why are species counts/estimates not consistent?
2. Limitations of Museum database
Many type specimens were
destroyed during the World War II.

Legislative Building (now National Museum of the Philippines)

Why are species counts/estimates not consistent?
3. Biological surveys and inventory techniques
- insufficient inventory because its
opportunistic, sporadic, and
unsystematic.
- labour-intensive and time-consuming,
can be tedious and even dangerous!
4. New discoveries and rapid loss
5. Knowledge gap and dynamic nature of
research
 Endemicity
• Endemism – restricted distribution of biota
at any taxonomic level. All endemic groups of
flora and fauna are unique and found
nowhere else in the world.
• Influenced by the size of islands, topography
of the landscape, and extent of island
isolation.
• Geographic isolation is the result of a
combination of several factors, such as
continental drift, sea level changes, upland
or mountain formation, volcanic activities,
and climatic changes.
• After thousands or millions of years of
adaptations, new species are formed

Endemicity is NOT a conservation status!

 Formation of Island Endemics

• Island endemics that occur on very

small islands (with less than 50
individuals) are prone to extinction
because of their limited distribution
and low genetic variability – As such,
island endemics heightened
conservation attention.

• When a species are the ONLY members of higher taxa, their loss would be an irreversible
global loss. Many are Philippine species!
Mt. Kitanglad
 “Galapagos times ten”
• Compared with approx. 100 terrestrial mammal species (about 80%
endemic) on Madagascar, the Philippines has about 180 species
(about 67% endemic) but the Philippines land area is only half the size
of Madagascar.
• Philippines is one of the 17 megadiverse country - refers to any one of
a group of nations that harbour the majority of Earth's species and
high numbers of endemic species. The main criterion for megadiverse
countries is endemism at the level of species, genera and families. A
megadiverse country must have at least 5,000 species of endemic
plants and must border marine ecosystems.
 17 Megadiverse Countries of the World
Russell Mittermeier of Conservation International introduced the concept of 17 megadiverse countries
based species endemism per unit area.
1. Brazil
2. Indonesia
3. Colombia
4. Mexico
5. Australia
6. Madagascar
7. Philippines
8. China
9. Peru
10. Ecuador
11. India
12. Malaysia
13. Papua New Guinea
14. United States of America
15. South Africa
16. Venezuela
17. Democratic Republic of Congo
 Figure 1: Number of endemic vascular plant species in 17 Figure 2: Number of endemic non-fish vertebrate species in 17
megadiverse countries illustrating that Philippines has the mega-diverse countries illustrating that Philippines has the 8th
9th highest number of species in this group. highest level of endemism for this group of species.

PNG, Papua New Guinea; DRC, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 High Species Endemicity in the Philippines
• Philippines level of biological endemism is without equal even within
the Indo-Malayan biogeographic realm – one of the most biologically
rich and distinct regions in the world.
• Philippines ranked next to Madagascar for having the highest no. of
endemic vertebrates and vascular plants per unit area of Habitat

biodiversity hotspot – biogeographical region with exceptional concentrations of endemic species are undergoing
exceptional loss of habitat. To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot on Myers 2000 edition of the
hotspot-map, a region must meet two strict criteria: it must contain at least 1,500 species of
vascular plants as endemics, and it has to have lost at least 75% of its primary vegetation.
Myers, N., Mittermeier, R., Mittermeier, C. et al. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403, 853–858
(2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35002501
 36 biodiversity hotspots,
according to the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund
• Many of the biodiversity hotspots exceed the two
criteria. For example, both the Sundaland Hotspot
in Southeast Asia and the Tropical Andes Hotspot
in South America have about 15,000 endemic
plant species. The loss of vegetation in some
hotspots has reached a startling 95 percent.

• 10 Most Threatened Biodiversity Hotspots

• Cerrado
• Himalayas
• Polynesia-Micronesia
• Atlantic Forest
• Indo-Burma
• Philippines
• Madrean Pine-oak Woodlands
• Coastal Forests
• Cape Floral Region
• MesoAmerica
Habel JC, Rasche L, Schneider UA, et al. Final countdown for biodiversity hotspots. 2019;12:e12668. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12668