FEATURE

Bridging the gap between people and Philippine diversity

Katrina S. Luzon1, Denise Danielle Alcantara1, and Wilfredo Y. Licuanan*1,2

1Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research Center, De La Salle University, Manila 1004 Philippines 2Biology Department, College of Science, De La Salle University, Manila 1004 Philippines

he Philippines cradles at least 505 species of hard Francisco Nemenzo and his coral collection (DeVantier and Turak 2017), which is the highest number of species presently recorded in the The roots of traditional coral always lead us back to Indo-West Pacific. In a region with such the coralla, the skeletons of hard or stony corals. For a long time, T extraordinary diversity, distinguishing between coral taxonomic schemes and species identifications were based species or even between genera can be a challenge, especially solely on the skeletal features (Vaughan and Wells 1943; Veron since the distinctions between species may be blurred at larger and Pichon 1980; Veron 2000). Whenever a new species is geographic scales. This challenge emphasizes the need for being described, the original type specimens of corals that have locally specific, quality field guides and monographs, and access close affinities to the new species being proposed are required to an array of well-curated specimens collected from the region for comparison and validation. These type specimens are the by taxonomic authorities. The Coenomap website, hosted by the original coralla used to describe a new species. Thus, the Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research (SHORE) Center of De description of new species often requires visiting natural history La Salle University, was initially developed to provide a free and museums in Europe, the US, or Australia, where most of the type accessible repository of relevant taxonomic references for hard specimens are deposited. corals of the Order . The repository brings together the original descriptions and high-resolution photographs of The Philippines, being at the center of coral diversity, also has both the macromorphology and the micromorphology of 156 extensive collections of type specimens. Francisco Nemenzo, a type specimens of Francisco Nemenzo in The Nemenzo Virtual zoologist who spent decades studying the coral fauna of the Museum page of Coenomap. The Nemenzo Virtual Museum is Philippines, was the Filipino pioneer in describing new species one of the vital elements of Coenomap in the pursuit of of cal. Hi k eaed hi he ile f Fahe f Philiie encouraging and facilitating the identification of corals and the Cal Ta. mapping of their distributions in the Philippines. Professor Nemenzo described a total of 160 new species of corals (WoRMS Editorial Board 2020) through careful KEYWORDS investigations of countless coral specimens brought to him by diver friends and scientists. These specimens were sampled coenomap, virtual museum, Francisco Nemenzo, coral mainly from reefs in Cebu, Luzon, Mindoro, and Palawan for taxonomy, type specimens him to examine and describe. Some of the species that Professor Nemenzo described were named after his family members, friends, students, and colleagues who have made an impact on coral research. An example is caroliniana (Figure 1), *Corresponding author an exquisite branching coral that Professor Nemenzo named Email Address: [email protected] after his second child, Carol. Date received: September 05, 2020 Date revised: October 04, 2020 Currently, 37 of the species that Professor Nemenzo described Date accepted: October 04, 2020 as new are considered valid, while three are of nomen nudum,

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Figure 1: The web interface of The Virtual Museum in Coenomap. The example shown is the species information for Acropora caroliniana. (A) The general information, including the full colony shot, a brief description of the specimen, the place of collection, and the current location of the institution that houses the type is displayed first. (B) More details, such as photographs of the micromorphology and a detailed description of the specimen by Professor Nemenzo, are also available. and eight are of taxon inquierendum status (WoRMS Editorial first name wrong). The rest are under the care of The Marine Board 2020). The rest of his species are currently synonymized. Science Institute (MSI) of the University of the Philippines, However, all coral species are being re-examined under a new Silliman University (SU), and the University of San Carlos taxonomic scheme that integrates both phenotypic and (USC). genotypic characteristics (Huang et al. 2011; Huang et al. 2014; Huang et al. 2016). Hence, some of these synonymized species The Nemenzo Virtual Museum in Coenomap may turn out to be valid. The phenotype, in the current taxonomy, includes the characteristics of the macro- and The type specimens are vital in studying coral taxonomy and, micromorphology and the patterns of skeleton growth consequently, in quantifying diversity. Given the limited (skeletogenesis) embodied in microstructures. availability of references and limited access to coral collections, a ial e f Pfe Nee e ecie Pfe Nee eeie k i ialied i hi collection was developed to break these barriers. published works and coral collections, which, when put together, is one of the largest in the country. The Institute of Biology (IB) The Nemenzo Virtual Museum provides high-resolution digital of the University of the Philippines alone holds a total of 709 iage f he cal acromorphology and micromorphology. coral specimens of Professor Nemenzo (Pedales and The lae ee fe i Pfe Nee blicai, al Baalae 2014; NB Thi ae g Pfe Nee all of which are out of print. All the available type specimens in

Vol. 13 | No. 02 | 2020 Philippine Science Letters 131 the four institutions mentioned were revisited and photographed Terms. The Explore section would focus on basic coral in more detail. Unfortunately, some of the types are missing, taxonomy concepts to help budding marine enthusiasts and and some are undocumented and therefore cannot be traced, as scientists identify corals in the field. Corals of the Philippines in the case of Acropora rectina (WoRMS Editorial Board 2020). would feature images of over 500 coral species photographed in The Nemenzo types that were found: 109 from IB, 18 from MSI, the country. The IUCN Red List section would be an online 13 from SU, and eight from USC are now exhibited in The resource for threatened coral species. Additional field guides Nemenzo Virtual Museum and other resources could be downloaded in the Materials (http://www.coenomap.org/nemenzo-virtual-museum/). section, and coral taxonomic jargon are explained in the Glossary of Terms. With this framework, Coenomp seeks to The latest interface of the page includes the original descriptions reach more people in the future through education and a more of each coral, as published by Professor Nemenzo, and other extensive offering of coral-related information. details such as the place of collection and the institution that houses the specimen (Fig. 1). The Nemenzo Virtual Museum The opening of The Nemenzo Virtual Museum is the first step also alig Pfe Nee a ih he ce to reiterate the importance of coral taxonomy and biodiversity in taxonomic scheme. The wider accessibility of the page protects the Philippines. True to the original vision of Coenomap, the the types from exposure to repeated handling by different Virtual Museum will integrate the participatory element on the examiners. website. A Field Photos section was already made part of The Nemenzo Virtual Museum to complement the black and white There are more Philippine specimen collections of other photos of coralla. The same will be done for the other taxonomic authorities housed at The Marine Science Institute. collections that will be included in The Virtual Museum. Initial These collections include those of J.E.N. Veron, and the types verified photos taken from the lae Naial Aee f of Nemenzophyllia turbida (the only species of the named Cal Reef Eie Pjec 1 ld be laded. The after Professor Nemenzo by his students), and Leptoseries Field Photos section will also be open for the submission of kalayaanensis (from the first Philippine expeditions to the images of corals taken from the field by marine enthusiasts and Kalayaan Islands). The DLSU SHORE team plans to feature scientists. Multiple images allow for the documentation of these collections in the Virtual Museum section of Coenomap. morphological variation in the species in different reefs with The Nemenzo Virtual Museum is the only active page of The different environmental conditions, thereby helping improve the Virtual Museum at present. recognition of these species. The Field Photos section could then serve as a guide for those who want to submit their images Coenomap: The first online resource on corals in the through the crowd-sourced species identification platform called Philippines iNaturalist.

The title, Coenomap, was coined from the e ce, hich iNaturalist is an existing nature app and website that connects comes from the Greek word koinos, eaig c. F people to nature through the sharing of images and field example, the coenosteum is the skeletal structure that grows observations, which could then be validated by scientists from between and connects adjacent corallites in a corallum. across the globe. With this, it is possible to create an iNaturalist Coenomap is a website that was conceptualized in 2005 when project specifically for tracking the distribution and occurrence he Philiie Cee f Ecellece f he Wld Bak-funded of coral species found in Philippine waters. Such a project could Global Environment Facility - Coral Reef Targeted Research be valuable for the conservation and management of coral (GEF-CRTR) Program was under the management of late species, especially those that are rare and threatened. National Scientist Edgardo D. Gomez. A project was opened under the CRTR program to serve the other working groups by With the degradation of our reefs due to direct anthropogenic building their capacity for coral taxonomy. This taxonomy impacts and climate change, we have to raise awareness and project conducted regular bi-annual training to members of reach more people to join scientists in advocating for the CRTR, other coral researchers across the country, and even protection of the extraordinary diversity of coral species in the recreational divers who are coral enthusiasts. One way that the Philippines. Coenomap seeks to popularize coral biodiversity training materials and the field guides were disseminated to the and bridge the gap between people and our seascapturing the public, especially to the trainees, was through Coenomap. The imagination of Filipinos to fully appreciate the beauty and Virtual Museum served as the corallum reference of Coenomap bounty of Philippine corals and coral reefs. back then. During the infancy of Coenomap, the website was already intended to be participatory. The site was slowly being deeled be a c laf ha alled lcal die CONFLICTS OF INTEREST or snorkelers, especially the participants of the early taxonomy trainings, to submit photographs of corals taken during their The authors declare no conflicts of interest. dives for identification or species verification. With its participatory feature, Coenomap was envisioned as a vehicle for coral taxonomy to have a broader reach in the Philippines. REFERENCES

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