08/03/2025
CCRA ๐ชธ
THREE SEAWEED GENERA ARE RECORDED FOR THE FIRST TIME FROM THE PHILIPPINES ๐ชธ
Our laboratory head, Dr. Wilfred John Santiaรฑez, together with colleagues from Spain, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Netherlands, and Germany, provided the first molecular-based biodiversity study on the crustose coralline red algae (CCRA) of the Coral Triangle. Their work primarily focused on Indonesian CCRA from Spermonde Archipelago) but several Philippine specimens (from Pangasinan) loaned from the Gregorio T. Velasquez Phycological Herbarium (MSI) were included in this work as part of a collaborative research between the UP Diliman and the Universidad de Granada in Spain.
In their work, four genera of CCRA, including Lithophyllum, Crustaphytum, Dawsonioliton, and Parvicellularium, were found in Bolinao, Pangasinan. This is the first time that latter three genera are reported to occur in the Philippines. Whatโs more interesting is that the representatives of all these genera are very likely new to science! ๐คฉ
Among the other highlights of their work is that seaweed biodiversity is high in the Coral Triangle, with CCRA diversity being at least three times as high than previously reported in both the Spermonde Archipelago and Pangasinan. This underscores the need to reassess the diversity and distribution of CCRAs considering their important roles in coral reef formation and with the threats associated with coastal and offshore developments as well as the acidification of our coasts and oceans.
To get a more details about the molecular diversity of CCRAs of Indonesia and the Philippines, check you may check the open-access paper here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00318884.2025.2469031
