This semester at National University of Singapore I embarked on a research project at the evolutionary laboratory in order to uncover the history of a vaguely investigated cave crab genus, Orcovita with my peers. Cave environments provide a habitat to innumerable diverse organisms. Such cave environments were even recognized to be as "small islands within a small island" (Iliffe, Hart & Manning, 1983). Species of Orcovita posses a unique geological distribution across the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from Christmas Island in Australia to Coron Island in the Philippines to Ryukyu Islands in Japan to even the Hawaiian Islands.
One of the aspects of this study that caught my attention was the disparity in the conservation of their habitat. On one hand, species inhabiting Christmas Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, obtain the most protection in the biodiversity-rich island. Christmas Island policies are staunch in regards to sustainable practices, conservation, green tourism and furthermore it is a hotspot for the scientific community. While on the other hand conservation is a minimal, irrelevant, insignificant (well you are getting the point), issue in the Philippines, The habitats of Orcovita in Coron Island is vulnerable due diving tourism, small scale fisheries and the disregard for marine conservationist's concerns (Fabinyi, 2008).
One of the greatest motivation of this research is the lack of literature and study available on this genus. I was alarmed by the lack of conservation in some regions that is threatening the loss of knowledge of these relict crabs. They are susceptible in becoming vulnerable and even a rarity due to human activities. The loss of habitat could cause us to miss a crucial evolutionary link that binds these organisms to our world.
Despite the same genus, it intrigues me how governments in both these regions have a completely different agendas. One nation highlights the importance of biodiversity, while the other is concerned with its economics prosperity. This difference could be pinpointed to Australia being a more developed nation, thus can afford to indulge some of its national income in conservation, while Philippines may not have such a luxury. There must be a whole range of factors that decide a government's priority between a source of national income or conserving biodiversity. As my research continues over this semester, I will be examining closely the potential factors that determine the importance of conservation per nation.
I welcome you to my crabby journey.
References:
Iliffe TM, Hart CW, & Manning RB (1983) Biogeography and the caves of Bermuda. Nature, 302(5904), 141-142.
Fabinyi M (2008) Dive tourism, fishing and marine protected areas in the Calamianes Islands, Philippines. Marine Policy, 32(6): 898-904.
Stasolla, Gianluca, and Gianna Innocenti (2014) A new species of cavernicolous crab from Coron Island, Palawan, the Philippines (Decapoda: Brachyura: Varunidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 62, 591-599.
Davie PJF & Ng PKL (2012) Two new species of Orcovita (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Varunidae) from anchialine caves on Christmas Island, eastern Indian Ocean. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 60(1): 57-70.
One of the aspects of this study that caught my attention was the disparity in the conservation of their habitat. On one hand, species inhabiting Christmas Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, obtain the most protection in the biodiversity-rich island. Christmas Island policies are staunch in regards to sustainable practices, conservation, green tourism and furthermore it is a hotspot for the scientific community. While on the other hand conservation is a minimal, irrelevant, insignificant (well you are getting the point), issue in the Philippines, The habitats of Orcovita in Coron Island is vulnerable due diving tourism, small scale fisheries and the disregard for marine conservationist's concerns (Fabinyi, 2008).
One of the greatest motivation of this research is the lack of literature and study available on this genus. I was alarmed by the lack of conservation in some regions that is threatening the loss of knowledge of these relict crabs. They are susceptible in becoming vulnerable and even a rarity due to human activities. The loss of habitat could cause us to miss a crucial evolutionary link that binds these organisms to our world.
Despite the same genus, it intrigues me how governments in both these regions have a completely different agendas. One nation highlights the importance of biodiversity, while the other is concerned with its economics prosperity. This difference could be pinpointed to Australia being a more developed nation, thus can afford to indulge some of its national income in conservation, while Philippines may not have such a luxury. There must be a whole range of factors that decide a government's priority between a source of national income or conserving biodiversity. As my research continues over this semester, I will be examining closely the potential factors that determine the importance of conservation per nation.
I welcome you to my crabby journey.
References:
Iliffe TM, Hart CW, & Manning RB (1983) Biogeography and the caves of Bermuda. Nature, 302(5904), 141-142.
Fabinyi M (2008) Dive tourism, fishing and marine protected areas in the Calamianes Islands, Philippines. Marine Policy, 32(6): 898-904.
Stasolla, Gianluca, and Gianna Innocenti (2014) A new species of cavernicolous crab from Coron Island, Palawan, the Philippines (Decapoda: Brachyura: Varunidae). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 62, 591-599.
Davie PJF & Ng PKL (2012) Two new species of Orcovita (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura: Varunidae) from anchialine caves on Christmas Island, eastern Indian Ocean. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 60(1): 57-70.