A photography-based list of orchid flora in the Mt. Busa Key Biodiversity Area (KBA 196). The project aims to produce a comprehensive photo-ID guide that would help monitor wild orchid diversity and populations in this area and also inform policies and management interventions for the protection and conservation of KBA 196. The outputs from this project will hopefully inspire political will and commitment and community actions, which will bring about positive conservation outcomes. 

Role: Project Leader | Timeline: June 2019 - present

Generated additional information from the field to help inform the conservation of the recently rediscovered Guttman's stream frog and its habitat. The project utilized both scientific and policy-advocacy approaches in close cooperation with the Protected Area Management Office of the Allah Valley Protected Landscape

Role: Project Leader | Timeline: June 2021 - January 2022

This umbrella project seeks to document and record the biodiversity of the Busa Mountain Range in southern Mindanao to inform policies and actions for the conservation, protection, and management of the BMR. The data from the project are published in scientific publications or policy briefs for dissemination to various stakeholders. Our photos are also used in communications, education, and public awareness campaigns. 

Role: Project Leader | Timeline: Jan 2019 - present

Recorded the amphibians and reptiles in Mt. Busa, Sarangani Province, including their natural history and patterns of distribution among different types of forest. The project was funded by the Rufford Foundation, USAID Protect Wildlife, and Idea wild.

Role: Project Leader | Timeline: Jan 2019 - Aug 2020

Explored the poorly known shallow-water sea cucumber diversity in Sarangani Bay. The project focused on the habitat association, distribution, and natural history of sea cucumbers, with a particular focus on the economically important but threatened Holothuria scabra and Actinopyga echinites.

Role: Project Leader | Timeline: Sep 2014 - Dec 2019

Gathered and encoded data on foraging return rates, economic production patterns and signal value of specific resources, interaction patterns, cooperative resource flows, individual specialization, reproductive life histories, and social learning and cultural transmission patterns of a Sama-Tausug community in Sarangani Province. Click here for more information.

Role: Research Assistant | Timeline: Jun 2015 - Dec 2017

Carried out an in-water observation of marine turtle behavior and their responses to tourists’ presence and activities in Apo Island, Dauin, Negros Oriental; spent ~3 hours in the sea daily to observe marine turtles in the natural setting. This was a project of the Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines. Click here for more information.

Role: Field Researcher | Timeline: May 2016