Danilo S. Balete

Local Participation in Natural Resource Monitoring: a Characterization of Approaches

The monitoring of trends in the status of species or habitats is routine in developed countries, where it is funded by the state or large nongovernmental organizations and often involves large numbers of skilled amateur volunteers. Far less monitoring of natural resources takes place in developing countries, where state agencies have small budgets, there are fewer skilled professionals or amateurs, and socioeconomic conditions prevent development of a culture of volunteerism. The resulting lack of knowledge about trends in species and habitats presents a serious challenge for detecting, understanding, and reversing declines in natural resource values. International environmental agreements require signatories undertake systematic monitoring of their natural resources, but no system exists to guide the development and expansion of monitoring schemes. To help develop such a protocol, we suggest a typology of monitoring categories, defined by their degree of local participation, ranging from no local involvement with monitoring undertaken by professional researchers to an entirely local effort with monitoring undertaken by local people. We assessed the strengths and weaknesses of each monitoring category and the potential of each to be sustainable in developed or developing countries. Locally based monitoring is particularly relevant in developing countries, where it can lead to rapid decisions to solve the key threats affecting natural resources, can empower local communities to better manage their resources, and can refine sustainable-use strategies to improve local livelihoods. Nevertheless, we recognize that the accuracy and precision of the monitoring undertaken by local communities in different situations needs further study and field protocols need to be further developed to get the best from the unrealized potential of this approach. A challenge to conservation biologists is to identify and establish the monitoring system most relevant to a particular situation and to develop methods to integrate outputs from across the spectrum of monitoring schemes to produce wider indices of natural resources that capture the strengths of each.

A simple system for monitoring biodiversity in protected areas of a developing country

The achievements of initiatives to strengthen biodiversity conservation in developing countries may be difficult to assess, since most countries have no system for monitoring biodiversity. This paper describes a simple and cost-effective, field-based biodiversity monitoring system developed specifically for areas where ‘specialist staff’ is lacking. We discuss the preliminary lessons learned from protected areas in the Philippines. Whilst the monitoring system aims to identify trends in biodiversity and its uses so as to guide management action, it also promotes the participation of local people in the management, stimulates discussions about conservation amongst stakeholders and builds the capacity of park staff and communities in management skills. In addition, it seeks to provide people with direction regarding the aims of protected areas, and reinforces the consolidation of existing livelihoods through strengthening community-based resource management systems. The field methods are: (1) standardised recording of routine observations, (2) fixed point photographing, (3) line transect survey, and (4) focus group discussion. Both bio-physical and socio-economic data are used and given equal importance. The system can be sustained using locally available resources. The approach is useful in countries embarking on shared management of park resources with local communities, where rural people depend on use of natural ecosystems, and where the economic resources for park management are limited. We hope this paper will encourage other countries to develop their own biodiversity monitoring system, letting its development become a means for capacity building whilst at the same time supporting the creation of ownership.

Biodiversity monitoring in developing countries: what are we trying to achieve?

., 2002).manyexistingprogrammessuCerfromtwomajordesign One could argue that these constraints are unrelateddeficiencies: a lack of well-articulated objectives, and a to biodiversity monitoring and should be addressed byneglect of diCerent sources of error in the estimation of strengthening the government institutions responsiblebiological diversity. The paper was primarily devoted and providing additional training and funds (Bawa &to the sources of data uncertainty. While we agree Menon, 1997). However, whether we like it or not, wewith the conclusion that substantial thought should be are not likely to see significantly improved environmentalgiven to the question of design, and to ‘how’, ‘what’ and departments in developing countries for some time. By‘why’ to monitor, it is worth considering what we want neglecting these constraints and emphasizing the needto achieve by monitoring and, considering the socio- for more standardized approaches, the recommendationseconomic context, what is practically feasible. Design of Yoccoz

Increasing Conservation Management Action by Involving Local People in Natural Resource Monitoring

Abstract There is a need for a better understanding of the status of the environment. At the same time, concerns have been raised regarding alienation of the local populace from environmental decisions. One proposed solution is participatory environmental monitoring. When evaluating the usefulness of environmental monitoring, the focus may be on accuracy, as is usually done by scientists, or on efficiency in terms of conservation impact. To test whether investment in participatory biodiversity monitoring makes economic sense for obtaining data for management decisions, we compared the cost efficiency of participatory and conventional biodiversity monitoring methods in Philippine parks. We found that, from a government perspective, investment in monitoring that combines scientific with participatory methods is strikingly more effective than a similar level of investment in conventional scientific methods alone in generating conservation management interventions. Moreover, the local populace seemed to benefit from more secure de facto user rights over land and other resources. Participatory biodiversity monitoring not only represents a cost-effective alternative when conventional monitoring is impossible, but it is also an unexpectedly powerful complementary approach, capable of generating a much higher level of conservation management intervention, where conventional monitoring already takes place.

DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SPECIES OF RHYNCHOMYS THOMAS (RODENTIA: MURIDAE: MURINAE) FROM LUZON ISLAND, PHILIPPINES

Abstract Rhynchomys belongs to a unique assemblage of Philippine rodents that exhibit a combination of primitive features as well as unique morphological specializations. These nocturnal “shrew-rats,” with highly specialized vermivorous and insectivorous food habits, are endemic to Luzon Island. Analyses of external, cranial, and dental features support the recognition of 4 species, 2 of which are described in this paper. All are restricted to high-elevation habitats, about 1,100 m and above, in montane and mossy forest on northern, western, and southeastern Luzon. Habitat vicariance and subsequent divergence in isolation is the probable mode of diversification in Rhynchomys as well as in other murid clades whose members are restricted to high-elevation habitats. The discovery of locally endemic species of Rhynchomys both confirms the existence of multiple centers of endemism on Luzon and underscores the need to establish and maintain additional protected areas on the island.

Chapter 1: Seven New Species and a New Subgenus of Forest Mice (Rodentia: Muridae: Apomys) from Luzon Island

Abstract Surveys of small mammals on carefully selected mountains and mountain ranges on Luzon Island, Philippines, since 2000 have led to the discovery of seven previously unknown species of forest mice, Apomys, a remarkable radiation on just a portion of one island. On the basis of morphological and cytochrome (cyt) b DNA sequence data presented here, we propose a new subgenus, Megapomys, to include the large-bodied members of the genus, which form a monophyletic unit of relatively large mice (averaging ca. 65–110 g) with tails about as long as or slightly shorter than the length of the head and body; all of these species forage on the ground. Other members of the genus are assigned to the subgenus Apomys; they are smaller (ca. 18–41 g), have long tails, and usually or often forage above the ground surface. Members of the subgenus Megapomys include four previously recognized species (A. abrae, A. datae, A. gracilirostris, and A. sacobianus) and the seven new species described here (A. aurorae, A. banahao, A. brownorum, A. magnus, A minganensis, A. sierrae, and A. zambalensis). All occur in northern and central Luzon Island, with the exception of one species that occurs on Mindoro Island; none is present in southern Luzon. Each species can be distinguished both morphologically and genetically. Although there are few records of Megapomys below 500 m elevation, they are common above about 1000 m, and some species occur near the peaks of the highest mountains on Luzon (i.e., up to nearly 2900 m). On four mountain ranges, two species of the subgenus co-occur, one at lower and one at higher elevations, although there is usually some syntopic overlap. Sister-species usually occur allopatrically in different mountain ranges, with one possible exception. Some of these species occur in areas not previously known to support endemic mammals, indicating that these areas are previously unrecognized areas of mammalian endemism where further study is warranted.

Archboldomys (Muridae: Murinae) Reconsidered: A New Genus and Three New Species of Shrew Mice from Luzon Island, Philippines

ABSTRACT Shrew mice of the genus Archboldomys are poorly known members of an endemic clade of vermivorous/insectivorous murid rodents confined to Luzon Island, Philippines. Three species of these small, ground-living, diurnal mice were previously known, all from a handful of specimens from a few localities. The pattern of morphological and genetic differentiation among additional specimens of shrew mice from our recent field surveys in the Central Cordillera and Sierra Madre mountains of Luzon document the presence of two distinct species groups within Archboldomys as previously defined, as well as three new species. Gene-sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b and nuclear IRBP genes confirm the existence of six distinct species, but also show that Archboldomys, as previously defined, is composed of two clades that are not sister taxa. Reevaluation of the presumed morphological synapomorphies among these shrew mice, together with analyses of karyological and gene-sequence data, support the following: (1) erection of Soricomys, new genus; (2) transfer of A. kalinga and A. musseri to Soricomys; and (3) recognition of Archboldomys maximus, n. sp., Soricomys leonardocoi, n. sp., and Soricomys montanus, n. sp. The new genus and species are described, and their phylogenetic relationships, biogeography, and conservation are discussed.

Chapter 7. A New Genus and Species of Small ‘Tree-Mouse’ (Rodentia, Muridae) Related to the Philippine Giant Cloud Rats

Abstract A single specimen of a small mouse from Mt. Banahaw–San Cristobal Natural Park, Quezon Province, Luzon Island, Philippines, is here described as a new genus and species. It is easily distinguished from all other murids by its small size (15 g), rusty orange fur, mystacial vibrissae that are two-thirds the length of head and body, postocular patch of bare skin with long vibrissae arising within it, long tail with elongated hairs only on the posterior quarter, ovate ears, procumbent incisors that are deeply notched at the tip, and other distinctive characters. Both morphological and molecular data (from two nuclear genes) indicate that the new taxon is a member of the endemic Philippine clade of “giant cloud rats,” some of which weigh up to 2.6 kg. It is most closely related to the genus Carpomys, which includes the smallest previously known member of the clade (ca. 125 g), but differs from it in many features. The discovery of this new taxon reveals an even greater degree of diversification within the giant cloud rat clade than recognized previously, and adds to the 21 previously known genera of mammals endemic to the Philippines. The new mouse was captured in regenerating lowland rain forest located only 80 kilometers from Manila. This discovery highlights the importance of protecting regenerating tropical lowland rain forest, as well as the few remaining tracts of old-growth lowland rain forest on Luzon.

A new species of the shrew‐mouse, Archboldomys (Rodentia: Muridae: Murinae), from the Philippines

Abstract A new species of murid rodent belonging to the ‘shrew‐mouse’ genus Archboldomys is described from Kalinga Province in northern Luzon Island, Philippines. This is the third known species of this endemic Philippine genus. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by consistent differences in adult body size, limb and tail proportions, coloration and texture of the pelage, and cranial and dental dimensions. Members of this genus are small, diurnal rodents that feed mainly on earthworms and other soil invertebrates, and occur in high elevation montane and mossy forests habitats. The new species may be restricted to the northern portion of the Cordillera Central, whereas its congeners occur in widely separated highland areas in other portions of Luzon. The fact that similar distribution patterns are seen for members of other endemic genera suggests that habitat vicariance may have shaped much of the diversification of murid rodents on Luzon.

Synopsis and Biogeography of the Mammals of Camiguin Island, Philippines

Abstract Biodiversity surveys in the 1960s and 1990s on Camiguin Island, a geologically young, volcanically active oceanic island surrounded by deep water, have demonstrated the presence of 24 species of land mammals. Three species (one insectivore and two rodents) are not native to the Philippines, but all others (one insectivore, 12 bats, one monkey, four rodents, two small carnivores, and one ungulate) are indigenous. Among those captured in the 1990s were two previously unknown species of murid rodents in the genera Apomys and Bullimus that are endemic to Camiguin. The discovery of two new species on such a small island (ca. 265 km2) is remarkable; Camiguin is currently the smallest island in the Philippines known to have unique species of mammals. Total species richness of nonvolant mammals on Camiguin is low, but relative to islands that were once part of Pleistocene Greater Mindanao, Camiguin is not depauperate. However, its fauna is not ecologically balanced in the same way as the faunas of the islands that were part of Greater Mindanao: ground-living shrews (Crocidura) and rodents (Apomys, Bullimus, Crunomys, and Rattus) from lowland forest, along with some large mammals (Macaca, Paradoxurus, and Sus) are well represented on Camiguin, but all the arboreal small mammals that characterize lowland forest on Mindanao (Sundasciurus, Exilisciurus, Cynocephalus, and Tarsius), ground-living small mammals from montane habitats (Urogale, Podogymnura, Batomys, Limnomys, and Tarsomys), and one large mammal (Cervus) are absent. Additionally, at least two genera of fruit bats (Haplonycteris and Megaerops) that are fairly common in lowland rain forests on Mindanao are absent on Camiguin. The presence of some nonvolant mammals demonstrates that dispersal across the deep but narrow intervening channel takes place, but the presence of two species endemic to Camiguin and the absence of other species that are present on nearby Mindanao implies that dispersal probably is rare. The Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) was remarkably abundant in primary forest at high elevation; this species has also been found to be abundant in montane primary forest on Negros Island, which also has low total species richness. Species richness of small nonflying mammals was greatest at fairly high elevation.