2 new frog species discovered in Leyte

MANILA, Philippines - Two new species of frogs and 229 recorded flora species were discovered in Southern Leyte late last year.

Mundita Lim, head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (DENR-PAWB), said the frogs belong to the genus Platymantis.

“These species inhabit the montane and mossy forests of the Nacolod Mountain Range in Southern Leyte province,” she said. “Both species differ markedly from other known species of Philippine Platymantis frogs by their body size, coloration patterns, and advertisement calls. The two species are allied to two different species groups, the Platymantis guentheri group and Platymantis hazelae group.”

Lim said this is the first time that a Platymantis species belonging to the hazelae group has been discovered in Mindanao faunal region, to which the island of Leyte belongs.

“Herpetologists from the Philippines and the United States are now working on the formal taxonomic description of the species,” she said.

Lim said the month-long ground surveys in Southern Leyte – covering the municipalities of Silago, Hinunangan, Sogod, Maasin, Tomas Oppus and Malitbog – also recorded a total of 229 floral species (31 of which are unique to the Philippines) and 212 terrestrial vertebrates species comprising 112 species of birds (41 species are unique to Philippines; 11 of which are threatened to extinction), 36 species of mammals (17 species are unique to the Philippines) and 64 species of amphibians and reptiles (more than half of which are found only in the Philippines).

“It is anticipated that a significant number of species will be recorded from Southern Leyte with continued field sampling, especially if the surveys are conducted during the drier months of the year and if a wide range of habitat and elevation zones, from lowland Dipterocarp to mossy forests, are sampled in detail,” she said.

Lim said the assessment indicated the general preference of Southern Leyte’s fauna to forest and riverine environments.

“The information generated now provides a baseline that can be used to predict impacts of habitat change on species and to design measures to protect forest biodiversity. For local government units in Southern Leyte, the findings provide the scientific basis in designing appropriate management systems and monitoring protocols useful in protecting forest ecosystems, establishing local forest and

biodiversity areas as well as to steer the rehabilitation of forests towards an efficient and more ecologically sound path,” she said.

Lim said the assessment will spur forest protection and rehabilitation efforts under the Philippine National Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)-Plus Strategy as part of the National Climate Change Action Plan, and the National Greening Program.

Lim said the discovery of the new species on the fragmented forests of Mt. Nacolod intensifies the potential of REDD-Plus for effective protection and rehabilitation of natural forests and conservation of biodiversity, while benefiting local communities.

Greater involvement of LGUs in conserving the biodiversity of Nacolod is expected, she added.

The study was aimed at generating species inventories and practical information on key species-habitat associations as sound bases for forest and biodiversity management planning, Lim said.

Joining the PAWB in conducting the biodiversity assessments last November 2011 were the Fauna & Flora International, the National Museum of the Philippines, and DENR Eastern Visayas.