Q-quatics welcomes its new researchers!

Two new fresh graduates, Selina De Leon and Fayte Sicnawa, jump on board the Q-quatics team last April 1. They have since been involved in the identification of fishes in partnership with the University of Western Australia and the carry forward of global fisheries catch reconstructions led by the Sea Around Us.

Selina De Leon, a BS Biology graduate, hails from the University of the Philippines Diliman. She took up courses on marine sciences, ichthyology, ecology, biodiversity, and conservation. Selina’s fascination for the ocean started when she saw the iconic BBC documentary series Blue Planet. That made her want to study marine life and experience it up close. Last Aril 2018, she volunteered for the humpback whale research expedition (Balyena.org) in Camiguin Island, Calayan, Cagayan.

Fayte Sicnawa, a member of the Indigenous People of Kalinga, studied BS Biology major in Wildlife Biology at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Upon graduation, she went on to teach Chemistry, Biology and Environmental Science at Trace College for a year. As a wildlife biologist, she’s aware of the decline in the sheer biodiversity of species in the country. She therefore feels strongly about the need for their conservation. She believes that the training she'll get in Q-quatics would leverage this passion. Today, she’s pursuing a master’s degree in Wildlife Biology.

Welcome aboard,  Selena and Fayte!

FishBase and SeaLifeBase sign MoU with World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)

Databases are rich sources of information, serving not only as learning tools, but a means toward fruitful collaborations and a catapult in advancing scientific research.

This has been the very aim when World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), FishBase, and SeaLifeBase have officially formed a collaboration last March 2018 to best serve the scientific community.

Last September 2017, the WoRMS Data Management Team attended the 15^th International FishBase Symposium in Tervuren, Belgium. The meeting focused on WoRMS’ underlying database Aphia and its potential use in global, regional and thematic registers, along with LifeWatch Taxonomic Backbone.

The team discussed the existing collaboration between FishBase and WoRMS, wherein FishBase has served as the taxonomic resource for fish names in WoRMS. Building on the ties that have strengthened both databases, the WoRMS team expressed their intention to also document in their database the fish distributions and traits from FishBase.

During the consortium meeting, the team has also seen the potential of FishBase's sister-database, SeaLifeBase—a joint project of the Sea Around Us (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada) and the FishBase Consortium—in providing biological and ecological information of global non-fish species, which can then be maximized for biodiversity and ecosystem studies. WoRMS, in turn, would provide its taxonomic backbone to SeaLifeBase. 

Related links:
http://www.marinespecies.org/news.php?p=show&id=5335
http://www.lifewatch.be/en/news?p=show&id=5335
WoRMS-Q-quatics MOU

Digital Photo Contest Awaits Your Entries!

Hurry! The countdown is on for the FishBase Symposium digital photo contest. The contest is open to all amateur Philippine-based photographers. Photos should exemplify the theme "Under the sea connections: different relationships among aquatic organisms." Send your entry to sealifebase@fin.ph. 

Note: Open image in new tab to enlarge.

Web update - December 2012

Our website www.sealifebase.org and its mirror site www.sealifebase.ca are now updated. Note that this is our last web update for 2012. 
   
Search for your favorite marine species now. Enjoy and happy learning!

Position Opening: Data Encoder [FILLED]

We are looking for a dynamic and determined person to join our team.

To know more about the position responsibilities and application procedure, click this image below:

Open to Philippine residents only.

2nd Aquatic Wildlife Rescue Manual Series Write-shop: Marine Mammals

As we mentioned in our earlier post, the SeaLifeBase Project participated in a meeting of marine mammal researchers, coordinated by the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines (MWWP), to draft and publish a rescue manual for stranded marine mammals in the Philippines.

Marine mammal rescue initiatives in the Philippines started in the late 1990’s, albeit without the benefit of a standardized rescue manual. This workshop is thus responding to this need.

Philippine marine mammal researchers.

The group was composed of 16 participants from the following organizations/institutions: Silliman University, Philippine Council for Sustainable Development, MWWP, SeaLifeBase Project, Davao Bone Collector Museum, and The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources - National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (BFAR-NFRDI) and other institutions, not present, but who provided their inputs via correspondences.

Insights from field practitioners provided by representatives from Palawan, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Calatagan, and Davao, helped build a framework for rescue field procedures. This manual will hopefully be given an official government seal for distribution to users within the Philippines (identified by the MWWP). Given government and private sector support, establishing trained rescue teams in areas where marine mammals may occur is the next step.

This workshop was held in Bontocs Bed and Breakfast in Anilao, Batangas, Philippines on 22-24 August 2012.

Written by:

Patricia Yap

Research Assistant

The SeaLifeBase Project

SeaLifeBase in the 2nd Aquatic Wildlife Rescue Manual Series Writeshop

The SeaLifeBase Project (represented by Research Assistant Patricia Sorongon-Yap) has been invited by the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines (MWWP) to participate in the 2nd Aquatic Wildlife Rescue Manual Series Write-shop: Marine Mammals on August 22-24, 2012 in Anilao, Batangas, Philippines.
     
More on this on a separate post. Watch out for it!

Web update - July 2012

Our website www.sealifebase.org and its mirror site www.sealifebase.ca are now updated.
   
Search for your favorite marine species now. Enjoy and happy learning!

SeaLifeBase receives grant from Global Greengrants Fund

Last May, the Global Greengrants Fund awarded the SeaLifeBase Project with a grant that will help continue its efforts in the documentation of the biodiversity of the world's oceans.

Greengrants is a public charity that invests in grassroots groups working on environmental sustainability issues and social justice. They support change from the ground up by channeling donations to local projects and mass campaigns for justice, primarily in the developing world and emerging economies.  Learn more about Greengrants here.


Posted by:
Lealde Pacres-Urriquia
Research Assistant
The SeaLifeBase Project