Biodiversity, latest buzzword in biological sciences circle, created an initial impact among Filipino researchers/scientists a couple of Decades ago. This was manifested by the nature of project proposals reaching funding government agencies and/or non-government organizations. Apparently, biodiversity researches were dominated by botany, microbiology, and zoology investigators. More often than not, researchers in these fields work in tandem or have teamed up cohesively with ecologists.
The introduction of biodiversity as an area of research, provided a new option for botanists, microbiologist, and zoologists by utilizing their 'must' foundations in taxonomy, systematics, morphology, physiology, and ecology. At one point, taxonomists/systematists felt being relegated to the ' endangered' group of researchers with the advent of more 'modern' technology to handle biology-related studies. But biodiversity research has resurrected and has activated taxonomists and ecologists.
Biodiversity, in a more simplistic/laymen interpretation, holistically refers to the study of living organisms (plants, animals, microorganisms), their taxa, species compositions, populations, relative dominance in a specific study area, as influenced/affected by in situ ecological parameters, e.g. physical, chemical, biological, obtaining in the area. The present study, is an initial attempt to document and assess the species compositions, population, distribution, and occurrence of marine algae in the island of Leyte, initially the northeastern coast facing the Pacific Ocean (Leyte Gulf). The island is among the Philippines bigger land mass and has a relatively long shoreline. Adding to the stretch of the shoreline are the islands/islets found in the Upper Leyte or northernmost municipalities of Calubian, Leyte-Leyte, Capoocan, Carigara, Barugo, and San Miguel, Central Leyte (Babatngon, Tacloban, Palo, Tanauan, Tolosa, and Dulag), has only few islets, the more 'popular' being the Diyo Island facing Tacloban City. Other islands within Leyte Gulf belong to the Western Samar towns of Sta. Rita, Basey, and Marabut, and in part that of Eastern Samar's Guiuan and the historic island ofHomonhon. The southernly or Lower Leyte towns of Mayorga, MacArthur, Javier, and Abuyog have fewer islets.
Birth of Philippine Phycology
Before the entry of biodiversity-laced researches, the study of freshwater and marine algae/seaweeds known as Phycology (Algology), the seawaters of the particularly those coming from Europe and the Americas.
As early as the 1800s the Romanzoff Expedition (1817-1818) on board the Russian ship Rurik, diverted their route and took shelter in Manila Bay following a heavy storm in the Pacific. A von Chamisso, a botanist of the expedition collected the fust specimens of the red algal genus Corallopsis in Manila Bay. In 1831, another foreign researcher joined the Prussian East Asia Expedition headed by F. J. Meyen. Georg von Martens, phycologist of the expedition, found (1806), collected and described two new species of green freshwater algae, namely, Cladophora diluta and C. luzunensis.
Considered as the first American-led group to visit the Philippine shores, so called the American Exploring Expedition headed by Charles Wilkes, had two phycologists who worked on their collections. J. W. Harvey and W. H. Harvey (1851, 1853, 1852), reported new records of brown seaweed Dictyota dichotoma and a number of new algal species, namely: Amphitetras farinosa, Campylodiscus kutzingii, Lagena williamsonii, and Triceratium orientale. These new species were collected from Maron gas Island, NE of Jolo, Sulu. The British Challenger Expedition visited Central Philippines (Visayan Waters) in 1874-1875. One new species of marine green alga was described by G. Dikie (1876- 1877) as Poliphysa spicata collected from Mactan Island, Cebu.
However, regarded as the most successful group of foreign scientists to visit the Philippine seas came with the Dutch Siboga Expedition in 1900. The expedition covered the Sulu Sea and had their rich marine algal collections studied by different phycologists, e.g. genus Halimeda by W. van Bosse and M. Foslie (1904, 1918), family Codiaceae by A. & E.S. Gepp (1911), and W. van Bosse (1912-1928), who published a checklist of blue-green, brown, and red algal species. She made special mention of the green Bornetella sphaerica among her Philippine materials. Other foreign biologists who did algal collections included H. H. Bartlett, who came twice in 1935 and 1940-1941. His (Bartlett) was an extensive collection trips from Batanes Province to the Sulu - Archipelago.
Low Point and Recovery of Philippine "Phycology Studies”
Philippine phycological research activities suffered a set-back m 1942-1945 during the outbreak of World War II. The assault on Manila saw the country's herbarium, then under the defunct Bureau of Scici1Ce, burned to the ground, its priceless terrestrial and aquatic plant exsiccate turned into ashes. However, there were few herbarium specimens, sent as exchange materials with foreign herbaria Rijks Herbarium of Netherlands, Royal Botanic Gardens of England, and the US Smithsonian Institution, which became the subject of 'retrieval' plan of then Philippine National Museum Director and noted botanist Dr. Eduardo Quisumbing. There were few Post War foreign biologists who were able to study Philippine algal materials kept in European and American herbaria. Worth mentioning among those who came to the country was E. Yale Dawson whose publications appeared in 1953. One of his contributions to Philippine phycology was his collection and description of the red seaweed Corallopsis salicornia found along the seawall of Manila Harbor. His collection turned out to be the topotype of the taxon later named as Gracilaria salicornia.
The handful of pioneering Filipino algae researchers had the biggest challenge of rebuilding the algological herbarium collections ruined during World War II. Dr. G. T. Velasquez, a renown freshwater algologist who by sheer desire to resurrect algae research including marine algae, initiated a crusade of building manpower base of postwar Filipino researchers. He pursued his studies on Philippine Blue-green Algae (Myxophyceae/Cyanophyceae) through a Grant-in-Aid from the American Philosophical Society. He was followed by his growing number of graduate students, who, armed with Master of Science Degrees formed the core of early Filipino algologists, e.g. J. D. Soriano, M. Cantoria, V. Aligaen, E. MediJla, M. Velasco, V. Viola among others. These advisees of G. T. Velasquez turned into under and graduate student advisers and caused the production of next generation algae work algae workers. One of them as Head of Botany Department and Professor at Far Eastern University, Prof. Violeta Viola-Arbizo became the Bachelor of Science Thesis Adviser of P. A. Cordero, Jr. They were later joined by the Theses/Dissertation advisees of G. C Trono, Jr., at UP-Diliman (including M. Fortes and E. Banzon-Fortes) and P. A. Cordero, Jr., at University of Santo Tomas. Together with Cordero's elrven (11) M Sc. Degree and three (3) Ph. D. advisees. referred to as his phycology research 'offspring’s', most of whom joined the academe and research institutions here and abroad. Adding to the rekindling of the Philippine algal research were few foreign phycologists who came as expedition members. One of these was the month-lone expedition headed by the internationally known Japanese Phycologist Dr. Takesi Tanaka, who came on board the 1,000-ton training ship "Kagoshima Maru", of the Kagoshima University, Japan. The group collected both terrestrial and marine plants in Batan Island, Batanes Province and San Pioquinto, Cagayan Province. He (Tanaka, 1967, 1981) described two new species of marine algae, namely: green Avrainvillea capituliformis and brown Dictyopteris camiguensis from Batanes and Cagayan, respectively. Cordero, then a fledgling student of phycology with the Botany division, Philippine National Museum, who, together with Velasquez, was among the 7-man Philippine counterpart of the Japanese expedition. Later, he (Cordero) was invited by Dr. Tanaka to do graduate study on marine algae through the Ministry of Japan Scholarship Program (MOMBUSHO), under his advisership. He took qualifying examination for the said scholarship and studied the Japanese Expedition rich algal collections and finished M Sc. in Fisheries Degree at Kagoshima University. His thesis, titled "The Marine Algae of Batao Island" was later invited for publication in three fascicles (1976, 1977, 1978) in the Fisheries Research Journal of the Philippines. Aside from algal species newly recorded for the Philippines, Cordero (1974) described a new variety of green Halimeda velasquezii Taylor var. stuposa Cordero. Earlier, Cordero and Tanaka (1972), published the genus Halimeda of Camiguin Island, Cagayan Province.
Phycological Investigations
The Visayan Sea
The Visayan Sea surrounds the three (3) political regions of Region VI Western-, Region 7 Central-, and Region 8 Eastern Visayas. Of the three regions, the marine algal flora of Western Visayas and Central Visayas are well documented/assessed compared to that of Eastern Visayas. Algae workers in Region VI include Prof. V.-Aligaen (UPV-lloilo) and Prof. Calmorin (Northern Iloilo Polytechnic State College-Estancia), M. Sc. Thesis advisee of Dr. Cordero, including their under- and graduate students. Also, on severa1 occasions, often in collaboration with Japanese a1go1ogists, e.g. Dr. Isamu Umezaki of Kyoto University and Cordero's Doctoral Dissertation Critic), or as Consultant of the Southeast Asia Fisheries Development. Center (SEAFDEC), otherwise in projects funded by the Philippine government, he (Cordero) contributed to the phycology research of Region VI. Cordero conducted floristic studies in the provinces of Aklan, Capiz, iloilo, anc Guirnaras. He reported (1978 a/b, 1980), marine algae newly recorded from the Region and the Philippines, e. g. Callymenia pacifica and few new Philippine records of epiphytic species, among others. It might be worthy of note that Cordero as designated Head of Task Force Philippine National Museum Marine Biological Station (PNMBRS), put up the first national museum marine field station in Aklan. Region 7 boasts of algae workers like Dr. Ernani Menez (Emeritus Phycologist with U.S. Smithsonian Institution) and Dr. Hilconida Calumpong (then Director, Siliman University Research Center), Dr. Danilo Largo, Prof. M. Filipinas, and Dr. Lawrence Liaos of the University of Sart Carlos, who were ably complemented by their respective graduate student advisees. Cordero, as part of his project on the- "Marine Algae of the Philippines", did several collecting trips in Mactan, Cebu, including Olango Island.
Eastern Visayas (Region VITI)
There has been no 'serious' attempts to document/assess the marine algal flora of Region 8 (Eastern Visayas), evidenced by the highly anemic information available. However, and as mentioned earlier., the pre-World War ll saw several visits t-y phycologists participating in expeditions and as individual visiting researchers, who botanized part of Eastern Visayas (Biliran and Tacloban). The Post World V/ar II algal specimens deposited in the National Herbarium, Philippine National Museum, include only three (3) red seaweed materials of Galaxaura oblongata (PNH 113931 and PNH 113937) collected 1n 1%0s from Diyo Island, Tacloban by J. Cabrera and R Magana. The other G. oblongata specimen in the PNH came from Bato, Leyte collected by 1v1r. Abad. The fourth specimen is a red corallinaceous species of Amphiroa foliacea also from Diyo Island These materials were studied and included in the doctoral dissertation of Cordero (1977), submitted 1o Graduate School, Kyoto University. One :1otes that in early 2000s, a foreign-commissioned project to assess the marine plants and animals in the Pacific Seaboard of the Philippines was undertaken in collaboration with select UP Diliman-based researchers. The said project did not include Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas, but for Northern and Eastern Samar Provinces to represent the Eastern Visayan marine flora and fauna. Only few staff of the University of Northern Philippines (UEP) were included in the project, but had no access nor were provided a copy of the project's final report (pers. com.). The present project, therefore, safely marks as the first attempt to study the marine algal resources of Leyte Island - initially conceived to cover the entire island, artificially divided into Northeastern, Northwestern, and Southern Leyte.