The SU-Angelo King Center for Research & Environmental Management (SUAKCREM) announces the recent publication of an article in the June, 2012 issue of the ISI and Scopus-listed journal, Philippine Journal of Science Vol. 141 (1): 77-87. The article is titled Vulnerability of Philippine Amphibians to Climate Change. The authors are A.C. Alcala, Abner Bucol, Arvin Diesmos, and Rafe Brown.
The two senior authors are researchers of SUAKCREM. Diesmos is herpetologist at the Philippine National Museum, and Brown is herpetologist at the University of Kansas.
The article is published on-line and will soon be in print.
Philippine amphibians occur mostly in tropical rainforests, which are for the most part degraded and/or fragmented, and are easily affected by excessive rainfall and drought, both of which characterize climate change. The high dependence of the majority of Philippine amphibians on water or moisture makes them vulnerable to the two climatic variables.
The authors’ analysis based primarily on the life history and the known microhabitats of Philippine amphibians, as well as on the predictions of climatologists, resulted in the finding that 101 of the 107 species (94.39 percent) are vulnerable in various degrees to climate change.
Only six species, all common species often associated with human habitations, are not vulnerable.
The authors, however, point out that their findings are subject to further research, both in the field and in the laboratory. (Ely L. Alcala/SUAKCREM)
