Marian Dara T. Tagoon, Joshua L. Donato, Treaseur B. Susulan, Karyn Chrislene A. Vitor, Samuel Herbert T. Mamora, Elsa May Delima-Baron,
Volume 4, Issue 4 (12-2022)
Abstract
Data on anurans in Davao City watersheds remains depauperate. This study provides the first account of anurans of the Panigan-Tamugan watershed using visual encounter survey (VES) and microhabitat searches along fifteen 10 × 10 m belt transects. A total of 14 species belonging to 11 genera and five families were recorded for all three sampling sites in the Panigan-Tamugan Watershed. Eleven out of 14 anurans species documented in this survey are endemic to the Philippines. Anuran families recorded during the survey included Bufonidae Gray (n= 3), Dicroglossidae Anderson (n= 4), Megophryidae Bonaparte (n= 2), Ranidae Batsch (n= 1), and Rhacophoridae Hoffman (n= 4). Additional records of anurans from this study, namely Fejervarya vittigera (Wiegmann), Occidozyga laevis (Günther), Pelophryne brevipes (Peters), and Philautus worcesteri (Stejneger), increased the number of species known from watershed areas of Davao City, as they were not reported in previous inventories conducted in the city. Species richness data may not necessarily reflect the true number of species in the site. Future studies should include an increased number of transects and man hours. Although the list comprises the limited information on this taxon in watersheds, more inventories are necessary for a full understanding of anuran composition in the city's several watersheds.
Cyrell Ann Ruales, Christian Tripole, Joshua Donato, Marian Dara Tagoon, Elsa May Delima-Baron,
Volume 5, Issue 4 (10-2023)
Abstract
Published data on bats in green spaces in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines, remains scarce. This study provides an additional account of fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae occurring in green spaces both in the center of Davao City and its fringe communities. Our survey ran from January to April 2019. Mist nets were installed in possible flyways within select green spaces of bats and were checked from 6:30 pm to 4:30 am. Eight fruit bat species were documented, four of which are endemic to the Philippines. Two species, Megaerops wetmorei Taylor, 1934 and Eonycteris robusta Miller, 1913, are currently listed as vulnerable (VU), while the rest are considered non-threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The site in the Carmen Baguio district (Site 5) had the highest number of captures (n= 31), while the Mt. Talomo-Lipadas site (Site 6) had the highest species richness among surveyed green spaces. The inventory suggests that fruit bats occur in urban green spaces and could be supported by these urban green fragments. More studies are needed to determine how fruit bats utilize and benefit from urban green space fragments of the city.