{"id":1072,"date":"2019-04-07T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2019-04-07T13:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/?p=1072"},"modified":"2020-07-16T11:08:07","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T15:08:07","slug":"saving-the-pangolin-philippines-fight-against-illegal-wildlife-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/research\/saving-the-pangolin-philippines-fight-against-illegal-wildlife-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"Saving the Pangolin: Philippines\u2019 Fight Against the Illegal Wildlife Trade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_blend=”multiply” custom_padding=”0px|0px|23px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIn19@” subhead=”@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9leGNlcnB0Iiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJ3b3JkcyI6IiIsInJlYWRfbW9yZV9sYWJlbCI6IiJ9fQ==@” _builder_version=”3.21.4″ _dynamic_attributes=”title,subhead” content_font=”||||||||” content_text_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.8)” subhead_font=”||on||||||” subhead_text_color=”#ffffff” subhead_font_size=”16px” background_color=”rgba(168,211,103,0)” use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#000000″ background_color_gradient_end=”rgba(0,50,84,0.93)” background_color_gradient_end_position=”70%” background_image=”https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/v4.boldsystems.org_7125_animalia.png” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|desktop”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][et_pb_fullwidth_image src=”https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Philippines-1-FI.jpg” _builder_version=”3.22.6″ max_width=”95%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”-18px||” box_shadow_style=”preset1″][\/et_pb_fullwidth_image][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22.3″ custom_padding=”0|0px|7px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”3.25″ width=”89%” width_tablet=”80%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”89%” max_width_tablet=”80%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_padding=”0|0px|27px|0px|false|false” make_fullwidth=”on”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_font=”||||||||” text_text_color=”#646564″]The Palawan Pangolin, Manis culionensis. <\/em>\nPHOTO CREDIT: Renz Angelo Duco<\/span>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22.3″][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_font=”||||||||”][\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_font=”||||||||” custom_padding=”||0px|||”]

O<\/span>n April 8, 2013, a Chinese-registered fishing vessel ran aground on Tubbataha Reef, a marine protected area southeast of the island province of Palawan, Philippines. When the ship was towed to port at Puerto Princesa City, it was found to contain 400 concealed boxes with more than 3,000 frozen pangolins. These specimens were initially thought to be the Palawan Pangolin (Manis culionensis<\/em>), an IUCN-listed endangered species. This and many other pangolin species have been described as some of the most trafficked animals on Earth as they are priced for their \u2018scales\u2019 for supposed medicinal value as well as for their exotic meat, both of which fetch a high value in the Chinese market.<\/p>\n

The Palawan Pangolin and many other Philippine endemic species are protected by the Philippine Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (Republic Act 9147), which prohibits the capture, sale and transport of threatened species. However, Philippine Wildlife Enforcement Officers (WEOs) are hindered from carrying out their duties because they are limited in their ability to correctly identify confiscated species, which is often based on morphology alone. More often, WEOs have to deal with specimens that are not intact (e.g. tissue, blood, bone, etc.), rendering a taxonomic identification impossible. This poses a significant challenge for WEOs who need to correctly identify confiscated specimens and prosecute poachers.<\/p>\n

Going back to the Tubbataha case, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) sought the help of the University of the Philippines Diliman, Institute of Biology (UPD-IB) through its DNA Barcoding Laboratory to identify the pangolin specimens. Adrian Luczon, the lead investigator for the molecular identification of the specimens, utilized the COI gene and two reference Manis culionensis<\/em> samples. His team\u2019s results demonstrated that the Tubbataha specimens actually belonged to another critically endangered species, the Sunda Pangolin (M. javanica<\/em>) native to mainland Southeast Asia, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and nearby islands. Despite the DNA barcoding results indicating the specimens to be from another species outside the Philippines, the trafficking of the Palawan Pangolin remains unabated. In fact, within the same year, several batches of confiscations involving these pangolins have taken place, which Luczon\u2019s team identified as the Palawan Pangolin through DNA barcoding. Clearly, there was an urgent need to formally incorporate molecular identification of trafficked species within the wildlife forensics work in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

In 2015, UPD-IB entered a collaboration with the DENR through\u00a0its Biodiversity Management Bureau to establish the first Molecular Wildlife\u00a0Forensics (WILDFORCE) Lab in the Philippines. Through this partnership, DENR\u00a0provides samples of Philippine endemic species to populate the Philippine DNA\u00a0barcode database. These samples are to be processed at the Biodiversity\u00a0Research Laboratory, headed by Dr. Perry Ong, and the DNA Barcoding Laboratory\u00a0of UPD-IB. Other specimens brought to the lab for proper identification through\u00a0DNA barcoding include the Philippine Duck (Anas\u00a0luzonica<\/em>), the Philippine Tarsier (Tarsius syrichta<\/em>), the Gray\u2019s Monitor Lizard (Varanus olivaceus<\/em>), and the Philippine Sailfin Lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus<\/em>), among others.<\/p>\n

In 2018, with financial support from the Japan Biodiversity Fund and endorsement from the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and in support of the Global Taxonomy Initiative, WILDFORCE was able to train 18 individuals among researchers from higher educational institutions (HEIs) and WEOs from regional DENR offices. The training aimed to capacitate these personnel on the basic principles of DNA barcoding and eventually allow them to set up their own labs. These efforts are envisioned to contribute to building a robust Philippine DNA barcode database and decentralize the processing of evidence towards the DENR regional offices and local HEIs.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb image=”https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Fontanilla_Fig3-1024×683.jpg” disabled_on=”on|on|off” _builder_version=”4.4.7″ body_font=”||on||||||” body_text_align=”right” body_text_color=”#646564″ body_font_size=”12px” hover_enabled=”0″ border_color_all=”#929292″ title_text=”Fontanilla_Fig3″][\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb image=”https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Fontanilla_Fig2-1024×683.jpg” disabled_on=”on|on|off” _builder_version=”4.4.7″ body_font=”||||||||” body_text_align=”right” body_text_color=”#646564″ body_font_size=”16px” custom_padding=”||50px” hover_enabled=”0″ border_color_all=”#929292″ title_text=”Fontanilla_Fig2″]

Wildlife enforcement officers and researchers from higher educational institutions receive training on DNA barcoding.<\/p>\n

PHOTO CREDIT: Adrian Luczon<\/span><\/p>[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″]The sad reality of illegal trafficking of endangered species, as manifested by the Tubbataha case, has prompted the Philippine government and various stakeholders to join forces to combat illegal wildlife trade. It is only through collective effort grounded in science that we can have a chance to protect biodiversity.[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_font=”||on||||||” text_text_color=”#646564″ text_orientation=”center”]

Written by<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_team_member name=”Ian Kendrich Fontanilla” position=”Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Philippines” image_url=”https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/SSC22.png” _builder_version=”4.4.7″ header_font=”||||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”20px” body_font=”||||||||” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ border_radii_image=”on|50px|50px|50px|50px” position_font_size=”15px”][\/et_pb_team_member][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.21.4″ custom_margin=”||1px”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” text_font=”||||||||” text_text_color=”#003254″ text_orientation=”center”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF9kYXRlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJkYXRlX2Zvcm1hdCI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJjdXN0b21fZGF0ZV9mb3JtYXQiOiIifX0=@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/2019_Fontanilla.pdf” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Download PDF” button_alignment=”center” _builder_version=”4.4.7″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”12px” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_bg_color=”#003254″ button_icon=”%%26%%” button_icon_color=”#ffffff” hover_enabled=”0″ box_shadow_style=”preset3″ box_shadow_horizontal=”3px” box_shadow_vertical=”11px”][\/et_pb_button][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.7″ text_font_size=”13px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”|||-27px|false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”|||0px|false|false” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” hover_enabled=”0″]

doi: 10.21083\/ibol.v9i1.5490<\/pre>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.21.4″][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_sidebar area=”et_pb_widget_area_3″ show_border=”off” _builder_version=”3.29.3″ text_orientation=”center” background_layout=”dark”][\/et_pb_sidebar][et_pb_sidebar area=”et_pb_widget_area_1″ show_border=”off” _builder_version=”3.21.4″][\/et_pb_sidebar][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.22.3″ background_color=”#000000″ custom_padding=”0|0px|2px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”3.25″ width=”89%” width_tablet=”80%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”89%” max_width_tablet=”80%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” make_fullwidth=”on”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_post_nav in_same_term=”on” _builder_version=”3.21.4″ title_font=”|700||on|||||” title_text_color=”#ffffff”][\/et_pb_post_nav][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”Follow Along” module_id=”subscribe” _builder_version=”3.29.3″ background_color=”#f7f7f7″ use_background_color_gradient=”on” background_color_gradient_start=”#d8d8d8″ background_color_gradient_end=”rgba(255,255,255,0)” background_color_gradient_end_position=”52%” background_color_gradient_overlays_image=”on” background_image=”https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/v4.boldsystems.org_7125_animalia.png” parallax=”on” custom_padding=”49px||0||false|false” top_divider_height=”69px” global_module=”175″ saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,1_2,1_4″ module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”3.25″ width=”89%” width_tablet=”80%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”89%” max_width_tablet=”80%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_margin=”0px|||” custom_padding=”27px|0px|114px|0px|false|false” make_fullwidth=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ header_font=”||||||||” header_font_size=”28px” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_2_font_size=”28px”]
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The Barcode Bulletin moderates comments to\u00a0promote an informed and courteous conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, or incoherent comments will be rejected.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_comments show_avatar=”off” show_reply=”off” show_count=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|off” _builder_version=”3.29.3″ header_font=”||||||||” header_text_color=”#000000″ form_field_font=”||on||||||” form_field_text_align=”left” custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”13px” button_font=”||||||||” custom_padding=”|50px||50px|false|false”][\/et_pb_comments][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.21.3″ custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false” border_width_all=”-2px” border_width_top=”3px” border_color_top=”#a8d367″ global_module=”532″ saved_tabs=”all”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,2_3″ make_equal=”on” _builder_version=”3.25″][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/BarcodeBulletin.png” align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” _builder_version=”3.29.3″ max_width_tablet=”38%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|phone”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” custom_css_main_element=”margin:auto;” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.27.4″ text_font=”||||||||” text_font_size=”16px”]
About the Bulletin<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Glossary<\/a><\/a> | Archive<\/a> | iBOL Consortium<\/a> | iBOL News<\/a> | Contact Us<\/a><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Governments, scientists, and enforcement agencies join forces to formally incorporate molecular identification of trafficked species within wildlife forensics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":1552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\n
C. Matthews<\/em>1<\/em><\/sup>, J. Dorey<\/em>1<\/em><\/sup>, S. Groom<\/em>2<\/em><\/sup>, O. Davies<\/em>1<\/em><\/sup>, E. Freedman<\/em>1<\/em><\/sup>, J. Holder<\/em>1<\/em><\/sup>, B. Parslow<\/em>1<\/em><\/sup>, M. Schwarz<\/em>1<\/em><\/sup>, M. Stevens<\/em>3,4<\/em><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n
1 <\/sup>School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia 
2 <\/sup>School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, University of Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia 
3 <\/sup>South Australian Museum, GPO Box 234, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia 
4 <\/sup>School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fiji\u2019s entomological diversity has historically\nbeen considered depauperate. Recent widespread DNA barcoding efforts, however,\nfrom the South Australian Museum, Flinders University and University of South\nAustralia, along with a flurry of undergraduate, honours and PhD students, have\nhelped to uncover some of the hidden secrets of biodiversity within this\ntopographically complex archipelago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since 2010, funding from the Australian\n& Pacific Science Foundation and Australian Commonwealth New Colombo Plan, along\nwith support from students, has enabled fieldwork focused on collecting bees,\nwasps, and butterflies across all the major Fijian islands. Trekking up the\ntallest mountains, four wheel driving across challenging terrain, and following\nthe meandering rivers of inland Fiji has revealed that initial estimations of\nFiji\u2019s entomological fauna have been severely underestimated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DNA barcoding over 1,000 bee specimens has increased species richness estimates from 4 species (known since 1979) up to 26 endemic species in the genus Homalictus. <\/em>Interestingly, 60% of these new species are only found above 800 m elevation which comprise a mere 2% of land area of Fiji, and often restricted to single mountain tops. From extensive barcoding, mitochondrial haplotype diversity was used to explore the level of intraspecific gene flow in the widespread species of the genus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Haplotype<\/a>
Haplotype network of all sequenced HOMALICTUS fijiensis (N=358) coloured by sampling locality. Hash marks represent nucleotide changes between each haplotype. Shared haplotypes represented by circles with multiple colours. Circle outline representing highland or lowland sampling. (b) Sampling map of H. fijiensis coloured by geographic sampling locality.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
These results also indicate that gene flow is being restricted within highland localities of the most widespread Homalictus <\/em>species. Dispersal from a species home range does not appear to be occurring in Fiji, which may be presenting a contemporary model of speciation that is predominantly influenced by past climatic fluctuations. There is an estimated crown age of 400 ka for the initial Fijian Homalictus <\/em>colonisation, which would result in the genus being present for several glacial cycles. During glacial maxima, cooler climate would be ubiquitous throughout Fiji, however during glacial minima and interglacial periods there is a distinction between cool highland and warm lowland climate. DNA barcoding results indicate that the largest diversification of this genus is concordant with the most recent glacial minima, as species that were freely dispersing during glacial maxima are forced to retreat into highland refugia. Combined with the inferred haplotype networks, these results indicate that restriction due to low thermal tolerance of lowland climate is driving the extraordinary highland species richness in Fiji. Further to the work on bees, we have also started barcoding Fiji\u2019s butterfly fauna, along with the first ever species of Gasteruption<\/em>, a parasitoid wasp genus, found in Fiji. The species, Gasteruption tomanivi<\/em> (Published in Zootaxa by PhD student Ben Parslow), was found at the peak of Fiji\u2019s highest mountain. These discoveries have highlighted how little is known about the entomofauna of Fiji and how the use of DNA barcoding has helped to uncover Fiji\u2019s hidden secrets of biodiversity. <\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[28,13,27,3,45,14,16,95],"coauthors":[148],"class_list":["post-1072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-conservation","tag-endangered-species","tag-mammalia","tag-phillippines","tag-reference-library","tag-trafficking","tag-training","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1072"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4580,"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1072\/revisions\/4580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1072"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibol.org\/barcodebulletin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}