Ateneo BiodivLab back-to-back champion at Young Systematic Biologists Forum

Graduating BS Biology students of the Ateneo Biodiversity Research Laboratory of the Department of Biology won two awards at the Young Systematic Biologists Forum (YSBF). The forum was held at the 40th Scientific and Annual Meeting of the Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines (ASBP) last May 31 to June 2, 2023.  

Gavin Christian M. De Vera and Johann Isaac L. Sia (BS Bio ’23) won First Place in the Undergraduate Oral Presentation category for their presentation entitled “First look in 50 years: integrative taxonomy of Leptelmis Sharp, 1888 (Coleoptera: Elmidae: Elminae), with first barcodes and description of two putatively new species from the Philippines”. Their research adviser is Dr. Emmanuel D. Delocado and their co-adviser is Dr. Hendrik Freitag. 

In their presentation, De Vera talked about the two new species of riffle spider beetle Leptelmis they discovered from Camarines Sur and various provinces in Mindanao Island. Additionally, they documented Leptelmis tawitawiensis, a beetle species last observed in the wild 40 years ago and only in Tawi-tawi, in Mindoro. The study is relevant because it is the first investigation in the Philippines on the genus in half a century. In addition to the two new species discovered, the study is novel as it led to the first documentation of Leptelmis outside its type locality, the first species-level key for Philippine Leptelmis, the first Southeast Asian checklist for the genus, and the first Philippine barcodes for the genus. During the Q&A, the duo shared that two publications are being prepared for submission to Scopus-indexed journals as products of their undergraduate thesis. 

Previously, the duo shared their findings as one of the representatives of the Department of Biology to the SOSE Outstanding Student Research Awards, as well as in the SC Johnson Environment Forum held during SOSE Week. This is the second consecutive year that the advisees of Dr. Delocado and Dr. Freitag from the Ateneo Biodiversity Research Laboratory won the top prize in the YSBF Oral Presentation undergraduate category. Last year, the study leading to the discovery of “Angat Buhay beetle” secured first place in the same competition.

Meanwhile, Roma Ninotchka A. Vidallo and John Henry V. De Guzman (BS Bio ’23) secured First Place in the Poster Presentation category for their study entitled “New records with new species description of Philippine Dudgeodes Sartori, 2008 in the Philippines (Ephemeroptera: Teloganodidae) using integrative taxonomy”. Their thesis adviser is Dr. Jhoana M. Garces.

Vidallo and De Guzman discussed in their poster the new records and the new species of Dudgeodes mayflies they discovered. Immature forms of mayfly species are viable bioindicator of freshwater quality, but studies on the group are insufficient. Aside from the new species, the duo also discovered new localities of previously know species, such as D. pangantihoni and D. luntian, from other islands and even different altitudes.

Both studies from the Ateneo Biodiversity Research Laboratory contribute to the University Priority Area of Integral Ecology, SOSE’s research thrust of Environmental Sustainability, and the Department of Biology’s research focus on Biodiversity for Medicine and the Environment (BioME). The laboratory has been working on documenting the highly neglected and understudied aquatic and riparian insects, which are experiencing unimaginable rates of extinction due to climate change and various human-induced factors.

Additionally, in the Business Meeting of the conference, it was announced that Dr. Delocado, the Lab Head of the Ateneo Biodiversity Research Laboratory, was appointed to the board of the Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines (ASBP) as its Assistant Secretary from 2023 to 2025. This renews his term in the board as he ended his term as Public Relations Officer last month. Concurrently, Dr. Delocado serves as the Managing Editor of the official journal of ASBP. He also delivered an oral presentation at the conference.

The studies presented by the students were made possible by the following grants: University Research Council Big Project Grant, the SC Johnson Student Research and Development Fund for the Environment, the SOSE Industry 4.0 Research Fund (SI4) under the Ateneo Research Institute of Science and Engineering (ARISE), and Biodiversity Teaching in a Philippine – Cambodian – German Network (BIO-PHIL).