BiodivLab senior bags 2nd place at nat'l freshwater conference

Ateneo Biodiversity Research Laboratory (BiodivLab) senior Aaron Joseph Steve W. Dy II (4 BS Bio) bagged Second Place – Best Poster Presentation at the recently-concluded 4th Philippine Symposium on Freshwater Biodiversity and Ecosystems (PSFBE), besting 27 other presenters. PSFBE 2024 was held at Silliman University, Dumaguete, from November 12 to 16, 2024, in conjunction with the 5th International Conference on Tropical Limnology. 

Dy presented highlights from his undergraduate thesis, “Discovery of five new species of genus Anacaena Thomson, 1859 (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) in the Philippines using integrative taxonomy”, which was supervised by Dr. Emmanuel D. Delocado, Assistant Professor at the Department of Biology. The study was co-authored by Dr. Delocado and Enrico Gerard S. Sanchez (BS Bio ’22, ASMPH YL7).

The research presented several new species of water scavenger beetles from the genus Anacaena, which is of particular interest to BiodivLab due to its wide diversity across the Philippines. With the support of the Ateneo University Research Council (URC) under the scope of Project I-FITE PH, the BiodivLab found up to 70% of the previously undiscovered and undescribed Anacaena beetles listed in the study using traditional taxonomy and molecular systematics. These include the ones presented at the conference, as well as the Angat Buhay beetle previously discovered by the BiodivLab.

Other BiodivLab members presented their studies at PSFBE 2024 alongside Dy: Dr. Delocado discussed the key findings from his lab's URC-funded research in a presentation entitled, “Fantastic beetles and where to find them: stories from the field on microhabitat variability and on challenges to sustainable inland water management from Project I-FITE PH”; Graduate student Voltaire Rafael H. Banzon, Jr. (MS Bio) delivered an oral presentation entitled, “Scavengers along the shore: Updated diversity of Philippine Helochares Mulsant, 1844 (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) and microhabitat profile highlight the value of natural river margins”; and Joshua Covenant M. Angeles (4 BS Bio) presented his poster entitled “Small steps forward: updates on the diversity and distribution of Laccobius Erichson, 1837 (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) in the Philippines”.

The above studies were funded by the URC, SC Johnson & ARISE, The Systematics Association, and the Linnean Society of London.

Meanwhile, Dr. Delocado was also elected Public Relations Officer of the Philippine Society for Freshwater Science (PSFS) at the conference. He previously served as the PSFBE 2022 Conference Co-Chair, together with Prof. Hendrik Freitag, with Ateneo de Manila University as the host institution. The Ateneo is also one of the founding members of the PSFS.