Linggo, Pebrero 15, 2015

Status of Biodiversity of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi

Sulu and Tawi-Tawi flora and fauna region, with its declining biodiversity, is labelled as one of the most depressed countries in the country. Even though this ecoregion is considered to be as one of the biodiversity hotspots identified by DENR for its high endemism and marine biodiversity, the richness of this archipelago in biodiversity is being dejected slowly. Rapid loss of forests, rampant poaching and illegal trade of bird species, and political instability and peace issues that lead to the inaccessibility of the place that hinder conservation program are some of the many reasons why this flora and fauna region is in a quandary.
In the past decade, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi Island had lost its major forest cover.  It has been observed that there is already no forests left in Sulu and a very little area in the eastern part of Tawi-Tawi remained to be forested. According to DENR, almost 78,000 ha of forests have remained in the region. This was due to the brisk deforestation happening in the area. Knowing that there is no protected area in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi islands, the authorities have no control of what is going in this province resulting to the major decline of its biodiversity. Sulu, with 30,839 hectares of forest, have only 757 hectares of upland forests lingering; majority of which are mangrove forests. Tawi-Tawi, having 47,233 ha of forest cover, is hanging by a thread with its 32,142 hectares of upland forests left. This drastic loss of the forested areas has inflicted major damage as avifauna diversity as concerned.

Avifauna

All the EBA's restricted-range species are forest birds, and, although their patterns of distribution between the islands vary, almost every species occurs on Tawitawi.
Of several subspecies endemic to the EBA, Sulu Woodpecker Dendrocopos (maculatus) ramsayi is most distinctive and a candidate for elevation to species rank, and Sulu Hanging-parrot Loriculus (philippensis) bonapartei is also a possible split. Sulu Hawk-owl Ninox philippensis reyi, apart from being clearly distinct from N. philippensis, almost certainly represents the nominate form of a species which occurs on other small islands (N. J. Collar verbally 1997).

Sulu Islands’ Bird Species 

Sulu Island houses 192 bird species, with 6 endemic species and 14 species that are globally threatened. Some of which are the rare Sulu Hornbill and Sulu bleeding-heart.


Spotted Whistling Duck
Wandering Whistling Duck
Philippine Megapode
Blue-breasted Quail
Red Junglefowl
Little Grebe
White-throated Pigeon
Island Collared Dove
Philippine Cuckoo Dove
Sulu Bleeding-heart
Endemic Critically endangered
Pink-necked Green Pigeon
Pompadour Green Pigeon
Nicobar Pigeon
Near-threatened
Emerald Dove
White-eared Brown Dove
Dark-eared Brown Dove
Endemic
Green Imperial Pigeon
Grey Imperial Pigeon
Vulnerable
Pied Imperial Pigeon
Superb Fruit Dove
Black-naped Fruit Dove
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Rare/Accidental
Grey Nightjar
Large-tailed Nightjar
Philippine Nightjar
Savanna Nightjar
Rare/Accidental
Grey-rumped Treeswift
Whiskered Treeswift

Philippine Spinetailed Swift

Endemic (country/region) 
Near-threatened
Pygmy Swiftlet
Endemic (country/region)
Glossy Swiftlet
Fork-tailed Swift
Greater Coucal
Lesser Coucal
Chestnut-winged Cuckoo
Common Koel
Plaintive Cuckoo
Rusty-breasted Cuckoo
Brush Cuckoo
Drongo Cuckoo
Slaty-legged Crake
Slaty-breasted Rail
Barred Rail
White-breasted Waterhen
Watercock
Common Moorhen
Streaked Shearwater
Bulwer's Petrel
Rare/Accidental
Woolly-necked Stork
Schrenck's Bittern
Cinnamon Bittern
Striated Heron
Cattle Egret
Great-billed Heron
Purple Heron
Little Egret
Pacific Reef Egret
Chinese Egret
Vulnerable
Lesser Frigatebird
Great Frigatebird
Christmas Island Frigatebird
Critically endangered
Red-footed Booby
Oriental Darter
Near-threatened
Beach Thick-knee
Near-threatened
Pacific Golden Plover
Kentish Plover
Malaysian Plover
Near-threatened
Lesser Sand Plover
Greater Sand Plover
Greater Painted-snipe
Whimbrel
Bar-tailed Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper
Red-necked Stint
Sanderling
Common Sandpiper
Grey-tailed Tattler
Near-threatened
Common Greenshank
Red-necked Phalarope
Common Buttonquail
Pomarine Skua
Black Noddy
Sooty Tern
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Roseate Tern
Black-naped Tern
Common Tern
Greater Crested Tern
Oriental Honey Buzzard
Philippine Honey Buzzrad
Crested Serpent Eagle
Changeable Hawk Eagle
Eastern Marsh Harrier
Pied Harrier
Japanese Sparrowhawk
White-bellied Sea Eagle
Grey-headed Fish Eagle
Near-threatened
Brahminy Kite
Eastern Grass Owl

Brown Boobook
Philippine Boobook

Endemic (country/region) 
Near-threatened
Sulu Boobook
Endemic Vulnerable
Romblon Boobook
Vulnerable
Mantanani Scops Owl

Endemic (country/region) 
Near-threatened
Sulu Hornbill
Endemic Critically endangered
White-bellied Woodpecker
Greater Flame-backed Woodpecker
Philippine Pygmy Woodpecker
Endemic (country/region)
Coppersmith Barbet
Dollarbird
Variable Dwarf Kingfisher
Blue-eared Kingfisher
Stork-billed Kingfisher
Ruddy Kingfisher
White-throated Kingfisher
Black-capped Kingfisher
Rufous-lored Kingfisher
Endemic (country/region) Vulnerable
Collared Kingfisher

Philippine Cockatoo

Endemic (country/region)
Critically endangered
Blue-winged Racquet-tail

Endemic 
Critically endangered
Blue-crowned Racquet-tail
Blue-naped Parrot
Near-threatened
Blue-backed Parrot
Colasisi
Red-bellied Pitta
Hooded Pitta
Golden-bellied Gerygone
Scarlet Minivet
Ashy Minivet
Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike
Black-bibbed Cicadabird
Endemic (country/region) Vulnerable
Pied Triller
White-vented Whistler
Endemic (country/region)
Philippine Oriole
Black-naped Oriole
White-breasted Woodswallow
Hair-crested Drongo
Tablas Drongo
Endemic Endangered
Philippine Fantail
Endemic (country/region)
Long-tailed Shrike
Black-naped Monarch
Celestial Monarch
Endemic (country/region) Vulnerable
Rufous Paradise-flycatcher
Orange-bellied Flowerpecker
Buzzing Flowerpecker
Philippine Spiderhunter
Brown-throated Sunbird
Purple-throated Sunbird
Olive-backed Sunbird
Handsome Sunbird
Dusky Munia
White-bellied Munia
Black-headed Munia
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Pechora Pipit
Olive-backed Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Paddyfield Pipit
Grey Wagtail
Citrine Canary-flycatcher
Elegant Tit
Endemic (country/region)
Golden-headed Cisticola
Rufous-tailed Tailorbird
Ashy Tailorbird
Gray's Warbler
Lanceolated Warbler
Striated Grassbird
Oriental Reed Warbler
Pacific Swallow
Barn Swallow
Yellowish Bulbul
Endemic (country/region)
Streak-breasted Bulbul
Endangered
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Philippine Leaf Warbler
Endemic (country/region)
Arctic Warbler
Yellowish White-eye
Everett's White-eye
Striped Tit Babbler
Brown Tit Babbler
Coleto
Endemic (country/region)
Asian Glossy Starling
Philippine Magpie Robin
Endemic (country/region)
Grey-streaked Flycatcher
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Ferruginous Flycatcher
Mangrove Blue Flycatcher
Rufous-tailed Jungle Flycatcher
Blue Rock Thrush
Chestnut-capped Thrush
Eyebrowed Thrush
List of bird species found in Sulu Islands (source: http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org)

Loss of habitat is thus the main threat to the birds of this EBA, and further losses associated with the economic development of Sulu Archipelago in particular need careful monitoring.
Not surprisingly, all the endemics are considered highly threatened especially Gallicolumba menagei and Anthracoceros montani, which have few recent records from the main islands. It is clear that more fieldwork is necessary to establish the nature of remaining habitat on islands in this important EBA. Other widespread threatened species which occur in the EBA include Blue-naped Parrot Tanygnathus lucionensis (Endangered), Rufous-lored Kingfisher Todirhamphus winchelli (Endangered; Tawitawi may be a stronghold) and Black-bibbed Cicadabird Coracina mindanensis (Vulnerable). The Sulu archipelago is also considered a stronghold for the Philippine Cockatoo Cacatua haematuropygia (Critical; once found throughout the Philippines); several hundred still survive on Tawitawi but the species is declining as a result of illegal logging and shooting (Lambert 1992).

Tawi-Tawi Islands Bird Species

Tawi-tawi is the most important island for the conservation of the threatened and restricted-range bird species of the Sulu archipelago Endemic Bird Area. All but one of these species has been recorded there, and Tawi-tawi retains more extensive forests than anywhere else in the EBA. It is the only place where Sulu Bleeding-heart has definitely been recorded, although there is remarkably little recent information on the status of this elusive species there, the only IBA with a population of Tawi-tawi Brown-dove, and the only IBA where Blue-winged Racquet-tail and Sulu Hornbill have recently been recorded. The relatively large population of Philippine Cockatoo on Tawi-tawi is also vital for the survival of this critically endangered species. The Sulu archipelago endemic Black-billed Hanging-parrot Loriculus (philippensis) bonapartei, which has recently been treated by some ornithologists as a full species, has its largest known population on Tawi-tawi. A reef between Tandubas and Sikubong that becomes very shallow at low tide appears to be important for herons and shorebirds.

Tawi-Tawi islands provide habitat to 171 species, 1 species of which is endemic and 14 are globally threatened.

Wandering Whistling-Duck
Tabon Scrubfowl
Blue-breasted Quail
Red Junglefowl
Little Grebe
Bulwer's Petrel
Rare/Accidental
Streaked Shearwater
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Rare/Accidental
Christmas Island Frigatebird
Critically endangered
Great Frigatebird
Lesser Frigatebird
Red-footed Booby
Oriental Darter
Near-threatened
Schrenck's Bittern
Cinnamon Bittern
Great-billed Heron
Purple Heron
Chinese Egret
Vulnerable
Little Egret
Pacific Reef-Heron
Striated Heron
Osprey
Barred Honey-buzzard
Oriental Honey-buzzard
Changeable Hawk-Eagle
Japanese Sparrowhawk
Brahminy Kite
White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Gray-headed Fish-Eagle
Near-threatened
Slaty-legged Crake
Barred Rail
Slaty-breasted Rail
Plain Bush-hen
Endemic (country/region)
White-breasted Waterhen
White-browed Crake
Eurasian Moorhen
Beach Thick-knee
Near-threatened
Pacific Golden-Plover
Lesser Sand-Plover
Greater Sand-Plover
Greater Painted-Snipe
Common Sandpiper
Gray-tailed Tattler
Near-threatened
Common Greenshank
Whimbrel
Bar-tailed Godwit
Ruddy Turnstone
Great Knot
Vulnerable
Long-toed Stint
Red-necked Stint
Sanderling
Red-necked Phalarope
Pomarine Jaeger
Sooty Tern
White-winged Tern
Whiskered Tern
Roseate Tern
Black-naped Tern
Common Tern
Great Crested Tern
Metallic Pigeon
Philippine Collared-Dove
Vulnerable
Spotted Dove
Philippine Cuckoo-Dove
Emerald Dove
Nicobar Pigeon
Near-threatened
Sulu Bleeding-heart

Endemic (country/region) 
Critically endangered
Dark-eared Dove
Pink-necked Pigeon
Black-naped Fruit-Dove
Pink-bellied Imperial-Pigeon

Endemic (country/region) Near-threatened
Green Imperial-Pigeon
Gray Imperial-Pigeon
Vulnerable
Pied Imperial-Pigeon
Chestnut-winged Cuckoo
Plaintive Cuckoo
Brush Cuckoo
Philippine Drongo-Cuckoo
Asian Koel
Greater Coucal
Lesser Coucal
Mantanani Scops-Owl

Endemic (country/region) 
Near-threatened
Brown Boobook

Chocolate Boobook

Endemic (country/region) 
Near-threatened
Sulu Boobook
Endemic Vulnerable
Gray Nightjar
Large-tailed Nightjar
Savanna Nightjar
Pacific Swift
House Swift
Gray-rumped Treeswift
Rare/Accidental
Whiskered Treeswift
Blue-eared Kingfisher
Variable Dwarf-Kingfisher
Stork-billed Kingfisher
Ruddy Kingfisher
Black-capped Kingfisher
Rufous-lored Kingfisher
Endemic (country/region) Vulnerable
Collared Kingfisher
Dollarbird
Sulu Hornbill

Endemic (country/region) 
Critically endangered
Sulu Woodpecker
Vulnerable
Buff-spotted Flameback
Peregrine Falcon
Philippine Cockatoo

Endemic (country/region) 
Critically endangered
Blue-winged Racquet-tail

Endemic (country/region) 
Critically endangered
Blue-naped Parrot
Near-threatened
Azure-rumped Parrot
Blue-breasted Pitta
Hooded Pitta
Golden-bellied Gerygone
White-breasted Woodswallow
Fiery Minivet
Near-threatened
Ashy Minivet
Bar-bellied Cuckooshrike
Pied Triller
Black-bibbed Cuckooshrike
Endemic (country/region) Vulnerable
White-vented Whistler
Endemic (country/region)
Long-tailed Shrike
Philippine Oriole
Endemic (country/region)
Hair-crested Drongo
Philippine Pied-Fantail
Endemic (country/region)
Black-naped Monarch
Celestial Monarch
Endemic (country/region) Vulnerable
Rufous Paradise-Flycatcher
Barn Swallow
Pacific Swallow
Citrine Canary-Flycatcher
Elegant Tit
Endemic (country/region)
Yellow-vented Bulbul
Olive-winged Bulbul
Ashy-fronted Bulbul
Yellowish Bulbul
Endemic (country/region)
Arctic Warbler
Philippine Leaf-Warbler
Endemic (country/region)
Oriental Reed-Warbler
Gray's Grasshopper-Warbler
Lanceolated Warbler
Ashy Tailorbird
Everett's White-eye
Bold-striped Tit-Babbler
Brown Tit-Babbler
Endemic (country/region)
Gray-streaked Flycatcher
Ferruginous Flycatcher
Philippine Magpie-Robin
Mangrove Blue-Flycatcher
Chestnut-tailed Jungle-Flycatcher
Narcissus Flycatcher
Mugimaki Flycatcher
Blue Rock-Thrush
Chestnut-capped Thrush
Near-threatened
Eyebrowed Thrush
Asian Glossy Starling
Coleto
Endemic (country/region)
White-bellied Flowerpecker
Endemic (country/region)
Plain-throated Sunbird
Purple-throated Sunbird
Copper-throated Sunbird
Olive-backed Sunbird
Magnificent Sunbird
Handsome Sunbird
Endemic (country/region)
Orange-tufted Spiderhunter
Gray Wagtail
Oriental Pipit
Olive-backed Pipit
Pechora Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Dusky Munia
White-bellied Munia
Chestnut Munia
List of birds found in Tawi-Tawi Islands (source: http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org)


Marine Biodiversity

The Sulu Archipelago that includes Sulu and Tawi-Tawi Islands is very rich in terms of marine biodiversity. The seas found in the ecoregion, Sulu Sea and Celebes (Sulawesi) sea is situated in the apex of the Coral Triangle, the world’s center for marine biodiversity and often called as Sulu  Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion. This seascape is one of the 200 priority conservation ecoregions in the world. It provides habitat to 2,000 species of fish – the most diverse collection in the world. It holds 476 species of corals, where the infamous Tubbataha Marine National Park in Sulu Sea is found. More than 10,000 species of crustaceans, 22 marine mammals like whales and dugong, seven of nine species of giant clams, 5 out of 8 species of sea turtles, 27 “true mangroves and 16 of 50 species of seagrasses are found in this marine hotspot.


Sulu Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion
   


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