KIER MITCHEL PITOGO - Research & Conservation

Philippine Biodiversity

Philippine biodiversity remains significantly underexplored and undocumented, a challenge exacerbated by limited technical expertise across various regions of the country. As such, one of my primary research focuses is to address knowledge gap regarding species diversity within the biologically less explored mountains of southern Philippine island of Mindanao. I collaborate with government offices, NGOs, citizen scientists, and other stakeholders to systematically understand and document species diversity. Through our collaborative efforts, we aim to generate scientifically rigorous information and effectively communicate findings. This information serves as a basis for informed conservation and management interventions on the ground. Notably, our collaborative research program has played a pivotal role in establishing area-based conservation measures in the region, demonstrating the practical impact of our work on conservation efforts.

Documenting biodiversity of the Mt. Busa Key Biodiversity area (KBA 196) for the evidence-based protection and conservation of southern Mindanao's last frontier

This umbrella project seeks to document and record the biodiversity of the KBA 196 in southern Mindanao to inform policies and actions for the conservation, protection, and management of this KBA, which comprises the Busa mountain range, Malibato mountain range, Melibengoy mountains, Three Kings mountains, Mt Tasaday, and adjacent lowland forests. Our main project deliverables include scientific publications, policy briefs, management plans, and outreach materials. We closely document and highlight the value of basic biodiversity science research in establishing area-based protection measures and other conservation interventions.

Role: Project Lead | Timeline: Jan 2019 - present

Diversity, distribution, and conservation ecology of orchids

We aim to generate an exhaustive photography-based list of orchid flora in the Mt. Busa Key Biodiversity Area (KBA 196), understand species distribution and community structure along an elevational gradient, and explore morpho-functional traits that predispose species to the illicit collection and wildlife trade. The results ultimately inform policies and management interventions for the protection and conservation of KBA 196 and this globally threatened plant family.

Role: Project Co-Lead | Timeline: June 2019 - present

Guttman's Stream Frog conservation: from science to policy

Generated additional information from the field to help inform the conservation of the recently rediscovered Guttman's stream frog (Pulchrana guttmani) and its habitat. The project utilized both scientific and policy-advocacy approaches in close cooperation with the Protected Area Management Office of the Allah Valley Protected Landscape. We continually work to increase the visibility and popularity of P. guttmani among stakeholders, which would help in making this species a "de facto" flagship, along with other traditionally viewed charismatic species, for the conservation of southern Mindanao forests.

Role: Project Lead | Timeline: June 2021 - January 2022

Amphibians and reptiles of Mt. Busa, Sarangani Province: a first for southern Mindanao, Philippines

Recorded the amphibians and reptiles in Mt. Busa, Sarangani Province, including their natural history and patterns of distribution among different types of forest. This exhaustive field-based, repeat-visit survey is the first to be conducted in the southern Mindanao region of the Philippines. The project was funded by the Rufford Foundation, USAID Protect Wildlife, and Idea Wild.

Role: Project Lead | Timeline: Jan 2019 - Aug 2020

Taxonomy and systematics

under construction....

speciation in islands

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PUBLICATIONS

REVIEW

Meneses CG, Pitogo KME, Supsup CE, Brow RM (2024). Philippine herpetology (Amphibia, Reptilia), 20 years on: two decades of progress towards an increasingly collaborative, equitable, and inclusive approach to the study of archipelago's amphibians and reptiles. Zookeys, 1190: 213-257. Link
Pitogo KME (in press). Gaps and biases in vertebrate wildlife genetics from a global biodiversity hotspot. Environmental Conservation

CONSERVATION

Pitogo KME, Saavedra AJL (2024). Orchid trade at the source: epiphytic species with conspicuous flowers in low-elevation forests are more locally collected in a Philippine key biodiversity area. Biotropica, 00, e13336. Link
Pitogo KME, Saavedra AJL (2023). Conservation assessment of the recently rediscovered Guttman's stream frog, Pulchrana guttmani (Brown, 2015), reveals the need for its uplisting into a higher threat category. Herpetology Notes 16: 717-721. Link (Short Note)
Pitogo KME, Meneses CGM, Flores ABA, Saavedra AJL, Amarga AKS, Delos Angeles M, et al. (in press). Caught in statistical noise: pitfalls of a unidimensional approach to understanding biodiversity-conflict relationships. npj Biodiversity (Matters Arising article)

TAXONOMY / SYSTEMATICS

Saavedra AJL, Pitogo KME, Boos R (2023). A new species of Pinalia (Orchidaceae) with bell-shaped flowers from the mossy forest of southern Mindanao, Philippines. Phytotaxa, 626(2): 93-100. Link

ECOLOGY

Pitogo KME, Saavedra AJS, Aurellado MEB, de Guia APO, Afuang LEA (2021). Functional traits and environment drive montane amphibian distribution in the southern Philippines. Biodiversity and Conservation, 30: 4177-4197. Link

ANTHROPOLOGY

Phelps JR, Pitogo KME, Emit AT, Hill K (2023). Inter-household transfers of material goods among Sama “sea nomads” of the Philippines: Reciprocity, helping, signaling, or something else? PLoS ONE, 18(8), e0290270. Link

BIODIVERSITY SURVEYS

Pitogo KME, Jarvis F, Saavedra AJL, Senarillos TL, Concepcion CB, Simpson PM (2024). Avian fauna of Mount Melibengoy, southern Mindanao, Philippines: conservation implications on a partially protected key biodiversity area under threat. Philippine Journal of Systematic Biology, 17(1): 29-40. Link
Pitogo KME, Saavedra AJS, Afuang LEA (2021). Amphibians and reptiles of Mount Busa, Sarangani: a glimpse of the herpetological community of southern Mindanao, Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science, 150(5): 1279-1306. Link
Senarillos TL, Pitogo KME, Ibañez JC (2021). Bird observations in the Busa Mountain Range, Sarangani Province, Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science (S1, Special Issue on Biodiversity): 347-362. Link
Saavedra AJL, Pitogo KME (2021). Richness and distribution of orchids (Orchidaceae) in the forests of Mount Busa, Sarangani, southern Mindanao, Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science, 150 (S1, Special Issue on Biodiversity): 151-163. Link

NATURAL HISTORY NOTES

Mariano VA, Senarillos TL, Pitogo KME (2023). The Six-striped Mabouya, Eutropis englei (Taylor 1925), extends its range inland on Southern Mindanao, Philippines. Reptiles & Amphibians 30(1): e20030. Link
Acuña D, Isagani N, Pitogo KME (2021). Predation on a McClung’s Philippine False Coralsnake, Hemibungarus mcclungi (Weigmann 1835), by a Giant Spiny Centipede, Scolopendra spinosissima Kraepelin 1903, on Luzon Island, The Philippines. Reptiles & Amphibians, 28(3): 417-419. Link
Pitogo KME (2021). Natural history notes on the elusive Taylor's Burrowing Snake, Pseudorabdion taylori Leviton and Brown 1959, from southern Mindanao, Philippines. Herpetology Notes, 14: 759-763. Link
Pitogo KME, Saavedra AJL (2021). Rediscovery of the Guttman's stream frog (Pulchrana guttmani Brown, 2015) in the mountains of southern Mindanao, Philippines. Herpetology Notes 14: 163-167. Link
Pitogo KME, Senarillos TL, Tubera M, Barley AJ (2020). New habitat and altitudinal records for the enigmatic Eutropis englei Taylor, 1925 in southern Mindanao, Philippines. Herpetology Notes, 13: 1045-1048. Link
Suetos KJ, Meneses C, Pitogo KME, Tauli JI, Alvarez J, Gamalo LED (2020). Predation of Platymantis luzonensis Brown, Alcala, Diesmos and Alcala, 1997 on a Stick Insect (Insecta: Phasmatodea) in Mt. Makiling, Philippines. Herpetology Notes, 13: 747-748. Link

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