Meeting Abstract
P1.21 Friday, Jan. 4 The Philippines as the center of sea urchin diversity: An in depth study from intertidal to abyss MUNGUIA, A*; MOOI, R; Univ. of California, Davis; California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco rmooi@calacademy.org
As a biodiversity hotspot, the Philippines currently holds the gold medal in species richness. Species inventories are critical to analyzing biodiversity loss but are at the mercy of data quality. Resources such as GBIF, iNaturalist, postings by underwater photographers, and even commercial websites such as eBay allow data to accumulate, but require vetting by taxonomists. We focus on Philippine Echinoidea (sea urchins, heart urchins, and sand dollars) by adapting recognized ecoregions within the Indo-Pacific, then merging data on Philippine echinoids, incorporating updated information on bathymetry. Data from other global regions were compared to evaluate significance in Philippine species richness. A list of approximately 230 species of echinoids recorded to occur in the Philippines was developed using information from Mortensen’s Monograph of the Echinoidea, the recent Hearst Expedition, and ancillary sources, then taxonomically updated using the World Echinoidea Database. The Philippines alone has three times as many known species of echinoids than in the entire Gulf of Mexico, and nearly four times as many as in the Red Sea. Updated inventories, along with new data from recent expeditions and exploration of the “Twilight Zone” (100-1000 m depth), are crucial in picturing Philippine echinoid biodiversity. New Philippine records and species new to science are coming to light, suggesting that the present numbers are conservative. Research suggests that the unsurpassed Philippine diversity is rooted in geologic history, overlap of faunas from adjacent ecoregions, and local oceanographic factors. Well-informed evaluation of the Philippine echinoid fauna will help determine new approaches to conservation efforts aimed at retaining biodiversity threatened by global change and anthropogenic influence.
