June 02, 2011
The Loyola School at Ateneo de Manila University has awarded IFP Philippines alum Margarita Lavides the 2011 Outstanding Scholarly Work for Science and Engineering.
Her paper, entitled Finfish Disappearances around Bohol, Philippines inferred from traditional ecological knowledge, was published in the Cambridge Journal of Environmental Conservation - one of the longest-standing, most highly-cited of the interdisciplinary environmental science journals.
Ms. Lavides gained her doctorate in Marine Science in 2009 from Newcastle University in the UK. She is Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science at Ateneo de Manila University, and serves as Consultant for the Conservation Science Research Division at the Haribon Foundation for the Conservation of Natrual Resources.
In April, she represented the IFP Philippines Alumni Association (IFPPAA) at the First International Forum on Environmental Citizen Journalism in Moscow, hosted by the Russia IFP Fellows, together with RIA Novosti, Russia's leading news agency.
An abstract from her paper for the Cambridge Journal appears below:
"Little is known about local extinctions of finfish species in the most biodiverse marine ecosystem and anthropogenically threatened region on Earth. This paper examines coral reef associated finfish species that disappeared in the catches around the island of Bohol over the period 1950 to 2007, based on the only available data, namely traditional ecological knowledge. Generalized least squares (GLS) tests showed steep declines to zero among species formerly recorded in catches. Finfish species recommended as priority for further monitoring based on life history and disappearances in fish catch are giant grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) and African pompano (Alectis ciliaris). Twenty out of the 21 species that disappeared from catches were moderate to very large-bodied, six were slow-growing fish and four were late-maturing fish. Species of large body size and subject to high fishing pressure may be particularly vulnerable. Traditional ecological knowledge when applied to population dynamics studies can add value to development of new monitoring methods. This knowledge can moreover inform the prioritization of species for fisheries assessment and conservation action."