UST holds pioneering confab, exhibit on freshwater biodiversity

The University of Santo Tomas (UST) will gather experts from international scientific communities in the 1st Philippine Symposium on Freshwater Biodiversity and Ecosystems from June 7 to 10 at the UST Paredes Building in España, Manila.

A pioneering undertaking in the country, the UST confab will bring together minds in the fields of limnology, freshwater ecology, biodiversity, and conservation biology to shed light on important issues the freshwater ecosystems face today.

Recent, relevant, and updated results of studies on the ecology and biodiversity of freshwaters within the Philippine territory and the rest of Tropical Asia will be presented during the four-day event, symposium chair Rey Donne S. Papa, Ph.D. said.

Freshwater ecosystems serve as the primary source of water for human consumption in the domestic, industrial, and agricultural spheres, which are affected by destructive human activities like the spread of pollution, wreckage of habitat, exportation of rare and endangered species, and climate change.

Participants to the event can take part in keynote and plenary lectures, parallel sessions, and poster exhibits to be presided over by speakers from USA, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, among others.

First ‘biomuseum’

The event will also feature the rich and unique biodiversity of the Taal Lake in Batangas and promote its protection and conservation in an exhibit titled “TAALAMAN: The Lake’s First Biomuseum” to be mounted from June 7 to 17 at the UST Museum and Main Building Lobby.

The ‘biomuseum,’ also a pioneering endeavor in the Philippines, will display a dry exhibit in the form of informative posters about Taal Lake and a “wet exhibit,” which will showcase live specimens of various animals and plants in glass aquaria.

Organized by UST Graduate School biodiversity and conservation biology class, the 10-day exhibit is considered the first of its kind in the country. Admission is free.

The events are in partnership with the International Society of Limnology and co-organized by the California Academy of Sciences, PUSOD Inc., University of the Philippines Institute of Biology, Ateneo de Manila University, Association of Systematic Biologists of the Philippines, Biodiversity Management Bureau, and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute Fund and sponsored by the United States Agency International Development, the UST College of Science, and UST Research Center for Natural and Applied Sciences.

For more information, you may visit www.psfbe2016.org or its Facebook page: /PhilippineSymposiumFreswater2016. You may also reach the events’ secretariat through psfbesecretariat@gmail.com or taalaman.psfbe@gmail.com.