Captive individuals of endangered Philippine raptors maintain native feather mites (Acariformes: Pterolichoidea) species

Endangered species of hosts are coupled with endangered species of parasites, which share the risk of co-extinction. Conservation efforts sometimes include breeding of rare species in captivity. Data on parasites of captive populations of endangered species is scarce and the ability of small numbers of captive host individuals to support the biodiversity of native parasites is limited. Examination of ectosymbionts of the critically endangered Philippine eagles and the endangered Mindanao Hawk-Eagle kept at the Philippine Eagle Center, Philippines, revealed three feather mite species despite regular treatment with insecticide powder. No other ectosymbiont taxa were detected. Studies in morphology and molecular phylogeny of these feather mites based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers indicate that species found were typical for Accipitridae. Three new pterolichoid feather mite species (Acari: Pterolichoidea) were described from two species of eagles (Accipitriformes: Accipitridae) endemic to the Philippines: Hieracolichus philippinensis sp. n. (Gabuciniidae) and Pseudalloptinus pithecophagae sp. n. (Pterolichidae) from the Great Philippine Eagle Pithecophaga jefferyi Ogilvie-Grant, 1896, and Pseudogabucinia nisaeti sp. n. (Kramerellidae) from the Mindanao Hawk-Eagle Nisaetus pinskeri Gould, 1863. The presence of H. philippinensis on P. jefferyi supports the recent finding that the Great Philippine Eagle belongs to the lineage of serpent eagles (Circaetinae) rather than to the Harpy and other eagles

Modeling the Status and Threats to the Philippine Eagle in the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor

The Philippines is among the most endemic-rich areas for all global biodiversity hotspots. Conserving that biodiversity presents multi-scaled challenges including the critical need for habitat and species level documentation as a basis for identifying conservation targets. This paper contributes to that need by describing the use of A Composite Bio-geographic Analysis (CBA) model to model the dynamics and inter-relationships between species distribution, nest, habitat and land use change, population distribution and access to the PA and to synthesize and evaluate data on the status and threats to the Philippine Eagle Pithecophaga jefferyi in the Mt. Hamiguitan Protected Area, one of the key biodiversity areas in the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor (EMBC)