Report on a Survey of Mammals of the Sierra Madre Range, Luzon Island, Philippines

An inventory of mammals was undertaken at 11 localities along the Sierra Madre range in 2002 to 2005, in areas where few or no data were available previously.  The inventory included lowland and montane forest habitats, at elevations from 300 to 1500 m.  Thirty-eight species of mammals were recorded, including nine new records for the mountain range.  One species, Kerivoula cf. papillosa, had not been recorded previously from the Philippines, and one, Coelops hirsutus, was known previously only from Mindanao and Mindoro Islands.  Two species, in the genera Apomys and Chrotomys, may represent previously unknown species.  We captured Archboldomys musseri only on Mt. Cetaceo, supporting previous evidence that it is endemic only to that mountain.A modified mist-netting technique (V-net) for insectivorous bats was effectively used to capture these species. The new records clearly demonstrate that the mammalian fauna of the Sierra Madre is poorly known.  Surveys of many additional areas are needed in all known habitat types along the Sierra Madre, especially karst, ultrabasic, and mossy forest, to fully document its diversity

Conservation Genetics of the Philippine Tarsier: Cryptic Genetic Variation Restructures Conservation Priorities for an Island Archipelago Primate

Acknowledgments We thank the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources for facilitating research, sample collection, and export permits (in particular T. M. Lim, C. Custodio, J. deLeon, and A. Tagtag) necessary for this and related research. Sampling protocols were approved by the University of Kansas Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC 158-01 to RMB) and protocols to capture, sedate, and harvest ear biopsies from wild tarsiers were approved by the Dartmouth Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC 10-11-12 and 11-06-06AT to NJD). Thanks are due to J. Quilang for assistance with data and comments on the manuscript. We thank N. Antoque, J. Cantil, and V. Yngente for assistance in the field and anonymous reviewers for comments on previous versions of the manuscript.Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: RMB JAW CDS JAE MS MLD ACD. Performed the experiments: RMB MRMD LVD INA JAE NJD PSO AL MLD ACD CDS. Analyzed the data: KVO AJB CDS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: RMB KVO AJB CDS JAE LVD GLM. Wrote the paper: RMB JAW CDS JAE MS GLM. Obtained permission and executed field surveys: RMB MRMD LVD MS INA JAE NJD PSO GLM AL MLD ACD CDS.Establishment of conservation priorities for primates is a particular concern in the island archipelagos of Southeast Asia, where rates of habitat destruction are among the highest in the world. Conservation programs require knowledge of taxonomic diversity to ensure success. The Philippine tarsier is a flagship species that promotes environmental awareness and a thriving ecotourism economy in the Philippines. However, assessment of its conservation status has been impeded by taxonomic uncertainty, a paucity of field studies, and a lack of vouchered specimens and genetic samples available for study in biodiversity repositories. Consequently, conservation priorities are unclear. In this study we use mitochondrial and nuclear DNA to empirically infer geographic partitioning of genetic variation and to identify evolutionarily distinct lineages for conservation action. The distribution of Philippine tarsier genetic diversity is neither congruent with expectations based on biogeographical patterns documented in other Philippine vertebrates, nor does it agree with the most recent Philippine tarsier taxonomic arrangement. We identify three principal evolutionary lineages that do not correspond to the currently recognized subspecies, highlight the discovery of a novel cryptic and range-restricted subcenter of genetic variation in an unanticipated part of the archipelago, and identify additional geographically structured genetic variation that should be the focus of future studies and conservation action. Conservation of this flagship species necessitates establishment of protected areas and targeted conservation programs within the range of each genetically distinct variant of the Philippine tarsier.Support for fieldwork was provided by the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (to RMB, CDS, and JAE), the National Geographic Society (NGS 8446-08 to RMB, JAW, MS and INA), funds from the Primate Action Fund (to MS), Ewha Womans University (Ewha Global Top5 Grant 2013 to MS), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Fellowship in Science and Engineering no. 2007-31754, to NJD), and U.S. National Science Foundation (DEB 0743491 to RMB). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Yeshttp://www.plosone.org/static/editorial#pee

Archboldomys reconsidered.

60 p. : ill., maps ; 26 cm.Shrew mice of the genus Archboldomys are poorly known members of an endemic clade of vermivorous/insectivorous murid rodents confined to Luzon Island, Philippines. Three species of these small, ground-living, diurnal mice were previously known, all from a handful of specimens from a few localities. The pattern of morphological and genetic differentiation among additional specimens of shrew mice from our recent field surveys in the Central Cordillera and Sierra Madre mountains of Luzon document the presence of two distinct species groups within Archboldomys as previously defined, as well as three new species. Gene-sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome b and nuclear IRBP genes confirm the existence of six distinct species, but also show that Archboldomys, as previously defined, is composed of two clades that are not sister taxa. Reevaluation of the presumed morphological synapomorphies among these shrew mice, together with analyses of karyological and gene-sequence data, support the following: (1) erection of Soricomys, new genus; (2) transfer of A. kalinga and A. musseri to Soricomys; and (3) recognition of Archboldomys maximus, n. sp., Soricomys leonardocoi, n. sp., and Soricomys montanus, n. sp. The new genus and species are described, and their phylogenetic relationships, biogeography, and conservation are discussed

Data from: Conservation genetics of the Philippine tarsier: cryptic genetic variation restructures conservation priorities for an island archipelago primate

Establishment of conservation priorities for primates is a particular concern in the island archipelagos of Southeast Asia, where rates of habitat destruction are among the highest in the world. Conservation programs require knowledge of taxonomic diversity to ensure success. The Philippine tarsier is a flagship species that promotes environmental awareness and a thriving ecotourism economy in the Philippines. However, assessment of its conservation status has been impeded by taxonomic uncertainty, a paucity of field studies, and a lack of vouchered specimens and genetic samples available for study in biodiversity repositories. Consequently, conservation priorities are unclear. In this study we use mitochondrial and nuclear DNA to empirically infer geographic partitioning of genetic variation and to identify evolutionarily distinct lineages for conservation action. The distribution of Philippine tarsier genetic diversity is neither congruent with expectations based on biogeographical patterns documented in other Philippine vertebrates, nor does it agree with the most recent Philippine tarsier taxonomic arrangement. We identify three principal evolutionary lineages that do not correspond to the currently recognized subspecies, highlight the discovery of a novel cryptic and range-restricted subcenter of genetic variation in an unanticipated part of the archipelago, and identify additional geographically structured genetic variation that should be the focus of future studies and conservation action. Conservation of this flagship species necessitates establishment of protected areas and targeted conservation programs within the range of each genetically distinct variant of the Philippine tarsier

Tarsier_Convert_input

Tarsier microsatelite

Models of evolution selected by AIC and applied for partitioned, phylogeographic analyses¹.

1<p>The model GTR + Γ was used for partitioned RAxMLHPC analyses.</p

DISTRUCT visualization of STRUCTURE analyses (A) assigning individuals to major population groupings (genetically distinct evolutionary lineages) for Philippine tarsier demes (<i>K</i> = 2 and 3 populations).

<p>Mindanao faunal region (B; see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0104340#pone-0104340-g001" target="_blank">Fig. 1</a>, inset) with sampling (17 sites, 66 individuals) labeled with letters corresponding to full localities listed in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0104340#pone.0104340.s002" target="_blank">Appendix S2</a>, protected areas shaded red. SplitsTree gene network (C; numbers at internodes = ML bootstrap replicates), and results of GMYC analyses (red asterisks denote lineages delineated by the Yule-coalescent), with numbers at tips corresponding to individual samples in Structure plots (A) and cluster shading corresponding to islands on map (B).</p

Uncorrected mitochondrial sequence divergence (%) among Philippine tarsier (<i>Tarsius syrichta</i>) evolutionary lineages shown below diagonal.

<p>Percentages on the diagonal represent intraspecific (or within clade) genetic diversity. Mean inferred migration rates (inferred in BAYESASS) between regionally partitioned diversity shown above diagonal. Migration rates above the 0.05 threshold bolded for emphasis.</p

Phylogeographic relationships of <i>Tarsius syrichta</i> (see Appendix S1 for taxonomic summary) estimated from a combined, partitioned, RAxML ML analysis of mitochondrial (12S, CytB, ND2) gene fragments.

<p>Black circles at nodes correspond to ML bootstraps ≥70% and Bayesian PP ≥95%.</p