Biology students from the University of Santo Tomas – Graduate School presented research papers on the ecology of Laguna de Bay and its watershed during the May 20-24, 2018 Japan Geoscience Union Meeting. Elfritzson Peralta lectured on “Stable isotopes reveal anthropogenic impacts on the littoral food webs of Laguna de Bay, Philippines”. Likewise, Mary Michelle Guinto presented a research poster entitled “Zooplankton community structure in the littoral zones of Laguna de Bay reflects land cover and nutrient loading in near-shore areas”. Lastly, MSc Biology alumna and Senior High School faculty member Irisse Bianca B. De Jesus presented a paper entitled, “Spatial variation in phosphorus and nitrogen spiral metrics in a tropical watershed in relation to land uses”.
Thomasian participants also shared their works in the Isotope Workshop that discussed results of ongoing researches in stream and lake ecosystems using isotope analyses. Asst. Prof. Felicidad Christina Ramirez, Ph.D. of the College of Science and Research Center for the Natural and Applied Sciences presented updates of her research entitled, “Tracing phosphate sources in the Silang-Sta. Rosa Subwatershed using oxygen isotopes”. Similarly, Peralta presented updates on his research on isotope ecology in Philippine freshwater systems.
JpGU is an academic union that encompasses all the Earth and Planetary Sciences disciplines and related fields, organizing annual meetings since 2005. Presentations were all done under the “Materials transport and nutrient cycles in watersheds; Human and climate impacts” session. The participation of the students was made possible through the research project entitled Biodiversity-driven Nutrient Cycling and Human well-being in Social-ecological Systems” also known as the “e-REC Project” funded by the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (Kyoto, Japan) led by Prof. Dr. Noboru Okuda with Prof. Dr. Rey Donne S. Papa as project leader for the University of Santo Tomas.
