IMBiBErs joined the 2019 West Philippine Sea Research Expedition

Members of the IMBIBE Lab: Christine Segumalian (1st right), Romina Lim (2nd right), Joey Cabasan (1st left), and Jue Alef Lalas (not in photo) were aboard BRP Lapu-Lapu MMOV 5001 for the 2019 Research Expedition at the West Philippine Sea.

The group was part of the coral reef assessment team which were tasked to do biodiversity surveys (i.e. reef fishes, benthic substrate, hard and soft coral communities ) and specimen collection. The scientific venture was part of a DENR Biodiversity Management Bureau - funded project PROTECT-WPS (Predicting Responses between Ocean Transport and Ecological Connectivity of Threatened Ecosystems in the West Philippine Sea).

Stay tuned for scientific papers from our group vis-a-vis the West Philippine Sea.