Philippine Journal of Science
151 (S1): 223-236, Marine Botany
ISSN 0031 – 7683
Date Received: 17 Jun 2021

Marine Benthic Algae of the Eastern Samar Islands
of Homonhon, Sulu-an, and Manicani, Philippines

Jhaydee Ann F. Pascual¹*, Ken Joseph Clemente², Raul Angeles Jr.¹,
Luisito T. Evangelista¹, and Lawrence M. Liao³

¹Botany and National Herbarium Division,
National Museum of the Philippines, Manila 1000 Philippines
²Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Strand,
Senior High School Department, University of Santo Tomas, Manila 1015 Philippines
³Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life,
Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima 735-8928 Japan

*Corresponding author: jhaydee.pascual@nationalmuseum.gov.ph

[Download]
Pascual JA et al. 2022. Marine Benthic Algae of the Eastern Samar Islands of Homonhon, Sulu-an,
and Manicani, Philippines. Philipp J Sci 151(S1): 223–236. https://doi.org/10.56899/151.S1.15

 

ABSTRACT

Botanical explorations in the Philippines have been conducted for the most part in more easily accessible regions, resulting in fragmentary information that prevents a thorough assessment of its total biological richness. Many insular sites, which are potentially biologically diverse, remain unexplored due to reasons of geographic isolation, weather disturbance, and logistical considerations. To address these gaps and to provide added information on the diversity and distribution of the seaweed flora around the country, we report herein records of marine benthic algae from three remote islands in Eastern Samar province. Macrobenthic algae were collected in 18 sites in Homonhon, Sulu-an, and Manicani islands in Guiuan. These algae were identified in situ up to the genus level, with their taxonomic status further analyzed in the laboratory at the National Museum of the Philippines. Cluster analysis based on the Jaccard index using PAST Software was used to infer similarities among the sampling sites with respect to their algal flora. Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) and similarity percentage (SIMPER) were also used to further evaluate the results. This study highlights 56 species (Chlorophyte: 28 spp., Phaeophyceae: 11 spp., and Rhodophyte: 17 spp.) collected in 18 sites in these three islands. These are all new records for these small islands, whereas 41 of them are considered new records for Eastern Samar province. Cluster analysis suggests that similarities or differences in macroalgal flora among the sampling sites may be attributed more to the difference in the type of substrata and hydrodynamics among sites. These results also indicate that these islands have a relatively diverse macroalgal flora representing 5% of the total seaweed flora of the country. This paper is the first attempt to provide better documentation of macroalgal communities in remote islands in eastern Philippines (i.e. Guiuan, Eastern Samar).