About our site

The study encompasses selected sites in Iligan Bay and in Camiguin Island (Sunken Cemetery in Catarman, the Giant Clam Sanctuary in Guinsiliban, and Mantigue Island). These areas represent ecologically important coastal and marine ecosystems in Northern Mindanao that support rich biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services for fisheries, tourism, coastal protection, and local livelihoods.

Collectively, they contain diverse habitats including coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, rocky substrates, estuaries, and open coastal waters that serve as nursery grounds, feeding areas, spawning sites, and migration corridors for numerous marine organisms.

What we plan to achieve

Through this project, we aim to bring Mindanao, Philippines to the world, showcasing the biodiversity of Iligan Bay and Camiguin Island using environmental DNA (eDNA) technology while empowering local communities through citizen science. Specifically, we seek to establish baseline biodiversity data, detect native, rare, cryptic, and invasive species, identify biodiversity hotspots and priority conservation areas.