The history of freshwater research in the Philippines with notes on its origins in the University of Santo Tomas and present-day contributions
The study of freshwater ecosystems in the country has long had the reputation of being fragmentary and inconsistent, especially when compared to its marine counterparts. Other scientists have in fact noted that many studies that have been conducted on Philippine freshwaters have not gone beyond the “age of exploration”, which resulted to it being poorly represented in the scientific literature. This scenario has been consistent for both lotic and lentic habitats, even for those considered as major river and lake ecosystems, including those found in key biodiversity or known protected areas. This has gone on for decades in spite of the obvious need for invigorated and scientifically-driven approaches to study and manage freshwater ecosystems throughout the country, especially since freshwater ecosystems, including its flora and fauna, are under increasing threat from both natural and man-made environmental stressors, including intensive aquaculture, leading to eutrophication, the introduction of non-native species, as well as climate change. This is further aggravated by the low number of experts in various fields of basic and applied freshwater biology including taxonomists, limnologists, restoration ecologists etc. to deal with various problems and challenges in the Philippine setting. This paper presents the background, history and origins of freshwater biology research in the Philippines and the contributions of the University of Santo Tomas from 2002 to present.