BIODIVERSITY HUB
Natural history exhibits such as the UPIB-EDC Biodiversity Hub aim to share the beauty and wonder of the natural world with the general public.
The Vertebrate Museum, Invertebrate Museum, Herbarium, and Arboretum all function as facilities within which specimens of Philippine biodiversity are preserved and studied. In addition, the Biodiversity Hub provides a venue for engagement, where people can learn about the state of our country’s rich wildlife and what they can do to contribute to the protection of these unique natural resources.
By clicking through the tabs below, you can take a virtual tour of the Biodiversity Hub’s facilities, and find out what activities and services each one provides.
The Threatened Species Arboretum was established at the UP Institute of Biology (UPIB) in partnership with the geothermal company, Energy Development Corporation. EDC’s BINHI Foundation is a national greening initiative that has established multiple nurseries and arboretums across the country in an effort to protect our threatened tree species.
Inaugurated in December 2014, the one-hectare UPIB-EDC BINHI Threatened Species Arboretum contains around 70 species and functions as a living laboratory – educating visitors about our rich biodiversity while also serving as a gene and seedling bank for threatened trees. The arboretum was designed to depict several of the Philippines’ distinct forest formations, with each section containing different species suited to that formation. Other features of the arboretum include the fernery and a memorial to Leonard Co.
In 2020, the Threatened Species Arboretum (together with the Jose Vera Santos Memorial Herbarium) received the Gawad Tsanselor award for “Natatanging Programang Pang-Ekstensiyon” for its work in educating students, researchers, and communities about the country’s unique natural resources.
Jose Vera Santos Memorial Herbarium Curator: Edwino S. Fernando, PhD
Invertebrate Museum Curator: Jonathan A. Anticamara, Ph.D.
Invertebrate Museum Co-Curators: Dr. Christine Jewel C. Uy-Yabut
Fees for Certificate of Identification:
Php 300.00 – non-UP students
Php 500.00 – non-UP and non-Students
Php 500.00 – UP and non-student
For your specimens to be accommodated, email your inquiries to invertebrate_museum.upd@up.edu.ph
Please include the following information in your email:
a. Name/s
b. Name of School/Company
c. Taxa of specimens for ID (e.g. fish, mollusks, insects etc.) NOTE: For non- invertebrate and non-fish taxa (e.g. plants, mammals, etc.), check IB website for other museum services
d. Purpose of certification/authentication
e. Date collected
f. Collection site
g. Contact number
h. Email
i. Name and E-mail of Faculty Adviser (if certification is for thesis purposes)
j. Include copy of Gratuitous Permit/s for specimens collected in the Wild
(https://www.bfar.da.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FAO-No.-233-s.-2010.pdf)
k. Photo of your specimen/s before preserving in alcohol
If specimen is soft bodied or contains living tissue, preserve in 70% ethyl alcohol(placed in a sealed container) or freeze before submission. Dried specimens such as empty shells do not have to be kept in preservative fluid.
Sort specimens according to morphospecies before submission. Label your container/s appropriately. Download label here.
Please wait for a confirmation email before dropping by to submit your specimens.
Payment will be made upon submission of specimens.
Curators:
Mariano Roy M. Duya, PhD
Carmela P. Española, PhD
The Institute of Biology’s Vertebrate Museum houses almost 1,300 skin specimens of terrestrial vertebrates collected from the 1950s to the 1980s. Another set of specimens, numbering into thousands, have been collected since the 1990s, preserved in fluid and are currently being catalogued. The Vertebrate Museum offers guided tours upon advanced request and species identification. We also provide training on various terrestrial wildlife survey techniques.
The UP Wild is an online social media page designed to highlight the value of green spaces and urban biodiversity within the UP Diliman campus. Through short narrative features accompanied by photos or videos, the page strives to connect netizens with nature, providing glimpses of the life history, ecology, and importance of various flora, fauna, and fungi.
Beyond this, The UP Wild also fosters community by conducting nature walks, hosting workshops for citizen science, and organizing campus bioblitzes. Learn more by visiting https://www.facebook.com/UPwild.