.svg)
Current issue: Volume 22, No. 1 (2022)
Villegas J.P., Ibañez J.C., Cabrido C.K.T. 2022. Abundance and Distribution of the Philippine Brown Deer (Rusa marianna Desmarest, 1822) in the Obu Manuvu Ancestral Domain, Mindanao Island, Philippines. Acta Biol. Univ. Daugavp., 22 (1): 67 – 89.
Abstract
The Philippine Brown Deer (Rusa marianna Desmarest, 1822) is an endangered species endemic to the Philippines. Deforestation, habitat loss, and subsistence hunting continue to cause its rapidly declining population. To increase knowledge on deer’s conservation and population status in Mindanao, the researchers assessed its abundance and distribution within the Obu Manuvu Ancestral Domain (OMAD) in Mindanao Island, Philippines. Five hundred four-camera trap days were conducted from June to August 2016, followed by 500 days from January to March 2020. Camera trapping was used to detect deer presence and calculate its relative abundance index (RAI). A total of ten cameras were installed in areas with preliminary evidence of deer presence, such as trails, dens, and fecal pellets, and were distributed at 250 m minimum distance intervals. Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were also undertaken to document indigenous ecological knowledge. A total of four independent detections were documented in 2016 (RAI=0.79), while another four independent sequences were recorded in 2020 (RAI=0.80). Overall, the deer has a low population status and broad distribution across primary and secondary forests at an elevation of 1518 to 1709 m.a.s.l. Meanwhile, the deer was declared a cultural keystone species with several ethnozoological uses. They are important to the life, history, and culture of the Obu Manuvu indigenous community. However, hunting and habitat loss remained the leading anthropogenic threats against the deer despite local conservation efforts. Thus, there is a need to sustain and strengthen conservation efforts through the stringent implementation of wildlife monitoring and enforcement of culture-based protection policies.
Keywords: relative abundance index (RAI), species distribution, indigenous knowledge, Philippine brown deer, Obu Manuvu, Philippines.
*Corresponding author: Jhonnel P. Villegas. Institute of Education and Teacher Training, Davao Oriental State University, City of Mati, Davao Oriental, 8200, Philippines, E-mail: jhonnel.villegas@dorsu.edu.ph; Department of Biology, Ateneo de Davao University, Davao City, Davao del Sur, 8000, Philippines
Jayson C. Ibañez. Philippine Eagle Foundation, Davao City, Davao del Sur, 8000, Philippines, E-mail: ibanez.jayson@gmail.com; University of the Philippines Mindanao, Davao City, Davao del Sur, 8000, Philippines Clint Kenny T. Cabrido. Department of Biology, Ateneo de Davao University, Davao City, Davao del Sur, 8000, Philippines, E-mail: cktcabrido@addu.edu.ph
