MANILA – A researcher of the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines – Diliman will obtain a PHP2 million grant for her study on sea cucumber biodiversity, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) stated Thursday.
The quantity will come from the DOST Secretary’s Grant for Environment, and serves as a recognition for Rachel June Ravago-Gotanco’s excellent scientific and technological analysis work that contributes to environmental safety and conservation.
“Her proposal was evaluated by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST),” DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. stated in a Viber message.
The NAST additionally offered Gotanco a PHP150,000 award as her analysis additionally tackles the sea cucumber’s implications for aquaculture, fishery administration, and conservation.
Sea cucumbers are high-value marine invertebrates that used to abound within the nation’s coastal waters. They are well-known for their meals and ecological and pharmaceutical values.
This animal, she stated, is called “earthworm of the sea” due to its behavior of burrowing and ingesting sediments, which promotes wholesome coastal ecosystems.
“In the work that we did, we used genetic data from sea cucumbers collected from all over the Philippine archipelago. We did high-throughput DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sequencing technologies to generate that data, and we analyzed it,” Gotanco was quoted in a news release.
Such data will have an important implication for evidence-based management and conservation of sea cucumber populations in the country, she added.
“We are still continuing the research on these sea cucumbers, but we are also branching out with other colonies, other species of sea cucumbers,” Gotanco stated. (PNA)