Ant-thusiants at the BioBlitz: Tiny Campus Discoveries!

Last 16 August 2023, the Ateneo Biodiversity Research Lab (ABRL) held its first BioBlitz activity after four years, inviting members of the Ateneo community to help document and record as many different species in the campus over a short period of time. The research laboratory hosted international guests, and a BioBlitz was the perfect activity to showcase the scientific talents and techniques the parties had to offer one another.

The researchers were myrmecologists Dr. Enrico Schifani, PhD. in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology from the Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences, and Environmental Sustainability of the University of Parma in Parma, Italy, and Mr. Mattia Menchetti (PhD. Cand.) of the Butterfly Diversity and Evolution Laboratory of the Institut de Biologia Evolutiva of the University of Palermo in Barcelona, Spain. Schifani specializes in ecology, systematics, and identifying invasive ants to specific regions and as agricultural pests. Meanwhile, Menchetti focuses on building a barcoding library and a comprehensive phylogeny of European ant species.

From start to finish of the BioBlitz, the participants always looked forward to the guidance of Dr. Emmanuel Delocado, PhD. in Biology, the Project Leader of the ABRL and the coordinator of the BioBlitz, and the “The Ateneo Wild” duo Abby Favis of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Trinket Constantino of the Department of Biology. However, many participants would agree that none were as excited as Schifani and Menchetti. The pair of myrmecologists would eagerly plop down next to ant nests and trails to provide trivia for participants just before collecting specimens for further in-depth identification. After compiling their findings, Schifani and Menchetti had reported 25 to 30 species of ants from campus grounds. Prior to this, the ABRL had only identified 15 species.

The research trip helped cement the partnership between the Ateneo de Manila University, through the Biodiversity Research Lab, and the Butterfly Diversity and Evolution Laboratory of the Institut de Biologia Evolutiva among several agreements. The two parties work as collaborators for the University Research Council funded project entitled “iFite PH,” which investigates freshwater integrative taxonomy and evolution studies in the Philippines. Alongside this is a joint publication on the identified ant species from the BioBlitz, another research project approved with gratuitous and sampling permits, and to contribute and enrich the research work of the partner institutions.

Beyond the BioBlitz and the institutional partnerships and cultural exchange, the researchers had also visited one of the leading myrmecologists in the Philippines, Perry Archival Claveria Buenavente of the Philippine National Museum, to further exchange their practices and to visit the ant collection of the museum.

Menchetti is an advocate for iNaturalist in empowering and encouraging citizen science which is important for people in megadiverse countries lacking in documentation to populate the database. More observations allow its artificial intelligence to identify observations more accurately through machine learning. Delocado says “Beyond publication, science should be communicated in other ways.” The stance is echoed and heard throughout the scientific community, so Delocado is thankful to collaborate with those of similar belief like Schifani and Menchetti.

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Text: Timothy Romero

Photos: Emmanuel Delocado