Leyte鈥檚 Ormoc Bay was the study site this August 2024 for Thomasian biologists, who were asked by Ormoc, Leyte Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez to study the tributaries and streams draining into Ormoc Bay. The study was conducted to determine the status of the Ormoc Bay Water Quality Management Area (WQMA). In particular, they requested the UST team’s assistance in assessing the impacts of pollution and other anthropogenic stressors in the entire watershed. This would help the LGU and other concerned government agencies in planning steps that will protect and conserve Ormoc Bay and the tributaries draining it.
A team of aquatic biologists and microbiologists led by Asst. Prof. Reuel Bennett, Dr.rer.nat., Chair of the Department of Biological Sciences, and Inst. Elfritzson Peralta, M.Sc., together with DBS academic staff Inst. Allan Gilles, M.Sc. and Inst. Eunice Aaron, M.Sc. (Marine Biology team), Inst. Justine De Leon, M.Sc. and Inst. Kenneth Xavier Sanchez, M.Sc. (Freshwater Biology team) conducted the study from August 11 to 14, 2024. The team covered 26 study sites in the watershed area, including mangrove forests, coastal areas, estuaries, streams, rivers, and a freshwater lake – Lake Danao.聽
On September 17, 2024, Peralta, Assoc. Prof. Richard Thomas B. Pavia Jr., PhD, and Inst. Allan Gilles Jr., MSc presented the project’s initial results to Mayor Torres-Gomez. Also present were City Councilors Peter Rodriguez, Caren Torres Rama, Edmund Kierulf, and Bert Pades, together with officials from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office, City Agricultural Office, and representatives from the Protected Areas Management Board.
This initiative, which underscores the strong partnership between UST scientists and their government counterparts, is a testament to their shared commitment to bring science to the community.
Academic and research staff of the UST Department of Biological Sciences conducting the water quality monitoring, biological sampling and microbiological analysis of aquatic ecosystems in Ormoc Bay and its tributaries.
The UST Team, Mayor Lucy Torres Gomez, and the City of Ormoc officials after the presentation of the team鈥檚 initial findings.
