MANILA – A researcher of the Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines - Diliman will receive a PHP2 million grant for her study on sea cucumber biodiversity, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Thursday.
The amount will come from the DOST Secretary's Grant for Environment, and serves as a recognition for Rachel June Ravago-Gotanco’s outstanding scientific and technological research work that contributes to environmental protection and conservation.
"Her proposal was evaluated by the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST)," DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said in a Viber message.
The NAST also provided Gotanco a PHP150,000 award as her research also tackles the sea cucumber's implications for aquaculture, fishery management, and conservation.
Sea cucumbers are high-value marine invertebrates that used to abound in the country’s coastal waters. They are well-known for their food and ecological and pharmaceutical values.
This animal, she said, is known as “earthworm of the sea” because of its habit of burrowing and ingesting sediments, which promotes healthy 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 said. (PNA)
