Invertebrate expert Terrence Gosliner, leader of a 2014 marine expedition to a strait between the provinces of Batangas and Mindoro expressed amazement at the “mind-boggling” biodiversity found in the Philippines.

Gosliner, said to be the world's foremost expert on nudibranchs, gave the description of Verde Island Passage after studying and comparing it with the biodiversity in Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, Guam, Madagascar, and Tanzania.

Since 1992, Gosliner and Rich Mooi, curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the California Academy of Sciences, have conducted more than two decades of exploration, research, and community outreach in the Philippine archipelago.

The studies revealed that the Philippines is the habitat for over 1,006 species of shallow water shell-less mollusks or sea slugs, the biggest number found in the Indo-Pacific.

The two scientists said that Papua New Guinea has 646 species of these mollusks, and Hawaii has 513 species.

They also said that about 54 percent of the bright-colored soft-bodied nudibranchs they found are ‘undescribed' or have never been scientifically-recorded in a report to university students and professionals through the Massive Open Online Course on Environment and Civic Engagement at Silliman University in Dumaguete City.

As early as 2005, Kent Carpenter of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and Victor Springer of the Smithsonian Institution had named the Verde Island Passage as the “center of the center” of the richest shorefish fauna in the world. They said it has 1,736 overlapping marine species over a 10-kilometer area, the “highest concentration of marine life in the world”.

The Verde Island Passage, covering about 1.14 million hectares, is a major sea route for commercial and fishing vessels headed to the international ports of Batangas, Manila, and Subic Bay.

The California Academy expedition in the Verde Island Passage aimed to survey the biodiversity and determine the patterns; conduct the exploration in the “twilight zone” (or 130 to nearly-500 feet underwater) in the Coral Triangle; develop databases accessible to all; train Filipino and US students; and increase public awareness through outreach.

The Coral Triangle recognized as the global center of marine biodiversity , and a global priority for conservation, surrounds the 5.7 million square kilometers of the tropical waters of Indonesia , Malaysia , Papua New Guinea (Melanesia), the Philippines , Solomon Islands , and Timor-Leste . It contains at least 500 species of reef-building corals in each eco-region .

The Coral Triangle Knowledge Network said about $3 billion in fisheries exports and $3 billion in coastal tourism revenues are derived as annual foreign exchange income in the region.

Dondee Seneris, a staunch environment activist attending the online course, said “This Massive Open Online Course is a new way of reaching out to the people, and making them aware,” “It's also an opportunity for us to learn from other communities doing something for the environment,” he added.

He lamented, however, that this method can only be available to people who have access to technology like the Internet.

During the open forum through Skype (software application with video), the slow Internet signal was no match for the number of questions from the biology students and community members attending the online course. The class attending the online course at the Silliman University main library had to end the session.*IRMA FAITH PAL

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