by Rafe M. Brown, Renato Boying Fernandez, Chrisostomo Rivero ...

Recent biological survey efforts have demonstrated thehighly unique nature of the mountain’s mammal and birdfaunas, and the few available published reports suggestthat the same may be true for Mt. Isarog’s amphibiansand reptiles. At the start of our study, we hoped toascertain to what degree the amphibian and reptilefaunas of Mt. Isarog are also locally unique, to identifyspecies of special concern for conservation efforts, tolearn from local communities about the diversity, uses,and beliefs surrounding Mt. Isarog’s herpetofauna, andto contribute to local environmental education, pride,and increased awareness of the mountain’s amphibianand reptile communities.During July and August 2001, with the cooperationand guidance of the Parks and Wildlife Bureau of theDepartment of the Environment and Natural Resources(PAWB-DENR) and the Naga City Provincial Environmentand Natural Resources Office (PENRO), biologistsfrom the Haribon Foundation, the University of Texas,and the Mt. Isarog National Park Protected Area ManagementBoard joined collaborators for a preliminarysurvey of the herpetological fauna of Mt. Isarog’shigher montane forests. Here we present a firstglimpse at the unique and spectacular diversity of Mt.Isarog’s lizards, frogs, and snakes. Future expeditionswill extend our elevational transects to higher sites inmossy forests and will circumnavigate the mountain inan effort to survey drainages other than the one thatencompassed our base in Barangay Panicuason,Municipality of Naga City on the western slopes ofMt. Isarog.For our initial study, we utilized the same transectsand field sites that were studied during earlier investigationsof the mountain’s birds and mammals. One ofthe goals of the earlier studies was to conduct baseline faunal studies of species’ abundance and distributionalong elevational transects within Mt. IsarogNational Park. Wishing to contribute in a meaningfulway to this body of knowledge, we structured ourinitial study in a manner that was complimentary toabove: Maps of estimated forest cover on southernLuzon and adjacent islands in 1880, 1905, 1963and 1987, showing the loss of old-growth forest.below: Map of Mt. Isarog showing the boundariesof the National Park.opposite page: A misty forest scene in the lateafternoon, following heavy rain at 1150 m.Isarog’s earlier mammal and bird surveys to allow directcomparison to the results of these seminal studies. Futuretechnical and popular publications will accentuate thesecomparisons and determine to what degree patterns ofspecies richness and abundance along elevational gradientsdiffer from those described in birds and mammals.Arriving at the Mt. Isarog National Park headquartersin Barangay Panicuason, we were immediately joined byHARING IBON October November December 2001 13