Dr. Erlinda Bestre This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. 1999: Philippine Amphibians Disappearing

   eesp.freeservers.com/news1.htm - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/12/2000   Last Visited: 11/26/2001

   Dr. Letecia Afuang, Conservation International (CI) Program Manager and a leading Philippine herpetologist, an expert on amphibians and Prof. Erlinda Bestre who does biological research in north Luzon for the Benguet State University (BSU), said amphibian population in the last ten years have drastically gone down.
   ...
   Bestre said amphibians are one of nature's best predators and contributed significantly in controlling populations of pests which transmit diseases and are harmful to the agriculture industry. The decline of amphibian population can result to serious implications is its is not averted, she added.
   
   Extinct Frogs
   
   Already, four Philippine frogs are extinct in Benguet and perhaps in other parts of the country, according to Bestre. These are the Philippine bullfrog (Rana magna), the field frog or "palakang bukid" (Rana vittegena), freshwater frog or "palakang tubigan" (Rana modeie) and the Philippine toad (Bufo marinus). Lizards and salamanders have also been observed to be disappearing, Bestre said.
   
   The loss of amphibians, particularly in Benguet is caused by excessive use of pesticides, herbicides, inorganic fertilizers and other chemicals, Bestre believes. Benguet is the country's heaviest pesticide user, spending more than $240 million a year, a study by the chemical company former Ciba Geigy revealed. The Benguet-based environmental ngo ITAG which is in environmental and agricultural research added that chemicals have combined effects which can offset or kill large populations of amphibians through chemical contamination, oestrogenic effects and acid precipitation. These are particularly caused by fertilizers and herbicides. Organochlorine pesticides like endosulfan are potential poisons to amphibians as shown by their toxic effects on fishes, frogs and tadpoles when they find their way to rivers and springwaters, ITAG added.
   
   Disease Outbreak

2. 2. yehey! News

   news.yehey.com/news3.asp?c=8&i - [Cached]

   Last Visited: 12/24/2003

   "For the past decade, there are no longer edible frogs that were once abundant in the Balili River," reports Dr. Erlinda Bestre, a zoology professor at the Benguet State University (BSU).
   
   She compares the fate of the bullfrog to that of field and water frogs that were once common in Benguet ponds. She also believes that the banana and garden frogs, two of only five known species in the Cordillera region, "are already threatened."