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2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition

The California Academy of Sciences is doing a comprehensive survey of both terrestrial and marine diversity. Between April 26 and June 10, 2011, Academy botanists, entomologists and marine biologists, will explore shallow-water reefs, the deep sea, and terrestrial and freshwater areas for new life and document the biodiversity of this island nation. Educational outreach will also be conducted in the Republic of the Philippines.

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The work is being done in order to protect, we need to understand what exists. Scientists will document species diversity, ecosystem diversity (number, type and structure of species in a particular area) and genetic diversity (total gene characteristics). It’s critical to get these data as a baseline for future needs.

Scientists estimate that more than 70% of the species on this planet have yet to be discovered. In fact, our scientists have been diving in the Philippines since 1992 and continue to discover new species on every trip.

UPDATE: June 28, 2011 from Gizmodo

Expedition Finds 300 Species in One Trip to the Philippines

For most of us, discovering a new species is a big deal. So it's always a little startling when you hear about some expedition rolling out of bed and stumbling into 300 undocumented species in one trip to the Philippines.

The California Academy of Sciences claims they found a "new species during nearly every dive and hike" during their expedition, which really sounds more like bragging than anything else. Even though the team documented their findings with some pretty gorgeous photos, the species will still have to be confirmed under microscope before the number is official. But considering scientists estimate 90 percent of the world's species are still undiscovered, the number isn't too hard to swallow.

We'd be lying if we didn't admit that "photos of a never before seen slug" are a lot more alluring than "pretty pictures of some slug we found," so fingers crossed that they come back positive. [CAS via IBTimes]