The Protected Area of the Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS) was proposed for expansion in 2016 to protect the remaining biodiversity of the buffer zones and to fortify the core zone. This study provides data on avifaunal assemblage and assessment on the added value of the ca. 2.99 km 2 MHRWS expansion sites to the already protected zone. A combination of transect line survey and mist netting technique were used to sample bird species in four sampling sites in the MHRWS expansion sites. Our inventory of the MHRWS expansion sites revealed 41 species of birds distributed to 10 orders, 24 families and 34 genera. This adds 24 avifauna species to the previously reported birds in Mt. Hamiguitan Range making it a home to 83 species. The low species diversity in the MHRWS expansion sites could be attributed to the poor soil, low forest productivity and habitat loss. The presence of threatened and endemic species of birds in the Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary expansion sites appeals for conservation initiatives by the stakeholders.

The forest patches of Marilog District, Davao are the remnants of various anthropogenic activities including logging, conversion of land for agriculture, ecotourism and human settlements.  Floristic study was carried out in 2018–2019 from 100 established plots measuring 20 x 20 m, with repeated transect walks and opportunistic sampling along forest trails.  One-hundred-and-four species of understory flowering plants were identified from 102 genera and 40 families.  Species diversity mean values across study sites using Simpson’s (D) and Shannon-Wiener index (H’) were 0.97 and 3.9, respectively.  Species diversity was highest in sites 2 and 4 (D = 0.98; H’ = 4.0 each) and lowest in site 5 (D = 0.96; H’ = 3.7).  At family level, the most abundant taxa include Zingiberaceae (26 species) (15%), Orchidaceae (19 species) (11%), Gesneriaceae (14 species) (8%), and Rubiaceae and Arecaceae (13 species each) (7%).  Conservation status assessment using International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) revealed 10 threatened species, while listing from the Philippines’ administrative order has categorized 13 threatened species.  A total of 54 species (ca. 1.14% of the total Philippine endemic vascular flora) of understory flowering plants were Philippine endemics.  Findings of this study were used as additional data for the proclamation of Mt. Malambo as Local Conservation Area, which was formalized through a barangay resolution.

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Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the biodiversity hotspots in the Mindanao faunal region, which is home to about 21 species of mammals. This study provides data on mammal assemblage and assessment on the added value of the ca. 2.99 km2 MHRWS expansion sites to the already protected zone. Faunistic inventory and assessment documented 19 species of mammals belonging to 16 genera, eight families and five orders. This adds nine species to the previously reported mammals of Mt. Hamiguitan range making it a home to 30 species. Relatively low diversity of mammals (H’=0.615) in the expansion sites is attributed to poor soil resulting to low forest productivity and habitat loss due to mining, logging and shifting cultivation. This unique assemblage of vulnerable and endemic species of bats and mammals in Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary expansion sites calls for more sampling effort and conservation strategies to maintain its bat and mammal assemblage.