José Ignacio Márquez-Corro

José Ignacio Márquez-Corro

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

The Philippines 2024

Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao

Fieldwork associated with 'The Global Cyperaceae Database (GCypD)' project (PI: Pedro Jiménez-Mejías)

In this trip I aimed to visit some of the main herbaria in the Philippines (PNH, USTH, CAHUP, CMUH) and to collect Cyperaceae from this undercollected archipelago to enhance sedge knowledge.

Day 1 (May 9th, 2024): I started my trip with a flight from Sevilla (SVQ) to Vienna (VIE).

Day 2 (May 10th, 2024): After arriving in Vienna (VIE), I flew to Bangkok (BKK) and then continued on to Manila (MNL), arriving late at night.

Day 3 (May 11th, 2024): The day was spent buying food and preparing for the following days.

Day 4 (May 12th, 2024): Day off, a bit of sightseeing.

Day 5 (May 13th, 2024): I visited University of Santo Tomás Herbarium (USTH), where I got to meet some of the amazing researchers and students, while going through the sedge collection.

Day 6 (May 14th, 2024): I had a productive day at the Philippine National Herbarium (PNH).

Day 7 (May 15th, 2024): Another day of work in PNH.

Day 8 (May 16th, 2024): I took the flight from Manila (MNL) to Bohol (TAG).

Day 9 (May 17th, 2024): Visited the iconic Chocolate Hills, followed by a hike in Raja National Park expecting to photograph some sedges.

Day 10 (May 18th, 2024): Took the day off to explore the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary. Please, if you would like to see tarsiers, visit this one close to Corella. It is the only one that aims to protect the species rather than show it in cages.

Day 11 (May 19th, 2024): Returned to Manila (MNL), followed by travel to Los Baños.

Day 12 (May 20th, 2024): Spent the day working at the College of Agriculture Herbarium University of the Philippines (CAHUP) where I also met amazing researchers and students.

Day 13 (May 21st, 2024): Another workday at CAHUP.

Day 14 (May 22nd, 2024): I traveled from Los Baños to Manila.

Day 15 (May 23rd, 2024): I went again to the PNH.

Day 16 (May 24th, 2024): Spent the day working from home (as PNH was closed).

Day 17 (May 25th, 2024): Another day working from home.

Day 18 (May 26th, 2024): I continued working from home and rested a bit.

Day 19 (May 27th, 2024): Went back to PNH.

Day 20 (May 28th, 2024): Continued work in PNH.

Day 21 (May 29th, 2024): The last full day working at PNH.

Day 22 (May 30th, 2024): Prepared all the sampling from PNH with Jomar, and then returned to the hotel to prepare for the flight next day.

Day 23 (May 31st, 2024): I flew from Manila (MNL) to Davao (DVO) and waited for the Expedition 06 team to make our way to Central Mindanao University (CMU). The team included Peter W. Fritsch, Manu Dal Forno, Darin S. Penneys, Vanessa Handley, Jim Shevock and John Brinda.

Day 24 (June 1st, 2024): Spent the day at CMU, buying supplies for future work.

Day 25 (June 2nd, 2024): The day was spent buying more supplies for the field and finishing the plans.

Day 26 (June 3rd, 2024): We traveled to the northern area of Mt. Kitanglad, around the Dahilayan IP Eco Park & Resort.

Day 27 (June 4th, 2024): Spent the day sampling.

Day 28 (June 5th, 2024): Continued sampling.

Day 29 (June 6th, 2024): Another day of fieldwork.

Day 30 (June 7th, 2024): Last day of fieldwork in the area.

Day 31 (June 8th, 2024): Returned to CMU, where we had some time for processing the data.

Day 32 (June 9th, 2024): Spent the day processing data and collecting supplies at CMU.

Day 33 (June 10th, 2024): The day was focused on further processing and supplies at CMU.

Day 34 (June 11th, 2024): Spent the day continuing the work at CMU processing data and organizing supplies.

Day 35 (June 12th, 2024): Traveled to Lilingayon early in the morning for a ritual and to set up tents at the site. We did some minor collecting in the afternoon.

Day 36 (June 13th, 2024): Continued sampling.

Day 37 (June 14th, 2024): Last day of sampling at the Lilingayon site.

Day 38 (June 15th, 2024): Traveled back to CMU for more work and processing.

Day 39 (June 16th, 2024): Another day at CMU to catch up on work and prepare for the next phase of our journey.

Day 40 (June 17th, 2024): A quiet day due to the bank holiday.

Day 41 (June 18th, 2024): I visited the collection at Central Mindanao University Herbarium (CMUH), where I met the herbarium staff.

Day 42 (June 19th, 2024): Continued working at CMUH. Late at night, we traveled from CMU to Surigao.

Day 43 (June 20th, 2024): Traveled to Dinagat Island, had a courtesy call, and spent the evening at the hotel at San José.

Day 44 (June 21st, 2024): We departed to Mt. Redondo for sampling, and set camp at an old mining site. We went uphill to collect in one of the ultramafic areas in the south.

Day 45 (June 22nd, 2024): First full day of collecting in Mt. Redondo, we went to a site north of the camp.

Day 46 (June 23rd, 2024): We went again to the same place as the previous day, continuing further.

Day 47 (June 24th, 2024): Last day of collecting, we did an even further journey to collect at top site of the highest peaks. Covered by leaches and with a terrible weather, we made it back safely.

Day 48 (June 25th, 2024): We woke up early to walk down the mountain, to then travel to San José by bus, then made my way to Surigao by boat, and later to Valencia City in the van, arriving at the hotel late at night.

Day 49 (June 26th, 2024): Jef, Shiella, and Mavs gave a talk about their research and we close the expedition with a team dinner.

Day 50 (June 27th, 2024): I worked at CMUH for a last time, then traveled to Davao (DVO) for an evening flight.

Day 51 (June 28th, 2024): Caught the Davao (DVO) to Manila (MNL) flight (02:05). Afterward, I went straight to the hotel to slep for few hours. Then from Manila (MNL) to Singapore (SIN), before continuing my journey to Munich (MUC) late at night.

Day 52 (June 29th, 2024): I arrived in Munich (MUC), and from there flew to Sevilla (SVQ) early in the morning, bringing the journey to a close.