Sampling strategies and tissue biobank: Favoring quality and innovation for the Philippine Marine Mammal Research and Stranding Laboratory

• Main Authors: Bondoc, Jonah L., Paran, Faith Jessica M., Aragones, Lemnuel V.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2014
• Subjects: Biobanks—Philippines; Biological specimens—Collection and preservation—Philippines; Marine mammals; Laboratory and Basic Science Research; Marine Biology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/6686
• Institution: De La Salle University

Paramount to the future scientific usefulness of biological samples is the collection and storage procedure. This serves as the initial step to ensure the success of subsequent analyses and correct data interpretation. However, the lack to no information of proper sampling and storage protocols will have profound negative impact on the scientific results from possible integrative research opportunities in the Philippines where preponderance of marine mammal stranding events have been reported and recorded. Moreover, the multiple biological tissue samples which can be (1) collected from one of the best sentinels of ocean health and (2) optimized for further understanding of marine environmental changes will be deemed useless. Therefore, it is recommended to develop protocols targeting an improved Philippine marine mammal research. In this presentation, we describe (1) marine mammal tissue sampling strategies suited for the country, and recommended (2) establishment of systematized Philippine Marine Mammal Tissue Bank (PMMTB) which will be located in the Marine Mammal Research and Stranding Laboratory (MMRSL) of the Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology (IESM), University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD). These sampling guidelines and storage research design will ultimately (1) facilitate systematic and long-term monitoring program, (2) provide a competitive edge for the country in producing high quality marine mammal research results, (3) optimize utility samples from stranded marine mammals, and (4) develop effective conservation measures. With the involvement of some government agencies such as BFAR and the Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network (PMMSN) regional chapters and stranding responders with the scientific advocacies of IESM’s MMRSL, the maintenance of a purposeful sample and data saturation will greatly maximize research productivity.