Turtle Island Marine Natural Park (TIMNP)

Several plant species such as Terminalia catappa, Cocos nucifera, Pandanus tectorius, Barringtonia asiatica, Erythrina indica, Caryota cumingii, Saccharum spontaneum, Calamusmollis sp., Ficus sp., Vitex trifolia, Livistona rotundifolia and Scaevola ceriacea, from ten plant families are recorded in the TIMNP.

Several species of seagrasses were observed and one species, Halophila ovalis, was identified. Fifty seaweed species, 23 of which belong to Class Chlorophyta (green algae), four species to Class Phaeophyta (brown algae) and 23 species to Class Rhodophyta (red algae), were identified. The five most dominant species were Galaxaura marginata, Halimeda velasquezii, H. tuna, Chlorodesmis comosa and Padina australis.

Two endangered species of marine turtles nest in the islands: the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). Another reptile found in the area, the monitor lizard (Varanus salvator), is a natural predator of marine turtle eggs and hatchlings. Another species of lizard (Mabuya sp.) was also identified aside from two species of house lizards (Gecko gekko and Gehyra sp.).

Twelve species of birds were identified: two species, Aplonis p. panayensis and Treron v. vernans, are endemic throughout the Philippine Archipelago while one species, Nectarina jugularis woodi, is endemic in Cagayan de Sulu. Other species of birds commonly observed were the Egretta s. sacra, Ducula p. picheringii, Sterna fuscata nubilosa, Haliaetus leucogaster and Pachycephala cinerea homereyi.

The only mammals observed were rats, Rattus tanezumi, fruit bats and insectivorus bats, aside from the introduced species like cattle, goats, dogs, and cats.

The marine ecosystem contains coral reefs with a relatively fair coverage of 25-50 percent and exhibiting a high diversity level of 24 to 27 genera.

The fish assemblages were dominated mainly by the families Pomacentridae and Labridae. The common species found were Pomacentrus moluccensis, P. vaiuli and P. alexanderae and Thalassoma lunare.