*ting ting tiiing* the alarm
rings as I furiously get up and get ready for the day’s activities. I had to
wake up at 3am on a Saturday morning because we were heading to a place where
some of us are unfamiliar of. Ten minutes before 4, I was already walking to our
place of assembly. By 5am, we were off to the North – San Miguel, Bulacan. It
was a long trip, considering the fact that we came from the Southernmost part
of Luzon (Laguna) to North (specifically to the northernmost town of Bulacan),
also, there was heaving traffic upon arriving Bulacan. But the long hours of
sitting in the van, butt aches and stiffed necks, all were worth it as we
arrived and witnessed the beauty of the caves in Biak Na Bato National Park.
We only got to visit two caves,
the Santol Cave and the Bahay Paniki. The former was a cave that had all the
life zones – entrance zone, twilight zone, deep zone, while the latter was
basically an open cave, like a big chamber, with huge entrances and exits for
the species living in it.
We conducted our cave mapping in
the Santol Cave. The photo above is the cave entrance, and its coordinates are
N: 15.1125°, E: 121.0709°
UTM: 29’28’30 N; 16’71’445 E
Elevation: 107.0
Orientation of entrance: Southwest
The physical parameters and data for
cave mapping gathered inside the cave will be seen in the succeeding tables.
Table 1. Physical Parameters measured in Santol Cave
Table
1 shows four basic physical parameters measured in the Santol Cave, namely,
light intensity, relative humidity, air temperature and airflow/wind speed. These
measurements were measured in every 5 meters. In the light intensity, it can be
seen that as we progressively moved deeper and farther from the entrance, the
light decreased until it became 0. This is the part of the dark zone of the
cave. In the relative humidity, it should become stable then go higher but
the data showed inconsistency in the results. Same goes for the air
temperature, the deeper the area or zone of the cave, the higher and more
stable the temperature should be felt, yet our data shows variations of temperature per
station. As for the airflow/air speed, it was not measured due to our limited
instruments.
The
following data was gathered for the mapping of the cave. The tape measure was
used in measuring the distances from one station to the next, held by the Lead
Instrument. The other end of the tape measure was held by the Rear Instrument,
together with another person measuring the angle and clinometer using the
compass. The Sketcher was assigned in drawing the map and the Book
recorded all the data measured by the Lead and Rear Instruments.
Date:
Feb 18, 2017 Time: 10:30 am
Weather
condition: Sunny
Name
of Cave: Santol Cave
Location:
Biak-na-Bato National Park, San Miguel,
Bulacan
Survey
Team: Bio 154 Cave Ecology Class Survey Grade 3
Table
2. Measurements for Cave Mapping
Table 2 shows the data from
station to station, with varying distances. A station is set from the entrance (marked
as 0) to the next spot that is still visible from the previous station. This went
on until station 13 and the maximum length should only be 20m. In our case, our
longest distance was from stations 12 to 13 which was 19.76m away from each
other. We also determined the angle for each station, using a compass. The clinometer
was also used in stations where there are steps. Each station’s width and
height were also determined, which can be seen in the table as left and right,
up and down, respectively. For stations that are chamber-like, the front left,
back left, front right and back right were also estimated. The geologic
formations, like stalactites, stalagmites and columns, found on each station
were also noted, as can be seen in the red words beside the table.
This is the map that we have
sketched based on the measurements taken during the cave mapping, also
considering the sketch of the Sketcher.
Table 3. Geologic formations,
flora and fauna, and disturbances found in every station
Table 3 shows the geologic
formations, fauna and flora present and the anthropogenic disturbances found in
every station to the next. The flora found are basically recorded in the
entrances since they can only be found where light is available for them. Diverse
groups of fauna were found inside, like the mollusk shell which was found in
almost all stations. Cave arthropods like the whip spider, cave crickets and
three other unidentified insects were also found living inside it. A bat, Miniopterus schreibersi, was also
captured while a mist net was held while walking inside the cave. A frog
endemic to the Biak-Na-Bato National Park, Platymantis
biak, was also seen in one of the stations. Not only species of plants and
animals were found inside the cave, but also the litter of irresponsible tourists,
like candy wrappers, plastic bottles, slippers, and the like.
The picture shows a cavity or small depression inside the
cave, full of guano.
These are the nature’s beautiful creations of stalactites and a column found inside the cave.
[From L to R]: Panch, Clarice, Bill and Jas pose for a
picture after measuring the different physical parameters.
Of course, I also wanted to pose
with the beautiful formation as a souvenir!
This is the Platymantis
biak, a frog species endemic to the Biak-Na-Bato National Park.
Another species of frog, the Polypedates leucomystax, was also found at the cave entrance.
The Miniopterus
schreibersi was captured
in the Sagala (2 people walking inside the cave, each holding a bamboo stick which are
connected by a mist net for capturing bats).
After
lunch, we went off to the Bahay ng Paniki, which houses hundreds of bats
roosting on the cave ceiling. A 4-km walk from the start point or the entrance
of the National Park was worth it because this cave is a majestic one! The picture
below shows one of the entrances to the cave.
Upon entering the cave, another cave entrance was found on
the ceiling part. This is especially useful for the species of bats present in
the cave.
[from L to R]: Fayte, Panch, Clarice, Myka, Jas, Allyssa, Gelie, Bill, Meryl, Jayson J
Posing with my BIO 154 classmates for a picture, having
those beautiful formations behind us.
Below these rocks is a clean stream of water, where we were
able to wash our feet.
[from L to R]: Myka, Jas, Allyssa, Fayte, Gelie, Clarice, Bill, Jayson, Panch, Meryl.
Final pose with the remarkable
statues situated at the intersection of the different pathways to the different
caves. As you can see, we are geared with our own helmets, head lamps, boots/rubber shoes, and are wearing long sleeves. Safety and protection are the major priorities! Way to go, classmates!
After a tiring day at the Biak-Na-Bato
National Park, we head back to south. Another long hours of sitting in the van
plus the heavy traffic in Manila were waiting for us. Nonetheless, this trip was
a memorable one for me. Not only did I enjoy it, I also learned a lot of new
things. The 5-hour trip from south to north and the 1-hour hike to Bahay Paniki
were definitely worth the pain(s) because the adventure that I experienced was
so much more! I fell in love with the beauty of caves, and I felt the need to
protect these places from human disturbances because of irresponsible tourists.
I fell in love with the wonders of nature’s creation, how it perfectly formed its
magnificent formations. I fell in love with the different faunal species
thriving in the caves, knowing that there will always be a place they can call
their home. I fell in love with the plants that welcomes you with the “sceneries”
that you are about to witness. I can definitely say that once you’re exposed to
the field, doing field works, you’ll always be hungry for more. I am so looking forward to our next cave adventure, this time, a more intense one! :)
- Myka Barcena xx
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento