GOSLINER & BURKE: FROM PARACHUTES TO PARTNERSHIPS 
27 
month later, however, we received the shocking news that Leonardo Co, one of the leading 
botanists in the Philippines, and two other members of his research team had been shot and killed 
while conducting their own research in the central part of the country. Leonardo was an amazing 
storehouse of knowledge about Philippine flora and had agreed to participate in the 2011 expedi¬ 
tion. The official, though controversial, report on his death concluded that he had been caught in 
crossfire between rebels and Philippine soldiers. Others claimed that there was no sign of insur¬ 
gents, and that inexperienced soldiers most likely panicked and opened fire when they heard noise 
from the botanical party. Whatever the cause, this was a great tragedy not only for friends and fam¬ 
ily, but also for Philippine science, and a real blow for the expedition, as well as a harsh reminder 
that fieldwork can be dangerous. The next day the second blow fell when we learned that our col¬ 
league and expedition collaborator, Dan Lagunzad, had succumbed to liver cancer. In less than 24 
hours, the Phihppines lost two of its leading botanists. 
A second planning trip was made in January 2011, by Gosliner, Fritsch, and Rich Mooi, the 
leader of the deep-sea component. At the end of this trip, the third blow fell. Geriy Ortega, an 
inspiring environmental leader we had met on the October trip, was murdered in Puerto Princesa, 
Palawan. He had been vocal in opposing mining interests in Palawan and a gunman was hired to 
silence him — another tragic reminder that environmentalism in the Philippines is a heroic and 
often dangerous proposition. His death brought this shocking reality into the stark light of day and 
left us reeling. 
Despite the sadness and sense of loss, the planning continued and we finalized specific dates, 
sites and events for the expedition. 
The Expedition 
The 2011 expedition included a shallow-water component, a deep-sea component, a montane 
rainforest component, animal husbandry research and live animal collection, educational outreach, 
media coverage, and conservation actions. The expedition started at the end of April and ran seven 
weeks, concluding in early June with a symposium of preliminary findings held at UP. There were 
three major scientific teams: a shallow-water and a deep-sea marine team with different partici¬ 
pants but considerable overlap, and a terrestrial team. More than half of the 94 participants were 
Filipino. There were undergraduate and graduate students, aquarium biologists, educators, and 
members of the media, along with the scientists. The number of participants, divei'sity of scientif¬ 
ic disciplines, and research sites are what qualify tliis 2011 Philippine Biodiversity Expedition as 
the largest such expedition ever conducted by the Academy and the largest ever in the Philippines. 
The expedition’s logistics were exceedingly complex to organize and coordinate. The shallow- 
water team (38 participants) operated out of a single base. The deep-sea team (36 participants) 
occupied the research vessel, but moved from place to place every day, and was joined at sea mid¬ 
way by educators and media. The teiTestrial team (39 participants) covered four major sites, one of 
which was located a long day’s travel away fi'om the other localities. Four aquatic biologists from 
the Academy’s Steinhart Aquarium were part of the shallow-water team. The media teams (10 per¬ 
sons) and the educational outreach team (four persons) moved from locality to locality to partici¬ 
pate in all three scientific components. The Aeademy participants arrived in the Philippines over 
the span of four weeks. 
Participants were in the field for differing times, teams moved to different sites, and some par¬ 
ticipants moved between teams —plus all teams had a tremendous amount of gear, supplies, and 
(eventually) specimens that had to be transported with them and often required special treatment. 
This remarkably complex schedule could have been a transportation and logistical nightmare. 
