SCITECH RECENTLY: Researchers Explore Sea Snake Evolution through ImageJ and RStudio on Day Two of Seminar-Workshop

By: Julia Melisse Tungol

The second day of the Sea Snake Seminar and Workshop was held on August 15 at SOLE of the UST Main Building. 25 sea snake enthusiasts and herpetology researchers gathered at the workshop portion to have a fuller experience of sea snake taxonomy research. They were taught the application of ImageJ and RStudio, softwares used for image and quantitative data processing respectively, in investigating the evolution and diversity of sea snakes.

The first session of the workshop focused on the comparative analysis of the sea snakes’ vertebral profile in the context of phylogenetics. The goal of this activity is the successful mapping of their phylogeny based on ecology and morphological traits. Participants were taught to use ImageJ to view the X-ray images of several sea snake species, measure their sizes, and count their vertebrae.

One of the guest speakers, Dr. Vhon Oliver Garcia, pointed out that the variations in the vertebral profile of sea snakes have significant implications for their diversification and evolution. When asked what he expected the participants to learn from the workshop, he emphasized that “sea snake [research] does not need to be complicated.” He further explained that museum specimens and an image of their vertebral column are sufficient for understanding their diversity. He hoped the workshop would help promote interest in sea snake research and remove the misconceptions about the species.

In the second session, the guest speakers taught the participants how to edit and run the appropriate scripts on RStudio to visualize and compare differences in the vertebral profile between different species. The speakers then showed and interpreted the graphs and the phylogenetic tree generated by the participants. The workshop concluded with a group discussion between participants.

For Dr. Amelia Pointon, a PhD candidate from the University of Adelaide, sharing her research and introducing people to sea snakes is fun because she has a profound interest in the species. She further stated that their team’s goal is to encourage students to work on sea snakes in the Philippines because little is known about their biodiversity despite their richness in the area.

Photos by: Julia Melisse Tungol