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Two Botanists and conservationists within a week. They say it was a case of one being depressed by the passing (killing) of the other [update: Gabriel C. Barretto says this is not the case since Dan did not know of Leonard's killing, see comment below.] Dan and Leonard are colleagues who shared passion for mother nature.
Daniel or Sir Dan to his students is one of those teachers from the Institute of Biology who I frequently chance upon while going to and from CASAA to the Llamas Science Hall. I never really talked to him. There was no reason to.
He passed away because of cancer.
Here is the abstract of his (probably) last paper.
R. S. Gonzales, N. R. Ingle, D. A. Lagunzad, and T. Nakashizuka, Seed Dispersal by Birds and Bats in Lowland Philippine Forest Successional Area, Biotropica 41(2009). doi: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00501.x
Dan Lagunzad, the Biology teacher (courtesy: Krisha's multiply site)
In the tropical forests of South East Asia, only a few studies have dealt with the role animal dispersal plays in early forest succession and rehabilitation, and a comparison of bird and bat dispersal is even rarer. We investigated seed dispersal by birds and bats in a successional area in the lowland dipterocarp forest of the Subic Watershed Forest Reserve (SWFR) in Luzon Island, Philippines. Using pairs of day and night traps, we collected seeds during 3 mo of wet season and 3 mo of dry season in a 1.2-ha study site. Bird-dispersed seeds predominated over those dispersed by bats in terms of both seed abundance and number of seed species. The most abundant endozoochorous seed species were significantly biased toward either bird or bat dispersal. Birds and bats appeared to compete more strongly for fruit resources during the dry season than during the wet season, and bats responded more to changes in the seasons than birds did. General Linear Modelling analyses showed that the factor that had the strongest influence on overall seed distribution was the number of fleshy-fruited trees surrounding the traps, and that the distribution pattern of day-dispersed seeds was affected by more physical factors (number of trees, size of trees, presence of fleshy-fruited and conspecific trees) in the study site than the pattern of night-dispersed seeds were. Given that birds are the more important dispersers in the study site, restoration efforts in SWFR might benefit by focusing on attracting these dispersers into its degraded habitats.
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I have always admired my Uncle Dan from a distant….his brilliance, dedication and passion for his work. His influence has no bounds. He took care of me when I was young and he became my friend later in life. I will cherish every moment he had together. I will miss you with all my heart….
He will surely be missed.
Hi, I am truly saddened by his sudden death. He’s a dear uncle whose sense of humour, brilliance and care is left unnoticed. He truly is a great man. He will greatly be missed. Can I repost a piece of his abstract in my site? Thank you.
Sure, of course! I also have the complete article if you want. Just email me and I’ll reply with the paper as attachment.
I remember meeting Dr. Leonard Co and Dr. Dan Lagunzad many years ago and taking our plants samples to their lab. I was always impressed with their work. They’re one of a kind and the Philippines best. The loss Dr. Co and also Dr. Lagunzad is sad and tragic news. But they left behind a legacy that will always be remembered. Thanks to them many plants were named and identified and confirmed that the Philippines is indeed rich and a beautiful country. Filipinos will always (and should) be grateful to them. They’re one of a kind and Philippines best.
I would like to correct the misleading impression stated above “They say it was a case of one being depressed by the passing (killing) of the other.” Kuya Dan my brother -in-law died not knowing Leonard died while Leonard Co died not knowing that that Kuya Dan was dying of cancer (a handful of people only knew that fact).
I hope this set the record straight.
Thank you.
Gabriel C. Barretto
brother of Dr. Catherine Genevieve Barretto-Lagunzad
Thank you very much for the correction. I will incorporate this in my updated post.
My deepest and most sincere condolences to Cathy & her family, Dan’s family, Leonard’s wife and daughter. Losing two friends within days of each other is hard to believe. Memories flood my mind of times we spent together on Mt Pulag and in the halls of the 4th pavilion – BotSoc tambayan and the Herbarium. Maybe someday we’ll raise a canteen cup of gin bulag and reminisce.
Imagine going to the wake of our dear Leonard one morning and there meet a former professor, a little while later learn that they had just come from the wake of another dear friend, Dan. It was unbelievable made worst by one’s inability to readily rush to Cathy’s side. I will always be grateful to these two great men for allowing me to be a part of their lives and for the things they have shared and taught me..Thank you Leonard and Dan!
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