Gavino Trono

Gavino Trono Jr. (born 1931) is a Filipino marine biologist dubbed as the "Father of Kappaphycus farming".[1] He was conferred the rank of National Scientist of the Philippines for contributions to the study of tropical marine phycology, focusing on seaweed biodiversity. He is currently a professor emeritus of the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute.

Gavino C. Trono Jr.
Born (1931-11-11) November 11, 1931
Philippines
Alma materUniversity of the Philippines Diliman
De La Salle-Araneta University
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Known forSeaweed Farming
AwardsNational Scientist of the Philippines
Scientific career
FieldsBiology

Education and career

Trono obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in botany from the University of the Philippines Diliman, his master's degree in agricultural botany from the Araneta University and his doctorate in (marine) botany from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Trono’s dissertation is considered as among the most important body of work on the diversity and ecology of algae in Micronesia. In the resulting publications, he described 11 new seaweed taxa from the area,[2] 8 of which (i.e., Avrainvillea hollenbergii Trono, Boodleopsis carolinensis Trono, Ceramium koronense Trono, Chlorodesmis dotyi Trono, Derbesia padinae Trono, Microdictyon mokilensis Trono, Spyridia velasquezii Trono, Sphacelaria carolinensis Trono) are currently accepted taxonomically.His research focuses on seaweeds including studies on the culture of Eucheuma denticulatum, Kappaphycus alvarezii, Gracilaria spp., Caulerpa lentillifera, and Halymenia durvillei for coastal communities.[3] He wrote an academic paper reporting the occurrence of ice-ice disease that had affected seaweed farms.[4] This disease devastated the commercial production of seaweed in the Philippines.[4] The seaweed is farmed for the food additive carrageenan.[5]

Trono led the assessment of several coastal areas in Western Mindanao as potential sites for seaweed farms; and discovered twenty-five (25) new marine benthic algae.[4] He also established the largest phycological herbarium in the country – the G.T. Velasquez Herbarium[6] in the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Marine Science Institute[7] and authored two-volume books on Field Guide and Atlas of the Seaweed Resources of the Philippines, considered as the most authoritative books in the country on the seaweed flora.[8]

Trono was conferred the rank of National Scientist of the Philippines in 2014 by Benigno Aquino III, the President of the Philippines. This award has been made to just over thirty leading scientists and this gives them a pension of life as well as a seat at important national ceremonies.[1] The award was for his contributions to tropical marine phycology, focusing on seaweed biodiversity.[9]

Awards and recognition

References
  1. "Dr. Trono is the New National Scientist". Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  2. Trono, G.C., Jr (1972 '1971'). Some new species of marine benthic algae from the Caroline Islands, western-central Pacific. Micronesica 7: pages 45-77, 10 pls.
  3. "National Scientists | PNoy confers honors on Alcala, Trono, Gomez, Barba". August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  4. "Academician Gavino C. Trono, Jr. is National Scientist". Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  5. Hurtado, A. J., et al. (2006). Occurrence of Polysiphonia epiphytes in Kappaphycus farms at Calaguas Is., Camarines Norte, Philippines. Archived 2014-10-20 at the Wayback Machine Journal of Applied Phycology 18: pages 301-06.
  6. "The Gregorio T. Velasquez Phycological Herbarium (MSI): A Legacy and National Heritage". philjournalsci.dost.gov.ph. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  7. Sabillo, Kristine Angelli (August 12, 2014). "Who are the 4 new National Scientists of PH?". Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  8. Panares, Joyce Pangco (March 21, 2014). "Aquino names UP marine expert national scientist". Manila Standard Today. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  9. Proclamation no. 737, s. 2014, retrieved 29 August 2014
  10. Ganzon-Fortes, E.T. (1983). Laurencia tronoi (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales), a new species from Calatagan, Batangas, Philippines. Kalikasan, Philippine Journal of Biology 11: pages 404-409, 2 figs.
  11. Santiañez, Wilfred John E.; Lee, Kyung Min; Uwai, Shinya; Kurihara, Akira; Geraldino, Paul John L.; Ganzon-Fortes, Edna T.; Boo, Sung Min; Kogame, Kazuhiro (2018-01-01). "Untangling nets: elucidating the diversity and phylogeny of the clathrate brown algal genus Hydroclathrus, with the description of a new genus Tronoella (Scytosiphonaceae, Phaeophyceae)". Phycologia. 57 (1): 61–78. doi:10.2216/17-68.1. ISSN 0031-8884. S2CID 90610314.
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