https://www.facebook.com/115896733108357/

USM Biology Club - Green Warriors, University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, Cotabato (2026)

Q: What is the address?

University Of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan

15/01/2026

An End for a Beginning: An Octopus’s Life Ends in Reproduction

Octopuses die after a single successful reproduction—one of the reproductive strategies known as semelparity. After mating and laying their eggs, they fall into a state of senescence, a rapid and hormonally regulated decline rather than a gradual wear-and-tear mechanism. Associated with senescence is the optic gland that becomes active after a successful reproduction and releases a cascade of hormones that completely disrupts hormonal balance and behavior. This causes the octopus to stop feeding even when food is available, tissues break down, and the body prioritizes the survival of offspring than its own maintenance marking its final life stage.

Due to senescence, male octopuses weaken and die shortly after mating, while females devote their remaining energy to caring for their eggs without feeding—ensuring that the offspring survives. Once the eggs hatch, the mother octopus dies soon after. Although this might seem unusual, this mechanism prevents competition between parents and offspring, thereby securing the survival of the next generation. In octopuses and other semelparous organisms, senescence is not a biological failure, but the completion of their life’s purpose.

31/12/2025

As we welcome 2026, we celebrate life in all its forms—learning, growing, and moving forward together. Happy New Year!

31/12/2025

𝗣𝗮𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗸 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻: 𝗔𝗻 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲

New Year celebration in the Philippines is marked by fireworks and other loud explosives meant to ward off bad luck. It may be an exciting tradition among Filipinos, but the explosions have detrimental impacts on the wildlife that are often overlooked.

Animals have far more sensitive hearing than humans; thus, loud noises from fireworks can feel terrifying and threatening to them. For instance, birds take flight in response to blasting fireworks. This sudden escape often leads to disorientation, exhaustion, and abandonment of nests or even entire colonies. Noise disturbances caused by explosives are not confined to habitat abandonment; they also reduce the breeding success of a species, particularly among birds.

Mammals are no different in their response to firecrackers. Sudden, loud explosions trigger stress-induced fight-or-flight responses, causing animals to flee from shelters, cross unsafe areas, or display prolonged anxiety. A survey from New Zealand indicated that 74.4% of companion animals, from horses to small mammals, exhibited fear responses to fireworks, highlighting the widespread and intense reactions across species.

Elevated stress levels, disrupted normal behavior patterns, and habitat displacement reduce the survival chances of every species. Although fireworks last only for a short time that brings a momentary joy for humans, they come with prolonged disturbances to wildlife. Hence, welcoming the New Year should not come at the expense of wildlife welfare; instead, we must engage in responsible and compassionate celebrations.

✍️: Jasrine Saad
💻: Ehrin Rico Funa

28/12/2025

𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 | 𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬🕸️

As we delve into biology, it comes with an enthralling realization that the world is vast, and life is an intricate tapestry woven through interactions of all its components. Nature is compellingly complex in its own way, and Ecology uncovers its beautiful network of life.

The Department of Biological Sciences offers Ecology as a major for 3rd–year biology students. Ecology is a branch of biology that explores the existing relationships within nature—from the connection of organisms with various ecosystems to interactions between different species. It reveals how life interrelates, adapts, and sustains ecosystems. Furthermore, ecology sheds light on the implicit truth that life does not exist in isolation but thrives within networks that govern ecosystems and organize the natural world.

Pursuing ecology provides students with knowledge in conservation, research, environmental management, and sustainability, which can be applied for future professional pursuits. Moreover, studying ecology is not confined in classrooms and textbooks; it requires fieldwork for data collection that may shape environmental decisions. Hence, this hands-on experience improves critical thinking, observational skills, and a deeper understanding of the systems that support life on Earth.

Explore the hidden connections of life! Dive into Ecology and discover how you can make a profound impact on the environment.

✍️: Jasrine Saad

27/12/2025

𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 | 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆🐈

Why Choose Animal Biology?
Animal Biology is a specific field of Biology that focuses on the different processes and systems that an animal and its body goes through. It explores various fields that enable students to gain both practical and technical skills. As a pre-med program, it provides substantial knowledge on biological sciences and chemistry that are key topics in medical school.

Animal Biology: An Introduction
Animal Biology is one of the 3 majors offered under Bachelor of Science in Biology. Rising from the Department of Biological Sciences of College of Science and Mathematics, Animal Biology has strong links to the medical field, making it a suitable pre-med program.

Scope of Animal Biology
Animal Biology covers topics on both the smallest and largest animals. Students majoring this program gain profound knowledge of aforementioned animal classifications from a structural and functional perspective as they engage in carefully curated activities and lessons.

Fields of Animal Biology
In relation to the program’s scope, the major offers course subjects that discuss structure, function and systems of animal anatomy that is essential to their survival.

Expectations of Animal Biology
Animal Biology majors engage in both field and laboratory activities. As an Animal Biology major, you are expected to participate in such activities. Aligned with the requirements of fundamental course subjects, field laboratories are conducted.

Background in Excellence
The Department of Biological Sciences in which the program BS Biology is under is enlisted and recognized as the only Center of Development in Biology in SOCCKSARGEN.

Animal Biology as a Pre-med Program
Animal Biology is an ideal premedical program. It equips students with strong biological foundation. It is also flexible, as it tackles core subjects like cell biology, molecular biology and chemistry that is essential for med school.

Job/Career Opportunities
BS Biology degree holders majoring in Animal Biology faces diverse career paths and job opportunities. They can proceed to fields such as academe or research, or focus on specialized fields such as zoology, animal conservation and animal care.

Join us in Animal Biology!
So what are you waiting for? Join us and let’s explore together the vast world of Animal Biology. Engage in the fun, participate in the learning and discover your destiny. Excellence starts here!

✍️ Christine Reponte

26/12/2025

𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗦𝗖𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 | 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗢𝗚𝗬 🌱

Did you know that every ecosystem, every meal, and every breath starts with plants?

Choosing Plant Biology as your major means exploring the science behind how plants grow, adapt, reproduce, and sustain life on Earth. From the microscopic processes inside plant cells to real-world fieldwork in forests and farms, this major lets you study life where it all begins.

As a Plant Biology major, you won’t just learn from textbooks—you’ll experience biology through hands-on laboratory work, field studies, and research activities that deepen your understanding of plants and their vital role in our environment.

This path opens doors to careers in research, agriculture, environmental science, biotechnology, conservation, and education, while also providing a strong foundation for medicine and other life-science professions.

If you’re curious about nature, passionate about sustainability, and eager to make a real-world impact—Plant Biology is for you.

🌿 Be part of the future.
📚 Be part of USM BS Biology.

✍️ Ashley Tiad
💻 Ehrin Rico Funa

25/12/2025

Caffeine Heroics: How Coffee Tricks the Brain into Alertness

When tasks require an active mind even late at night, schedules become hectic, and when sleep cannot be an option amid the working chaos, everyone’s favorite companion is never absent. Coffee is the savior of every sleepless night that you must survive. It never misses the moments when drowsiness is barely acknowledged, and rest is postponed. But how did coffee become the hero it is now? One thing is certain—it does not actually give us energy.

Our brain produces adenosine, a chemical that binds to a receptor that signals the need for sleep or rest. This chemical continuously increases in concentration with every waking minute that elapses; the longer we are awake, the more adenosine accumulates. When adenosine level peaks, an irresistible urge to sleep hits us. Coffee does not provide energy to fight drowsiness. Instead, caffeine—a key component of coffee—blocks adenosine receptors and prevents adenosine from binding. Consequently, the brain is tricked into staying active that keeps us awake and alert.

However, caffeine does not remove adenosine; it only blocks its effects. Hence, adenosine continues to build up as we stay awake under the influence of coffee. Once the caffeine dismantles, the accumulated adenosine binds rapidly to its receptors, causing extreme tiredness and sleepiness. This sudden drop of alertness that makes us collapse from fatigue is known as “caffeine crash”.

Ultimately, coffee is not a source of energy but merely an illusion that delays our brain’s call for rest. It lends us alertness that must be eventually repaid with sleep. Hence, coffee must not be taken for granted, as too much amount interferes with the body’s circadian rhythm and leaves us more exhausted in the long run.

25/12/2025

Mano po ninong, mano po ninang🎶

🎦: MELASON

24/12/2025

𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀, 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝘀! 🎄🧬

May your holidays be as lively as an ecosystem, as bright as a microscope field, and as refreshing as a well-balanced habitat. 🌿
Enjoy the break, recharge your cells, and come back ready for another year of discovery, data, and fieldwork.

Happy Holidays ! 💚

📷: Maria Michaella Yuson

19/12/2025

𝗕𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗲

December has arrived, and houses glow with vibrant Christmas decorations. Among the twinkling lights and festive ornaments hangs mistletoe—a beloved holiday accent that is common to Western countries. But high in the treetops, beyond the celebrations, it lives a completely different life.

Mistletoe is an above-ground hemiparasitic plant that grow from seedlings and germinate on the aerial parts of another plant. Unlike most plants, it lacks true roots that can absorb water and minerals from soil; instead, it has a haustorium—a specialized structure that penetrates and attaches to the host’s vascular tissue. Furthermore, mistletoe seeds are adapted to adhere to tree branches rather than germinate in soil.

Mistletoe, like all hemiparasites, partially rely on its host for water and other nutrients, and is capable of photosynthesizing to produce its own sugar, unlike holoparasites that are entirely dependent on the host plant for their nutritional requirements. However, as mistletoe inhabits above-ground, soil nutrients become unavailable to them, thus it absorbs these substances from its host. Although this parasitism cannot totally kill the plant, prolonged infestation can still weaken the tree, making it vulnerable to stress.

✍️: Jasrine Saad
💻: Ehrin Rico Funa

USM Biology Club - Green Warriors

15/01/2026

31/12/2025

31/12/2025

28/12/2025

27/12/2025

26/12/2025

25/12/2025

25/12/2025

24/12/2025

19/12/2025

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share