Giant Clam (Taklobo) - Threatened Marine Shellfish

World Ocean Day, June 8, 2026

One Ocean, One Climate, One Future — Together

Giant Clam (Taklobo)

 - Threatened Marine Shellfish

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog [avrotor.blogspot.com]

On-site study. Author helps lift a taklobo specimen for study.

 

 

Seven-kilogram Tridacna is examined by the author's students in Environmental Science, UST Graduate School; bottom photos show closeup of living specimen in its natural habitat at 6 to 14 feet on coral reef of San Salvador Island, east of Masinloc, Zambales.

Facts about the giant clam, Tridacna gigas.

1. In the Philippines it is called taklobo. It is the largest living bivalve mollusk and one of the most endangered clams.

2. It lives on shallow coral reefs of the South Pacific and Indian oceans, up to 20 meters deep.

3. It weighs more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds), and measures as much as 1.2 m (4 feet) across. It has an average lifespan in the wild of 100 years or more.

4. Although larval clams are planktonic, they become sessile in adulthood. Growth is enhanced by the clam's ability to grow algae in symbiosis. The creature's mantle tissues act as a habitat for the symbiotic single-celled dinoflagellate algae (zooxanthellae) from which it gets its nutrition. By day, the clam opens its shell and extends its mantle tissue so that the algae receive the sunlight they need to photosynthesize.

5. T. gigas reproduce sexually. They are hermaphrodites (producing both eggs and sperm), but self fertilization is not possible. Since giant clams can't move across the sea floor, the solution is broadcast spawning. This entails the release of sperm and eggs into the water where fertilization takes place.

Let's protect the giant clams. It's better to be assured they are alive on the seafloor than to have their fossils in our home.~

  

Left, Tridacna graveyard. Mrs Cecilia Rojas Rotor, author's wife 

poses before a giant Tridacna shell as holy water receptacle. 

Mount Carmel Church, QC

References: Living with Nature book series by AVRotor UST Publishing; Marine Biology: An Ecological Approach by JW Nybakken; Wikipedia.

Past lesson on Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class, Monday to Friday

Some Effects of Global Warming

                Some Effects of Global Warming

These are some effects of climate change, particularly global warming, a man-induced phenomenon occurring in our postmodern times. The examples cited in this article, are either the direct or indirect effects, of our ever continuing "modernization" in practically all aspects of our lives - at home, on the farm, in our community, more so in urban and industrial centers. I invite teachers and students to undertake researches on this growing ecological problem gripping the whole world today. It is a big challenge to scholars to give priority to this topic in their undergraduate and graduate studies. Likewise, it is a challenge to our leaders in government, as well as in the private sector, in the formulation and implementation of policies and programs to deal with this worsening problem. This is a continuing compilation of observations at the Living with Nature Center.

Dr Abe V Rotor

 Premature ripening and infestation of Guyabano fruits

  

Damaged honeycomb abandoned by the bees. 

Uneven maturity and sizes of mango fruits

 

Infestation - caterpillar of Papilio butterfly  on citrus 

Poor and slow development of chicken

Poor gemination of seedlings

Heating of pondwater and acid rain are detrimental to fish. 

 

Ducks abandon their eggs.

Flowering may be induced but fruit setting is poor 

Slow growth of new  buds and crown 

 

Proliferation of fungi such as shelf mushroom 

 

Fruits fall off before they are ready for harvesting

Stimulates formation of mutants and variants in plants and 

lower organisms, such as this colorful gabi moth caterpillar 

Intensifies deciduousness of trees like talisay. Prolonged 

leafless condition may lead to the demise of the tree.

 

Intensifies spread of diseases in plants such as ringspot virus of papaya.

 

Stunted and damaged growth of sweet potato 

 

Growth of wild plants such as palomaria, mulberry 

and tawa-tawa.~ 

I love the rainbow in 5 scenes

                              I love the rainbow in 5 scenes

“When there is love in the heart, there are rainbows in the eyes, which cover every black cloud with gorgeous hues.” — Henry Ward Beecher

                                                           Dr Abe V Rotor

1. Rainbow at the Waterfalls

2. "Yellow Spot into Sun"

3. Rainbow Across a River

4. Yes, you can bring down the rainbow - and touch it, too.

5. Rainbow on a Wall Mural

ANNEX - Rainbow comes down to earth in many ways

                                    1. Rainbow at the Waterfalls

“I can see my rainbow calling me through the misty

 breeze of my waterfall." - Unknown

Rainbow at the Waterfalls, by Leo Carlo R Rotor, 13

"I am told when we knock at heaven's gate

St. Peter will ask, Pray, tell me, 

what price have you paid to enter heaven?

I will then have to recall and reflect...

on all the good deeds I have done from birth to death

as well as my sins of omission and commission."

2. "Yellow Spot into Sun"

"Picasso once said that a real artist has a unique talent to transform a yellow spot into sun... a sun shining into the heart, giving warmth and comfort that go with enlightenment, wisdom, faith and hope - for the young generation." -  avr

Rainbow on a Tree by Mishane Chura, 9

"I used to be of the dark

I still am...

But I have come to terms with this fear.

I now leave the light off when I sleep

For I have come to terms with darkness

And my fear of it... "

3. Rainbow Across a River

"Count your rainbows, not your thunderstorms." - Alyssa Knight

Rainbow across the Bamban River, Tarlac

I love the rainbow

because it holds a pot of gold

that glitters in kaleidoscope,

and prism on its huge crown,

where lovely deities play I'm told;

it's reborn when worn and old

into a cathedral in the sky

cherubim sweetly sing in praise, 

humbling the proud and bold;

it guides the lost from the fold

and those searching for heaven -

a rainbow suddenly appears

whenever faith grows cold. ~

4. Yes, you can bring down the rainbow - and touch it, too.  

“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.” — E.Y. Young

 

Children in the neighborhood delight in making a rainbow through an aquarium as prism.

 You can make one, too, in your home. 

Rainbow - a kaleidoscope of colors in a pattern of seven - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet - that guide man's art in endless combinations.

Rainbow - it builds slowly before our eyes; it comes as twin, or breaks out suddenly  perking up life in its low ebb, and taking out the boredom of living. 

Rainbow - gauge of  weather, reference for travel and trade, source of inspiration of lovers,  bards and writers, subject of the arts, icon of faith and devotion. 

Rainbow - the make-believe subject in children's stories of fairies and spirits; the most sought treasure of grownups -  the proverbial pot of gold. 

Rainbow - ephemeral for which its beauty in heightened, like a rose in the morning, first rain in May, the passing of day and night, and the march of seasons.  

Rainbow - likened to the cycle of life - its birth and death, glory and fall, its simplicity grandeur, its independence and attachment to all things, visible and invisible.

Rainbow - now you see it, now you don't, a puzzle to the old and young in all walks of life, yet seeing it best with a clear mind, pure heart and spirit.

Rainbow - it conquers gloom, sows hope, builds the biggest, the most beautiful and magnificent arch of the world that bestows honor to everyone. 

Rainbow - the cathedral in the sky that brings the faithful of all beliefs together in awe and respect to the Creator, the unifying grace of all mankind.  

Rainbow - too high, too far, too abstract, yet to the children it is near, it is real and true; rainbow the symbol of beauty and hope, it comes when the sky is gloomy and dark. ~

5. Rainbow on a Wall Mural 

"Today's teardrops are tomorrow's rainbows." - Ricky Nelson 

. Rainbow on a Wall Mural by the author, Lagro QC

I painted a wall and brought a rainbow down;

it fell on the grass, over my head its crown;

what my painting lacked, it gloriously filled,

and I, the artist humbled, my pride stilled.

Now I understand how a masterpiece is made,

the Sistine chapel, Berlin wall, Roman pallisade,

these classical works, their secrets long sought -

it's the Creator's expression in man's thought. ~

ANNEX - Rainbow comes down to earth in many ways

Rainbow comes down to earth in many ways - in flowers in spring, leaves in autumn, mountains at sunrise, reflection of lakes, spray of running streams, mirage in deserts, feathers of fowls, and the like.  The rainbow is commonly imitated in man-made structures and designs, and many items of trade and commerce.

Living things like this rainbow fish have captured through evolution the colors and pattern of the rainbow, assuring them of their place in the living world. Internet photo  

Cryptobotany: The tree that rose from a broken jar

Cryptobotany* 

 The tree that rose from a broken jar   

Artwork by Dr Abe V Rotor

If the Phoenix bird a cryptid, so with the kapre

     in the balete in children's book;

Out of a broken jar emerges an reptile-like tree,

     with menacing poise and look.

They have stood sentinel in the forest and plain,

     guardian against man's unending

greed and folly for material wealth, honor, fame - 

     telling him the cause of his suffering. **

Top view of  a cryptid tree  

 

Back and front view of the cryptid tree

* Cryptobotany or cryptophytology is a field related to cryptozoology, dedicated to the study and search for formally undescribed plants. Due to their nature, cryptid plants are far less common than cryptid animals: an animal is mobile and will not remain in the same spot for long, whilst a plant is immobile, and therefore likely to be formally documented and described after only a single encounter. (Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology, Internet)

** Beliefs in the spirits have helped preserve Nature against man's destructive hands as he pursued a "progressive and enlightened culture." The greatest destruction of the environment was in the last 200 years, the impact of which is most felt in our postmodern world today.   

A Cathedral of Birds (San Vicente Ilocos Sur Series)

San Vicente Ilocos Sur Series

A Cathedral of Birds

"Rejoice in the cathedral of birds always filled with songs, radiant, and universal for all creatures, big and small, in harmony of peace, beauty and bounty, redeeming a Lost Paradise in our time." - avr

Dedicated to the memory of Mr and Mrs Cris and Ella Pedro, 

on their 50th Wedding Anniversary, December 16, 2018 

Painting and Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor  

 Birds' Sanctuary in acrylic (19" x 17") by AV Rotor 2017 

Hush! Listen to the birds on the treetops and in the blue sky, the morning sun streaming through the Parthenon of trees, and layers of foliage, a huge building they make, holy and sacred;     

A chorale of a hundred singers, chirping, cooing, hissing, tweeting, creaking, rasping, in precise sounds of string, percussion and wind instruments Nature endowed them, and copied by man;  

Accompaniments dwarf full orchestration, wind passing through the leaves, lullaby in an Afton stream, cantabile of saplings and reeds, flapping of wings, fiddling of crickets,  pelting rhythm of raindrops;  

Sonorous call of the hornbill is bass, sweet call of birdlings for their mother the violin, cheerful sparrows and parakeets accompanies Gavotte and Tinikling, hooting  owl like muffled horn and bassoon; 

Rising in the midst of performance come the shrill of the raven, interspersed by the nightingale's clear and happy tune, whistling robins, chattering monkeys, croaking frogs, buzzing flies, clicking beetles;  

Day and night, season after season, the forest is alive with Nature's music, save briefly the coming of storm when the players take to their shelters, surrendering to the rage and fury of the elements;

Calm reigns after tempest, the ensemble returns, comes the triumphal band, trees grow back their crowns, termites and beetles bury the dead, life anew the theme of Nature's composition;

Wonder if the sanctuary is destroyed by giant machines and man's greed, the watershed turned to desert, clouds sown with toxic gases, the ambiance of balance and peace disturbed by climate change;

Rejoice if man and nature come into treaty with terms laid down since creation, man humbled as a transient visitor on his way to a "heaven" -  earning it while on earth in reverence,  piety and dignity; 

Rejoice in the cathedral of birds always filled with songs, radiant, and universal for all creatures big and small, in harmony, peace, beauty and bounty, redeeming a Lost Paradise in our time. ~     
    

   Painting as it appears with an antique narra frame. ~ 

CHILDHOOD LIVES ON: 1. Through the mist of Time; 2. Angling - Sport in Silence; 3. Waterfalls in My Childhood

CHILDHOOD LIVES ON

"Life is the childhood of our immortality."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Paintings and verses by Dr Abe V Rotor 

1. Through the Mist of Time 

The childhood in us throbs, throbs with the sweet music of time. 

Through the mist of time in acrylic AV Rotor

 

Through the mist we see children

Years back with many years lost;

Yet much is gained in memory

That holds stories untold.

Who is fishing there? Ahoy!

Only the tingling chime answers;

The childhood in us throbs, throbs

With the sweet music of time. ~

2. Angling - Sport in Silence

Fishing, painting in oil by AVRotor 

Silence the test of nerve and steel,

as calm combs the water;

beneath stealth the fish, be still,

and wish the rod to quiver.

When hours are long and hard to bear

and heaven dull and gray;

dreams long delayed are in slumber,

go fishing the whole day.

For no sport more than fishing  brings  

freedom from cares and worries;

 tolls the bell for thee or joy it rings,

fishing in silence and peace. ~

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Miss Grace Velasco 738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday

3. Waterfalls in My Childhood

Painting by Dr Abe V Rotor

On display at the Living with Nature Center

San Vicente, Ilocos Sur

"I have returned in old age and stood

before my waterfalls to pay homage

with paintbrush and canvas.  Behold!

I painted a scene gentle with age. "

Waterfalls in My Childhood, in acrylic AV Rotor 2026

Waterfalls are nature's living fortress,

their massive walls rise to the sky, 

symbol of strength and daring, and I,

I grew up a disciple as time went by.

Down their cascading waters I rode,

along the river that meets the sea,

to a world strange, unknown, and I,

I looked back, in spite of being free. 

Time and place combine into fate,

into a life travelled but once only, 

a world incognito, infinitum, and I, 

I crossed my Rubicon, a long story.

I have returned in old age and stood

before my waterfalls to pay homage

with paintbrush and canvas. Behold!

I painted a scene gentle with age. ~

“You don’t have the power to make rainbows or waterfalls, sunsets or roses, but you do have the power to bless people by your words and smiles. You carry within you the power to make the world better.” - Sharon G. Larsen

Where have all the wildlife gone?

 Where have all the wildlife gone?

Dr Abe V Rotor

Asian tiger, Zoobic, Subic Zambales

I laid down my fishing rod a long time ago,
    and I haven't fired a shot since then, too,
for the wild has shrunk, the places I used to go -
    the shores and forests - now I hardly know.

Where have all the wildlife gone? I think I know;
    I hiked o'er the hill for a bundle of wood,
waded downstream to complete my favored stew,
    progress was unheard of, and life was good.

Is progress taming the wild and farming the seas,
    building golf range on grasslands, houses on fields,
ranches, plantations of crops and forest trees -
    or progress an accident of growing needs?

When Nature becomes spent and overpowered,
    pushed by growing affluence and number,
the wild leaves the world in waste and disorder,
    and a lesson for us all to remember.~