Davao Gulf

Davao Gulf
Davao Gulf near Talikud Island, south of Davao City
Davao Gulf Location within the Philippines
Location	Mindanao Island, Philippines
Coordinates	6°30′00″N 125°58′35″E / 6.5000°N 125.9763°ECoordinates: 6°30′00″N 125°58′35″E / 6.5000°N 125.9763°E
Type	gulf
Settlements	Banaybanay Davao City Digos Don Marcelino Governor Generoso Hagonoy Jose Abad Santos Lupon Mabini Maco Malalag Malita Padada Panabo Pantukan Samal San Isidro Santa Cruz Santa Maria Sulop Tagum

Map of Davao Gulf

Davao Gulf is a gulf situated in the southeastern portion of Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of 308,000 hectares.^[1] Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from Philippine Sea. It is surrounded by all five provinces in the Davao Region. The largest island in the gulf is Samal Island. Davao City, on the gulf's west coast, is the largest and busiest port on the gulf. The Bagobo, a tribe known in Davao, are living in the Davao Gulf. With the thrust of Davao City towards Information Technology and IT-Enabled Services (ITES), Davao City and the Davao Gulf area have also earned the moniker Silicon Gulf.

Wildlife

The gulf water is regarded as one of the most diverse cetacean habitats in the nation, being home for at least 10 species of toothed whales and dolphins such as Sperm Whales and Beaked Whales. Also Whale Sharks are seen frequently. Furthermore, several ecological phenomena have been observed in the Davao Gulf such as a previously unknown predator of the Crown-of-Thorns starfish,^[2][3] new species records^[4][5] and species discoveries^[6] underlining the uniqueness of the marine resources in the Davao Gulf.

References

1. Lacorte, Germelina. "Davao chamber hosts concert to save sea turtles". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
2. Bos A.R., G.S. Gumanao and F.N. Salac (2008). "A newly discovered predator of the crown-of-thorns starfish". Coral Reefs 27: 581. doi:10.1007/s00338-008-0364-9.
3. Ocaña O., J.C. den Hartog, A. Brito and A.R. Bos (2010). "On Pseudocorynactis species and another related genus from the Indo-Pacific (Anthozoa: Corallimorphidae)". Revista de la Academia Canaria de Ciencias XXI (3-4): 9–34.
4. Bos A.R. and H.M. Smits (2013). "First Record of the dottyback Manonichthys alleni (Teleostei: Perciformes: Pseudochromidae) from the Philippines". Marine Biodiversity Records 6 (e61). doi:10.1017/s1755267213000365.
5. Arthur R. Bos and Girley S. Gumanao (2013). "Seven new records of fishes (Teleostei: Perciformes) from coral reefs and pelagic habitats in Southern Mindanao, the Philippines". Marine Biodiversity Records 6 (e95): 1–6. doi:10.1017/s1755267213000614.
6. Bos A.R. (2014). "Upeneus nigromarginatus, a new species of goatfish (Perciformes: Mullidae) from the Philippines". Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 62: 745–753.