Challenge 09: Skills, knowledge, and technology for all
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://repository.unesco.gov.ph/handle/123456789/26
Ocean Decade
Challenge 09:
Skills, knowledge, and technology for all
Ensure comprehensive capacity development and equitable access to data, information, knowledge and technology across all aspects of ocean science and for all stakeholders.
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- Sea surface carbonate dynamics at reefs of Bolinao, Philippines: Seasonal variation and fish mariculture-induced forcingIsah, Raffi R.; Enochs, Ian C.; San Diego-McGlone, Maria Lourdes (Frontiers, 2022-11-11)Coral reefs are vulnerable to global ocean acidification (OA) and local human activities will continue to exacerbate coastal OA. In Bolinao, Philippines, intense unregulated fish mariculture has resulted in regional eutrophication. In order to examine the coastal acidification associated with this activity and the impact on nearby coral reefs, water quality and carbonate chemistry parameters were measured at three reef sites, a mariculture site and an offshore, minimally impacted control site during both the wet and dry season. Additionally, benthic community composition was characterized at reef sites, and both autonomous carbonate chemistry sampling and high-frequency pH measurements were used to characterize fine-scale (diel) temporal variability. Water quality was found to be poorer at all reefs during the wet season, when there was stronger outflow of waters from the mariculture area. Carbonate chemistry parameters differed significantly across the reef flat and between seasons, with more acidic conditions occurring during the dry season and increased primary production suppressing further acidification during the wet season. Significant relationships of both total alkalinity (TA) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) with salinity across all stations may imply outflow of acidified water originating from the mariculture area where pH values as low as 7.78 were measured. This apparent mariculture-induced coastal acidification was likely due to organic matter respiration as sustained mariculture will continue to deliver organic matter. While TA-DIC vector diagrams indicate greater contribution of net primary production, net calcification potential in the nearest reef to mariculture area may already be diminished. The two farther reefs, characterized by higher coral cover, indicates healthier ecosystem functioning. Here we show that unregulated fish mariculture activities can lead to localized acidification and impact reef health. As these conditions at times approximate those projected to occur globally due to OA, our results may provide insight into reef persistence potential worldwide. These results also underscore the importance of coastal acidification and indicate that actions taken to mitigate OA on coral reefs should address not only global CO2 emissions but also local perturbations, in this case fish mariculture-induced eutrophication.This paper is part of the master’s thesis of RI supervised by MS-M entitled “Carbonate chemistry dynamics on the Bolinao reef flat”. The authors are grateful to the Marine Biogeochemistry Laboratory and Bolinao Marine Laboratory of the Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines for the valuable logistical and laboratory support provided. We thank Jay Burce, Ryan Carl Magyaya, Natasha Tamayo for their tremendous help in field activities and laboratory analyses. We thank Alice Webb for providing insights into improving the manuscript.
- Assessing the efficiency of microplastics extraction methods for tropical beach sediments and matrix preparation for experimental controlsBonita, Jan Danielle P.; Gomez, Norchel Corcia F.; Onda, Deo Florence L. (Frontiers Media SA, 2023-11-03)Introduction: Microplastic pollution has become a global issue, eliciting attention not just from the scientific community but also both from the public and governmental bodies. Drawing data-driven policies and interventions, however, remain difficult due to the severely lacking baseline information from different environments such as beaches. One of the challenges in doing baseline studies is the lack of harmonized methodologies that will allow for comparison of results, integration of data, and its effective translation to evidence-based policies. Emphasis on quality control measures among baselining efforts through the proper implementation of experimental controls is also lacking. Methodology: To address these gaps, we compared methodologies for preparing the sediment matrix for experimental controls, as well as evaluated protocols for extracting microplastics from tropical beach sediments. Beach sediments were collected, dried, sieved, and spiked with known amounts of microplastics of different polymer types. The removal and extraction efficiencies of the protocols being compared were evaluated. Results and discussion: Our results showed that subjecting beach sediments to a furnace at 550° C for 4 hours is the most efficient way to remove plastic contamination, implying its applicability for preparing experimental controls. Meanwhile, a modified version of Masura et al. (2015), one of the widely cited methodologies for microplastics extraction, exhibited the highest mean extraction efficiency (99.05 ± 0.82%) among the protocols being compared. Results of this work will be useful in identifying methods that can be adopted and utilized for research and baselining efforts not just in the Philippines but also in Southeast Asia. This will also be helpful in the harmonization of methods, data reporting, and even skills as implemented through the regional and national action plans to address marine plastic pollution.The authors would like to thank the members of the Microbial Oceanography Laboratory of the University of the Philippines, The Marine Science Institute, especially Mark Prudente and Kim John Balboa who provided assistance during the conduct of the experiment, and the staff and administrative personnel of the Bolinao Marine Laboratory.
- Creation of an international laboratory network towards global microplastics monitoring harmonisationBakir, Adil; McGoran, Alexandra R.; Silburn, Briony; Russell, Josie; Nel, Holly; Lusher, Amy L.; Amos, Ruth; Shadrack, Ronick S.; Arnold, Shareen J.; Castillo, Cecy; Urbina, Joaquin F.; Barrientos, Eduardo; Sanchez, Henry; Pillay, Keshnee; Human, Lucienne; Swartbooi, Tarryn; Cordova, Muhammad Reza; Sani, Sofia Yuniar; Wijesinghe, T. W. A. Wasantha; Amarathunga, A. A. Deeptha; Gunasekara, Jagath; Somasiri, Sudarshana; mahatantila, Kushani; Liyanage, Sureka; Müller, Moritz; Hee, Yet Yin; Onda, Deo Florence; Jansar, Khairiatul Mardiana; Shiraz, Zana; Amir, Hana; Mayes, Andrew G. (Nature Research, 2024-06-03)Infrastructure is often a limiting factor in microplastics research impacting the production of scientific outputs and monitoring data. International projects are therefore required to promote collaboration and development of national and regional scientific hubs. The Commonwealth Litter Programme and the Ocean Country Partnership Programme were developed to support Global South countries to take actions on plastics entering the oceans. An international laboratory network was developed to provide the infrastructure and in country capacity to conduct the collection and processing of microplastics in environmental samples. The laboratory network was also extended to include a network developed by the University of East Anglia, UK. All the laboratories were provided with similar equipment for the collection, processing and analysis of microplastics in environmental samples. Harmonised protocols and training were also provided in country during laboratory setup to ensure comparability of quality-controlled outputs between laboratories. Such large networks are needed to produce comparable baseline and monitoring assessments.