Challenge 06: Increase community resilience to ocean hazards
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://repository.unesco.gov.ph/handle/123456789/25
Ocean Decade
Challenge 06:
Increase community resilience to ocean hazards
Enhance multi-hazard early warning services for all geophysical, ecological, biological, weather, climate and anthropogenic related ocean and coastal hazards, and mainstream community preparedness and resilience.
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- Estimation of the vertical phytoplankton distribution in the Philippine Sea: Influence of turbulence following passage of typhoonsCordero-Bailey, Kristina S.A.; Almo, Aldwin T.; David, Laura T.; Yñiguez, Aletta T. (Elsevier, 2022-11)The subsurface chlorophyll-a maximum (SCM) is a phenomenon that contributes significantly to the total primary production of the open ocean but it is not observable from remote sensing, thus primary production based on satellite information is highly underestimated. In a highly dynamic region such as the Philippine Sea, turbulence caused by tropical storms may exert significant impact on the SCM feature. In this study, we attempt to estimate the vertical phytoplankton profile in the Philippine Sea from remote sensing images by applying a generic quantitative approach. Generalized Additive Models (GAM) followed by Generalized Linear Models (GLMs) were used create predictive equations between response variables (Chl-a profile parameters) and predictor variables (RS parameters). GAM was able to predict integrated Chl-a biomass using photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), wind speed and wind stress, the depth of the Chl-a peak using surface Chl-a, wind speed and wind stress, and the baseline Chl-a concentration using sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity and PAR. GLM found wind stress and wind speed as significant predictors for integrated Chl-a biomass, while surface Chl-a, wind speed and wind stress were significant predictors for depth of the Chl-a peak. When the predictive equations were applied to 2020 monthly satellite images, they were seen to adequately estimate the offshore spatial distribution of the two Chl-a parameters. Increased turbulence due to high wind speed and wind stress during passage of tropical storms was seen to result in shallowing of the SCM and subsequent increase in Chl-a within the water column. These equations could be refined if long-term observational data was available. The capacity to estimate vertical distribution of primary productivity in the Philippines provides a means to better understand fisheries productivity and biogeochemical cycling in the region.
- Characteristics of marine heatwaves in the PhilippinesEdullantes, Brisneve; Concolis, Brenna Mei M.; Quilestino-Olario, Raven; Atup, Dale Patrick D.; Cortes, Aiza; Yñiguez, Aletta T. (Elsevier, 2023-09)Marine Heatwaves (MHWs) are prolonged, discrete, and anomalously warm events, which have recently gained global attention due to their far-reaching effects and reported impacts. Although intensive studies have been carried out at global and regional scales, these events remained understudied in the Philippines – a country with high marine biodiversity. The Philippines is highly vulnerable to the impacts of these extreme events as it lies in the western boundary of the Pacific that is considered as a hotspot for MHWs. The present study used multi-year climatic sea surface temperature (SST) record to detect MHWs in the Philippines. The detected events were then characterized using the standardized metrics. Linear trend analysis was conducted to determine the magnitude and direction of the change of the MHW metrics over time. Decadal trend revealed that MHWs in the Philippines significantly increased from seven MHWs in the 1980s to 37 MHWs in the last decade. Moreover, increased duration was remarkable in 2020 with 276 MHW days. MHW frequency and duration were increasing at a rate almost twice as its neighboring waters. Intensities did not significantly increase with time, but the highest SST anomaly is associated with El Niño Southern Oscillation. Furthermore, the eastern and western region of the Philippines is vulnerable to MHWs, but hotspots are mostly confined in the West Philippine Sea and western tropical Pacific. An in-depth investigation of the drivers of MHWs is recommended to understand the physical mechanisms of the development of these extreme thermal events in the Philippine seas. The findings have significant implications for coastal marine resource management, highlighting the need for adaptive management strategies and increased monitoring and research efforts to mitigate the impacts of MHWs on marine ecosystems and local economies in the Philippines.
- Co-occurrence of a marine heatwave and a reported tomato jellyfish (Crambione mastigophora Maas, 1903) bloom in March 2020 at El Nido, Palawan, PhilippinesQuilestino-Olario, Raven; Concolis, Brenna Mei M.; Atup, Dale Patrick D.; Cortes, Aiza; Yñiguez, Aletta T.; Edullantes, Brisneve (The Plankton Society of Japan/The Japanese Association of Benthology, 2023-05-31)Globally, observations on marine species during marine heatwaves (MHWs) help outline the scope of the MHW’s possible biological effects. In line with this effort, this paper presents a 2020 MHW that coincided with a reported ‘tomato jellyfish’ (Crambione mastigophora Maas, 1903) bloom on 23 March 2020 in the Corong-Corong Bay of Palawan, Philippines. Detecting a moderate MHW from 21 March to 04 April 2020, the analysis of sea surface temperatures revealed that most areas surrounding the bloom site attained their peak positive anomalies on the same day as the reported bloom. Certain physical mechanisms present in the first quarter of 2020 may have played a role in the occurrence of both events: the presence of cyclonic eddies and parallel monsoonal winds alongshore can induce upwelling which promotes biological productivity in surface waters, while the observed weakening of winds have been associated with anomalous warming of the sea surface. Further studies are still highly recommended to determine the exact causes of the jellyfish bloom and what conditions make it more likely to happen during MHWs. However, if the C. mastigophora is hypothetically able to continually bloom amidst warming temperatures, the increasing trend of MHW frequency and intensity in the West Philippine Sea (where the reported bloom site is situated) may consequently yield more future co-occurrences. This paper aims to hopefully contribute to the existing knowledge of possible biological impacts associated with extreme marine events, especially in the Philippine context where both jellyfish blooms and MHWs are understudied.The authors would like to express sincere gratitude to the anonymous reviewers whose comments and suggestions helped improve and clarify this manuscript. The authors would also like to thank Mr. Alimar Amor for his permission on the still photos in Figs 1c and 1d from his recorded jellyfish bloom video on 23 March 2020. This paper is also made through the funding of DOST̶ Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development under the Survey of Heatwaves in the Philippine Seas project (DOST Project No. 9615).
- Effects of monsoons and storms on the structuring and diversity of picoeukaryotic microbial communities in a tropical coastal environmentDe La Cruz, Maria Anna Michaela; Hingpit, Brian William; Guillou, Laure; Onda, Deo Florence L. (Elsevier, 2023-06)Picoeukaryotes are key components in marine ecosystems that play crucial roles in food webs and biogeochemical cycles. Despite their significance, many aspects of their community ecology and diversity remain understudied. Here, we investigated the taxonomic and functional diversity of picoeukaryotic communities in response to monsoonal patterns and weather disturbances brought about by storms, characterizing tropical coastal regions. To do this, water samples were collected almost weekly or bi-weekly at a single location in a tropical coastal environment covering the late northeast (NE) and southwest (SW) monsoons. We then performed high-throughput amplicon sequencing of the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene to generate taxonomic profiles of the communities across time. Clustering based on environmental parameters grouped our samples into months associated with NE monsoon, SW monsoon, and stormy SW monsoon, demonstrating seasonality influenced by monsoons and storms, typically observed in tropical coastal waters. In comparison, clustering based on abundance only grouped the samples into NE and SW monsoon, with most communities during storm period joining the NE monsoon samples. These samples exhibited greater diversity, with smaller taxa such as Syndiniales, Prymnesiophyceae, Picozoa, Cercozoa, Stramenopiles, and Chlorophytes being the most abundant groups present. In contrast, SW monsoon samples have lower diversity but have become generally dominated by large-celled taxa, mostly diatoms. Multivariate and correlation analyses both revealed nitrate as the strongest environmental driver of the picoeukaryotic community structuring. Meanwhile, network analysis grouped the taxa into three modules, more consistent with the clustering based on environmental parameters, implying that although storms may not significantly change the community composition, they may however influence the dominating taxa. Each module was composed of a unique set of co-occurring taxa, highlighting high turnover of picoeukaryotic communities between each season. In addition, our results showed that SW monsoon-associated module had higher interconnectivity than other modules, suggesting that the interactions during this period may be less species-specific, thus, more adaptable than during NE monsoon. However, we observed that extreme fluctuations caused by storms could have possibly allowed for selection of dominant taxa. Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of representative samples from each monsoon period also revealed that differently abundant functional genes, particularly genes associated to nitrogen metabolism, might have also helped in adaptation to the changing nutrient conditions. Our observations provide new insights on the potential trajectory of microbial communities under environmental stresses, which are important in understanding the implications of emerging threats such as coastal eutrophication and climate change.
- Natural and anthropogenic climate variability sgnals in a 237-year-long coral record from the PhilippinesInoue, Mayuri; Fukushima, A.; Chihara, M.; Genda, A.; Ikehara, Minoru; Okai, T.; Kawahata, Hodaka; Siringan, F. P.; Suzuki, Atsushi (American Geophysical Union, 2023-11-29)Both proxy and model studies conducted to understand anthropogenic warming have revealed historical variations in sea-surface temperature (SST) since the industrial revolution. However, because of discrepancies between observations and models in the late nineteenth century, the timing and degree of anthropogenic warming remain unclear. In this study, we reconstructed a 237-year-long record of SST and salinity using a coral core collected from Bicol, southern Luzon, Philippines, which is located at the northern edge of the western Pacific warm pool. The SST record showed volcanic cooling after several volcanic eruptions, including the 1815 Tambora eruption, but the pattern of change differed. Decadal SST variations at Bicol are connected to Pacific Decadal Variability (PDV). Therefore, it is suggested that the PDV conditions at the time of the eruption may have influenced marine conditions, such as the degree and duration of cooling and/or salinity, after the eruptions. Although there were discrepancies in SST variations among the modeled, observed, and proxy SST data from the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries, SST data from the late twentieth century showed globally coherent anthropogenic warming, especially after 1976. In particular, summer SST in the northwestern Pacific has become more sensitive to anthropogenic forcing since 1976.