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03. Science and Technology (Natural Sciences) Committee

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://repository.unesco.gov.ph/handle/123456789/3

In creating a culture of peace and addressing sustainable development challenges, UNESCO aims to cultivate the generation and application of scientific knowledge among its Member States. At UNACOM, we facilitate access to UNESCO’s international programmes in the sciences, such as the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme, and International Geoscience and Geoparks Programme (IGGP), among others.

Through this sector, the Commission aims to contribute to the following SDGs: 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 13 - Climate Action, 14 - Life Below Water, and 15 - Life On Land. With the overarching vision of the 2023-2028 Philippine Development Plan (PDP), UNACOM targets grassroots-inspired cultural heritage and biodiversity protection and conservation, as well as multi-stakeholder partnerships for SDGs promotion.

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    Impacts of aquaculture nutrient sources: ammonium uptake of commercially important eucheumatoids depends on phosphate levels
    Narvarte, Bienson Ceasar V.; Hinaloc, Lourie Ann R.; Gonzaga, Shienna Mae C.; Roleda, Michael Y. (Springer, 2023-09-14)
    In an integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) system, seaweeds serve as extractive species that utilize excess nutrients, thereby reducing the risk of eutrophication and promoting sustainable aquaculture. However, the use of excessive fish feeds and the resultant faecal waste as nutrient streams can contribute to variations in nitrogen and phosphorus levels (e.g., primarily NH4+ and PO4−3) in the surrounding area and this may impact the physiology of the integrated seaweeds, particularly on how these species take up inorganic nutrients. In this study, the effect of different PO4−3 levels on NH4+ uptake of the three commercially important eucheumatoids Kappaphycus alvarezii, Kappaphycus striatus and Eucheuma denticulatum was examined under laboratory conditions. Seaweed thalli (n = 4) were incubated in seawater media containing 30 µM NH4+, and 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 3.0 or 5.0 µM PO4−3 for 1 h under a saturating light level of 116 ± 7.13 µmol photons m−2 s−1 inside a temperature-controlled laboratory. Species-specific responses to PO4−3 levels were observed. For K. alvarezii, maximum NH4+ uptake (17.8 ± 1.6 µmol gDW−1 h−1) was observed at 0.5 µM PO4−3 and the uptake rate declined at higher PO4−3 levels. For K. striatus, NH4+ uptake increased with increasing PO4−3 levels, with maximum N uptake (6.35 ± 0.9 µmol gDW−1 h−1) observed at 5.0 µM PO4−3. For E. denticulatum, maximum NH4+ uptake (14.6 ± 1.4 µmol gDW−1 h−1) was observed at 1.0 µM PO4−3. Our results suggest that among the three eucheumatoid species, the NH4+ uptake of K. striatus persists even at high levels of PO4−3. However, our results also showed that K. striatus had the lowest range of NH4+ uptake rates. These results should be taken into consideration when incorporating eucheumatoids in the IMTA system, where PO4−3levels significantly vary in space and time.
  • Total polyphenol content of tropical marine and coastal flora: Potentials for food and nutraceutical applications
    Narvarte, Bienson Ceasar V.; Genovia, Tom Gerald T.; Hinaloc, Lourie Ann R.; Gonzaga, Shienna Mae C.; Tabonda-Nabor, April Mae; Palecpec, Flora Maye R.; Dayao, Helen M.; Roleda, Michael Y. (Springer, 2023-07-08)
    The marine environment is abundant in natural products that are beneficial to humans. Among these compounds are the polyphenols produced by marine flora as secondary metabolites and used as a defense against stressful environmental conditions. Accordingly, recent pharmacological and biomedical studies showed that polyphenols from marine and coastal floras have several important bioactivities including antioxidant property. In this study, we measured the total polyphenol content (TPC) of 75 species of marine-associated flora. The TPC of their methanolic extracts was measured spectrophotometrically using the Folin-Ciocalteu assay and was expressed both as mg phloroglucinol equivalent per g of dry weight (mg PGE g−1 DW) and as mg gallic acid equivalent per g dry weight (mg GAE g−1 DW). The TPC values are higher when expressed in terms of GAE compared to PGE. Also, the mean TPC of tracheopytes (229 ± 43.0 mg PGE g−1 DW) was higher compared to the mean TPC of macroalgae (69.4 ± 9.59 mg PGE g−1 DW). For macroalgae, ochrophytes (97.9 ± 22.7 mg PGE g−1 DW) had the highest mean TPC followed by chlorophytes (80.0 ± 20.5 mg PGE g−1 DW) and rhodophytes (49.5 ± 8.60 mg PGE g−1 DW). Moreover, our study also showed that TPC varied between young and mature tissues, among different color morphotypes and different parts of the plants. Although the concentrations of total polyphenols varied among species, ages, strains and parts of the plant, our study showed that marine and coastal floras are rich sources of polyphenols that could be further examined for their biological activities and other applications in food industry.
  • Nitrate and phosphate uptake of morphologically distinct calcified macroalgae
    Narvarte, Bienson Ceasar V.; Hinaloc, Lourie Ann R.; Gonzaga, Shienna Mae C.; Crisostomo, Bea A.; Genovia, Tom Gerald T.; Roleda, Michael Y. (Informa UK Limited, 2023-05-02)
    Calcified macroalgae are essential components of marine ecosystem, yet much of their physiology remains to be understood. Here, the nutrient (NO3 and PO4–3) uptake physiologies of two branched macroalgae, Actinotrichia fragilis (Nemaliophycidae) and Amphiroa fragilissima (Corallinophycidae), and the non-geniculate rhodolith Sporolithon sp. (Corallinophycidae) were examined. Sporolithon sp. had the lowest uptake rate through time and the three calcified macroalgae had a surge in NO3 and PO4–3 uptake that occurred between 3 and 20 min, with a maximum uptake at 3 min, after which the nutrient uptake rates declined. The NO3 uptake of the three calcified macroalgae followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics. For NO3 uptake, Sporolithon sp. had the lowest Km (2.72 ± 0.97 µM), Vmax (0.08 ± 0.01 µmol gDW–1 h–1), Vmax/Km (0.05 ± 0.03 µmol gDW–1 h–1 µM−1) and α (0.01 ± 0.00 µmol gDW–1 h–1 µM−1), while A. fragilis had the highest Km (12.35 ± 0.71 µM) and Vmax (6.41 ± 0.23 µmol gDW–1 h–1), and A. fragilissima had the highest Vmax/Km (1.52 ± 0.26 µmol gDW–1 h–1 µM−1) and α (0.37 ± 0.01 µmol gDW–1 h–1 µM−1). Moreover, the PO4–3 uptake rate of the three species was faster at higher PO4–3 levels. These differences in species-specific nutrient uptake traits are likely caused by differences in morphology. These traits are important for survival and proliferation of this group of marine organisms, particularly in a nutrient-variable environment.