Negros Oriental State University

Terraces have long transformed steep slopes into gradual steps, reducing erosion and enabling agriculture on marginal land. In France’s Roya Valley, these dry stone structures, neglected for decades, demonstrated remarkable resilience during storm Alex in October 2020. This prompted civil society and researchers to identify terraces that could support food security and agri-tourism initiatives. This study aimed to develop a semi-automatic method for detecting and mapping terraced areas using LiDAR and orthophoto data from French repositories, processed with GIS and analyzed through a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification algorithm. The model identified 18 terraces larger than 1 hectare in Saorge and 35 in La Brigue. Field visits confirmed evidence of abandonment in several areas. Accuracy tests showed a user accuracy (UA) of 97% in Saorge and 72% in La Brigue. This disparity reflects site-specific differences, including terrain steepness, vegetation density, and data resolution. These results highlight the value of machine learning for terrace mapping while emphasizing the need to account for local geomorphological and data-quality factors to improve model performance. Enhanced terrace detection supports sustainable land management, agricultural revitalization, and risk mitigation in mountainous regions, offering practical tools for future landscape restoration and food resilience planning.

Background There is a need to identify original molecules to develop drugs for the treatment of microbial infections. Such chemical entities could be found in secondary metabolites of rainforest plants that are not so well-known. This study examines the antibacterial and antibiotic- potentiating effects, and antiviral activities of six rainforest plants endemic to the primary rainforest of Malaysia. Methods Leaves, bark, fruits, and wood of Burkillanthus malaccensis, Cleistanthus bracteosus, Diospyros hasseltii, Kibatalia maingayi, Knema retusa, and Litsea spathacea were extracted successively with hexane, chloroform, and methanol, and tested against six human pathogenic bacteria species by disc diffusion and broth microdilution. The extracts were tested against influenza virus A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (H1N1) using MDCK cells. Results Of the 42 extracts tested, the hexane extract of fruits of D. hasseltii inhibited the growth of E. coli with the MIC value of 39 μg/mL. The chloroform extract of leaves of C. bracetosus potentiated the activity of levofloxacin against P. aeruginosa. The strongest antiviral activity was observed with the chloroform extract of leaves of C. bracteosus with the IC50 value of 6.3 μg/mL. The chloroform extract of bark of B. malaccensis with the IC50 value of 0.6 μg/mL was the most cytotoxic. Conclusion Preserving the primary rainforest of Malaysia is a means to preserve natural products with the ability to be developed as antimicrobial leads. In particular, D. hasseltii, C. bracteosus, and B. malaccensis could be examined for their active antimicrobial constituents.

The Philippines has been long known for its multispecies fisheries, and while there is a growing effort to document fish diversity, collections-based species inventories remain insufficient in southern Mindanao. Market survey efforts conducted in Pujada Bay, Davao Gulf, and Sarangani Bay in the last ten years resulted in documenting 556 species of marine fishes from 82 families, while underwater fish visual census (FVC) surveys conducted in Davao Gulf from 2019 to 2022 revealed 365 species in 42 families. Combining the data from market surveys, FVC, and published literature, we present 771 species of marine fishes (770 teleosts, 1 elasmobranch) belonging to 94 families. Of the 771 species documented, 130 are deep reef and deepwater species, while 20 species await further taxonomic investigations for species-level identifications.Moreover, 498 cytochrome oxidase I (COI) genetic barcodes were produced representing 357 species from 59 families, which covers 46% of the total number of species reported and 63% of the market survey data. Genetic distances based on taxonomic ranks were concordant with other barcoding studies on marine fishes. Samples (20 species) with pairwise genetic distances that did not conform with the expected intra- and interspecific threshold suggest cases that also need to be investigated further (e.g., incomplete lineage sorting, introgressive hybridization, crypticspeciation). All market survey data used in genetic barcoding correspond to tissue samples, live-color photographs, and preserved specimens. This work complements the DNA barcode libraries reported recently in the country, and this serves as an additional reference for future biodiversity management and conservation efforts.

A new Begonia section Petermannia species, Begonia corazoniae Naive, discovered in the forest ecosystems of Davao Oriental, southeastern Mindanao, Philippines, is herein described and illustrated. It closely resembles B. rieckei, but is easily recognized by having paniculate inflorescences with prominently winged ovary and capsule. A comprehensive morphological description, geographic distribution, ecology, phenology and a discussion of similar species is provided. In addition, we assessed this species as ‘Endangered' (EN B1(iii) + 2(iii)) following the criteria of the IUCN.

Graphical abstract Highlights d Coevolutionary interactions arise from community assembly events, not host tracking d Structural colors in model and mimetic systems use different nano-level mechanisms d We resolved the phylogeny of Doliops using a design of more than 30,000 UCE loci

Context The emergence of pan-resistant bacteria requires the development of new antibiotics and antibiotic potentiators. Objective This review identifies antibacterial phenolic compounds that have been identified in Asian and Pacific Angiosperms from 1945 to 2023 and analyzes their strengths and spectra of activity, distributions, molecular masses, solubilities, modes of action, structures-activities, as well as their synergistic effects with antibiotics, toxicities, and clinical potential. Methods All data in this review was compiled from Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, and library search; other sources were excluded. We used the following combination of keywords: ‘Phenolic compound’, ‘Plants’, and ‘Antibacterial’. This produced 736 results. Each result was examined and articles that did not contain information relevant to the topic or coming from non-peer-reviewed journals were excluded. Each of the remaining 467 selected articles was read critically for the information that it contained. Results Out of ∼350 antibacterial phenolic compounds identified, 44 were very strongly active, mainly targeting the cytoplasmic membrane of Gram-positive bacteria, and with a molecular mass between 200 and 400 g/mol. 2-Methoxy-7-methyljuglone, [6]-gingerol, anacardic acid, baicalin, vitexin, and malabaricone A and B have the potential to be developed as antibacterial leads. Conclusions Angiosperms from Asia and the Pacific provide a rich source of natural products with the potential to be developed as leads for treating bacterial infections.

Paramyrothecium comprises saprobic and plant pathogenic members. Eight plant-pathogenic Paramyrothecium species have been recorded in Asia, America, and some parts of Africa and Europe. Among the commonly reported species are P. roridum and P. foliicola. Several Paramyrothecium species are associated with coffee leaf spots, muskmelon crown rot, and eggplant crater rot. Paramyrothecium is commonly found in soil, decaying plant material, and diseased fruits, stems, and leaves of several plant species. The life cycle of Paramyrothecium species includes an asexual stage throughout disease development, with no sexual morphs reported. Environmental factors, such as temperature and humidity, influence the distribution and prevalence of Paramyrothecium. Paramyrothecium-associated diseases occur through various mechanisms, including wind and rain dispersal of conidia, contaminated soil, and plant debris. Paramyrothecium disease development can be exacerbated when the soil is wet and plant tissues are damaged, which served as pathogen entry. Adequate water management, soil sanitation, and proper handling of crops are important to minimize losses in commercial crop production. Several biological control agents and pesticides have also been reported to control the pathogen and the associated disease.

Overfishing remains a threat to coral reef fishes worldwide, with large carnivores often disproportionately vulnerable. Marine protected areas (MPAs) can restore fish populations and biodiversity, but their effect has been understudied in mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs), particularly in the Coral Triangle. Videos were analysed from baited remote underwater video systems deployed in 2016 to investigate the assemblage structure of large carnivorous fishes at shallow (4–12 m) and mesophotic (45–96 m) depths in two of the largest and most isolated MPAs in the Philippines: an uninhabited, fully no‐take MPA enacted in 1988 (Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park) and an archipelagic municipality surrounded by an extensive but not fully no‐take MPA declared in 2016 (Cagayancillo). Taxa focused on were groupers (Serranidae), snappers (Lutjanidae), emperors (Lethrinidae), jacks (Carangidae) and the endangered Cheilinus undulatus (Labridae). Mean abundance and species richness were not greater in TRNP than in Cagayancillo regardless of depth despite long‐term protection in the former. Limited impacts of fishing in Cagayancillo may explain this result. Differentiation of fish assemblages was evident between TRNP and Cagayancillo but more obvious between depths at each location, probably due more to habitat than MPA effects. In Cagayancillo, overall carnivorous reef fish, grouper and jack mean abundance were 2, 2 and 10 times higher, respectively, at mesophotic depths, suggesting that MCEs can serve as deep refugia from fishing. These findings of differentiation between depths and higher abundance of certain taxa in mesophotic depths emphasize that MCEs are distinct from shallow reefs, serve as important habitat for species susceptible to overfishing and, thus, must be explicitly included in the design of MPAs. This study also highlights the value of maintaining strict protection of MPAs like TRNP for the Coral Triangle and an opportunity to safeguard intact fish assemblages in Cagayancillo by expanding its no‐take zones.

The rapid spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic had severe impacts on social and economic conditions around the world. This study was designed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the small-scale fisheries sector in Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania. All respondents were drawn randomly from fisheries stakeholders including fishers, fish traders, fisheries officials, and government and nongovernmental organizations (N = 580). The findings showed that border lockdown was a major problem experienced by all the small-scale fishers, with negative impacts on cross-border fish trade and cash flow. Implementation of restricted movements in Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka resulted in complete shutdown of fisheries, while stay-at-home orders prevented travel to and within fishing areas. The Republic of Tanzania did not implement lockdowns. Some of the fishers from Bangladesh experienced significant apprehension from fishers whenever they went out fishing. COVID-19 negatively affected the fishers' families, causing them untold suffering during the lockdowns. Fisher's families experienced inadequate food, and their children struggled to keep up with their online classes. In Tanzania, women were not able to sell their fish and mostly stayed at home. In Indonesia and in the Philippines, family members who worked in urban areas returned to their villages to avoid the threat of the virus. Our study revealed that the pandemic resulted in fishing restrictions, reduction in fish prices, logistical problems for transport and marketing, general lack of mobility for people, food inadequacy, and poor education of the fishers' children.

We describe and illustrate two new species from two previously monotypic genera Eumacrocyrtus Schultze, 1923 and Enoplocyrtus Yoshitake, 2017 from Luzon Island, Philippines: Eumacrocyrtus robertfoxi sp. nov., and Enoplocyrtus angelalcalai sp. nov. Eumacrocyrtus robertfoxi sp. nov. serves as a new record for Luzon Island for Eumacrocyrtus which was only previously represented by E. canlaonensis Schultze, 1923 from Negros Island whereas Enoplocyrtus angelalcalai sp. nov. serves as an additional record of Enoplocyrtus in Mountain Province in Luzon Island. The discovery of these two new species from the Zoological Collections of the Philippine National Museum, collected in 1947 and 1985, respectively, highlights the value of natural history collections for the present and future generations of researchers.

Coastal fishing communities depend on marine resources for their protein and livelihood needs, making them vulnerable to natural hazards. We assessed the exposure and adaptive capacity of six fishing villages located in three municipalities (Cortes, Lianga, Lanuza) in Surigao del Sur, Philippines by determining their resilience to various climatic hazards. We held six focus groups with 10–15 participants from each fishing community (N = 80 participants). We also conducted stakeholder meetings (N = 100 participants) to validate our findings. We used 12 indicators, divided into three components of resilience scored using a Likert scale: preparedness, coping, and adaptive capacity. We identified the important roles of good communication between community and municipality leaders, seminars and training on natural hazard awareness, livelihood alternatives, the presence of marine protected areas, and infrastructure to mitigate the impact of natural hazards (e.g., regular typhoons) such as sea walls.

Background Ethnobotanical knowledge about the role of plants in fisheries provides valuable ecological information vital for sustainable management of local resources; however, it is diluted and understudied globally. This literature review aims to map the knowledge of plant use within traditional fishing communities. Methods Through the PRISMA method, we identified and selected 34 articles reporting the use of plants in fisheries, and including 344 taxa of plants and algae. Uses of plants and algae were grouped into different categories. Results In the novel categorization of fishery-related uses we proposed, the most mentioned were for fishing and building/repair of fishing artifacts and habitat-related uses, while the records of plants related to fiber uses, providing aid in fishing management and species causing problems, were among the least mentioned. Semi-structured interview is most commonly used with local resource users, especially fishery experts, in exploring perceptions on plant use within traditional fishing communities. Diversity was high in all the recorded families, but most were reported locally. Conclusion Ethnobotanical studies with fishers are not common in the documented literature but they provide a large number of use reports. On the basis this review, in most of the world, the information is of a casual and sporadic nature. Fishers can provide information on aquatic plants and algae that create problems and aid in fishing management, which are crucial in understanding the ecosystem of a region experiencing environmental challenges. This knowledge is greatly understudied globally and undergoing a rapid decline, as highlighted in several of the reviewed articles. Thus, further systematic research on fishery-related uses of plants by fisherfolk is needed considering its potential contribution to the sustainable management of fishery resources.

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a conditional cash transfer (CCT) program to alleviate socio-economic conditions in the Philippines, addressing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 (No Poverty) and 4 (Quality Education). It attempts to address poverty, which is a risk factor to education among Filipinos. However, the program impact on education and economy remains understudied. This paper investigated the recipients of the CCT and analyzed parental involvement and its influence on students’ academic achievement. In this study, parental involvement refers to parenting, learning at home, volunteering, school decision-making, collaborating, and communicating, while academic achievement pertains to the students’ academic performance in the core learning areas: Science, Mathematics, English, and Filipino. Using a descriptive-correlation method, the respondents were randomly selected comprising 306 parents and 306 students in Tarragona District, Davao Oriental, Philippines. The data were analyzed using Spearman Rho Correlation and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The results showed there was no statistical correlation between parental involvement and student’s academic achievement. Parents had low involvement in learning at home, volunteering, and school decision-making. On the other hand, the students demonstrated high academic achievement in the core learning areas. The significant step of the Philippine government for education through the CCT is an effective approach to keeping children in school. Emphasis must be placed on strengthening parental involvement in children’s education to ensure academic success.

The crisis during the pandemic restrained the livelihood of women and disrupted their economic opportunities. Specifically, during the height of the lockdown, when people were restricted from going out, the livelihood of women who sold and peddled seafood products was greatly affected. This paper unfolds women’s socio-demographic profile and knowledge regarding the laws for protecting women’s rights in the lexis of the Republic Act No. 9710, also known as the Magna Carta of Women, and their economic condition in the informal economy during the pandemic. This descriptive mixed method quantitatively surveyed 70 women and another 10 women for the Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). The findings have shown that women in the informal economy were predominantly in the middle and late adulthood stage, married, and the majority had a low level of education (i.e., elementary & high school levels) and were the breadwinners in the family. Also, the average size of each family consisted of 7 members with an average family monthly income of 7,407 pesos. The themes unearthed that informants perceived the Magna Carta of Women as unfamiliar and vague concepts, inconsistent implementation, and responsive leadership. On the other note, informants highlighted that the imagery of women in society gained parity in gender roles. It was revealed that women struggled with delayed assistance, parental obligations, prejudice, and partial treatment.

Global fisheries face a significant crisis, including overexploitation of fishing grounds, marine pollution, and climate change impacts. This paper aims to assess the effects of climate change impacts and the resilience of small-scale fishers (SSF) in Davao Gulf. It investigates the effects of climate change impacts, vulnerabilities, and resilience of small-scale fishers in Governor Generoso, Lupon, Malita, Sta Maria, Don Marcelino, and Davao City using focus group discussion (FGDs) (N = 9) to identify and understand climate change resilience among participants (N = 135). The results showed that all small-scale fishing communities experienced at least two to three climate hazards i.e. northeast monsoon (Amihan), southwest monsoon (Habagat), and typhoons, which bring fierce winds and heavy rains that cause flooding. Moreover, due to the availability of an alternative non-fishing income such as driving and construction work, carpentry, or other manual labour opportunities, fishers are able to recover and recoup the days lost fishing due to climate-related hazards. The policy analysis suggests that the government should provide social benefits, such as free medical checkups , medicines, decent housing, and water, to keep fishers and fishing communities productive and healthy. In addition, local government should create seasonal jobs and replacement of fishing gear should be given to fishers to increase their resilience. ARTICLE HISTORY Highlights. Small-scale fishing communities experienced two to three climate-related hazards annually e.g. northeast monsoon (Amihan), southwest monsoon (Habagat), and typhoons; these hazards bring flooding which can result in illness e.g. dysentery, leptospirosis;. Fishing communities are disrupted by these hazards and clamour for alternative jobs to ensure their livelihoods, and more inclusive social benefits from the government could deliver large benefits. Community resiliency can be enhanced as a solution to cope with climate change impacts by raising awareness, training and disaster preparedness; stronger local policies can empower affected people and communities to act in a timely way.

Aquaculture is growing rapidly as a food-producing sector and in recent years fishmeal prices have climbed more than two-fold on a global scale. This review of previous studies was performed to contribute to the extant literature on the aquaculture sector to aid cost reduction of aquafeeds by identifying substitute proteins that can replace fishmeal. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) using the SCOPUS and WOS (Web of Science), DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals), Academia, and PubMed Central databases. A total of 59 articles were included in the synthesis after screening for duplicates and articles that did not conform to the criteria. Results have shown that the 100% replacement of fishmeal with blood meal (BM) did not affect the growth of fish, nor did the 75% to 100% combination of poultry-by-product (PBM), feather meal (FEM), and BM. Moreover, a 10% replacement of fishmeal using seaweed (Gracilaria arcuata) had no adverse effect on the feed efficiency and growth performance of tilapia. Similarly, a 50% replacement of fishmeal using black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), and a 25% replacement using soybean (Glycine max) also showed better results for fish growth. Our review shows that alternative protein can replace fishmeal in the aquaculture sector and reduce the cost of aquafeeds since alternative proteins are much cheaper than the usual fishmeal. Adoption of these alternative protein sources hinges on financial support, start-up incentives for companies, and ongoing studies on waste-to-feed production, which the government can also support.

This study will develop an online intervention program to effectively support students reintegrating into the face-to-face learning space after the COVID-19 pandemic. It will provide an avenue for debriefing, sharing experiences, and listening to students’ narratives and experiences. In addition, the online program will also include a self-paced socialemotional assessment to identify students who need more support. Using the conservation of resource theory, we will employ a sequential exploratory mixed-method design. Thirty students will be recruited for focus group interviews to explore students' views, perceptions, preferences, and issues in returning to face-to-face classes. The results of the focus group interviews will be analysed to develop a survey to understand the perspectives of a wider student population. The survey results will be analysed using a factor analytic approach to develop a reliable and valid self-assessment tool. Findings from both qualitative and quantitative phases will be used to inform the development of the Online post-COVID intervention program for students (OPIPS).