Lemnuel Aragones

University of the Philippines | UPD · Institute of Environmental Science and Meteorology

A well-maintained marine mammal stranding data-base can be an invaluable tool in understanding not only strandings but also changes in the marine environment. This study aimed to examine the fol-lowing aspects of marine mammal strandings in the Philippines: species composition, temporal (i.e., frequency of stranding per year and seasonality) and sp...

Among the richest in biodiversity globally has been the Philippine rainforest, which used to cover about 90% of the country's land area. During the last few decades, the forest cover has been reduced to less than 10% of the original, only a fraction of which is old-growth forest. The negative impacts of deforestation led to the launching of the Nat...

Underwater noise poses serious threats to marine mammals, which rely on underwater sound primarily for communication, orientation, and foraging. In this study, underwater noise from dynamite fishing was analyzed to infer possible effects on local marine mammals, particularly cetaceans. Simulated explosions were performed on 9 July 2018 using confis...

The relatively high frequency of marine mammal stranding events in the Philippines provide many research opportunities. A select set of stranders (n = 21) from 2017 to 2018 were sampled for bacteriology and histopathology. Pertinent tissues and bacteria were collected from individuals representing eight cetacean species (i.e. Feresa attenuata, Kogi...

This study aims to generate data which can be used as a potential starting point for the updating of the Philippine Water Quality Criteria and the determination of the true impact of land use to the fecal contamination of the Pampanga River Basin (PRB), the largest subwatershed of Manila Bay. Levels of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) were determined...

Objective. To determine whether bisphenol S (BPS), a common substitute for bisphenol A (BPA), induces cell proliferation and migration in human endometrial epithelial cells (Ishikawa) and adult mouse uterine tissues. Methodology. Human endometrial Ishikawa cells were exposed to low doses of BPS (1 nM and 100 nM) for 72 hours. Cell proliferation was...

Stranding of marine mammals is complex and understanding this phenomenon requires continuous surveillance, monitoring, data collection and research. The Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network (PMMSN) has collected 1178 records of stranding events nationwide from 2005 to 2020. This Technical Report is a follow-up to the second Report (i.e., Arag...

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of synthetic organic chemicals that enrich the food chain via biomagnification where the highest levels have been detected in cetaceans. While several studies have reported cetaceans as sentinels of environmental pollution, information on the contamination status of PCBs in cetaceans found stranded along...

Toxoplasma gondii infections affect marine mammal species worldwide. Investigating the presence of the protozoan parasite in marine mammals is crucial to understanding land-sea connection in relation to the movement of pathogenic and potentially pathogenic microorganisms in the marine environment. The main objective of this study was to detect T. g...

The relatively high frequency of marine mammal stranding events in the Philippines provide many research opportunities. A select set of stranders (n=21) from 2017 to 2018 were sampled for bacteriology and histopathology. Pertinent tissues and bacteria were collected from eight species (i.e. Feresa attenuata, Kogia breviceps, Globicephala macrorhync...

Stranding of marine mammals is complex and understanding it requires more data and studies. The Philippine Marine Mammal Stranding Network (PMMSN) has collected 952 records of stranding events nationwide from 2005 to 2018. This Technical Report is a follow-up to the first Report (i.e. Aragones et al. 2017), which analyzed strandings data from 2005...

The spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) is one of the smallest odontocetes that commonly strands in the Philippines. Despite its apparent abundance and cosmopolitan distribution, there is no published data on the haematological and serum chemical reference values for this species. This limitation greatly affects the ability of veterinarians and...

Background: The stranding events of cetaceans in the Philippines provide opportunities for gathering biological information and specimens, especially from the pelagic forms. As part of an effort to monitor the health of wild cetaceans, this study detected Leptospira spp. and Toxoplasma gondii, causative agents of the emerging zoonotic diseases lep...

Toothed whales possess a sophisticated biosonar system by which ultrasonic clicks are projected in a highly directional transmission beam. Beam directivity is an important biosonar characteristic that reduces acoustic clutter and increases the acoustic detection range. This study measured click characteristics and the transmission beam pattern from...

As sentinels, cetaceans provide the link between ocean and human health by indicating the emergence of disease threats, pathogenic microorganisms, and antimicrobial resistance. Cetaceans that stranded in the Philippines from January 2012 to March 2013 were screened for antibiotic resistance. The susceptibility patterns of Achromobacter xylosidans,...

As sentinels, cetaceans provide the link between ocean and human health by indicating the emergence of disease threats, pathogenic microorganisms, and antimicrobial resistance. Cetaceans that stranded in the Philippines from January 2012 to March 2013 were screened for antibiotic resistance. The susceptibility patterns of Achromobacter xylosidans,...

Bio-economic model of cetacean watching in southern Tanon Strait, Philippines.

Stranded marine mammals may serve as opportunities for probing scientific queries. This study subjected formalin-fixed tissues of two cetaceans, Mesoplodon densirostris (Blainville’s beaked whale) and Kogia sima (dwarf sperm whale), found stranded in Region 11 (Davao) of the Philippines between April and July 2014 to histopathological analyses foll...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Marine mammals strand for various reasons. The recorded Philippine marine mammal stranding events from 2005 to 2016 was analyzed for patterns on (1) species composition of stranded marine mammals, (2) spatial and temporal variation of stranding events, and (3) proportions of alive and dead specimens, to mention a few. A total of...

Blast fishing is an illegal and unsustainable practice that is often reported in Southeast Asia and Africa. Its impact on fish and reef-building corals is well documented, yet there is limited information on the effects on other larger species and near-shore predators. In recent years, several marine mammal strandings in the Philippines have coinci...

Reef systems comprised of adjacent mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs are common in the tropics. These multi-habitat systems exhibit enhanced productivity of coastal areas compared to single habitat systems. Yet in the Philippines, only few studies had been done demonstrating the importance of interhabitat interactions in enhancing coastal pr...

Reef systems comprised of adjacent mangroves, seagrass beds and coral reefs are common in the tropics. These multi-habitat systems exhibit enhanced productivity of coastal areas compared to single habitat systems. Yet in the Philippines, only few studies had been done demonstrating the importance of interhabitat interactions in enhancing coastal pr...

The general consensus of a rapidly changing ocean ecosystem being affected by anthropogenic activities needs to be understood in relation to both wildlife and human health. The risks and challenges for the Philippines include lack of scientific information on waterborne diseases that are potentially zoonotic. The present study fills in this knowled...

The general consensus of a rapidly changing ocean ecosystem being affected by anthropogenic activities needs to be understood in relation to both wildlife and human health. The risks and challenges for the Philippines include lack of scientific information on waterborne diseases that are potentially zoo-notic. The present study fills in this knowle...

The general consensus of a rapidly changing ocean ecosystem being affected by anthropogenic activities needs to be understood in relation to both wildlife and human health. The risks and challenges for the Philippines include lack of scientific information on waterborne diseases that are potentially zoo-notic. The present study fills in this knowle...

Dolphin watching is a growing economic activity in the southern Tañon Strait Protected Seascape (TSPS), the Philippines, an area that is also heavily exploit ed by f isheries. In order to examine the issues and challenges in this growing industry, we monitored relevant information regarding cetacean watching, conducted focus group discussions (FGDs...

This important scientific volume comprehensively explores the biology and ecological status of manatees and dugongs in all of the geographic regions where they can be found today, from the Caribbean to Eastern Africa, from Arabia to the Amazon, and from Japan through the South Pacific to Australia. Many of these dwindling populations are situated i...

Grazing by dugongs and cropping by green turtles have the capacity to alter the subsequent nutritional quality of seagrass regrowth. We examined the effects of simulated light and intensive grazing by dugongs and cropping by turtles on eight nutritionally relevant measures of seagrass chemical composition over two regrowth periods (short-term, 1-4...

Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy was used to analyze nutrient composition of tropical and subtropical seagrasses in Queensland, Australia, as part of a broader study of impacts of grazing by dugongs on seagrass. Seagrass samples of 10 species were collected, transported to the laboratory, and separated into leaf and root/rhizome fractions. Th...

The impact of grazing by two megaherbivores, the Dugong Dugong dugon and the Green Turtle Chelonia mydas on the community structure of intertidal seagrasses was investigated experimentally over two time frames (shorter-term: 1-4 months; longer-term: 10 and 13 months), at three levels of grazing intensity (leaf cropping, light grazing, intensive gra...

Many ecological studies rely heavily on chemical analysis of plant and animal tissues. Often, there is limited time and money to perform all the required analyses and this can result in less than ideal sampling schemes and poor levels of replication. Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) can relieve these constraints because it can provide...

The species taken are spinner dolphins Stenella longirostris; Fraser's dolphins Lagenodelphis hosei; pantroprical spotted dolphins Stenella attenuata; Risso's dolphins Grampus griseus; melon-headed whales Peponocephala electra; and short-finned pilot whales Globicephala macrorhynchus. -from Authors

A simultaneous monitoring system that used a team of local observers to count dugongs around Calauit Island, Busuanga, Palawan, Philippines, from eight vantage points was employed from March 1989 to May 1990 to identify important dugong habitats around the island. On average, five dugongs were seen per survey day. More dugongs were observed during...