Lota Alcantara-Creencia

• Doctor of Philosophy in Fisheries Science
• Professor at Western Philippines University

Effective social and ecological interventions that can benefit both nature and people are needed to halt the degradation of ecosystems and subsequent negative impacts on human well-being. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are commonly used to foster the sustainability of coastal social-ecological systems. However, because MPAs are often proposed and im...

Due to global climate change and anthropogenic activities, many low-lying coastal communities experience high sodium in drinking water as a result of saltwater intrusion, an emerging environmental health problem in many coastal regions. Drinking saline water is associated with higher sodium intake and hypertension. Exposure to higher ambient temper...

A healthy ocean is essential for human health, and yet the links between the ocean and human health are often overlooked. By providing new medicines, technologies, energy, foods, recreation, and inspiration, the ocean has the potential to enhance human health and wellbeing. However, climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss, and inequity threate...

Many coastal dwellers engage in seaweed farming despite of various challenges because of its simple farming technology, low capital investment, and short cultivation period. This paper explored the attitudes of seaweed farmers (n = 187) from nine coastal communities of Aborlan, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, and Taytay, Palawan towards the difficulties an...

Sandfish (Holothuria scabra Jaeger, 1833) is one of the most valuable sea cucumbers in local and international markets. Although listed as an endangered species, it is among the regularly harvested marine resources in Palawan, Philippines. To continue the trade of sandfish without harvesting from the wild, this study initially ventured into produci...

Seaweed farming in Palawan currently involves different local cultivars. At least 12 of these cultivars were successfully grown in an indoor facility employing the branch culture techniques and were sea-out planted in Puerto Princesa Bay since 2015. Six of these cultivars yielded relatively high daily growth rates and were selected for the year-rou...

Introduction Men are vulnerable to ambient heat-related kidney disease burden; however, limited evidence exists on how vulnerable women are when exposed to high ambient heat. We evaluated the sex-specific association between ambient temperature and urine electrolytes, and 24-hour urine total protein, and volume. Methods We pooled a longitudinal 56...

This case study in a book chapter of the "The people of the Seas and the Seas of the People" explains the current status of the sea environment of Palawan, Philippines vis-a-vis the utilization of marine resources and ecosystems by humans. It also describes the past and present conditions of the fisheries of Palawan.

Entrepreneurship education is deemed important in the discourse of community empowerment and development, especially in coastal communities where poverty is widespread. With adequate entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial intention can be fostered among local fisherfolks and aquafarmers for business creation. This could be achieved through the...

Understanding profitability is crucial when engaging in any fishery business venture. The collection of spiny lobster puerulus has recently caught the interest of many fisherfolks in the province of Palawan, but information regarding its profitability is wanting. This study determined the profitability of puerulus collection based on the informatio...

Understanding profitability is crucial when engaging in any fishery business venture. The collection of spiny lobster puerulus has recently caught the interest of many fisherfolks in the province of Palawan, but information regarding its profitability is wanting. This study determined the profitability of puerulus collection based on the informatio...

How to cite Cayetano CB, Creencia LA, Sullivan E, Clewely D, Miller PI. Multi-spatiotemporal analysis of changes in mangrove forests in Palawan, Philippines: predicting future trends using a support vector machine algorithm and the Markov chain model. UCL Open: Environment. 2023;(5):04. Available from: https://doi.10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000057

Multi-temporal remote sensing imagery can be used to explore how mangrove assemblages are changing over time and facilitate critical interventions for ecological sustainability and effective management. This study aims to explore the spatial dynamics of mangrove extents in Palawan, Philippines, specifically in Puerto Princesa City, Taytay and Aborl...

The Philippine coastal marine ecosystem provides many Ecosystem Services (ES) and is a region where coastal communities are closely dependent on the sea. Previous ES studies focus mainly on biophysical and economic assessments with limited studies about Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES), particularly in the Philippines. Here, we present the CES pro...

Understanding coastal communities’ awareness and risk perceptions of climate change impact is essential in developing effective risk communication tools and mitigation strategies to reduce the vulnerability of these communities. In this study, we examined coastal communities’ climate change awareness and risk perceptions of climate change impact on...

The attractive price for spiny lobster (Panulirus spp.) puerulus has recently encouraged many fishers to engage in its collection as an alternative livelihood at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. This booming fishery prompted the investigation of the settlement traps, luring/shading materials, trap installation and harvesting methods, and proble...

There were reports of the existence of horseshoe crabs in Palawan, Philippines, but there is a need to identify and confirm these species. A total of 128 adult horseshoe crabs were collected from Honda Bay, Palawan, Philippines. These were identified as Tachypleus tridentatus (68 males, 40 females) and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda (2 males, 18 fema...

Microplastics (MPs) have become an emerging threat to the marine environment and biota. This study was conducted to determine the occurrence of MPs on the beach sand of Puerto Princesa, Philippines. Microplastics were extracted from the beach sand through the flotation method and preliminarily identified using a stereomicroscope. A total of 47 MPs...

Understanding the coastal communities’ awareness and risk perceptions of climate change impact is essential in developing effective risk communication tools and mitigation strategies to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities. In this study, we examined the coastal community’s climate change awareness and risk perceptions of climate change...

Zoning is an important tool in marine spatial planning (MSP) for balancing the multi-uses of the marine environment. Whilst mainly developed conceptually and implemented in Europe and North America, marine zoning is becoming a popular tool for addressing diverse coastal marine issues in the tropics. However, we know little about how it is being imp...

Environmental governance systems are expanding in size and complexity as they become more integrated and ecosystem-based. In doing so, governance transitions often involve more actors and knowingly or unknowingly alter the autonomy of actors to make decisions, and thereby the ability of the governance system to self-organise. In other words, these...

Understanding the coastal communities’ awareness and risk perceptions of climate change impact is essential in developing effective risk communication tools and in developing mitigation strategies to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities. In this study, we examined the coastal community’s climate change awareness and risk perceptions of c...

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused worldwide health constraints. This study was conducted to establish a baseline monitoring survey to describe the distribution of PPE litters during the COVID-19 pandemic in the province of Palawan, Philippines. A total of 386 COVID-19-related PPE items were present in 83 % of coastal sampling sites...

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are valuable tools to protect the marine environment from various anthropogenic activities and restore biodiversity and fisheries productivity. Although many MPAs established all over the Philippines, a comprehensive review of its success indicators is limited. This systematic review evaluated different success indicat...

Environmental governance systems are expanding in size and complexity as they become more integrated and ecosystem-based. In doing so, governance transitions often involve more actors and knowingly or unknowingly alter the autonomy of actors to make decisions and thereby the ability of the governance system to self-organise. In short, we argue that...

Scenarios can be used to communicate potential future changes and engage and connect different audiences in exploring sustainable solutions. Communicating scenarios using creative visualisation, co-creation and a focus on local contexts are especially promising. This research is conducted on the island of Palawan in the Philippines as part of the G...

Three hatchery experiments for orange-spotted spinefoot, Siganus guttatus (Bloch, 1787), were carried out in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines using larvae and fingerlings produced through induced spawning. The first experiment (E1) involving larvae raised in six 5,000-L concrete tanks until 39 days post-hatch (dph) comparing two stocking...

The Philippines, as a tropical archipelagic country, is particularly vulnerable to environmental changes affecting coastal and marine settings. However, there are limited studies investigating how these changes are perceived by the local populations who depend directly on the marine environment for their livelihoods, health, and well-being, and who...

Ecosystem service potential Confidence scores Evidence gaps particularly scarce, especially in SE Asia. Given the growing coastal population and expansion in blue economy sectors in SE Asia, evidence to support effective marine planning, such as ecosystem service assessments, is urgently needed. Data deficiencies for marine systems, especially (but...

Despite the potentially huge contributions that coastal communities might make in marine resource management and sustainability, their participation in such efforts have only been recognized recently, particularly in Southeast Asia. Involving community perceptions can offer new insights for policy makers and resource managers and can elicit strong...

Marine plastic litter pollution has become an emerging threat to the Philippines, especially in Palawan. This study was conducted to investigate the macroplastic litter and determine the clean-coast index (CCI) of the residential and non-residential sites on the coasts of Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Plastic litters were sampled from 21 coastal barang...

The GCRF Blue Communities programme is growing interdisciplinary marine research capacity and application in Southeast Asia.

The expanding grouper cage farming in Palawan, Philippines requires stable seed supplies from hatcheries to sustain the demands of fish cage operators. To improve the current hatchery practices for Tiger grouper Epinephelus fuscoguttatus (Forsskål, 1775), four experiments were undertaken. The first experiment (E1), involving three different tempera...

The collection sites of Tridacna crocea in the Philippines was listed based on the previous studies from 1986 up to the present date. Eighteen (18) studies showed the wide distribution of T. crocea within the country. New samples were also added to the collection by the present study from Ulugan Bay and Honda Bay in Puerto Princesa Palawan. First r...

Abalone is one of the most highly priced seafood delicacies and prepared in various dishes like breaded, soup, steamed and sashimi. They are susceptible to microbial contamination since it is eaten raw sometimes and pathogenic microorganisms can be hazardous to consumers. The present study was carried out to determine the coliform load and the pres...

Introduction: Coastal areas in Malaysia can have important impacts on the livelihoods and health of local communities. Efforts by Malaysian government to develop and improve the landscape and ecosystem have been planned; however, the progress has been relatively slow because some of the coastal areas are remote and relatively inaccessible. Thus, t...

The abalone Haliotis asinina is among the highly valued aquaculture commodities in the Philippines. But, the production of abalone in general has declined primarily because of unregulated exploitation. Predation, both in the wild and in grow-out cages may also contribute to the decrease of abalone production. As there has been no record on the pred...

Microorganisms and parasites are some of the major threats to aquaculture, including abalone culture worldwide; however, few reports concerning these microbes and parasites in abalone have been published. Moreover, several studies were conducted to determine the microbial load and degree of parasitism in abalone of other species but not the abalone...

The data leads to the information on the tidal calendar of East Coast of Palawan, based from the Puerto Princesa Tide Station. The calendar transformed the depth of the water at different tidal levels from numbers to graphical form for easy reading of the user. The calendar was made primarily to guide mangrove rehabilitation and protection activiti...

This study was conducted to determine the influence of salinity on the growth of abalone Haliotis diversicolor Reeve, including the density and size of mucous cells. Abalone individuals were reared in the laboratory at salinities of 20, 25, 31, 35 and 40 ppt. The mucous cells of the lips, gills and digestive gut of H. diversicolor, which react to s...

The abalone Haliotis asinina is among the highly valued aquaculture commodities in the Philippines. Although the total quantity of abalone produced on farms worldwide has increased significantly, the abalone obtained from fisheries has declined. The unregulated exploitation has been the culprit in the decrease of abalone in the wild. However, preda...

Aquaculture ventures has enormously expanded in a global scale over the last two decades. But despite the development in aquaculture, problems on mass mortality and low production yield still remain. One of the problems that has to be looked into is the infestation of parasites and biofouling organisms that have detrimental effects on the populatio...

The diatom biofilm that naturally grow on polyvinyl chloride plates serve as food of postlarva and juvenile abalone Haliotis diversicolor Reeve, called " tokobushi " in Japanese. Composition, size and relative density of diatoms in the stomach of 4, 7, 10, 13, 17, 21, 27, 35, 50 and 75 day-old tokobushi were evaluated to characterize their diatom i...

This study was conducted to document the spawning behaviour and determine the fecundity and condition factor of the female abalone Haliotis asinina broodstock conditioned using two indigenous substrates, the banana (Musa spp.) leaf and "buho" (Schizostachyum lumampao) slat, for three months at Western Philippines University-Binduyan Marine Research...

The Japanese abalone “tokobushi” (Haliotis diversicolor Reeve) supports a valuable fishery off Tanegashima Island, southern Japan. However, catches have been declining, probably caused by over harvesting and other factors. Understanding the effects of macroalgal type and water temperature on the consumption rates of tokobushi has applications for t...

The abalone Haliotis diversicolor (Reeve) or ‘tokobushi’ is being cultured in Kagoshima, southern Japan for stock enhancement of fishing grounds. However, with decreasing catches from the wild some fishermen's group may eventually resort to rearing tokobushi until of marketable size. Growth experiments of tokobushi fed macroalgae in floating net ca...

The abalone Haliotis diversicolor (Reeve) or 'toko-bushi' is being cultured in Kagoshima, southern Japan for stock enhancement of ¢shing grounds. However, with decreasing catches from the wild some ¢shermen's group may eventually resort to rearing tokobushi until of marketable size. Growth experiments of tokobushi fed macroalgae in £oating net cage...

The Japanese abalone "tokobushi" (Haliotis diversicolor Reeve) supports a valuable fishery off Tanegashima Island, southern Japan. However, catches have been declining, probably caused by over harvesting and other factors. Understanding the effects of macroalgal type and water temperature on the consumption rates of tokobushi has applications for t...

The Philippine Government engaged several Universities to assess the coastal resources of the Sulu Sea. An assessment of coral cover, reef fishes, sea grass beds, and mangrove forest was conducted in Puerto Princesa City, Romblon, and Mindoro in support to the management of coastal resources of the Sulu Sea in 1999. This could serve as baseline dat...

The performances of the agarophyte, Gracilariopsis bailinae, and the milkfish, Chanos chanos, under monoculture and biculture conditions in aquaria and ponds were studied from May 1997 to March 1998. Water quality of both systems was monitored. The two species have reciprocal characteristics in their biological requirements and by-products. Both sp...

A short-term study on the physical-chemical parameters in Chanos chanos monoculture and its biculture with Gracilariopsis bailinae indicated that the biculture might be advantageous for the growth of milkfish. Dissolved oxygen of the biculture and monoculture was not significantly different early in the morning. Oxygen produced by G. bailinae from...

A study on fishery management of the subtropical abalone, Haliotis diversicolor in. Tanegashima and Yakushima Is. has been undertaken by Kagoshima University since 2002 and will continue for seven years. The final goal of the project is the successful fishery management of the abalone locally known as Tokobushi in Kagoshima, Japan.