Diversity, species composition, and richness of marine fish fauna in Isabela Waters, Philippines
Encarnacion, A.B.; Calicdan-Villarao, M.A.; Morales, M.C. (2017). Diversity, species composition, and richness of marine fish fauna in Isabela Waters, Philippines. Kuroshio 11(1): 21-30
In: Kuroshio: Wakayama-Ken. ISSN 0287-5349, more
|  |
| Keyword |
|
| Author keywords |
diversity, species richness, composition, Isabela Waters |
| Authors | | Top |
- Encarnacion, A.B.
- Calicdan-Villarao, M.A.
- Morales, M.C.
|
|
|
| Abstract |
The Philippines is globally important hotspot for biological diversity particularly in the Northern coast of the country due to the presence of Kuroshio Current that brings high nutrients and contributes to high diversity of marine fish fauna in the area. Survey of marine fish fauna was conducted from July 2014 to June 2015 in Isabela Waters covering the four coastal municipalities of Isabela, Philippines. Data were collected from the fisherfolk unloading their catch using different types of fishing gears and was analyzed using the biological indices of Species richness, Diversity index, and Pielou’s evenness index. Species dominance was computed using the Simpson’s dominance index formula. In terms of total catch landings, Thunnus obesus dominated the total catch (18.63%) followed by Decapterus macarellus (14.27%) and Terapon theraps (13.66%). The total catch landing was shared by 286 fisherfolk using 15 different types of fishing gears. A total of 23,980 fish samples belonging to 54 families, 109 genera, and 238 species were recorded. As to conservation status, four species are nearly threatened, one vulnerable and one endangered. Diversity index of the study area was 3.77 with species evenness of 0.7 and dominance index value of 0.94 indicating high fish diversity and even distribution of species in the fishing ground. The study revealed that Isabela waters harbors a diverse community of marine fish fauna. |
|
