Philippine Journal of Science
150 (3): 619-630, June 2021
ISSN 0031 – 7683
Date Received: 05 Oct 2020

Early Life Stages of Fishes in Lake Taal,
Philippines: Assessment and Implications
for Biodiversity Management and Conservation

Ma. Lourdes D. Merilles, Charmane B. Nochete, Benjie D. Tordecilla,
and Maria Theresa M. Mutia*

Freshwater Fisheries Research and Development Center
National Fisheries Research and Development Institute
Butong, Taal, Batangas, Philippines

*Corresponding author: tmmutia@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

Lake Taal is the third largest lake in the Philippines and its fisheries provide livelihood to thousands of locals in its coastal areas. This study was conducted to recommend possible strategies and measures to conserve and protect the population of fishes, especially of the early life stages (ELS). The composition, abundance, and distribution of ELS and the environmental factors affecting these were investigated through monthly ichthyoplankton surveys and monitoring of water parameters, phytoplankton, and zooplankton abundances in 12 equidistant stations from January 2015 to December 2018. A total of 26,345 fish eggs and 9,140 fish larvae were collected, of which 88.9% of the fish larvae were morphologically identified into eight families, while the rest were unidentified. Families Terapontidae (44.5%) and Gobiidae (37.0%) numerically dominated the identified larvae catch. Distribution of the egg, yolk sac, and pre-flexion stages (ELS) significantly varied across stations. Three stations on the northern basin of the lake showed the highest fish egg abundance (731.82, 246.47, and 381.28 ind 100 m–3) while stations on the west, northwest, and eastern bay of the lake showed the highest abundance of fish larvae (153.76, 121.28, and 94.64 ind 100 m–3). The temporal distribution of ELS was highly associated with zooplankton, green algae, and salinity while spatial distribution was highly associated with the majority of the water parameters and chlorophyll a. Seasonal and annual distribution of ELS showed significant variation, which reveals possible spawning patterns of the identified fish larvae and the influence of varying environmental conditions to the distribution of ELS. Based on these, the identified possible spawning and larval foraging grounds are recommended as protected zones. Reduction of nutrient inputs to minimize changes in the lake trophic condition is also recommended.