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Applied Ichthyology
J. Appl. Ichthyol. 26 (2010), 946–948 Received: July 28, 2009
2010 Blackwell Verlag, Berlin Accepted: February 22, 2010
ISSN 0175–8659 doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2010.01516.x
Technical contribution
Species composition and length-weight relationship of fishes in the Candaba wetland
on Luzon Island, Philippines
By L. M. B. Garcia
15.2° • Mandili
Arayat
Pampanga River
North latitude
• Barangca-Malisik
Candaba • Simang
Santa Ana N
Table 1
Length-weight regression parameters of fish species caught in the Candaba wetland, Philippines. Six species (bold, italics) have no LWR described
by Froese and Pauly (2010) in FishBase
Standard length
Family and species n b (95% CI) a (95% CI) r2 range (cm) Status
Anabantidae
Anabas testudineus 51 2.84 (2.68–2.99) 0.056 (0.041–0.078) 0.97 4.8–11.7 Native
Ariidae
Arius dispar 3 3.44 (3.38–3.50) 0.006 (0.005–0.007) 0.99 10.2–19.5 Native
Chanidae
Chanos chanos (juveniles) 10 2.91 (2.41–3.40) 0.021 (0.006–0.081) 0.96 12.0–19.2 Native
Channidae
Channa striata 81 2.96 (2.83–3.08) 0.018 (0.012–0.027) 0.96 12.6–41.4 Introduced
Cichlidae
Oreochromis niloticus 386 3.04 (2.98–3.09) 0.036 (0.032–0.041) 0.97 4.0–21.3 Introduced
Clariidae
Clarias batrachus 12 2.70 (2.08–3.31) 0.028 (0.004–0.191) 0.90 15.8–28.9 Introduced
Cyprinidae
Barbonymus gonionotus 572 2.98 (2.95–3.01) 0.035 (0.033–0.038) 0.98 3.9–21.1 Introduced
Cyprinus carpio 467 2.89 (2.84–2.95) 0.037 (0.031–0.043) 0.97 5.8–60.0 Introduced
Ctenopharyngodon idella 1 – – – – Introduced
Carassius auratus 1 – – – – Introduced
Labeo rohita (juveniles) 107 2.92 (2.79–3.04) 0.028 (0.020–0.038) 0.95 9.5–36.2 Introduced
Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (juveniles) 13 3.19 (2.93–3.46) 0.011 (0.005–0.026) 0.98 14.6–29.8 Introduced
Gobiidae
Glossogobius giuris (juveniles) 105 3.06 (2.99–3.13) 0.015 (0.013–0.017) 0.99 2.8–17.1 Native
G. biocellatus 1 – – – – Native
Hemiramphidae
Rhynchorhamphus georgii 19 2.32 (1.84–2.79) 0.014 (0.005–0.040) 0.86 7.1–17.0 Native
Loricariidae
Pterygloplichthys disjunctivus 128 2.56 (2.42–2.69) 0.080 (0.054–0.117) 0.91 7.7–26.5 Introduced
Megalopidae
Megalops cyprinoides (juveniles) 5 3.14 (2.04–4.28) 0.011 (0.0005–0.250) 0.96 14.4–19.5 Native
Mugilidae
Liza subviridis 3 2.75 (1.82–3.67) 0.041 (0.004–0.401) 0.99 11.1–13.2 Native
Osphronemidae
Trichogaster pectoralis 109 3.22 (3.08–3.36) 0.015 (0.011–0.021) 0.95 6.5–14.9 Introduced
T. trichopterusa 4 3.0 0.051 1.0 6.7–7.7 Introduced
Teraponidae
Leiopotherapon plumbeus 263 3.00 (2.92–3.09) 0.032 (0.027–0.037) 0.95 2.2–11.8 Native
a
Specimens had the same body weight. LWR parameters were estimated following Froese (2006); thus, b = 3 and a is geometric mean of four
specimens.
n, sample size; CI, confidence interval.
(Table 1). Except for the families of Cyprinidae, Gobiidae, and ids, the cyprinids with six species were by far the most
Belontiidae, each family was represented by at least one fish dominant fishes sampled. Other tropical wetlands in Southeast
species. Followed by two species of gobiids and osphronemi- Asia support a variety of cyprinids, which reflects their high
948 L. M. B. Garcia
degree of endemicity in the region (Zakaria-Ismail, 1994). The City) under Project Code Number BIO 07-2-02. Field assis-
great number of cyprinid species in the Candaba wetland and tance by James Paul Gomez, Roman Aldo Reyes, Riezel Ann
elsewhere in the Philippines are the result of species introduc- Bernal, the cooperation and assistance of municipal and village
tions in support of the governmentÕs food production pro- (barangay) officials and the local people of the municipality of
grams in previous years (Welcomme, 1981). Overall, 57% of Candaba, Pampanga are gratefully acknowledged. The author
the fish species reported in this study have been introduced is grateful for the gift of field sampling gear from IDEA WILD
into Philippine freshwater habitats; the remaining 43% are (Fort Collins, Colorado, USA).
native species. Of particular concern is the increasing presence
of the invasive sailfin catfish (Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus,
Loricariidae; local name: janitor fish) in the fishery catch of References
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(Chavez et al., 2006). The prevalence of these introduced Carrandang, J. R., 2006: New Philippine record of South
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AuthorÕs address: Luis Maria B. Garcia, University of the Philippines,
Institute of Biology, 1101 Diliman, Quezon City,
Philippines.
Acknowledgements E-mail: aacanthurus@gmail.com
This study was funded by the Natural Science Research
Institute of the University of the Philippines (Diliman, Quezon