11th National Convention on Statistics (NCS) EDSA Shangri-La Hotel October 4-5, 2010

SEAGRASS DIVERSITY IN THE WESTERN AND EASTERN SITES OF IGANG BAY, GUIMARAS PHILIPPINES

by Rolando A. Alimen, Cornelio M. Selorio, Jr., Homervergel G. Ong, Renie D. Batuigas, Vicente O. Corpes, Mary Mar G. Esmaa, Cicero D. Ortizo

For additional information, please contact: Authors names Designation Affiliation Address Tel. no. E-mail Co-authors names Designation Affiliation Address Tel. no. E-mail Rolando A. Alimen, Cornelio M. Selorio, Jr. Researh Coordinator John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, University of Philippines-Visayas M.H. Del Pilar, Molo, Iloilo City Miag-ao, Iloilo (33) 336 5449 ralimen@yahoo.com Homervergel G. Ong, Renie D. Batuigas, Vicente O. Corpes, Mary Mar G. Esmaa, Cicero D. Ortizo John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University Molo, Iloilo City, Philippines

1 SEAGRASS DIVERSITY IN THE WESTERN AND EASTERN SITES OF IGANG BAY, GUIMARAS PHILIPPINES
By
Rolando A. Alimen, Ph. D. Homervergel G. Ong, MA Renie D. Batuigas, MME Vicente O. Corpes, MME Mary Mar G. Esmaa Cicero D. Ortizo, MSME John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Molo Iloilo City, Philippines Cornelio M. Selorio, Jr. College of Fisheries University of Philippines-Visayas Philippines

ABSTRACT
Seagrass is a unique angiosperm that grows in the sea. It is one of the three ecosystems that link each other to equilibrate marine coastal environment. The increase rate of the destruction of the seagrass meadow calls an alarming threat to this community, commonly anthropogenic. This study determines the percentage cover and diversity of indexes of the seagrass in Igang Bay before the anthropogenic threat happened. Line transect quadrat method is used and analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney test before subjected to similarity and overlap attribute, diversity, maximum diversity, evenness and dominance indexes. There are nine species of seagrasses, three species in western sites and nine in eastern sites. Canopy height and percent cover of seagrass has inverse interaction. Index of similarity between two sites is 0.3333 and 0.4286 for overlap attribute. Eastern site has higher diversity index and February is the highest at 1.24 and 2.10 in maximum diversity. The seagrass distribution is even after intermoonson at 0.71 and 0.12 in eastern site and western site, respectively. Thalassia hemprichii is the dominant species in both sites, and peak at July in both sites. In general, the Igang Bay seagrass meadow is Thalassia mixed meadow. KEYWORDS: Seagrass, Igang Bay, percent cover, similarity index, diversity index, evenness and dominance

I. Introduction Seagrasses are unique angiosperms that grow in the sea. Thirteen species have been recorded in the Philippine waters (Calumpong and Meez, 1997). These represent 27% of the total reported worldwide. Seagrasses attached to all types of substrates, occur mostly extensive on soft ones. They are commonly found in intertidal region up to 30 meters depth. According to Waycott et al. (2009), seagrass meadows are important as nutrient cycling, magnitude enhancement of coral reef fish productivity, habitat of fish and invertebrates species, and major source food of endangered species like manatee and green sea turtle. Seagrass meadows are comparably important as mangrove and coral reef ecosystems. These three are linking with each other to equilibrate the marine coastal environment. Coral reef and mangrove ecosystem catch the attention for conservation while seagrass meadows are left out. The interactions of

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seagrass with mangroves and coral reef are important. All these ecosystems exert a stabilizing effect on the environment, resulting in important physical and biological support for the other community. The instability of one system has greatly affected the other system, i.e. destruction of seagrass meadow will likely unstabilize the other system (Worm, 2006). Like the other system, seagrass must be monitored in order to salvage from destruction. In Guimaras, these three ecosystem are present linking each others community. Conventionally, mangrove and coral reef are prioritizing in conservation and study. This study is monitoring and determining the diversity of seagrass meadow of Villa Igang, Guimaras. The pristine coral and mangrove ecosystem of the Villa Igang Puerto del Mar links the seagrass ecosystem to support the fishes and invertebrates living in this area. These ecosystems are needed to maintain there stability of the linkages for saving dependent population from endangering. However, the destruction of these ecosystems is mainly cause by anthropogenic activities (Cressey, 2009). The growing population contributes this kind of activities making acceleration of the destruction rate. In seagrass alone, destruction of the meadow the decline rate is accelerating from 0.9% yr-1 to 7.0% yr-1 (Waycott et al., 2009). Here in the Philippines, seagrasses have significant importance to artisanal fishermen because of the rabbitfish fishery (Duray, 1990; Salita et al., 2003). Moreover, Vandeklift and Jacoby (2003) discussed the assemblage of fish changes when there is a grass loss. The change of fish of fish assemblage in the system causes fish migration into suitable environment and other fish to emigrate. The changes of the marine organisms during the loss are relative to the change in the diversity of the seagrass meadow. Dugong (Dugong dugon), for example, are specific to eat Thalassia hemprichii (main diet), Syringodium isoetifolium and Cymodocea spp and green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is eaten Thalassia hemprichii and Enhalus acoroides (Andre et al., 2005). Moreover, the study of Taplin et al. (2005) states that the change of seagrass meadow into macroalgal bed is the alarming cause of anthropogenic activities. In tropical countries, mixed meadows are common. They are mixed in response to the nutrient enrichment (Agawin et al., 1996), disturbance (Duarte et al., 1997), and competition (Duarte, 2000) and water depth (Taplin et al., 2005) and spatial distribution. According to Agawin et al. (1996), different seagrasses have different nutrient requirements. The requirement makes their biogeography limited between mangrove and coral reef ecosystem. Furthermore, the distribution of each species can be aggregate and assemble in patchiness. The disturbance is another factor to consider in distribution and mixes of the seagrass. Species like Syringodium can tolerate disturbance in coral reef, while Enhalus are near mangrove forest, because of their sensitivity in siltation. The competition of light is common in plants. Enhalus and Thalassia species are co-occuring in the same area and can tolerate inter - and intraspecific competition. There morphology dictates because they are taller than other seagrasses (Calumpong and Meez, 1997). The water depth and spatial are other factors that influence the mixed meadow. As the water becomes deep, the distribution changes, that is the Enhalus is capable of infiltrating deeper water. The near-shore seagrasses are commonly rhizomal and small size, like Halodule spp., tolerating sandy area, while deeper and muddy area are dominated by Enhalus species. In Igang Bay, seagrass monitoring is in progress because of the collaboration of the New Hampshire and John B. Lacson Maritime Universities. The rapid decline of seagrass meadow worldwide and the unavailability of the seagrass assessment in tropical southeast Asia urged the monitoring. This monitoring of seagrass can help determine the ecological changes in Igang Bay. Moreover, there is presence of green sea turtle in the area as well as its conservation area. Conserving seagrass meadow will help conserve the green sea turtle in the area. Objective of the Study

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To address this monitoring, the following objectives are as follows: 1. To establish the one-year trend of seagrass cover and canopy and diversity, and 2. To determine the diversity indexes of the seagrass system in Igang Bay Materials and Methods The sampling location is located at the Igang Bay. It has two sites Igang Bay West and Igang Bay East. Each site has three transect lines parallel to the shore and approximately 30 m away from each line (Magramo et al., 2009). Transect line is 50 m long lay perpendicular to the shore. Along a line, 12 quadrats of 0.5x0.5 m2 are randomly fixed to be monitored seagrasses quarterly. Seagrasses were identified and percentage covers of each species in each quadrat were recorded (Burdick and Kendrick). Canopy height was also determined to relate with the cover. Physico-chemical, like pH, sediment type, and salinity, were monitored during the sampling. One-year records of wind direction were taken from Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA). Using the conversional approximate density (Tomascik et al., 1997), the percent covers were converted to density (number of individual per m2). The density values were used to calculate the diversity indexes, i.e. Shannon-Weiner index (H;diversity index), maximum diversity (Hmax), index of dominance (D), index of similarity and evenness (J)(Brower et al., 1990; Sidik et al., 2001). Homogeneity and Normality test of the data were determined in order to use parametric test. However, data were neither homogenous nor normal. Thus, percent cover and density of seagrass per month and per species were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Between groups are the months and species. The analysis between sites uses Mann-Whitney test do determine the difference between sites. After testing the statistics computation of the indexes followed. Results Nine (9) species can be found in Igang Bay out of the thirteen (13) seagrass species found in the Philippines. Species richness showed that three (3) species can be found in West Igang Bay and nine species in East Igang Bay. Index of similarity between two sites is 0.3333 and 0.4286 for overlap attribute. Percent cover In Figure 1, the percent cover of the seagrass showed in April 2008 has almost different in both sites. However, there is a tremendous decline in western site and a little decrease in eastern site. Moreover, in October 2008 until April 2009, the decline of both sites had a difference of .40% , 8.83% for eastern site and 8.40% for western site. The annual decline of both covers is 9.03% and 5.08% for eastern and western site respectively. The different percentage cover of the seagrass showed significant difference per species (p<0.05), this is due to changes of composition of seagrass year round and local tidal activities as well as the season. The canopy height of the seagrass showed that the western site has higher canopy than eastern site (Figure 2). There is a decrease canopy height in July 2008, however, it

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progressively increase up to February 2009 and declined again. However, the eastern site has uniform canopy height. In Figure 3, the percentage cover and canopy height are plotted to determine the relationship. It shows that the percent cover inversed with the canopy height. In both sites, the canopy height increased while and percent cover decreased and vice versa. Figure 1. Quarterly percent cover of seagrass in Igang Bay
East Igang 80 70 60
% Cover

West Igang

50 40 30 20 10 0 Apr 08 Jul 08 Oct 08 Feb 09 Apr 09

Figure 2. One-year canopy height of seagrasses in Igang Bay

East Igang 25 20

West Igang

Canopy Height

15 10 5 0 Apr 08 Jul 08 Oct 08 Feb 09 Apr 09

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Figure 3. Percent cover and canopy height relationship in East Igang (A) and West Igang (B)

Seagrass Diversity The derived seagrasses densities are used to determine the indexes. In Table 1, the eastern site has lower density compared to western side. The density of the seagrasses in oneyear monitoring shows that T. hemprichii is the most abundant in the seagrass meadow in both locations. However, C. serrulata, H. minor, and S. isoetifolium are seasonally seen in the area, and are common in the eastern side. The result shows that there is a significant difference among species densities per month (p<0.05). Between sites the densities are not significant (p>0.05, U = 186.00). The densities are computed to determine the indexes of the seagrass community (Table 2). Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H) showed that the eastern site has higher diversity compared to the western side. During 2008, April has the highest index and February 2009 has the next peak of diversification of the seagrass. The estimated possible maximum diversity (Hmax) of the seagrass to carry its carrying capacity is 2.08 and it will occur at summer season. Given a possible equality (J) of all seagrass in the meadow, October is a possible time the seagrasses can attain evenness of 0.71, while in western site three species can nearly equate during summer. In species richness index (s) the eastern site has 5-8 species, while western site has only 2 3 species. The dominating species in both sites is T. hemprichii (Table 3). As a general, ThalassiaCymodocea-Enhalus association is present in the Igang Bay. Some other species are seasonal and at very low dominance.

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Table 1. Density of Seagrass in Igang Bay, based on the conventional density (Tomascik et al., 1997).
Area Species Cymodocea rotundata Cymodocea serrulata Enhalus acoroides Halodule pinifolia Halodule uninervis Halophila minor Halophila ovalis Syringodium isoetifolium Thalassia hemprichii Enhalus acoroides Halophila ovalis Thalassia hemprichii Apr 08 58.333 0.000 3.667 83.333 106.333 0.000 2.667 0.000 308.667 62.556 3.333 0.333 325.333 109.667 Jul 08 3.667 63.333 11.667 2.667 16.000 0.000 0.000 17.667 275.333 43.370 2.333 0.000 205.000 69.111 Oct 08 34.333 0.000 5.333 38.000 15.667 0.000 0.000 0.000 144.000 26.370 3.000 0.000 303.333 102.111 Apr 09 17.333 0.000 3.333 75.000 8.667 0.000 1.333 0.000 126.000 25.741 2.667 1.000 178.000 60.556 Feb 09 10.000 57.333 3.333 68.333 1.333 0.667 0.667 0.000 141.333 31.444 3.667 0.000 218.333 74.000

East

East Total West West Total

Table 2. Diversity Index of Seagrass in Igang Bay, Guimaras, Philippines

Month APR08 JUL08 OCT08 FEB09 APR09 H' 1.2201 0.9951 1.1409 1.2375 1.104 Igang East Hmax J 1.7918 0.6810 1.9459 0.5114 1.6094 0.7089 2.0794 0.5951 1.7918 0.6162 s 6 7 5 8 6 H' 0.0646 0.0617 0.0550 0.0842 0.1106 Igang West Hmax J 1.0986 0.0588 0.6931 0.0890 0.6931 0.0793 0.6931 0.1215 1.0986 0.1007 s 3 2 2 2 3

Table 3. Index of dominance of seagrasses present in Igang, Bay

AREA SPECIES Cymodocea rotundata Cymodocea serrulata Enhalus acoroides Halodule pinifolia Halodule uninervis Halophila minor Halophila ovalis Syringodium isoetifolium Thalassia hemprichii Enhalus acoroides Halophila ovalis Thalassia hemprichii APR08 1.07E-02 4.24E-05 2.19E-02 3.57E-02 2.24E-05 3.01E-01 1.03E-04 1.03E-06 9.78E-01 2.05E-03 4.98E-01 1.27E-04 9.78E-01 3.68E-01 9.59E-05 9.81E-01 JUL08 8.82E-05 2.63E-02 8.93E-04 4.67E-05 1.68E-03 OCT08 2.09E-02 5.05E-04 2.56E-02 4.36E-03 FEB09 1.25E-03 4.10E-02 1.39E-04 5.83E-02 2.22E-05 5.55E-06 5.55E-06 2.49E-01 2.73E-04 9.67E-01 APR09 5.60E-03 2.07E-04 1.05E-01 1.40E-03 3.31E-05 2.96E-01 2.15E-04 3.03E-05 9.60E-01

East

West

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Discussion The condition of the water in Igang Bay caters only nine species of seagrasses. These species can tolerate the physico-chemical of the Bay. The location of the mixed meadows are based on the substrate type, that is the sediment of the western site is sandy-muddy to fine sandy, which this type of substrate cater only the E. acoriodes and T. hemprichii. According to Calumpong and Meez (1997), this type of seagrass meadow is Enhalus-Thalassia association. E. acoroides can stand highly in the turbid environment. Moreover, the leaves of E. acoroides can reach up to one meter in length (Calumpong and Meez, 1997). The penetration of light in the turbid water is thin and muddy substrates were common in embankment; but can tolerate clear water and fine sandy substrate also. Moreover, because of longer leaves it can survive in this type of environment. T. hemprichii, on the other hand, is also a muddy to fine sandy species, however these species are very sensitive to environmental deterioration and are a slow growing species (Terrados et al., 1998). However, T. hemprichii is found to have a rapid germination of non-dormant seeds developed into seedlings (Rollon et al., 2003). This reproductive mechanism can help T. hemprichii to regenerate its population on time. The Enhalus-Thalassia association can be best for the area between mangrove and coral reef, i.e. western site of this study. Almost one-third of the seagrasses present in the eastern site is present in the western site. The overlap attribute between the two sites are 0.42. The attribute overlap measures the attribute that are similar to the sites, which is zero. Percent cover Seagrasses intertidal habitat is commonly exposed during low tide. The exposure of the seagrass in the sea can cause hydration to some; however in E. acoroides it is beneficial for reproduction. This exposure can result to higher number of fruits and it is very evident in shallow water (Rollon et al., 2003). This can be a factor of the seasonality increase of the E. acoroides. Moreover, each seagrass has its own die-off season, this is when the seagrasses are dying and are replaced the by the new shoots. Common die-off season of seagrass is happening during exposure to the turbulent tides. These tides bring stress to seagrass. Commonly, this happens during intermonsoon (Northeast monsoon intermonsoon, December-January and Southwest monsoon intermonsoon, May-June; PAG-ASA 6, unpublished). This event is reflected in the Figure 3, showing the exposure of eastern site to southwest monsoon intermonsoon and western site to northeast monsoon intermonsoon. The minimal decline of western sites is due to the barrier of the island, which is not exposed to a turbulent tide. The canopy in the western site is higher because of the abundance of the E. acoroides. The E. acoriodes increases but the cover is lower because only T. hemprichii can survive in the muddy substrate. The presence of the Halophila ovalis is seasonal and commonly during April, tide in calm and siltation is low. This specie is not sensitive to siltation (Seagrass-Watch, 2007). Seagrass diversity The densities of seagrasses are likely influenced with the richness of the area. In western site, three species are thriving in the muddy-sandy substrate. They are commonly tolerant in siltation (Sea-Watch, 2007) or have high reproductive viability, i.e. T. hemprichii (Rollon et al, 2003). The widespread abundance of the T. hemprichii showed that this can tolerate other substrates, other than muddy. Other species are seasonally seen are declining in number density but can recover when the condition is favorable for it growth and reproduction.

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The absence of the C. serrulata, H. minor, and S. isoetifolium is because of the substrate and because it is a sensitive specie to siltation. Near mangrove area, mud with the running water and animal erosion caused turbidity, which a condition that light cannot penetrate. Moreover, this species are 4-45 cm tall and precisely they are conditioned in sandy substrate (Calumpong and Mees, 1997). The change in composition and seasonality is significant enough to determine the seasonality of the other species. The diversity of the species represents the quantity that a certain area can hold. In this paper, the eastern site can hold optimum condition that a specie requires for its survival. This condition shows evidence of interspecific competition. Throughout the year, the eastern side is stable to have high diversity. The carrying capacity showed in maximum diversity. In relation to the maximum diversity, the diversity at present is enough to have a good population index to maintain the population of the seagrass meadow in Igang Bay (Tomascik et al., 1997). The best time to have a maximization of the diversity is during summer, where siltation and turbulence are minimal and reproduction is high. Moreover, the nearer the diversity to the maximum index, eutrophication of the algae will be avoided (Borges et al., 2008). The index of evenness (J) showed that seagrasses have been nearly equal in species diversity during southwest monsoon. This is the time the abundance are dying-off to have an equity to other species. However, western side attain evenness during summer, this is also the time, where dying-off is present due to monsoon. The monsoon, siltation, and turbulence cause the richness of the site to change. In the index of dominance, the dominating species is T. hemprichii. In the western site, the seagrass meadow in Enhalus-Thalassia associates, while in eastern site the seagrass meadow is Thalassia-Halodule-Cymodocea associates. Therefore, Igang Bay supports Thalassia meadow (in general). The Thalassia meadow supports univalve, sea urchin and the endangered species like green sea turtle and dugong. Conclusions To conclude, the seagrass diversity the seasonality are determined through the percent cover, and indexes. Some seagrasses are perennial, while others are seasonal. The seasonality and dying-off of the seagrass is dependent on the siltation, turbulence, and season present in the Bay. The meadow in Igang Bay is Thalassia mixed meadow. This meadow can support the endangered species of dugong and green sea turtle. Moreover, production of gastropods is high in this meadow. Recommendations The following are the recommendations of this study: (1) It is recommended that continued research and monitoring of the seagrasses must be done and sustained. The seagrasses have an inter-linkage to the mangrove and coral reef ecosystem. (2) Moreover, other ecosystem that support seagrass must be monitored and conserved because seagrass depends on these ecosystems.

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