Methodology

3.1 Sampling site

Lake Taal consist of a huge surface area of 234.2 km, shore length of 115 km, and
an average depth of 100 m. The samples of the fishes will be collected in the deep waters
of the lake by the vicinity of the lakes waters where Pansipit River enters to the lake, and
the near the shores of the mouth of the river. The researchers will be examining the 3
fishes designated in the research by taking the fishes from their natural habitat, which are
the open waters of the lake. By retrieving samples from the natural habitat of the fishes,
their diets and environment will not be restricted and changed upon capture.
3.2 Collection of Fishes
A total of 180 fishes for the three targeted species within the sample sites in the
vicinity where Pansipit River enters the lake. The fishes will be collected in the ports of
the nearby towns that fished by the chosen area every early morning. Fishes not provided
in the ports of the Lake Taal, will result in with the researchers to fish for themselves with
the use of nets. Collection will be conducted in a 6 month period starting from May 2015October 2015. Ten (10) specimens for each fish species will be collected every month.
The collected fishes will then be brought to the proper authorities for identification within
the premises of Lake Taal, for validation of the species that has been caught. Collected
fish samples will then be preserved in buckets or coolers of ice for transportation to lab.
Parasite removal and identification from the fish will be held at Thomas Aquinas
Research Complex.
3.3 Removal of the Parasite Specimens
From collection of specimen and their identification. The collected samples will
then undergo examination of their external bodies for signs for the prevalence of
ectoparasites present in the scales, fins, and skins. The use of dissection microscope will
be used for more intensive search for parasites present on the external anatomy of the
fish. The month they were collected will be recorded as well as the number of parasites
per species.
3.4 Preservation of Parasites
The parasites will be preserved with the use of 95% ethanol. From , ethanol is
recommended for reasons such as being suitable for molecular and morphological
methods, low in toxicity and can be utilized by untrained personnel. The parasites will
then be placed in different vials according to species and filled with 95% ethanol. All
vials will be labeled and parasites acquired will be documented.
3.5 Mounting of Parasites
Parasites will be placed on glass slides, and observed in the microscope. Mounts
such as glycerin and wet mounts will be used to observe the parasites retrieved from the
specimens. Furthermore, parasites that cant be seen properly under microscope due to
not having enough details, the use of the stains such as lactophenol (cotton blue stain) or

Eosin-hematoxylin (H&E stain) for identification of morphology and further details about
the parasites.
3.6 Identification of Parasites
For identification and classification of the parasites, the book of will be used for
the checklist on common occurrence of parasites for the chosen fishes and other various
sources and references for more information.
3.7 Statistical Analysis
Gathered data will be collected and will undergo statistical test for the occurrence
of the parasites in relation to the month they were collected.

Citations and References

Arthur, R., & Lumanlan-Mayo, S. (1997). Checklist of the parasites of fishes of the
Philippines. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO).
Cauyan, g., Briones, Briones, J., De Leon, E., Gonong, J., Pasumbal, E., . . . Papa, R.
(2013). Initial assessment of parasite load in Clarias batrachus, Glossogobius
giuris and Oreochromis niloticus in Lake Taal (Philippines). Philippine Science
Letters, 21-28.
Justine, J.-L., Briand, M., & Bray, R. A. (2012). A quick and simple method, usable in the
field, for collecting parasites in suitable condition for both morphological and
molecular studies. In Parasitology Research (pp. 341-351). Verlag, Germany:
Parasitology Research.