Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences, February - 2016; Volume – 4(1)

Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences

http://www.jebas.org

ISSN No. 2320 – 8694

PHYTOPLANKTON COMMUNITY IN AQUACULTURE AND NON-

AQUACULTURE SITES OF TAAL LAKE, BATANGAS, PHILIPPINES

Airill L. Mercurio1,*, Blesshe L. Querijero2 and Johnny A. Ching1

1
Biological Sciences Department, College of Science and Computer Studies, De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, City of Dasmariñas 4115, Cavite, Philippines.
2
Animal Biology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines, Los Baños 4031, Laguna, Philippines.

Received – November 25, 2015; Revision – December 20, 2015; Accepted – January 21, 2016
Available Online – February 20, 2016

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18006/2016.4(1).66.73

KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Phytoplankton
This study was aimed to assess the phytoplankton communities between the aquaculture and non-
Taal Lake aquaculture sites of the Taal Lake in Batangas, Philippines for a sampling period of 10 months from
August 2013 to May 2014. Total of 39 phytoplankton genera under Division Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta,
Aquaculture Chrysophyta and Pyrrophyta were reported from the study site. Among these, 36 genera were observed
from the aquaculture sites while only 30 genera from the non-aquaculture sites. Results of the density
Importance value revealed that availability of phytoplankton was significantly higher in the aquaculture than the non-
aquaculture sampling stations for all major phytoplankton divisions. Highest monthly density was also
recorded during the summer months of March to May 2014 and lowest in the month of January 2014
due to sulphur upwelling. The most dominant phytoplankton based on importance value for both
sampling sites was Microcystis followed by Merismopedia in aquaculture sites and Oscillatoria in non-
aquaculture sites, all under division Cyanophyta, indicating the organic pollution and eutrophication of
Taal Lake.

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* Corresponding author
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67
1 Introduction
Taal Lake covers an area of 268 km2, lies 60 km south of
Manila, in the province of Batangas. The lake provides
multiple services to various users, including fisheries, of which
aquaculture has flourished rapidly over the years. The lake is
also used for recreation, tourism, navigation, and as water
source for the nearby cities and agricultural fields (Mutia,
2001). Aquaculture had been the major source of livelihood of
the fisher folk living in the lakeshore since 1970 (Gibertas,
2008). Fish cage operators rely on the water of Taal Lake for
intensive fish production (Vista et al., 2006).
In aquaculture, phytoplankton contributes to primary
productivity that helps in maintaining fisheries (Brraich &
Saini, 2015). Phytoplankton serve as food of zooplanktons
which are usually being fed to fish larvae reared in fish
hatcheries (Moncheva & Parr, 2010; Diwowo, 2013).
Phytoplanktons also play an important role in material
circulation and energy flow in aquatic ecosystem. Its presence
often controls the growth, reproduction capacity, and
population characteristics of other organisms (Ariyadej et al.,
2008). It is also an important biological indicator of the water
quality (Edward & Ugwumba, 2010; Brraich & Saini, 2015).
The current study compared the phytoplankton community in
two separate areas in Taal Lake, the fish cage farming sites and
Figure 1 Sampling stations for aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites in Talisay and Laurel, Batangas, Philippines (Map created by the
author using Q-GIS).
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Mercurio et al
non-aquaculture sites during a 10-month sampling period from
August 2013 to May 2014 as indicator of possible effect of
aquaculture activities on lake productivity.
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Phytoplankton Collection and Measurement
Phytoplankton samples for quantitative and qualitative
analyses were collected from three sampling stations for the
aquaculture sites and one sampling station for the non-
aquaculture sites. Each sampling station has three sub-
sampling stations; total of 12 sub-sampling stations for the
study site. The aquaculture sampling stations, located in the
municipalities of Talisay and Laurel, and the non-aquaculture
station in the municipality of Tanauan were identified using
GPS Garmin E-trex® Global Positioning device (Fig. 1).
One liter lake water was collected and 10 ml of it was taken in
a test tube for centrifugation (Hermile®) for 5 min at 4,000 rpm
to concentrate its algal component. The supernatant was
decanted and 1 ml precipitate was placed in a vial preserved
with one drop of Lugol’s iodine. The isolated phytoplanktons
were identified and photographed using photomicroscope
(Nikon®) at 400x. Phytoplankton frequency, abundance and
density were determined for the identification of dominant
species based on importance value.
Phytoplankton community in aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites of Taal Lake, Batangas, Philippines.
The phytoplankton was counted using Haemocytometer
method (Martinez et al., 1975). Final population of
phytoplankton was calculated by using following formula:
The importance value of the phytoplankton species was
determined by adding the relative values of the frequency,
density and abundance. The phytoplankton species which has
the highest importance value was considered as the most
dominant. The frequency, abundance and density, and their
relative values are calculated by the standard formulas given
by Umaly, 1988.
Figure 1 Representative phytoplankton in aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites in Taal Lake, Batangas, Philippines.
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68
Where, RF is relative frequency, RA is relative abundance and
RD is relative density.
2.2 Quantitative Analysis of isolated Phytoplankton
Quantitative analysis of the importance value of phytoplankton
was done using the summation of the relative values of the
frequency, density and abundance of the different species of
plankton collected from the lake. Mann-Whitney U test at 95%
level of confidence was used to determine the significant
difference of phytoplankton density between the aquaculture
and non-aquaculture sites of Taal Lake.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 Phytoplankton Communities
A total of 39 genera of phytoplankton belonging to four major
divisions namely, Chlorophyta, Chrysophyta, Cyanophyta and
Pyrrophyta were observed in the aquaculture and non-
aquaculture sites in Taal Lake. The detail of isolated genera
has been provided in Table 1. Among the total isolated genera,
36 were isolated from aquaculture sites while only 30 genera
from the non-aquaculture sites.
Results presented in table 2 revealed that the density of
phytoplankton is significantly higher in the aquaculture than
the non-aquaculture sampling stations for all major
phytoplankton divisions.
Both organic and inorganic matter from commercial
aquaculture operations have been implicated in phytoplankton
production (Bunting, 2013).
69 Mercurio et al

Table 1 Collected phytoplankton in aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites of Taal Lake

No. Genus Aqu. sites Non-aqu. sites No. Genus Aqu. sites Non-aqu. sites
Division- Chlorophyta Division- Chrysophyta
1 Actinastrum X  1 Coconeis  
2 Ankistrodesmus   2 Coscinodiscus  
3 Asterionella   3 Cyclotella  
4 Chlorella  X 4 Cymbella  X
5 Chlorococcum  X 5 Diatoma  
6 Chodatella   6 Fragilaria  
7 Closterium   7 Gomphonema  X
8 Coelastrum   8 Melosira  
9 Cosmarium   9 Navicula  X
10 Crucigenia X  10 Nitzschia  
11 Eudorina   11 Synedra  X
12 Kirchneriella   12 Tabellaria  
13 Oocystis   Division - Cyanophyta
14 Scenedismus   1 Anabaena  
15 Schroederia  X 2 Chroococcus  
16 Selenastrum   3 Merismopedia  
17 Staurastrum   4 Microcystis  
18 Tetraedron   5 Oscillatoria  
19 Treubaria   Division - Pyrrophyta
20 Westella X  1 Glenodinium  X
2 Peridinium  X

In aquaculture, usually only a fraction of the fish feed is being metabolized. Feeds that were not taken by the fishes tend to settle at the
bottom and decomposed which results to the growth of phytoplankton and bacteria (Glibert et al., 2002).

Table 2 Density of phytoplankton (per ml of water) by division in aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites of Taal Lake.

Division Aquaculture Non-aquaculture

Chlorophyta 12,189a 6,668b
a
Chrysophyta 7,304 2,748b
a
Cyanophyta 193,711 107,800b
a
Pyrrophyta 200 0.0b
Different letters as superscript in the same row indicate significant difference (p<0.05) between the average total counts of phytoplankton
communities in aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites of Taal Lake.

3.1.1 Division Chlorophyta
Of the 39 genera of phytoplankton, 20 genera were observed
under Division Chlorophyta. The Chlorophyta or the green
algae appear bright grass green because their chlorophyll is not
concealed by large amounts of accessory pigments. They
exhibit a surprising level of nutritional variation. Among
these, Coelastrum has highest density at both sites, with mean
value of 2,608 cells per ml in aquaculture and 2,307 cells per
ml in non-aquaculture sites. Unlike other green algae,
Coelastrum exhibit asexual reproduction by autocolony
formation. Coelastrum cells are connected to one another by
blunt processes to form hollow coenobia that will give rise to
autocolonies without the involvement of flagellate zoospores
(Graham & Wilcox, 2000). Actinastrum, Crucigenia, and
Westella were observed only in non-aquaculture sites because
these are rare species and prefer low level of nutrients.
Chlorella, Chlorococcum and Schroederia were observed only
in aquaculture sites indicating preference for high level of
nutrients. Schroderia has the lowest density of 175 cells per ml
in aquaculture sites. Ankistrodesmus has the lowest density of
200 cells per ml in non-aquaculture sites.
3.1.2 Division Chrysophyta
Under Division Chrysophyta, total 12 genera namely Coconeis,
Coscinodiscus, Cyclotella, Cymbella, Diatoma, Fragilaria,
Gomphonema, Melosira, Navicula, Nitzschia, Synedra and
Tabellaria were observed. In the aquaculture sites, the
phytoplankton with the highest average total count was the
genus Melosira with mean value of 4,528 cells per ml while
genus Cymbella has the lowest value of 100 cells per ml.

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Phytoplankton community in aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites of Taal Lake, Batangas, Philippines.
Similarly, the highest number of phytoplankton that was
observed in the non-aquaculture sites are Melosira with a value
of 1,288 cells per ml, but the lowest number of phytoplankton
are the Coscinodiscus with an a density 100 cells per ml.
Among the 12 genera, four of them were not observed in the
non-aquaculture sites which include Cymbella, Gomphonema,
Navicula and Synedra. Melosira has the highest density
among the phytoplankton under this Division because
Melosira takes advantage of the high nutrient levels promoting
its growth and benefits from low levels of competition and
grazing by having resting stage in the sediments (Horne &
Goldman, 1994).
3.1.3 Division Cyanophyta
Among the four major divisions, Cyanophyta has the highest
phytoplankton density. Five genera i.e. Anaebena,
Chroococcus, Merismopedia, Microcystis and Oscillatoria
were observed under Division Cyanophyta. Microcystis has the
highest total count of 10,666 and 8,579 cells per ml in both the
aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites, respectively. Among
the studied population, the lowest number of phytoplankton
was Anaebaena with an average density of 900 cells per ml in
the aquaculture sites and Chroococcus with only 1,570 cells
per ml in the non-aquaculture cites. Microcsytis is the most
dominant species that was observed in both aquaculture and
non-aquaculture. Microcystis become dominant since they
produce secondary chemicals called microcystins which causes
blooms in freshwater that protects them from zooplanktons and
grazers (Carmichael et al., 1988; Krebs, 2009). Cyanobacteria
or blue green algae are “nuisance algae” which becomes
abundant when nutrients are plentiful. Cyanobacteria can even
tolerate low oxygen conditions and concentrations of H2S.
They prefer alkaline conditions and pH may rise up to 9
(Vincent, 2009).
The energy required for the vertical movement of the blue
green algae is small, especially for those species that use
carbohydrate ballast such as the Microcystis to balance more
permanent gas vacuoles and to regulate their position in the
Figure 2a Monthly density of observed phytoplankton (over-all).
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water column. The ballast is used up overnight and the algae
float to the surface in the morning to resume the cycle (Horne
& Goldman, 1994).
3.1.4 Division Pyrrophyta
Only two genera of dinoflagellates were observed under
Division Pyrrophyta, namely Glenodinium and Peridinium.
These were present only in the aquaculture sites and observed
during the month of May. Both of them have an average count
of 100 cells per ml. Dinoflagellates grow best in summer
because they can actively swim to favorable light and
nutrients. Their requirements are complex and require high
organic substrates. Their population may decline due to
zooplankton grazing. The active swimming of large
phytoplankters such as dinoflagellates requires also large
amounts of energy unlike small phytoplankton (Horne &
Goldman, 1994).
3.2 Monthly Density of Phytoplankton
The monthly density of the observed phytoplankton in both
aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites during the 10-month
sampling period is shown in Fig. 2. Results showed that the
phytoplankton density is at its peak during summer i.e. March
to May. Results are in agreement with the findings of Horne &
Goldman (1994) those have reported that phytoplankton grows
best in summer due to higher light intensity. Light is a
fundamental aspect of phytoplankton ecology since they are
the primary producers in aquatic areas. They convert light
energy into biomass through photosynthesis (Graham &
Wilcox, 2000). On the other hand, the phytoplankton density
is lowest on the month of January and this may be attributed to
the sulphur upwelling that transpired last January 16, 2014
(BFAR, 2014). Sulfur upwelling in Taal Lake usually occurs
from November to February when the northeast wind disturbs
the sediments in the lake, resulting in the upwelling of
hydrogen sulfide which is a poisonous gas (BFAR, 2014). This
affected the density of the phytoplankton.
71 Mercurio et al

Figure 2b Monthly density of observed phytoplankton (division wise)

3.3 Importance Value of Phytoplankton determining their importance value (Table 3). This was carried
out by adding the relative frequency, relative abundance and
The dominant phytoplankton species in both aquaculture and relative density per genus (Umaly,1988).
non-aquaculture sites of Taal Lake were identified by

Table 3 Dominant Phytoplankton Species based on Importance Value.

Dominant species Relative frequency Relative abundance Relative density Importance Value

Aquaculture sites
Microcystis 22.273 22.271 22.271 66.815
Merismopedia 16.722 16.720 16.720 50.162
Melosira 9.454 9.454 9.454 28.362
Oscillatoria 6.348 6.348 6.348 19.044
Coelastrum 5.445 5.445 5.445 16.335
Non-aquaculture sites
Microcystis 19.340 18.831 19.340 57.511
Oscillatoria 14.090 13.720 14.090 41.900
Anaebena 10.709 10.427 10.709 31.845
Merismopedia 10.089 9.832 10.089 30.010
Westella 7.214 7.025 7.214 21.453

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Phytoplankton community in aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites of Taal Lake, Batangas, Philippines.
Microcystis has highest importance value for both aquaculture
and non-aquaculture sites which indicates that it is the most
dominant species. Merismopedia rank as the second dominant
species in aquaculture sites, while Oscillatoria in non-
aquaculture sites. Other identified dominant species in
aquaculture sites include Melosira, Oscillatoria, and
Coelastrum, while Anabaena, Merismopedia, and Westella for
the non-aquaculture sites. These findings were in agreement
with the study of Xing et al. (2013), wherein one of the
dominant phytoplankton observed in Baiyangdian Lake during
spring was Microcystis, which is an indicator of
eutrophication. Ansari et al. (2008) also reported that
Microcystis and Oscillatoria dominate Unkal Lake in
Kartanaka, India. Occurrence of bloom of Microcystis and
Oscillatoria indicates organic pollution and eutrophication of
Unkal Lake. Further, highest importance value belonging to
division Cyanophyta indicates organic pollution and
eutrophication of Taal Lake.
Conclusions
Phytoplanktons serve as an indicator of water quality and
trophic condition of a lake. The phytoplankton community in
aquaculture and non-aquaculture sites of Taal Lake, Batangas,
Philippines was assessed. During the sampling period, a total
of 39 genera of phytoplankton under divisions Chlorophyta,
Chrysophyta, Cyanophyta and Pyrrophyta was observed in the
study site. Statistically, phytoplankton density in aquaculture
sites is significantly higher than non-aquaculture sites. The
monthly density of phytoplankton was observed to be highest
during the summer months of March to May 2014 and lowest
in the month of January 2014 due to sulphur upwelling.
Dominant phytoplanktons were also determined based on
importance value. In both aquaculture and non-aquaculture
sites, Microcystis ranks first thereby is the most dominant
species, followed by Merismopedia in aquaculture sites and
Oscillatoria in non-aquaculture sites. All the three
phytoplankton with the highest importance value belong to
division Cyanophyta indicating organic pollution and
eutrophication of Taal Lake. Thus, regular environmental
monitoring of the lake is hereby recommended.
Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the University Research Office
(URO) of De La Salle University-Dasmariñas (DLSUD) for
providing financial support, Dir. Esmeralda Paz-Manalang of
Regional Fisheries Office, Ms. Nenita S. Kawit of the Inland
Fisheries Research Station, Mr. Aljon S. Andrade of BFAR
RFO IV-A in Tanauan, Batangas, and Mr. Victor H. Mercado,
PASu TPVL, the TLAAI and LGU’s of Talisay and Laurel,
Batangas.
Conflict of interest
Authors would hereby like to declare that there is no conflict of
interests that could possibly arise.
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