1

Species Distribution of Freshwater Crustaceans ( Crustacea)

of Lake Oro, Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines

Maricris I. Abuan and Joycelyn C. Jumawan

Father Saturnino Urios University, Butuan City, Philippines; Caraga State University

ABSTRACT

The study assessed the species composition and abundance of crustaceans and
its implications towards the water quality of Lake Oro, Esparanza, Agusan del Sur.
Selected physico-chemical parameters were determined to support the presence of bio-
indicator freshwater crustaceans.
Low species richness and abundance were recorded in the Lake. Three species
of decapods- Palimonidae sp. (Palimonidae) ,Pandalus borealis (Pandalidae), and
Cambarellus sp.(Cambaridae) were collected. These species were benthopelagic,
swimming and burrowing freshwater shrimps and crayfish.Palaemonid sp.was most
abundant and Cambarellus sp. was least abundant. All the physico- chemical parameters
were within the acceptable range except for pH. Soil pH was within optimum range.
Organic matter and phosphorus (P) were very deficient and deficient respectively. Only
potassium (K) was sufficient compared to standards. Freshwater species such as
crustaceans were under a greater level of threat. The patterns of threat were due
anthropogenic activities, pollution, degradation, and overexploitation.

Keywords: Benthopelagic, Bio-indicator, Crustaceans, Decapods, Physicochemical

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Introduction

One of the fundamental goals of ecology is to understand the diversity and

distribution of species which is a prerequisite for bio monitoring programs (Altermatt et
al.,2014) and a main criterion used in the protection of wetlands ( Boix et al.,2010) . This
is unequivocal for freshwater ecosystems which harbour rich diversity of species and
habitats (Collen et al., 2013) that are highly threatened (Vorosmarty et al.,2010;Altermatt,
2013). Although still incompletely surveyed, the current conservative estimate is that fresh
water ecosystems provide suitable habitat ( Balian et al.,2008) for crustaceans.
Crustaceans make up a very large group of Arthropods which include ostracods,
decapods (crabs, lobsters, and shrimps), stomatopods ( mantis shrimp),euphausiids (
krill), and amphipods (sandhoppers).
Many crustaceans, especially the larger freshwater decapods are eaten by
humans and are therefore important to human economy as occasional source of food (
Mendoza and Naruse, 2010).Moreso,they supply food for both aquatic and terrestrial
vertebrate consumers (Covich et al., 1999). In parallel of a high ecological significance ,
amphipods are receiving an increasing interest in co-toxicological and environmental
monitoring (Altermatt et al.,2014).On the other hand, ostracodes or “mussel shrimps”are
microscopic bivalve crustaceans that are often used for paleolimnological and
paleoclimate reconstruction owing to their high abundance, wide distribution, good
preservation in lake and sediments , and their sensitivity to many environmental factors
such as temperature , conductivity, pH, and depth as well as substrate type ( Perez et al.,
2010).
Various organisms specifically freshwater species across a range of vertebrate
and decapod groups are consistently under a greater level of threat than those resident
in terrestrial ecosystems ( Collen et al., 2012). These patterns of threat are mediated by
high rates of habitat loss and degradation, pollution, and overexploitation, and are
particularly problematic ( Collen et al., 2013).
Lake Oro is located in Barangay Oromica, Esperanza, Agusan del Sur. The lake
is interconnected to Agusan River, however ,during flooding season the water spreads to
the lake, causing high rise of water in the area. The lake is approximately 10 hectares
which fed to the tributaries of Agusan River.The increased number of human settlements
on the river banks,and various anthropogenic activities such as fishing or electro-fishing,
domesticating farm animals , fish caging, etc. are highly evident in the area. No
researches yet were conducted focusing on crustaceans in the area. Most studies
documented were focused on fish and fish caging. It is indeed a preliminary study in the
area.
Knowledge of crustaceans is essential in conservation. Thus, this study will
address its gap by determining the species composition , richness, relative abundance,
conservation status, and diversity indices as well as physical and chemical variables of
Lake Oro, Esperanza, Agusan del Norte.
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Materials and Methods

Study Area

The study was conducted in Lake Oro, Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, Philippines
(Fig. 1). The vegetation type of this area are primarily composed of water hyacinth, water
lettuce, tall grass, vines, shrubs, epiphytes and some tall trees along the river banks.
Sampling surveys were conducted in January to February 2016 .

Figure 1. Map showing three stations in Lake Oro, Esperanza,Agusan del Sur

Establishment of the Quadrats

Three 10m × 10m quadrats were laid out in each of the three sampling sites. The
quadrats were established 50 meters away from each other to avoid pseudoreplication.
For each quadrat, three persons extensively searched for live freshwater crustaceans
using handpick gears, and hand nets or diving in deep area equivalent to a two-hour
sampling effort (de Chavez and de Lara, 2011).

Preservation and Identification of the Specimens

Freshwater crustaceans were photographed using Nikon DSLR N3100. External

morphological features and other important characteristics such as pigmentation and
standard length were recorded and measured using a ruler before preserving the
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samples. Smaller species were observed under a dissecting microscope.Collected

samples were preserved in 70% ethanol with their corresponding name and label.. They
were identified using online databases. Species that need further taxonomic identification
were sent to experts .

Physico-chemical Parameters

The water temperature ,pH, conductivity, and TDS, were measured using
multitester (Eutech PCD650) .Soil components were sent to the Department of Agriculture
,Regional Soils Laboratory in Brgy.Taguibo, Butuan City for soil analysis.

Statistical Analysis

PAST software was used for the computation of biodiversity indices, cluster
analysis and principal component analysis. Cluster analysis was used to assess the
similarity of species composition among stations. As groups formed in the biological
cluster analysis, the collection areas were grouped to perform a discriminant analysis
using environmental data. A Pearson correlation matrix were constructed for the
environmental variables to determine if there is a high inter-correlation among them
(Klecka, 1982) in order to minimize the overestimating effect.
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Results and Discussion

Species Composition and Relative Abundance

Table 1 showed the inventory of freshwater crustaceans in three sampling stations

of Lake Oro, Agusan del Sur. These species belonging to three families, Palimonidae(
Palaemonid sp.),Pandalidae( Pandalus borealis), and Cambaridae (Cambarellus sp.)
were benthopelagic , swimming and burrowing species of freshwater shrimps and
crayfish. The small sized shrimps(Palaemonid sp. ) and native shrimp (Pandalus borealis
) were amphidromous, migrating from fresh to salt water or from salt to fresh water at
some stage of the life cycle other than the breeding period (Hubilla-Travis et al.,2008).
They were native species of crustaceans in the Philippines.Palaemonid sp.,Pandalus
borealis, and Cambarellus sp.are not included in the List of Threatened species in the
country based on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.
This study revealed that the number of crustaceans (3) recorded in Lake Oro was
low compared with the diversity of crustaceans in other freshwater ecosystems such as
Gibong River(Peligro and Jumawan,2015) and Agusan Marsh (Hubilla-Travis et al.,
2008). This difference in species richness was probably due to anthropogenic activities
such as fishing or electro-fishing, domesticating farm animals , fish caging which are
apparent in the area. Moreso, the increasing number of human settlements is highly
associated to species richness and diversity.

Table 1. Freshwater crustaceans in the three sampling sites of Lake Oro, Espera
Agusan del Sur, Philippines.

Ecological
niche &
Scientific English Local Movement Population
Phylum Order Family Name Origin Name Name patten Status

Small sized
Palaemonid freshwater Benthopelagic,
Arthropoda Decapoda Palaemonidae sp. Native shrimp Uyabang amphidromous Abundant

Benthopelagic
Pandalus Native amphidromous
Pandalidae borealis Native shrimp Pasayan burrowing Abundant
Cambarellus Red dwarf Benthopelagic
Cambaridae sp. Native crayfish Uwang burrowing Scarce
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Figure 2 showed the relative abundance of Palaemonid sp.,Pandalus borealis,and

Cambarellus sp. Among species of decapods present in the Lake,Palaemonid sp. was
most abundant ; second in rank was Pandalus borealis in all three stations with three
replicates. The least abundant was Cambarellus sp. A total of two hundred eighty( 280 )
individual Palaemonid species,fifty one (51) Pandalus borealis, and thirteen (13)
individual species of Cambarellus sp. were recorded in three sampling stations.
According to a study conducted by Yaeger et al. (2014), 2.8 % of palaemonid
shrimp was the diet component of generalist fish predator, thus, they are an important
food source for aquatic fishes (Zhang 2011). Due to fishing and electro-fishing in the area,
indirect effects of predators on basal resources , i.e top down trophic cascades, are a
major driver of the dynamics of ecological communities in aquatic systems (Naddafi &
Rudstam, 2013).This only proved that the decreased in the number of predators (fish)
due to anthropogenic factor was associated with the abundance of preys.
Crayfish have many predators mainly consisting of different species of fish, but
crayfish has become a very popular food for humans too (Huner and Lindqvist, 1995).
The scarcity of Cambarellus sp. was related to an increased number of human
settlements in the area. Most local folks consumed this species of crayfish as food.The
same holds true for the species of native shrimp (Pandalus borealis).Indeed,the
consumption of these species had an effect one way or another pertaining to richness
and abundance.

Figure 2. Total number of individuals of freshwater crustaceans in the three sampling sites
of Lake Oro, Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, Philippines.
Table 2 showed the mean values of the size of three (3) species of decapods-
Palaemonid sp,Pandalus borealis, Cambarellus sp. It’s noted on the table that
Cambarellus sp were larger compared to other decapod species in all three
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stations.Based on the data, there is a significant difference of the total length of three (3)
decapod species in all three sampling stations.
Except Palaemonid species , the male Pandalus borealis can grow as 120 mm
and 165mm for female ( Hansen &Aschan 2000).Results revealed that captured Pandalus
borealis are smaller compared to its optimum growth in size. According to Tokeshi and
Schid (2002), the interaction between population and environment affects the patterns of
abundance and distribution trends of organisms as well as its size and flow regime.

Table 2.Total Length(mm) of three arthropod species in three stations of Lake Oro.

Species Station 1 Station 2 Station 3

Palaemonid sp. 21 22.6 + 0.33 26.66 + 3.33

Pandalus borealis 46 + 1 47.67 + 0.33 47.33 + 0.33

79.33 + 0.67 78.67 + 0.67 80

Cambarellus sp.

Physico- Chemical Parameters

Understanding a lake’s physical and chemical properties is essential to determine

the lake’s condition and in making informed lake management decisions.
Figures 3 and 4 showed four selected physicochemical parameters of the three sampling
stations. All the physico chemical parameters were within their acceptable limits except
pH because it’s beyond the standard Lake pH range, which is 6.0-9.0
( Tarazona & Munoz,1995;Department of Environment and Natural Resurces 1990;Visto
et al.,2015). The water in Lake Oro is alkaline or basic. According to Ellis and
Morris(1995),the basic water caused imbalances in the metabolic pathways of crayfish
that it caused irreversible damage and may affect their long term survival .
On the other hand,there is a significant difference in conductivity, temperature,and
TDS in the three sampling stations. Bray-Curtis similarity and Principal component
analyses revealed that the physico chemical features of the three stations were similar
except for temperature mean value in Station 3.Perhaps the time element of getting water
temperature is a factor of varied temperature reading in the area.Thus, the physico-
chemical factors prevailing in the sampling sites are the prime determiners of the
abundance , diversity,and optimum growth of the biotic system(Ehiagbonare
&Ogundiran,2010).
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Figure 3. Physico-chemical features of the three stations in Lake Oro,Agusan del Sur

A B

Figure 4.Multivariate relationship among three stations based on their physico-chemical

features. A.Dendogram of similarity of study stations based on physico-chemical
features;B.Principal component analyses (PCA) showing distinct groupings/ relationships
of physico-chemical data.

Soil Analysis

Nutrients in lakes are essential parts of a healthy lake ecosystem.Depicted in

Tables 3 and 4 were the mean values of soil components and nutrients present in the
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area.Based on the data,the texture of the soil is heavy.Soil pH was within optimum
range.Organic matter and phosphorus (P) were very deficient and deficient
respectively.Only potassium (K)was sufficient.
Phosphorus is one of the primary nutrient concerns in Lakes because it is
important to the growth of algae and aquatic plants.Many lake management activities
focused on reducing phosphorus availability in the lake water ( Crowl et al.,2001).

Table 3.Soil Components of the three stations in Lake Oro, Agusan del Sur.
Sampling Sites Texture Soil Data Test
pH % P K Ca Mg Zn
O.M. ppm ppm
Station 1 Heavy 6.66 2.1 17 209 S S S
(D) (MS) (S)
Station 2 Heavy 6.92 1.7 10 190 S S MD
(VD) (D) (S)
Station 3 Heavy 6.44 1.8 17 291 S S MD

*VD-Very Deficient,*MD-Moderately Deficient,*D-Deficient,*S-Sufficient,*MS-Moderately,*S-Sufficient

Table 4. Soil Component Mean of the three stations in Lake Oro, Agusan del Sur.
pH %O.M. P K

6.67 + 0.13 1.87 + 0.12 14.67 + 2.33 230 + 30.99

Conclusion

Low species diversity and abundance were recorded in Lake Oro, Esperanza,
Agusan del Sur.Three species of decapods namely Palimonidae sp.,Pandalus borealis,
and Camabrellus sp were collected in the area.
All the physico chemical parameters were within their acceptable range except pH
which was beyond the standard Lake pH range of 6.0-9.0.There is a significant difference
in conductivity, temperature, and TDS in the three sampling stations. Bray-Curtis similarity
and Principal component analyses revealed that the physico chemical features of the
three stations were similar except for temperature mean value in Station 3. Soil pH was
within optimum range.Organic matter and phosphorus (P) were very deficient and
deficient respectively.Only potassium (K)was sufficient.
The study proved that freshwater species such as crustaceans are under a greater
level of threat.The patterns of threat are mediated by anthropogenic
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activities,pollution,degradation,and overexploitation.Therefore the results have important

implications for understanding patterns of diversity and extinction risk leading to action of
safeguarding freshwater crustaceans and other species.

Recommendation

Conservation measures and enforcement of environmental laws will be needed to

save the biodiversity of Lake Oro, Esperanza , Agusan del Sur.

Acknowledgement

The authors are grateful to the Biology Department of Caraga State University for
allowing the authors to use their equipment and to Father Saturnino Urios University.

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