1he dangerous polluLanLs of Lhe envlronmenL havlng a hlghly Loxlc effecL on llvlng organlsms

are lead cadmlum copper zlnc and arsenlc (Crmrod 1988) Crmrod u 1988 LffecL of
Lrace elemenL conLamlnaLlon of planLs ln 1reshow l (Ld) Alr olluLlon and lanL Llfe
PldromeLeolzdaL Lenlngrad pp 327336 (8u)
1he same are wlLh proved muLagenlc and carclnogenlc effecL (8oyadzlev eL al 1990 kovalchuk
eL al 2001) 8oyad[|ev V 1s V A|ex|eva 2 k 2apr[anov 1 nadzh|eva M I ko|eva N k
1zacheva V 8oyad[|eva and C N|ko|ova 1990 Peavy meLal olsonlngs MeJlcloo
lflzkoltoto ofla 242 pp (8g)

Peavy meLals (b Zn Cd Cu As) and cyanldes are one of Lhe maln componenLs found ln wasLe
waLers of many lndusLrlal and mlnlng producLlons
1he lnvesLlgaLlons made by varlous auLhors polnLed ouL LhaL lndusLrlal polluLlon lnduced
reducLlon ln Lhe number of populaLlons and resLrlcLed Lhe dlsLrlbuLlon of specles from Lhe
fauna of Lhese reglons (Mecheva eL al 1987) Mecheva k M karapetkova and S Geras|mov
1987 Peavy meLal accumulaLlon ln blolndlcaLor verLebraLes ln Lhe reglon of rednogorle ln
ltst Notloool coofeteoce oo tbe ltoblems of 8loloqlcol Mooltotloq 1987 lnsL Zool 8A ofla

lL has been esLabllshed LhaL Alllom cepo and llsom sotlvom LesL sysLems are useful Lools for
deLecLlon of poLenLlally genoLoxlc subsLances ln waLer screenlng programs (llskes[o 1983
1993a 1993b 1994 1997 lvanova eL al 2002a 2002b)
|skes[o G 1983 1he Alllom LesL as a sLandard ln envlronmenLal monlLorlng neteJltos
99112
Ivanova L 1 Sta|kova and I Ve|cheva 2002a MuLagenlc effecL of waLer polluLed wlLh heavy
meLals and cyanldes on llsom sotlvom planL lo vlvo Iootool of 8olkoo coloqy 307310




8lolndlcaLor ls a Lerm used Lo descrlbe an organlsm LhaL can respond Lo a varleLy of
envlronmenLal alLeraLlons ln whlch lL llves ln a parLlcular way Lhus provldlng physlologlcal
blochemlcal geneLlc and behavloral lnformaLlon among oLhers (hugarL 1994) hugarL L8
1994 8lologlcal monlLorlng conLamlnanLs ln Lhe envlronmenL A mulLldlsclpllnary assessmenL of
rlsks Lo man and oLhers organlsms ln A 8enzonl n MaLLel L Larl and MC lossl (eds) Lewls
ubllshers new ?ork

1o perform envlronmenLal Loxlcologlcal analysls blolndlcaLor organlsms are used wlLh Lhe alm
of LesLlng Lhelr survlval for Lhls purpose Lhe acuLe LoxlclLy LesL has been lndlcaLed on Lhe
mlcrocrusLacean Attemlo solloo as well as oLher organlsms (vensson eL al 2003) vensson
8M L MaLhlasson L MarLensson and 8ergsLrm 2003 Attemlo solloo as LesL organlsm for
assessmenL of acuLe LoxlclLy of leachaLewaLer from landfllls Lnvlron MonlL Assess 102 309
321

lL ls regarded as Lhe mosL lmporLanL flsh ln 1aal Lake ln Lerms of blodlverslLy (Cuerrero 2002)
Cuerrero 8 lll 2002 1he flsherles of Lake 1aal and lLs managemenL for susLalnablllLy
roceedlngs of Lhe
llP18A1 users MeeLlng ln 8angkok 1halland 8angkok 1halland 36 pp

slnce lL ls one of Lhe few freshwaLer sotJloes ln Lhe enLlre world lL ls Lhe only freshwaLer
5otJloello ln Lhe hlllpplnes (lroese and auly 2003) and lL ls endemlc Lo 1aal Lake Luzon l
lroese 8 u auly eds 2003 llsh8ase World Wlde Web elecLronlc publlcaLlon Avallable aL
hLLp//wwwflshbaseorg vers 26

1aal Lake (1400n 12119L) formerly known as Lake 8ombon ls Lhe 3rd largesL lake ln Lhe
hlllpplne Archlpelago lL ls classlfled as an ollgoLrophlc lake wlLh a maxlmum depLh of 180 m
and dralns Lhrough Lhe anslplL 8lver lnLo 8alayan 8ay Lo Lhe souLhwesL lL has a surface area of
243364 ha (Cuerrero 2002 MuLla eL al 2001)

Cuerrero 8 lll 2002 1he flsherles of Lake 1aal and lLs managemenL for susLalnablllLy
roceedlngs of Lhe llP18A1 users MeeLlng ln 8angkok 1halland 8angkok 1halland 36 pp

MuLla M1 L MaglsLrado l MuyoL 2001 AssessmenL of Lake 1aal flsherles 1aal 8aLangas Lhe
hlllpplnes naLlonal llsherles 8lologlcal CenLer pp 117


1aal Lake has mulLlple resource uses buL open waLer flshlng and aquaculLure of nlle Lllapla
(Oteocbtomls ollotlcos) and mllkflsh (cbooos cbooos) are Lhe mosL common 1aal Lake ls also
home Lo endemlc economlc and ecologlcally lmporLanL specles such as Lhe glanL Lrevally
(Caranx lgnobllls) and Lhe Lake 1aal sea snake (Pydrophls semperl) (MuLla eL al 2001 Cuerrero
2002 Lagda eL al 2003)
Lagda M n 1resnado A ulesmos 2003 8lology explolLaLlon and conservaLlon
assessmenLs of endemlc verLebraLe specles ln Lake 1aal Luzon lsland hlllpplnes 1echnlcal
paper ro[ecL funded by norLh Lngland Zoologlcal ocleLy and launa and llora lnLernaLlonal
30pp

lL has been llsLed as a prlorlLy conservaLlon area of exLremely hlgh lmporLance and ls ln urgenL
need of furLher research (Cng eL al 2002) Cng LL Afuang 8C 8osellAmbal eds 2002
hlllpplne blodlverslLy conservaLlon prlorlLles a second lLeraLlon of Lhe naLlonal 8lodlverslLy
LraLegy and AcLlon lan Cuezon ClLy Lhe hlllpplnes ueparLmenL of LnvlronmenL and naLural
8esources roLecLed Areas and Wlldllfe 8ureau ConservaLlon lnLernaLlonal hlllpplnes
8lodlverslLy ConservaLlon rogram unlv of Lhe hlllpplnes CenLer for lnLegraLlve and
uevelopmenL Ludles and loundaLlon for hlllpplne LnvlronmenL 113pp





The Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) then collected data from various sources (e.g.,
Bureau of Public Works, Weather Bureau, and Commission on Volcanology) to study the
feasibility of exporting water from Lake Taal to Saudi Arabia. They also analyzed water
samples from the surface and at 43 m depth in four stations around the lake. Their report
suggested that water from Lake Taal was unsuitable for irrigation of most crops because it
posed a medium alkali and sodium hazard and was deemed below export standards (LWUA
1978).
LWUA. Pre-feasibility study. Utilization of Taal Lake and Pansipit River. Manila: Local Water
Utilities Administration. 1978:63

The 21st Centurys first decade saw Lake Taal with fish kills, decline in water quality, and
introduction of alien species linked with the under-regulated proliferation of aquaculture. One
of the major findings of the FISHSTRAT Project included the increase in nutrient levels in the
Lake which is now categorized
as meso- to eutrophic (Perez et al. 2008).
-- Perez T, Enriquez EE, Guerrero III RD, Simon D, Schiemer F. Catchment characteristics,
hydrology, limnology and socio-economic features of Lake Taal, Philippines. In: Schiemer F,
Simon D, Amarasinghe US, Moreau J, eds. Aquatic ecosystems and development: Comparative
Asian perspectives. Biology of inland waters series. Leiden, The Netherlands: Backhuys
Publishers 2008:63-80.