Species composition abundance and conservation status of some economically important macrobenthic invertebrates in Pag-asa Island Kalayaan Palawan Philippines


Citation

Balisco Rodulf Anthony, . and Gonzales Benjamin, . and Dolorosa Roger, . Species composition abundance and conservation status of some economically important macrobenthic invertebrates in Pag-asa Island Kalayaan Palawan Philippines. pp. 357-365. ISSN 0116-6514

Abstract

Pag-asa Island is the largest and the only civilian inhabited island in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) in the West Philippine Sea. The waters around these islands are important fishing grounds; however little information is available on the status of macrobenthic invertebrates within the vicinity of the island. In this study we assessed the species composition abundance and conservation status of some commercially important macrobenthic invertebrates in shallow reefs and seagrass beds surrounding the island. The sampling was conducted during day time of dry season for 6 days (May 9-14 2018) through wading snorkelling and scuba diving which recorded a total of seven species mostly bivalves and echinoderms. Bivalve species included the giant clams Tridacna maxima (Rding 1798) and Tridacna crocea Lamarck 1819; echinoderms included Bohadschia argus Jaeger 1833 Bohadschia vitiensis (Semper 1868) Holothuria atra Jaeger 1833 Holothuria leucospilota (Brandt 1835) and Tripneustes gratilla (Linnaeus 1758). These species occurred more abundantly in seagrass beds than in coral reefs ranging from 46.7“1 346.7 ind.ha-. Most of the species were of Least Concern� status according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The absence of previously reported high valued species in the surveyed sites such as topshell Rochia nilotica (Linnaeus 1767) and lobsters Panulirus versicolor (Latreille 1804) could be an effect of unregulated harvesting. Effective resource management in this part of KIG is needed to allow the recovery of reduced populations and ensure food security for the inhabitants of the island.


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Abstract

Pag-asa Island is the largest and the only civilian inhabited island in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) in the West Philippine Sea. The waters around these islands are important fishing grounds; however little information is available on the status of macrobenthic invertebrates within the vicinity of the island. In this study we assessed the species composition abundance and conservation status of some commercially important macrobenthic invertebrates in shallow reefs and seagrass beds surrounding the island. The sampling was conducted during day time of dry season for 6 days (May 9-14 2018) through wading snorkelling and scuba diving which recorded a total of seven species mostly bivalves and echinoderms. Bivalve species included the giant clams Tridacna maxima (Rding 1798) and Tridacna crocea Lamarck 1819; echinoderms included Bohadschia argus Jaeger 1833 Bohadschia vitiensis (Semper 1868) Holothuria atra Jaeger 1833 Holothuria leucospilota (Brandt 1835) and Tripneustes gratilla (Linnaeus 1758). These species occurred more abundantly in seagrass beds than in coral reefs ranging from 46.7“1 346.7 ind.ha-. Most of the species were of Least Concern� status according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. The absence of previously reported high valued species in the surveyed sites such as topshell Rochia nilotica (Linnaeus 1767) and lobsters Panulirus versicolor (Latreille 1804) could be an effect of unregulated harvesting. Effective resource management in this part of KIG is needed to allow the recovery of reduced populations and ensure food security for the inhabitants of the island.

Additional Metadata

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Item Type: Article
AGROVOC Term: Invertebrates
AGROVOC Term: Islands
AGROVOC Term: Sampling
AGROVOC Term: Bivalves
AGROVOC Term: Echinoderms
AGROVOC Term: Species diversity
AGROVOC Term: Population composition
AGROVOC Term: Nature conservation
AGROVOC Term: Food security
AGROVOC Term: Natural resource management
Depositing User: Mr. AFANDI ABDUL MALEK
Last Modified: 24 Apr 2025 00:55
URI: http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/9473

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