Journal of
Applied Ichthyology
J. Appl. Ichthyol. 26 (2010), 946–948
 2010 Blackwell Verlag, Berlin
ISSN 0175–8659
Technical contribution
Species composition and length-weight relationship of fishes in the Candaba wetland
on Luzon Island, Philippines
By L. M. B. Garcia
Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines
Summary
The length-weight relationships or LWR (W = aLb) of 18 of
the 21 fish species caught in 2007–2008 from the Candaba
wetland in central Luzon, Philippines are reported. These
species belong to 14 families and the LWR of six species are first
documented in this paper. Cyprinids comprised the greatest
number of species. The high significance of the LWR para-
meters indicate that fish weight may be predicted from length, at
least within the range of the fish lengths recorded. This first
reference to the LWR of fishes from the Candaba wetland
provides baseline data for the conservation management of fish
biota in this threatened ecological resource.
Introduction
Tropical wetlands are biologically productive ecosystems.
They are important ecological resources that provide beneficial
goods and services due to the wide diversity of aquatic habitats
that they support (Zedler and Kercher, 2005). In addition to
their hydrological functions (Shaffer et al., 1999), these wet-
land habitats maintain a rich diversity of aquatic fowl and
fishes that are exploited to feed human settlements attracted to
the wetlandsÕ high biological productivity (Reddy and Gale,
1994; Gibbs, 1998; Junk et al., 2006). Considered to be
wastelands due to the lack of understanding of their important
functions has resulted in their widespread conversion for
residential, industrial, and agricultural use. The Candaba
wetland in the Philippines is no exception; it is a palustrine
wetland basin on Luzon Island, retaining seasonal floodwaters
overflowing from the nearby Pampanga River and its tribu-
taries. In its pristine state, the wetland covered an area of
about 32 000 ha, stretching westward to Manila Bay from the
middle section of central Luzon Island, and had been known
as an important staging area for many migratory birds from
the Asian mainland (DENR-PAWB, 2005). However, conver-
sion to rice agriculture and aquaculture has significantly
reduced the Candaba wetland to <1% of its original area
(DENR-PAWB, 2005). Like many productive freshwater
wetlands elsewhere in Southeast Asia (Junk et al., 2006), the
Candaba wetland supports a seasonal fishery that coincides
with the arrival of monsoon floodwaters. Anecdotal reports by
local people indicate a reduction in the fishery catch as a likely
result of un-regulated fishing and reduction in size and
alteration of the natural features of the Candaba wetland
over the years. However, attempts to conserve what remains of
the Candaba wetland have been hampered by the absence of
reliable information on its biota, particularly that of fish. Fish
U.S. Copyright Clearance Centre Code Statement: 0175–8659/2010/2606–0946$15.00/0
Received: July 28, 2009
Accepted: February 22, 2010
doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0426.2010.01516.x
is an important biological component of the Candaba wetland
ecosystem, yet no study has been published on this particular
resource vital to humans as well as to wildlife.
Therefore, this paper reports an inventory of fish species in
the Candaba wetland and describes their length-weight rela-
tionships (LWR). Because the LWR reliably predicts weight
from length, it has become a useful tool to estimate standing
stock biomass and yield in many fishery assessment studies
(Martin-Smith, 1996; Gonçalves et al., 1997). Information from
this study will be useful to support fishery management and the
conservation of this important wetland in the Philippines.
Materials and methods
Fish were obtained from several sites (San Agustin, Barangca-
Malisik, Simang, Mandili) in the town of Candaba along the
backwaters and tributaries of the Pampanga River (Fig. 1).
Sampling times in 2007–2008 were limited from October until
June when road access to the sites was not totally flooded and
therefore considered safe. Fish specimens were caught by a
variety of common fishing gears employed in the area such as
fyke nets (bokatot) fixed in the middle of flowing tributaries and
catch basins (salandra) to drain floodwaters retained by earthen
levees. Fish catches were immediately sorted according to
species, and specimens covering a wide range of sizes (excluding
larvae and very young juveniles which had not assumed adult
body form) were randomly chosen. Total body weight of each
specimen was measured with an electronic scale to the nearest
0.1 g and, when necessary, large specimens were weighed with a
spring balance having an accuracy of 5 g and 50 g. The standard
length of each specimen was likewise measured to the nearest
0.1 cm. Sex of specimens was not determined.
The LWR is described by the equation W = aLb, where W
is total body weight, a is the regression intercept, L is standard
length, and b is the regression coefficient (Froese, 2006). For
each species, the parameters a, b, and r2 (coefficient of
determination) was estimated by least-squares regression
analysis of the logarithm-transformed LWR expression log
W = log a + b log L with W as the dependent variable. Fish
species (Ctenopharyngodon idella, Carassius auratus, Glossogo-
bius biocellatus) with only a single specimen each were
excluded from the analyses.
Results and discussion
A total of 2341 fish specimens were collected during the 2-year
sampling period, representing 21 species from 14 families
Fishes of Candaba wetland, Philippines 947

120.8° East longitude 120.9°

15.2° • Mandili
Arayat

Pampanga River

North latitude
• Barangca-Malisik

Candaba • Simang
Santa Ana N

Fig. 1. Location map of sampling sites 15.1° • San Agustin

2 km
in the tributaries and backwaters of
Pampanga River in Candaba town,
central Luzon island, Philippines

Table 1
Length-weight regression parameters of fish species caught in the Candaba wetland, Philippines. Six species (bold, italics) have no LWR described
by Froese and Pauly (2010) in FishBase

Standard length
Family and species n b (95% CI) a (95% CI) r2 range (cm) Status

Anabantidae
Anabas testudineus 51 2.84 (2.68–2.99) 0.056 (0.041–0.078) 0.97 4.8–11.7 Native
Ariidae
Arius dispar 3 3.44 (3.38–3.50) 0.006 (0.005–0.007) 0.99 10.2–19.5 Native
Chanidae
Chanos chanos (juveniles) 10 2.91 (2.41–3.40) 0.021 (0.006–0.081) 0.96 12.0–19.2 Native
Channidae
Channa striata 81 2.96 (2.83–3.08) 0.018 (0.012–0.027) 0.96 12.6–41.4 Introduced
Cichlidae
Oreochromis niloticus 386 3.04 (2.98–3.09) 0.036 (0.032–0.041) 0.97 4.0–21.3 Introduced
Clariidae
Clarias batrachus 12 2.70 (2.08–3.31) 0.028 (0.004–0.191) 0.90 15.8–28.9 Introduced
Cyprinidae
Barbonymus gonionotus 572 2.98 (2.95–3.01) 0.035 (0.033–0.038) 0.98 3.9–21.1 Introduced
Cyprinus carpio 467 2.89 (2.84–2.95) 0.037 (0.031–0.043) 0.97 5.8–60.0 Introduced
Ctenopharyngodon idella 1 – – – – Introduced
Carassius auratus 1 – – – – Introduced
Labeo rohita (juveniles) 107 2.92 (2.79–3.04) 0.028 (0.020–0.038) 0.95 9.5–36.2 Introduced
Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (juveniles) 13 3.19 (2.93–3.46) 0.011 (0.005–0.026) 0.98 14.6–29.8 Introduced
Gobiidae
Glossogobius giuris (juveniles) 105 3.06 (2.99–3.13) 0.015 (0.013–0.017) 0.99 2.8–17.1 Native
G. biocellatus 1 – – – – Native
Hemiramphidae
Rhynchorhamphus georgii 19 2.32 (1.84–2.79) 0.014 (0.005–0.040) 0.86 7.1–17.0 Native
Loricariidae
Pterygloplichthys disjunctivus 128 2.56 (2.42–2.69) 0.080 (0.054–0.117) 0.91 7.7–26.5 Introduced
Megalopidae
Megalops cyprinoides (juveniles) 5 3.14 (2.04–4.28) 0.011 (0.0005–0.250) 0.96 14.4–19.5 Native
Mugilidae
Liza subviridis 3 2.75 (1.82–3.67) 0.041 (0.004–0.401) 0.99 11.1–13.2 Native
Osphronemidae
Trichogaster pectoralis 109 3.22 (3.08–3.36) 0.015 (0.011–0.021) 0.95 6.5–14.9 Introduced
T. trichopterusa 4 3.0 0.051 1.0 6.7–7.7 Introduced
Teraponidae
Leiopotherapon plumbeus 263 3.00 (2.92–3.09) 0.032 (0.027–0.037) 0.95 2.2–11.8 Native
a
Specimens had the same body weight. LWR parameters were estimated following Froese (2006); thus, b = 3 and a is geometric mean of four
specimens.
n, sample size; CI, confidence interval.

(Table 1). Except for the families of Cyprinidae, Gobiidae, and ids, the cyprinids with six species were by far the most
Belontiidae, each family was represented by at least one fish dominant fishes sampled. Other tropical wetlands in Southeast
species. Followed by two species of gobiids and osphronemi- Asia support a variety of cyprinids, which reflects their high
948
degree of endemicity in the region (Zakaria-Ismail, 1994). The
great number of cyprinid species in the Candaba wetland and
elsewhere in the Philippines are the result of species introduc-
tions in support of the governmentÕs food production pro-
grams in previous years (Welcomme, 1981). Overall, 57% of
the fish species reported in this study have been introduced
into Philippine freshwater habitats; the remaining 43% are
native species. Of particular concern is the increasing presence
of the invasive sailfin catfish (Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus,
Loricariidae; local name: janitor fish) in the fishery catch of
Candaba and other freshwater bodies on Luzon Island
(Chavez et al., 2006). The prevalence of these introduced
fishes in freshwater habitats in the Philippines has threatened
local fish diversity, apparently displacing about fourteen
endemic cyprinids in Lake Lanao in southern Philippines
(Nguyen and De Silva, 2006; De Silva et al., 2007). The extent
of this threat in the Candaba wetland is unknown because of
the lack of baseline data on fish fauna in the study area. It is
clear, however, that the dominance of introduced fish species is
a reflection of the continuing degradation of this wetland. To
the authorÕs best knowledge, this is the first published report
listing the occurrence of a variety of fish species in the
Candaba wetland.
The LWRs were highly significant for the 18 fish species
sampled. The intercept a varied from 0.006 (Arius dispar) to
0.08 (P. disjunctivus). The range of values for the coefficient of
determination (r2) of the LWR was close to or greater than 0.9,
demonstrating that the line-of-best fit to describe the LWR
explains at least 90% of the variation in fish weight, and
therefore the LWR may be applied to any value of length to
predict weight within the range of fish lengths sampled. The
LWRs in this study do not distinguish between sexes nor
describe variations due to seasonal somatic and gonadal
growth. The parameters of the LWR may therefore be viewed
as an annual average for each of the fish species, particularly
of the six species (A. dispar, Rhynchorhamphus georgii, P.
disjunctivus, Trichogaster pectoralis, T. trichopterus, Leiopo-
therapon plumbeus) whose LWR are reported in this paper for
the first time.
A comparison of the LWR parameters of Candaba fishes
with their conspecifics elsewhere (Froese and Pauly, 2010)
revealed slight differences due to one or a combination of
factors such as variations in body size range, sample size,
seasonal abundance, habitat characteristics in the wild or in
culture, and type of body length measured. The influence of
these factors on the overall status of fish stocks in the study site
is open to further investigation. Nonetheless, the LWRs in the
present study are the first reported for fish species caught in the
Candaba wetland, providing vital information for the conser-
vation management of this wetland resource.
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Natural Science Research
Institute of the University of the Philippines (Diliman, Quezon
L. M. B. Garcia
City) under Project Code Number BIO 07-2-02. Field assis-
tance by James Paul Gomez, Roman Aldo Reyes, Riezel Ann
Bernal, the cooperation and assistance of municipal and village
(barangay) officials and the local people of the municipality of
Candaba, Pampanga are gratefully acknowledged. The author
is grateful for the gift of field sampling gear from IDEA WILD
(Fort Collins, Colorado, USA).
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AuthorÕs address: Luis Maria B. Garcia, University of the Philippines,
Institute of Biology, 1101 Diliman, Quezon City,
Philippines.
E-mail: aacanthurus@gmail.com