Biodiversity Data Journal :
Data Paper (Biosciences)
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Corresponding author: Brisneve Edullantes (bedullantes@up.edu.ph)
Academic editor: Vesela Evtimova
Received: 03 Aug 2021 | Accepted: 14 Sep 2021 | Published: 23 Sep 2021
© 2021 Brisneve Edullantes, Fleurdeliz Maglangit, Angelito Ortiz, Joana Mie Casibo, Lorraine Louise Vicentuan, Eukene Bensig
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Edullantes B, Maglangit F, Ortiz AM, Casibo JMR, Vicentuan LLC, Bensig EO (2021) A benchmark survey of plankton, fish and benthic composition in Poblacion and Kadurong Reefs in Liloan, Cebu, Philippines. Biodiversity Data Journal 9: e72537. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e72537
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Coral reefs offer valuable ecosystem goods and services, such as coastal protection, erosion regulation, fishery, biodiversity, habitat and nursery grounds. However, they face threats from anthropogenic activities, including poor water quality, global warming, coastal development and unsustainable fisheries. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) provide a structured and holistic approach in addressing these threats. Regular monitoring and assessment of these MPAs are crucial components in evaluating the MPAs design and effectiveness. Two coral reefs (i.e. Poblacion and Kadurong Reefs) were established as MPAs in Liloan, Cebu, Philippines to protect crucial habitat and biodiversity with the hope of improving fisheries by avoiding fish stock disintegration. These coral reefs provide shelter to many commercially-significant fish species, supporting subsistence and livelihood in the community. These MPAs are not only biologically rich, but they also support socio-economic stability. Hence, management and protection of the coral reefs in the MPAs of Liloan, Cebu is of paramount importance. To formulate conservation and applicable management measures, research and monitoring should be in place. This paper presents the data collected from the short term monitoring in the Poblaction and Kadurong Reefs. The paper describes an important set of data that can be used by the stakeholders to benchmark biophysical assessments for management of marine-protected areas in Liloan.
This data paper provides baseline information on the health of the coral reefs of the MPAs in Liloan, Cebu. Datasets covering physico-chemical and biological parameters inclusive of water quality, coral reef cover, fish and plankton occurrence and abundance were determined using the standard protocols for surveying tropical marine resources. The results will serve as a benchmark in formulating guidelines and implementing relevant policies for the effective management and protection of the MPAs in Liloan, Cebu, Philippines.
coral reef, reef fish, zooplankton, phytoplankton, water quality, marine protected area, MPA
Coral reefs are considered to be the most biodiverse habitat on earth (
However, these marine ecosystems are facing a wide variety of threats, ranging from natural and anthropogenic activities, such as poor water quality, global warming, coastal development and unsustainable fisheries (
This data paper presents the sampling-event dataset of the short-term monitoring in Poblacion and Kadurong Reefs, two of the marine protected areas in the Municipality of Liloan, Cebu, Philippines. Water quality and ecological assessments were carried out to monitor the status and trends of biological and physical parameters associated with coral reefs using the standard protocols for surveying tropical marine resources. Specifically, the following measurements were conducted: (1) physico-chemical parameters, (2) phytoplankton and zooplankton occurrence and abundance, (3) fish occurrence and density and (4) percent cover of benthic components of coral reef. Aside from coral reef and fish assessment, the coastal waters of Liloan require monitoring of plankton community structure and physico-chemical parameters because of the significance of phytoplankton and zooplankton community response to environmental variables for interpreting ecological variations amid threats of anthropogenic activities, such as climate change and pollution. The data can serve as the basis for the formulation and implementation of relevant measures for conservation and protection management of the Poblacion and Kadurong Reefs in Liloan, Cebu, Philippines (
The surveys were mainly conducted by the authors, either as individuals or as groups, with the help of volunteers and experienced marine biologists. Brisneve Edullantes supervised the phytoplankton and zooplankton surveys. Eukene Bensig supervised the coral reef and fish monitoring. Fleurdeliz Maglangit supervised the water quality assessment. The surveys were conducted in coordination with the Local Government Unit (LGU) in the Municipality of Liloan, Cebu, Philippines.
Poblacion and Kadurong Reefs are located in Barangay Poblacion, Municipality of Liloan, Cebu, Philippines (Fig.
Water quality and diversity assessments were carried out to assess the status and trends of biological and physical parameters associated with coral reefs using the standard protocols for surveying tropical marine resources.
This study was funded by the University of the Philippines Cebu Creative Work and Research Grant.
A total of 30 sampling locations were selected for the study (Fig.
Physico-chemical measurements: Physico-chemical measurements were conducted at all sampling sites (S01-S20) in March 2015 and 2016. The following physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ for each of the sampling sites (S01-S20): temperature (°C) using a calibrated thermometer, pH with a standard portable pH meter (Mettler Toledo) and salinity (ppm) using a refractometer (Fisherbrand™ handheld analogue salinity refractometer). All in situ parameters were measured in triplicate. Water samples were collected by grab sampling for the analysis of Dissolved Oxygen (DO, mg l-1), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD, mg l-1), Total Suspended Solids (TSS, mg l-1), total phosphates (mg l-1) and nitrates (mg l-1). All sampling bottles were acid-washed, cleaned, rinsed with distilled water and dried before use. Collected water samples were stored in an ice bucket (4°C) and transported to the laboratory for analysis. The samples were kept at this temperature (4°C) for 24 h if treatment was not immediate. All the analyses were performed in triplicate as described previously (
Phytoplankton assessment: Phytoplankton samples were collected in each of the sampling sites (S01-S20). Fifteen (15) litres of surface seawater were collected 0.5 m below the surface. The collected water sample will be subsequently sieved with a 20 μM mesh phytoplankton net and was stored in a 1 litre polyethylene bottle preserved with roughly 5 ml Lugol’s Solution. The seawater samples were labelled accordingly and were brought to the laboratory for analysis. The samples were allowed to stand for 48 hours. Thereafter, the upper portion was decanted leaving 100 ml of concentrated phytoplankton sample. The sample was gently homogenised before a 1 ml aliquot was pipetted out for microscopy. One to two drops of the 1 ml aliquot was examined under the microscope under 10× and 40× magnification at a time using the drop-count method (
Zooplankton assessment: Composite sampling was employed for zooplankton; thus there were three points per sampling site (S01-S03 and S07-S09). Collection of zooplankton was done using the standard mesh net with a stopcock at the lower end to allow opening and closing. A calibrated dipper was used to obtain water samples at approximately 0.1-0.5 m from the surface. The collected water sample was passed through the mesh net (stopcock closed) to allow sieving of zooplankton. This provided a more concentrated number of species. Total water sample passed through the net was 30 l. The stopcock was opened when the last few millilitres of water sample were passed through the mesh net, with a sample collection (PE) bottle at the end of the tube. The PE bottle was removed from the mouth of the net. The 250 ml zooplankton sample was preserved with 1.5 ml of stock Lugol’s Solution. All collected samples were labelled accordingly. The mesh net was rinsed with distilled water after use and was allowed to air-dry after rinsing. The water samples that were set aside for at least 24 hours were decanted leaving only 150 ml of the sample. Quantitative assessment of zooplankton species was adopted from the protocol of
Coral reef benthic composition assessment: The percent cover of benthic components in Kadurong and Poblacion Reefs was determined by the Point Intercept Transect (PIT) method. Ten 50 m-long transects (T01-T10) were sampled in these reefs. Readings for the benthic life forms were recorded every 0.5 m and a total of 101 points were recorded per transect. The benthic components were characterised using the categories cited in
Percent cover (%) of coral reef benthic components including Acropora Table (AT), Anemone (ANE), Coralline Algae (CA), Branching Coral (CB), Encrusting Coral (CE), Massive Coral (CM), Coral Millepora (CME), Coral Mushroom (CMR), Submassive Coral (CSM), Dead Coral (DC), Dead Coral with Algae (DCA), Macroalgae (MA), Rubble (R), Sand (SA), Soft Coral (SC), Silt (SI), Sponge (SP), Turf Algae (TA), Unidentified Abiotic (UN) and Zooanthids (ZO).
Reef fish assessment: The total number of fish families and species were assessed through Underwater Visual Census (UVC) using the same transects (T01-T08) used in PIT. UVC monitoring techniques provide qualitative and quantitative assessments with a limited impact on the ecosystem and are, therefore, particularly suited for marine reserves (
The study covered two of the Marine Protected Areas in the Municipality of Liloan, Cebu, Philippines - namely the Poblacion and Kadurong Reefs (Fig.
10.379° and 10.420° Latitude; 123.984° and 124.036° Longitude.
The study covered occurrences of phytoplankton, zooplankton and fishes in Poblacion and Kadurong Reefs. The occurrence dataset includes 389 occurrences of phytoplankton that belong to four classes, i.e. Bacillariophyceae (42 species), Cyanophyceae (4 species), Dictyochophyceae (1 species) and Dinophyceae (25 species). In addition, the dataset includes observed 94 occurrences of zooplankton that belong to 8 phyla, i.e. Annelida (2 species), Arthropoda (23 species), Bryozoa (1 species), Chaetognatha (1 species), Chordata (1 species), Ciliophora (2 species), Foraminifera (7 species) and Mollusca (2 species). The dataset also includes 331 occurrences of fishes that belong to Class Actinopteri.
Rank | Scientific Name |
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phylum | Arthropoda |
phylum | Annelida |
phylum | Bryozoa |
phylum | Chaetognatha |
phylum | Chordata |
phylum | Ciliophora |
phylum | Cyanobacteria |
phylum | Foraminifera |
phylum | Mollusca |
phylum | Myzozoa |
phylum | Ochrophyta |
Coral fish and reef assessments were conducted in March and July 2016 to represent two well-defined climate seasons dictated by the prevailing winds – the northeast monsoon (NE, commonly called “amihan”) and the southwest monsoon (SW, commonly called “habagat”). The NE monsoon prevails from November to early May and is characterised by a dry season with an average precipitation of 75-140 mm. The SW monsoon occurs from May to October and is characterised by hot and humid weather and frequent heavy rainfall (150-200 mm). Physico-chemical and phytoplankton assessments were carried out in March 2015 and 2016 to determine the interannual variability of water quality and trophic status in the NE monsoon. One-time sampling of zooplankton was conducted in March 2015 to determine its community structure during the NE monsoon.
The dataset contains all the necessary details of the sampling events conducted in the Poblaction and Kadurong Reefs.
Column label | Column description |
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eventID | An identifier for the set of information associated with an Event. |
parentEventID | An identifier for the broader Event that groups this and other Events. |
samplingProtocol | The name of, reference to, or description of the method or protocol used during an Event. |
year | The four-digit year in which the Event occurred, according to the Common Era Calendar. |
month | The integer month in which the Event occurred. |
day | The integer day of the month on which the Event occurred. |
eventDate | The date-time or interval during which an Event occurred. For occurrences, this is the date-time when the event was recorded. Not suitable for a time in a geological context. |
habitat | A category or description of the habitat in which the Event occurred. |
eventRemarks | Comments or notes about the Event. |
locationID | An identifier for the set of location information (data associated with dcterms:Location). May be a global unique identifier or an identifier specific to the dataset. |
country | The name of the country or major administrative unit in which the Location occurs. |
countryCode | The standard code for the country in which the Location occurs. |
stateProvince | The name of the next smaller administrative region than country (state, province, canton, department, region etc.) in which the Location occurs. |
county | The full, unabbreviated name of the next smaller administrative region than stateProvince (county, shire, department etc.) in which the Location occurs. |
locality | The specific description of the place. Less specific geographic information can be provided in other geographic terms (higherGeography, continent, country, stateProvince, county, municipality, waterBody, island, islandGroup). This term may contain information modified from the original to correct perceived errors or to standardise the description. |
decimalLatitude | The geographic latitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system given in geodeticDatum) of the geographic centre of a Location. Positive values are north of the Equator, negative values are south of it. Legal values lie between -90 and 90, inclusive. |
decimalLongitude | The geographic longitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system given in geodeticDatum) of the geographic centre of a Location. Positive values are east of the Greenwich Meridian, negative values are west of it. Legal values lie between -180 and 180, inclusive. |
geodeticDatum | The ellipsoid, geodetic datum or spatial reference system (SRS), upon which the geographic coordinates given in decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude are based. |
coordinateUncertaintyInMetres | The horizontal distance (in metres) from the given decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude describing the smallest circle containing the whole of the Location. Leave the value empty if the uncertainty is unknown, cannot be estimated or is not applicable (because there are no coordinates). Zero is not a valid value for this term. |
georeferencedBy | A list (concatenated and separated) of names of people, groups or organisations who determined the georeference (spatial representation) for the Location. |
georeferenceProtocol | A description or reference to the methods used to determine the spatial footprint, coordinates and uncertainties. |
The dataset contains the measurement values of the physico-chemical parameters and coral reef benthic composition in Poblacion and Kadurong Reefs.
Column label | Column description |
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eventID | An identifier for the set of information associated with an Event. |
measurementID | An identifier for the MeasurementOrFact (information pertaining to measurements, facts, characteristics or assertions). May be a global unique identifier or an identifier specific to the dataset. |
measurementType | The nature of the measurement, fact, characteristic or assertion. Recommended best practice is to use a controlled vocabulary. |
measurementValue | The value of the measurement, fact, characteristic or assertion. |
measurementUnit | The units associated with the measurementValue. Recommended best practice is to use the International System of Units (SI). |
measurementDeterminedDate | The date on which the MeasurementOrFact was made. Recommended best practice is to use an encoding scheme, such as ISO 8601:2004(E). |
measurementDeterminedBy | A list (concatenated and separated) of names of people, groups or organisations who determined the value of the MeasurementOrFact. |
measurementMethod | A description of or reference to (publication, URI) the method or protocol used to determine the measurement, fact, characteristic or assertion. |
measurementRemarks | Comments or notes accompanying the MeasurementOrFact. |
The dataset contains the phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish occurrence and abundance data in Poblacion and Kadurong Reefs.
Column label | Column description |
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eventID | An identifier for the set of information associated with an Event. |
occurrenceID | An identifier for the Occurrence (as opposed to a particular digital record of the occurrence). In the absence of a persistent global unique identifier, construct one from a combination of identifiers in the record that will most closely make the occurrenceID globally unique. |
basisOfRecord | The specific nature of the data record. |
eventDate | The date-time or interval during which an Event occurred. For occurrences, this is the date-time when the event was recorded. Not suitable for a time in a geological context. |
scientificName | The full scientific name, with authorship and date information, if known. |
taxonRank | The taxonomic rank of the most specific name in the scientificName. |
taxonID | An identifier for the set of taxon information (data associated with the taxon class). May be a global unique identifier or an identifier specific to the dataset. |
specificEpithet | The name of the first or species epithet of the scientificName. |
genus | The full scientific name of the genus in which the taxon is classified. |
family | The full scientific name of the family in which the taxon is classified. |
order | The full scientific name of the order in which the taxon is classified. |
class | The full scientific name of the class in which the taxon is classified. |
phylum | The full scientific name of the phylum or division in which the taxon is classified. |
kingdom | The full scientific name of the kingdom in which the taxon is classified. |
decimalLatitude | The geographic latitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system given in geodeticDatum) of the geographic centre of a Location. Positive values are north of the Equator, negative values are south of it. Legal values lie between -90 and 90, inclusive. |
decimalLongitude | The geographic longitude (in decimal degrees, using the spatial reference system given in geodeticDatum) of the geographic centre of a Location. Positive values are east of the Greenwich Meridian, negative values are west of it. Legal values lie between -180 and 180, inclusive. |
geodeticDatum | The ellipsoid, geodetic datum or spatial reference system (SRS), upon which the geographic coordinates given in decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude are based. |
coordinateUncertaintyInMetres | The horizontal distance (in metres) from the given decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude describing the smallest circle containing the whole of the Location. Leave the value empty if the uncertainty is unknown, cannot be estimated or is not applicable (because there are no coordinates). Zero is not a valid value for this term. |
countryCode | The standard code for the country in which the Location occurs. |
individualCount | The number of individuals represented present at the time of the Occurrence. |
organismQuantity | A number or enumeration value for the quantity of organisms. |
organismQuantityType | The type of quantification system used for the quantity of organisms. |
recordedBy | A list (concatenated and separated) of names of people, groups or organisations responsible for recording the original Occurrence. The primary collector or observer, especially one who applies a personal identifier (recordNumber), should be listed first. |
R scripts supporting this article are available in Suppl. material
We thank the reviewers for their valuable comments on this manuscript. We thank Prof. Geofe Cadiz, Dr. Joemark Narsico and Prof. Judith Silapan for their help during the early preparation of the research grant. We also thank Clyde Blanco, Ellen Grace Funesto, Gluztavelle Mercado, Caryl Anne Rabanos, Monique Mercado, Francis Leo Subla and Dr. Jonnifer Sinogaya for their assistance during the field sampling. We also thank Angelie C. Nellas, Myrtle Arias-Paquibot and their team for the technical assistance during the coral fish and reef assessment. We also thank FAST Laboratories for helping us with the physico-chemical measurements. We also thank the Municipality of Liloan, the Bantay-Dagat volunteers and Mr. Ireneo Noval for their invaluable support during the sample collection and field surveys. This work was supported by the University of the Philippines Cebu Faculty Research Grant awarded to Brisneve Edullantes, Fleurdeliz Maglangit and Eukene Bensig.
Brisneve Edullantes: Conceptualizsation (equal); Data Collection (equal); Data curation (lead); Formal analysis (equal); Investigation (equal); Methodology (equal); Writing‐original draft (equal); Writing‐review & editing (equal). Fleurdeliz Maglangit: Conceptualisation (equal); Data Collection (equal); Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (equal); Investigation (equal); Methodology (equal); Writing‐original draft (equal); Writing‐review & editing (equal). Angelito M. Ortiz: Data Collection (equal); Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (equal); Methodology (equal). Joanna Mie R. Casibo: Data Collection (equal); Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (equal); Methodology (equal). Lorraine Louise C. Vicentuan: Data Collection (equal); Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (equal); Methodology (equal). Eukene O.Bensig: Conceptualisation (equal); Data Collection (equal); Data curation (supporting); Formal analysis (equal); Investigation (equal); Methodology (equal); Writing‐original draft (equal); Writing‐review & editing (equal).
This contains scripts for exploring the physico-chemical, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthic composition and fish data described in this paper.