Module 2

Fishes and their Habitat

After reading this lesson, the student should be able to:

1. Characterize fish morphologically and physiologically; and

2. Describe different fish habitats as to their physical and chemical
characteristics.

I. Introduction

Fish refers to aquatic vertebrate animal that is covered with scales, and
equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins, breathing by the
means of gills. Most fish are "cold-blooded", or ectothermic, allowing their body
temperatures to vary as ambient temperatures change. At present, there were
already more than 30,000 species of fish described in different bodies of water
around the globe. Fishes played preponderant role in the survival of human race.
However, some are regarded to have negative impacts. This lesson intends to
provide basic information about fishes and their habitats.

II. Learning Contents

Characteristics of Fish

• Fish refers to cold-blooded animals living in water, breathing by the

means of gills and having limbs represented by fins or rudiments of fins.
• The term “fish” can be both singular and plural, but in all cases it refers to
a single species while “fishes” is always plural and always refers to more
than one species. Ex. A pond full of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is
full of fish; the river beside the pond is full of fishes.
• Fishes are craniates, or animals with a brain surrounded and protected by
a braincase and a distinct head region with a pair of eyes, teeth, and other
sensory organs.
• Fishes are vertebrates with or animals having vertebrae surrounding and
protecting the spinal cord (except hagfish)
• Most fishes have the following characteristics:
– Aquatic animals or animals living in the water
 – Respire or breathe primarily with gills rather than lungs
– Possessed appendages, or limbs we call fins that help the fish
move through the water
– Cold blooded” (ectothermic) animals, or unable to regulate their
own internal body temperatures in contrast to the ability of
mammals. Their body temperatures change based on the
temperature of the environment they are in.
– Covered with scales or bony plates to protect their body against
adverse environment or harmful organisms.
• However, definitions could be dangerous due to some exceptions that do
not negate them but instead give clues to adaptations.
– The mudskipper (Periopthalmus spp.) can live outside of water.
– Fishes like lungfishes (can live 4 years out of the water), some
catfishes, and climbing perch do not rely only on gills to respire;
they have lungs or other breathing structures. This is not surprising
because these animals can sometimes live in oxygen poor waters
where using gills alone may not be enough to survive.
– Some fishes, like tunas, are essentially warm blooded because of
specialized features of their muscles and circulatory system.
Recently, a true warm-blooded fish was discovered, the Opah
(Lampris guttatus)
– Though most fishes have scales covering their entire body, some
only have scales in certain areas, and some lack scales altogether
(but their skin is still pretty tough.

Ichthyology and its Scope

 The term ichthyology was derived from two Greek words, ikhthusn and
logos which mean "fish" and "study", respectively. This field of science
under the major branch of Zoology is devoted to the study of fishes.
 This discipline is highly associated with other filed of sciences such as
oceanography, limnology, and fisheries science.
 The biologists or zoologists (in particular) who study fish is called
Ichthyologists.
 Ichthyological studies include bony fishes (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous
fishes (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fishes (Agnatha).
 Some ichthyologists are most concerned with studies of the diversity,
distribution, and interrelationships of fishes.
 Others concentrate on the physiology or functional morphology of fishes,
seeking to determine how the various body parts of fishes inter act to
facilitate feeding, locomotion, respiration, or other vital functions.
  Large number of species have been discovered and described and
approximately 250 new species are officially discovered and described by
science each year.
 Recent report of FishBase, there was already 32,200 species of fish that
had been described as of March 2012.
 Statistics showed that there are more species of fishes than the combined
total of all other vertebrates: mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds.
 There is sustained interest in fishes due to their double role as highly
species denizens of a fascinating and as human food.

Important Statistics

• 58% of the total number of species is found in marine environment

• 41% are in fresh water
• 1% move regularly between the two environments (the diversity in fresh
water is brought by the isolation of habitats, thus higher opportunity to
evolve into a different species) of the 58% total marine species
• 13% is associated with the open oceans (1% in the surface, 5% in the
unlighted sections, and 7% on the bottom
• 45% of all fishes live in the normal band of water 200m or less
• Smallest Fish (7.9 mm) – Paedocypris progenetica – carp
• Smallest food fish (1.25 cm) - Mystichthys luzonensis - goby
• Largest Fish (12 m) – Rhincodon typus – shark
• Fishes have maximum life spans of as little as 10 weeks (African killifi
shes and Great Barrier Reef pygmy gobies) and as long as 150 years
(sturgeons and scorpaenid rockfishes). Some short-lived species are
annuals, surviving drought as eggs which hatch with the advent of rains.
Longer lived species may not begin reproducing until they are 20 years
old, and then only at 5+ year intervals.
• The Philippines harbor about 3,212 fish species (list still incomplete), 731
of which are considered commercially important.

History of Fish and Human Relationship

• Humans utilized fish for food, for trade goods such as oils, skins and
ornamentation, and for religious purposes.
• Fishing is an earliest form of extraction in our natural environment along
with hunting in the terrestrial areas.
• Archaeological account showed the utilization of spears about 90,000
years before present.
• Nets and fish hooks were already used about 40,000 and 35,000 years
before present, respectively.
• The earliest documented human communities dependent on fishing
occurred in the vicinity of Lake Mungo (Australia) 30,000 and Crete 8,000
before present.
 • The Egyptian aristocracy fished as a leisure activity at least 4,000 before
present.
• Growing fish in captivity has been practiced in China for at least 4,000
years before present.

Positive Aspects of Fishes

 Food and livelihood

 Biological control of pests
 Indicators of aquatic environment productivity
 Aesthetics and recreational purposes
 Medical and therapeutic uses
 Scientific researches

Negative Aspects of Fishes

Some species of fish possessed toxins that may cause harm to human.

Icthyotoxin – generally, any poison originating from fishes

Ichthyosarcotoxin – poison found in flesh of fishes
• Ciguatera – caused by eating various marine fishes of tropical and
subtropical areas.
• toxin: ciguatoxin, maitotoxin, scaritoxin, palytoxin
• affected fish: barracuda, snapper, moray eels, parrotfish,
triggerfish, amberjacks
• effects: gastrointestinal and neurological, allodynia (severe)
• Scombroid poisoning –caused by eating improperly preserved
scombroid fishes
• toxin: histamine
• fish: mackerel, tuna, mahi-mahi, bonito, sardines, anchovies
• effect: severe allergic responses

Icthyohemotoxin – poison fond in blood of fishes

Icthyoacanthotoxin – poison secreted at the site of a venom apparatus
such as spines, stings, or teeth of fishes
• Stonefish – rank no. 6 of the most venomous creatures
Icthyootoxin – poison found only in roe of fishes
• Tetradotoxin or tetrodox or TTX (neurotoxin) – the poison in
viscera/skin of puffer fishes
• Puffer fish – rank no. 10 of the most poisonous creatures
• Other sources: porcupine fish, ocean sunfish, triggerfish
Fish Anatomy and Physiology

Fish Anatomy – the study of form or morphology of fishes

Fish Physiology – the study of morphological functions in fishes

a. Body Forms

1. Fusiform/Torpedo-shaped – streamlined and have an oval cross-

section; capable of swimming very fast; characteristic of open-water fishes
(ex. Tuna, salmon, trout).
2. Compressiform – body is flattened from side to side; swim slowly but
very maneuverable; quick speed for short distances; characteristics of
coralline fishes (ex. Grouper, snapper, angelfish).
3. Depressiform – flattened from top to bottom; lives on the bottom (ex.
Flounder).
4. Filiform/threadlike – body is long and thin; moves like a wavy ribbon (ex.
Stripe eel).
5. Anguiliform – body is snake-like; fishes lives in holes or among rocks (ex.
Moray eel, swamp eel).
6. Sagitiform/arrow-like – body shape is arrow-like and elongated; fragile
beak; surface dwellers (ex. Gars, pikes).
7. Globiform – tadpole-shaped body; with smooth or warty skin;
bottom/deep water dwellers (ex. Pufferfish, frog fish).

b. External Parts and Their Functions

Fins

Fins are broadened appendages present on the body of fishes and

primarily function for locomotion and balance.

a. Paired fins

1. Pelvic fins – fins found towards the rear of the fish (abdominal
placement); absent or reduced in eels and eel-like fish and in some
bottom-dwelling species they have become modified into clasping
organs; the most variable, in terms of placement, of all fins; found near
the front of the fish, below the pectoral fins (thoracic placement), or
even, in a few cases, in front of the pectorals (jugular placement); used
for steering or braking.

Positions
  Abdominal - situated midway between the pectorals and the
anal fin (ex. Trout, minnows, carps)
 Thoracic - positioned below the pectorals, with the pelvic girdle
attached to the pectoral girdle.
 Sub-thoracic - positioned behind the pectorals, and the fin
girdles are connected by ligaments.
 Sub-abdominal - situated about midway between the typical
abdominal position and the thoracic one and there is no
connection between the girdles
 Jugular - placed in advance of the pectorals; the pelvic are
reduced in size or greatly elongated as tactile organs
 Mental – located below the eyes or chin

2. Pectoral fins – fins that are normally located just behind the gills; often
found lower down on the body in evolutionarily older fish species and
higher upon the body in more modern forms; used for stability.

In some fishes, pectoral fins are adapted for other functions.

a. Some bony fishes, such as the hawkfishes use their pectoral
fins to help them "perch" at the bottom and on reef areas.
Mudskippers support themselves on land with their pectoral fins.

b. The pectoral fins of flying fishes are extremely long, an

adaptation that allows flying fish to glide over water as far as
150 m (492 ft.) and remain airborne as long as 20 seconds.

c. Some bottom-dwelling fishes such as threadfins have taste

buds and touch receptors on their pectoral fins to locate food.

d. For some fishes, such as wrasses, pectoral fins are the main
source of power for swimming.

- Axillary appendages are elongate, triangular, scaly, or bony

structures set in the axils of paired fins, usually the pelvics. They
are absent in most fishes, but they are prominent in some herrings
and salmonids.

b. Median fins

1. Dorsal fin – fin found on the upper surface, or back of the fish; in the
bony fish they are quite maneuverable and can be raised, lowered or
undulated; n eels and eel-like fish it may be united with the upper lobe
of the caudal fin; used for stability while swimming.
 2. Anal fin – a single centrally oriented fin found on the lower side of the
fish behind both the pelvic fins and the anus; used also for stability
while swimming.

3. Caudal fin – the tail fin.; used for swimming, propulsion and adds
stability.

Major Types of Caudal Fin

1. Homocercal – two lobes of fin are similar in shape

 Rounded – designed for slow movement but capable of short and

accurate bursts of speed
 Truncate – good for maneuverability and short bursts of speed
 Emarginate – for effective acceleration and maneuvering but less
dragging
 Lunate – allow for great speed over long distances
 Forked - good for maneuverability and speed over longer distances
 Pointed – for slow swimming/movement and bottom wriggling
 Pointed but separate from dorsal and anal fins

2. Protocercal - the most primitive type; notochord is straight and extends

up to the tip of the tail, dividing the latter into two equal parts; the fin fold
continues with the dorsal and the anal fins to form a continuous fold,
unsupported by the fin rays; found in cyclostomes and the living lung
fishes.

3. Heterocercal – notochord bends upwards at its posterior end, so that the

dorsal lobe of the tail is almost lacking or represented by a few spines,
while the ventral lobe becomes well developed; large-sized ventral lobe
possesses a longer postero-dorsal and a shorter antero-ventral lobe; tail
becomes asymmetrical, both externally and internally; found among the
elasmobranches.

 Epicercal - the upper lobe is longer (as in sharks)

 Hypocercal - the lower lobe is longer (as in flying fish)

4. Protocercal - extends around the vertebral column, present in embryonic

fish and hagfish; this is not to be confused with a caudal fin that has fused
with the dorsal and anal fins to form a contiguous fin.

5. Isocercal - spine is drawn out into a long and straight rod like structure; fin
fold develops, both, above and below the rod, in the form of the marginal
extensions of the tails and remains supported by the fin rays; found in
 some deep sea fishes and in many fresh water teleosts belonging to
Anguilliformes, Notopteridae, Gymnarchidae, Macruridae and Blennidae.

6. Gephyrocercal - very much like the isocercal, but the fins are reduced to
vestiges; caudal lobe or peduncle is truncated and the hypurals in the
spinal column are not found; found in Fierasfer and in Orthagoriscus.

7. Protoheterocercal - this intermediate tail type is different from above in

having separate dorsal, ventral and the caudal fins, which are formed by
the interruption of the continuous fold on dorsal and ventral side of the
fish; from this type of tail the heterocercal and diphycercal tails are said to
have been derived.

c. Others

1. Adipose fin – A small fin without any strengthening rays that is only
found in a few groups of fish such as the Myctophidae, Osmeridae and
Salmonidae as well as some catfish; located on the upper surface of
the body between the dorsal fin and the upper lobe of the caudal fin;
for swimming in the larval stage.

2. Finlets – part of the second dorsal fin

Spines

Spines are a perpendicular skeleton projected out of the body of fish. They
are solid bony structure without segmentation and are round if seen in cross-
section. These are usually associated in dorsal, anal and pectoral fins. True
spines are characteristics of most derived teleosts or modern fishes. Spines of
goldfish, carps, catfishes, are stiffened and thickened rays which are segmented,
dumbbell-shaped in cross-section and often branched.
Well-developed spines are found mainly in small to medium-sized fish that
actively forage for their food. Other spines have poison glands.

Scales

Scales are the skin derivatives which cover and protect the body. Most of
the fishes are covered by an exoskeleton madeup of sca1e. Few fishes like
catfishes are naked without scales. Some species like Polyodon and Acipenser
will have scales or plates only at some localized regions of the body.

Scale Types

1. Cosmoid
 2. Ganoid
3. Placoid
4. Cycloid and Ctenoid

Mouth Types

Many fishes are identified by looking at or into the mouth. The number of
mouth-types exhibited by different species is nothing short of astonishing.

Major Mouth Types of fishes:

1. Inferior mouth – used for feeding in the sea bottom

2. Superior mouth – foraging in the surface areas
3. Terminal mouth – used for horizontal grasp
4. Protrusible – used to snap prey accurately

Small mouth – fish that feeds on small invertebrates

Large mouth – fish that feeds on large invertebrates

Gill Opening

The operculum is a thin and flexible gill opening of bony fishes which is
important component of two-pump respiratory system.

Smaller on fish with low activity levels than fish that are more active. In
eels, openings are typically reduced to holes (small holes) presumably because
of problems associated with raising and lowering of the opercular bones under
confined conditions.

Sharks have spiracles (small openings used for the intake of water for
respiration). This is dorsally located in the rays and laterally located in most
sharks.

Sensory Structures

a) Nares (nostrils)

Paired holes located on a fish’s snout used for detecting odors in the
water. Some fish, like catfish and eels, have a heightened sense of smell. The
nares are made up of many capsules, each containing numerous chemical
receptors. Water flows through the nares as the fish swims or while facing the
current.

Behind the nares, in a chamber, are sensors (chemical receptors) that

detect chemicals that are dissolved in the water. Once an odor is detected, the
nerves send signals to the fish’s brain that interpret the smells. These smells
might attract a fish or keep it at bay depending on whether the fish interprets the
smell to represent food or danger.

b) Eyes

The eye varies enormously in size and relative position among even
closely related species. In many fishes, the orbit is one of the most allometrically
changing structures of the body, being relatively large in larvae (up to one-fifth
the length of the body) and becoming progressively smaller in relative size in
larger fishes.

The eyes of a prey fish are located on either side of its head. The fish can
see all around, but not directly above or directly behind itself. Fish with eyes on
the opposite sides of their heads don’t have very good depth perception—they
can’t easily determine distances between themselves and other objects.

Many predator fish have eyes located further forward on their heads.
Having both eyes focused in the same direction provides better depth perception,
enabling them to catch prey.

Depth perception is the ability to judge the relative distance of objects and
the spatial relationship of objects at different distances.

c) Barbels

Sensory structures appear on the anterior part of the head in many

groups, and are usually associated with the nares and mouth, especially the
maxilla and mentum. An organ usually found on bottom feeding fishes.

They may be very elongated and protrusive resembling whiskers that

contain many nerve endings, some of which are similar to human taste buds.
Barbels help fish find food through the senses of taste and touch. Placement,
size, condition of branching and number of barbels are taxonomically important.

d) Cirri

Cirri are soft structures, present on the heads of many fishes, that may
superficially resemble barbels but that are flattened, fringed, or branched and
have no special sensory function. Cirri are usually associated with the nares or
eyes but may also be located along the lower jaw or spread generally over the
head.

e) Lateral Line

The lateralis sensory system (lateral line) is a line of special scales

bearing sensory tubes filled with mucous prominent in the trunk and tail of most
fishes. If present, they may be found single, double, or multiple in number.
However, this may be absent in some fishes like the sardines.

c. Internal Parts

Brain

The brain is the control center of the fish. The brain is formed by the
enlargement of the cephalic end of the spinal cord. In size the fish brain shows
considerable variations in different species and is relatively small in relation to
body size of the adult fish. All sensory information are processed in the brain.

Gills

The gill of a fish is the main organ used for respiration. The gill is a very
delicate structure. The structure of teleost gill is consists of the gill raker, gill arc
and lamellae.

Swimbladder

The swimbladder or air sac is a hollow and gas filled organ. This organ
allows buoyancy in many species of fish. It varies in shape and in their
connections with other internal organs partly because swimbladders perform
other functions in hearing and sound production.

Heart

The heart is the central organ of the circulatory system of fish. The heart is
situated immediately behind the gills but in teleosts, it is relatively anteriorly
placed than in the elasmobranchs. The following are the four chambers of the
heart:

1. Sinus venosus – functions as a manifold. Venous blood from the liver

and the ducts of Cuvier are collected in this relatively thin-walled chamber.

2. Atrium – from the sinus venosus the blood is directed to this chamber, in
many species through a sinoatrial valve. The atrium provides the first
significant circulatory acceleration of the blood.

3. Ventricle – it is a relatively large chamber featuring heavy walls of cardiac

muscle. It is a pyramid-shaped in elasmobranchs and conical in teleosts,
with the apex pointing posteriorly.
 4. Conus arteriosus (in elasmobranchs, lampreys, hagfish, and hoosteans)/
Bolbus arteriosus (in teleosts) – it functions as an electric chamber to
dampen the pulses of pressure and intermittent flow from the ventricle into
amore continuous flow to the ventral aorta and the gills.

The heart in the elasmobranchs is most primitive in structure among the

fishes and lies in a spacious pericardial chamber. It consists of sinus venosus,
atrium, ventricle and a well-developed contractile conus arteriosus.

Organs of the Digestive System

1. Mouth – for apprehending or catching, holding, piercing, and initial

grinding. In some species, it is used for sucking.
2. Pharynx, which has gills on its sides, is for passage of water and ionic
substances.
3. Esophagus (throat) – is connection between the pharyngeal and the
anterior end of the stomach.
4. Stomach – for final grinding and mixing of food ingested. It is an organ
where the processes of digestion commence. However, little absorption
occurs in stomach. It produces HCl and digestive enzyme.
– Carnivorous fish – has quite or moderate stomach
– Omnivorous fish – has sac-shaped stomach
– Herbivorous fish – has elongate stomach

– Fish which eat large prey at infrequent intervals – have large

stomach
– Fish which eat small food items – have small or no stomachs
Example of no stomachs: cyprinidae; parrotfishes; goldfish
 5. Intestine – the organ for final digestion and where greatest absorption of
food substances takes place. Also an organ where digestion of proteins,
fats and carbohydrates is completed. An organ which receives and
deposits the digestive enzymes secreted by liver, pyloric caeca, and
intestinal wall.
– Carnivorous fish – have shorter intestine
– Herbivorous fish – have longer intestine

6. Liver – for producing the digestive juice called bile and also the great
quantities of oil which is a source of Vit. D. It stores fats and
carbohydrates called glycogen. It also produces urea and other nitrogen
components.
7. Gall bladder – for storing excess bile produced in the liver.
– Bile which contains emulsifying salts is responsible in hydrolyzing
fats and in adjusting the digestive juices of the intestine to the
proper alkalinity for the action of digestive enzymes.
8. Pyloric caeca, a blind tubelike sacs attached near the exit of the stomach,
is for assisting food digestion and also absorbing digested food into the
blood.
9. Spleen – a gland which serves as an accessory digestive gland. This is
found attached to the stomach of fishes and is dark red in color.

Kidney

The kidneys are paired; elongated structures placed above the alimentary
canal and are close to the vertebral column. The teleostean kidney is generally
divided into two portions, the head kidney and the trunk kidney, but in many
species these regions cannot be distinguished by external examination.
Generally there are no conspicuous differences in shape between the two sexes.
The kidney of a fish functions as filter. The kidney separates waste from the body
fluid and excretes out of the body. The organ is also responsible in regulating
water and salt within the body of fish.

Reproductive Organs

1. Testes – The male reproductive organ. It consists of a pair of testes which

lies ventral to the kidneys. The testes are free anteriorly but posteriorly
they continue as sperm ducts which open into urinogenital papillae
2. Ovary – the female reproductive organ. A pair of elongated sac like
structures found in the abdominal cavity just ventral to the kidney which
are called ovaries. The ovaries are free anteriorly but each ovary
continues posteriorly as oviduct.
Fish Habitats

A habitat is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living

place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. It is not just a species
population that has a habitat, but an assemblage of many species living together
in the same place that essentially share a habitat.

The term “fish habitat” is exclusively used to refer a complex of physical,

chemical and biological conditions that provide the life supporting and
reproductive needs of species or any life stage of fish. The habitat requirement of
fish depends on its biological stage. Fish habitats can be freshwater or marine.

A. Freshwater habitats

a. Lentic series or the standing water series

The term lentic habitat is derived from the Latin “lentus” meaning
“sluggish”. As defined by Welch (1952), the lentic or standing water series
refers to all forms of inland bodies of water in which the water is essentially static,
that is, it does not move continuously in one direction, although a certain amount
of motion in the form of waves and internal currents occur.

The genetic sequence of the units that make up the series is as follows:

Lake Pond Swamp

 Lake – body of water occupied in a basin and lacking continuity with the
sea. It has a considerable area and deep enough to stratify.

 Pond – small shallow body of water with extensive occupancy by higher

aquatic plants are common.

 Swamp – small shallow body of water smaller than a pond occupied by

rooted vegetation whose stalks extend to the air.

This expression indicates that a lake slowly changes in character to

ultimately give rise to a swamp. Lakes are larger bodies of water occupying
distinctive basins. Ponds, on the other hand, generally suggest small quiet
bodies of standing water usually shallow, enough to permit the growth of rooted
plants from one shore to the other. A swamp is a wet low land which supports
mosses and shrubs together with relatively, with relatively large trees. The order
of changes or sequence of units is called succession.

 Nature of Succession in the Lentic Series

 Succession in the lentic series goes toward extinction with age.
Natural processes work toward progressive but inevitable reduction of a large
standing body of water (lake) to a small body (pond) an finally to a wetland
(swamp) or to a relatively dry land. The time needed to effect complete
transformation varies from less than the average human life span for small,
shallow lakes to many centuries for very large deep ones.

 Factors Causing Succession

1. Gradual filling of lake basins. The continuous deposition and

accumulation of sediments and other materials into a lake basin is the primary
cause of the disappearance of lakes. Deposited materials are in the form of:

a. Debris transported by wind, such as dust, sand, and the like.

b. Sediments carried and dropped by entering streams and run-off
waters from adjacent slopes.
c. Materials cut from exposed lake shores by wave action/
d. Accumulation of organic matters in the form of plant secretions,
remains of animal life such as
shells, and remains of plant life, particularly of higher aquatic
plants

2. Catastrophic events. Examples of catastrophes that may destroy lake

basins are a great flood which may destroy a lava dam which produced the lake
originally, and on earthquake which may remove the basin through an uplifting of
the land surface.

3. Loss of water. Lakes often become extinct because their water is

drained away, such as when the outlet stream erodes its valley below the level of
the lake floor, or when a major feeder stream is diverted away. A change in
climate that brings very dry conditions to the region may also cause a lake to lose
its water.

 Lake Basins Origin

- Lakes formed in depressions (called lake basins) in the landscape

- The depression is surrounded by a watershed and an airshed.
- Watershed is the drainage basin or catchment basin surrounded
by a ridge, or drainage divide. The divide marks are the boundaries
of a watershed.
- Surface water in the water shed flows into the lake as overland flow
or thru entering rivers
- Groundwater also contributes to the lake
- The air shed is the part of the atmosphere that contributes
precipitation
 Knowledge of the formation and history of a lake is important to
understanding its structure. The current chemical and biological condition of a
lake depends on many factors, including:

 how it was formed

 size and shape of the lake basin
 size, topography, and chemistry of its watershed
 regional climate
 local biological communities
 activities of humans during the past century

There are many processes which produce basins, or depressions on the

earth’s surface, that may become lakes if the water supply is plentiful. The origins
of lakes may be classified to, as follows:

1. Tectonic Origins. Lakes basins of tectonic origins are those formed by

deep earth crustal movements such as those along a fracture or fault. For
example, a tilted fault block often forms a lake basin in the depression between
the tilted blocks. Adjacent parallel faults may form an elongated basin as a result
of the sinking of the blocks between them. The trough-like basin created in this
manner is called a Graben.

Another type of tectonic activity that creates basins is the folding of the
earth’s crust which may cause the rise of mountains with depressed areas
between them. A depression is also created by the uplifting of the land
surrounding the basin.

 Epeirogenesis – wide reaching tectonic events that raise large crustal

blocks and sometimes bring about the formation of enormous basins.

2. Volcanic Origins. The crater of an extinct volcano may fill with water to
give rise to a crater lake. The lava also causes the creation of lakes. Flowing lava
frequently crosses and dams an existing river valley, to form a lake. As a result of
differential cooling, the surface of hardened lava is irregular and a few of the
depression may later fill with water.

3. Glacial Origins. Glaciers produce lakes principally through their

erosional activity and as a result of the deposits they leave behind. In addition to
their massive size and weight, glaciers contain ice, gravel, sand, etc., which
serves as sharp tools that scour out and deepen depressions in solid rock. An
example of a lake whose basin is formed by glacial erosion is a cirque lake. A
cirque lake is a bowl-shaped or amphitheater-like depression in a mountain side
eroded by a descending valley glacier from the word ice.
Glacial deposits are collectively called moraines. Many lake basins are
formed on the uneven surface of the rocks and debris left behind on the ground
by a moving or a receding glacier. Many depressions on these ground moraines
may later fill with water from melting ice, from rainfall, or from beneath the
ground, to become lakes, e.g., the so-called kettle lakes. Some lakes are also
made by the damming of streams by glacial moraines.

4. Fluvial Origins. Lakes produces as a result of the action of running

water are called fluviatile lakes. A specific type of fluviatile lake is the oxbow
lake. An oxbow lake is one formed by the isolation of a loop of a widely curving
or meandering river. Another lake of fluvial origin is the plunge-pool lake whose
basin is eroded at the foot of a steep cliff by the impact of running water as it
plunges and falls over the cliff. Fluviatile lakes also arise from the damming of a
river by sediments deposited by a tributary.

5. Miscellaneous Origin. In addition to the major processes described

above, lake basins are created by a number of minor processes.

a. Solution lakes are created by the dissolution and erosion of

soluble rock, such as limestone, by flowing surface water or
percolating ground water.
b. Mudflows and landslides from adjacent slopes may block streams and form
lakes.
c. The impact of meteors on the earth’s surface produces depressions
that could become lakes.
d. Finally, man himself creates lakes. Diggings and depressions made
by man, like those in abandoned mines and quarries, may form
lakes. Further, man constructs dams, barriers, or excavations to
impound or store water which would otherwise run away from a
catchment area. Man-made lakes known as reservoirs. They
usually serve multiple purposes such as for irrigation of croplands,
hydroelectric power generation, flood control, and others.

 Longevity

- Most lakes are young < 15,000 years

- Lakes are born to die because of sediment traps. They begin filling
up with sediments upon formation
- Solutes and particulate, organics and minerals accumulate in the
lake
- Origins could be allochthonous (originating from the
outside) from the airshed or watershed or autochthonous
(self-formed or formed in place) from the lake itself (through
photosynthesis, mineral precipitation).

d. Parts of a lake
 Limnetic zone - open water zone; region of shore and bottom lessened
influence; habitat of planktons; photosynthesis prevails during daylight
 hours; it is where the trophogenic zone occurs; synthesis of organic
carbon occurs; largely defined by the epilimnion.

 Littoral zone - shore region; subject to fluctuating temperature and

erosion of shore materials through wave actions; sediment is coarse;
unprotected shores, shallow water depth, well lighted, it’s a bond from
shoreline to the depth where aquatic plants disappear; great diversity and
high annual production of many species; wave action is extreme

 Sublittoral zone - sediments are finer grained; dimly lighted; lacking

benthic macroflora; usually well-oxygenated; sublittoral fauna contains
lesser species than littoral assemblage; cemetery of all dead aquatic
organisms from the littoral area; also known as shell zone

 Profundal zone - cold region; current minimum; reduced light;

temperature nearly uniform; oxygen scanty, depleted; methane and
carbon dioxide abundant; hydrogen concentration is high because of the
presence of carbonic acid; decomposing, decaying matter; found in the
hypolimnio; sediments are fine particles; benthic organisms dominate

 Classification of Lakes According to Circulation Patterns

1. Amixis – amictic lakes never circulate; permanently covered with

ice; immune to the strong effects of wind; ex. Northern Greenland

2. Holomixis – holomictic lakes have wind-driven circulation

a. Oligomictic lakes – warm-water at all depths are subjected to
very little seasonal change
b. Monomictic lakes – one regular period of circulation occurring
sometime within the year
1) Cold monomictic: Water here at any depth never exceeds
4°C; they are ice-bound or ice-covered only in winter; there
are inverse thermal stratification top waters 0°C and bottom
waters 4°C (since water at 4°C is heaviest); only one mixing
at temperatures not more than 4°C in spring / summer.
2) Warm monomictic: Temperature of water never falls below
4°C at any depth. Direct thermal stratification top waters 10 -
20°C and bottom waters 8 - 4°C; only one mixing in a year in
a winter.
c. Dimictic lakes – two mixing periods each year
d. Polymictic lakes – continuous mixing throughout the year
influenced by changing temperature rather than seasonal change

3. Meromixis – circulation at times but are incomplete – the entire

water mass does not participate in the mixing caused by salinity
differences; bottom is anaerobic.
 Classification of Lakes Based on Productivity

1. Eutrophic Lake – display high concentration of nutrients, high

biomass and low transparency.
2. Oligotrophic Lake – contain very low concentration of nutrients
and low biomass associated with low concentrations of nitrogen and
phosphorous.
3. Mesotrophic Lake – intermediate in most characteristics between
the oligotrophic and eutrophic stages.

 Freshwater Wetlands

The Ramsar Convention defines wetlands as area of marsh, fen, peat land
or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is
static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water, the
depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.
A freshwater wetland is any area covered by shallow freshwater for at
least part of the annual cycle; accordingly wetland soils are saturated with water
continually or for part of the year. The key factor that determines productivity and
species composition of the wetland community is the hydroperiod.
 Hydroperiod- periodicity of water level

Freshwater wetlands can then be classified as “pulse-stabilized,

fluctuating water level ecosystems” similar to intertidal marine and estuarine
ecosystems
Swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens, known collectively as wetlands, are
ecosystems that straddle the boundary between land and water. Irrespective of
its vegetation, every wetland overlies a substrate that is either saturated with
water or entirely flooded for at least part of the year. Wetlands occur within all
types of ecoregions. Most aren't large enough to be indicated on small-scale
maps, but some are quite extensive.

• Classification of wetlands according to their interconnections

with deep water and/or upland ecosystems

1. Riverine wetlands - located in low-lying depressions (oxbows) and

floodplains associated with rivers.
• Freshwater tidal marshes along the lower reaches of large
rivers in the coastal plains of US are among the most productive
of natural ecosystems
2. Lacustrine (from lacus, lake) wetlands - associated with lakes, ponds or
dammed river channels
• Periodically flooded when deeper bodies of water overflow
3. Palustrine (from palus, marsh) wetlands - include what are variously
called marshes, bogs, fens, wet prairies, and temporary ponds that occur
in depressions not directly connected with lakes or rivers (although they
may be in old river beds or filled ponds or lake basins).

 Fen wetlands- only slightly acidic and typically dominated by

sedges
 Bog wetlands- very acidic, characterized by accumulation of
peat, and dominated by sphagnum moss
 Bogs and fens—together called mires.
 Mire (or quagmire) is a low-lying wetland of deep, soft soil
or mud that sinks underfoot.
 Palustrine marshes- dominated by emergent herbaceous
vegetation, are often a breeding habitat for waterfowl & other
aquatic or semi-aquatic vertebrates
 Swamps - wetlands dominated by woody vegetation or forested
wetlands

• Riparian zone - is the interface between land and a flowing surface water
body. Plant communities along the river margins are called riparian
vegetation, characterized by hydrophilic plants.\

- Riparian zones are significant in ecology, environmental

management, and civil engineering due to their role in soil
conservation, their biodiversity, and the influence they have on
aquatic ecosystems. Riparian zones occur in many forms including
grassland, woodland, wetland or even non-vegetative. In some
regions the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian
buffer zone or riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian
zone. The word "riparian" is derived from Latin ripa, meaning river
bank.

• Basis for wetland characterization

Wetlands are characterized by three main components:

 Presence of water - water is either at or near the land surface for

some time. Some wetlands are continually flooded while others
may simply have saturated soils.
 Soil type - wetland soils are called hydric soils and have
characteristics which indicate they are different from nearby upland
soils.
  Vegetation type - wetland plants, called hydrophytes, are adapted
to life in wet conditions. Cattails, bulrushes and sawgrass are
familiar hydrophytes.

• Wetland ecology

The existence of all types of wetlands, as well as many of their biological

characteristics, is determined by water: the amount that flows into and out of
wetlands and the amount that is stored there. For example, in freshwater
marshes, large emergent plants such as cattails can form dense stands that
shade out other plant species. If periodic high-water years occur, the large,
dominant plants are killed, providing openings where seeds from other plants can
germinate and grow during low-water years. When water levels remain low, the
dominant plants grow also, eventually shading out the smaller plants again. This
cycle maintains diversity, both in the species of the plant community and in the
habitat provided by mixed stands of large and small plants.

Diverse habitats benefit fish that require different conditions for spawning,
feeding, or seeking shelter from predators. These habitats provide the
combinations of open water and protective emergent plants that are preferred by
waterfowl, and they provide a variety of food and cover for the smaller organisms
that are used as food by many birds and larger animals.

Swamps along river floodplains are affected by the distribution of water in

a different way. Rivers often meander across the floodplain. Sediments flowing
with the river water are deposited on the inside of the river bends. During floods,
a river may form a new channel that takes a shortcut between bends and leaves
the original bend abandoned. Both of these processes change the shape of the
floodplain and create new, diverse wetland habitat.

Rivers may also build up banks that isolate the river from the floodplain.
Periodic flooding then causes water to overflow the banks and deposit nutrient-
rich sediments onto the floodplain, where they nourish the trees of the floodplain
swamp. The timing of floods also influences the use of the swamps by fish and
wildlife, especially for spawning and waterfowl migrations.

Water influences peatlands in still other ways. The moist conditions

created by precipitation or groundwater that flows into a peatland promote plant
growth and also slow the decay of dead plant matter. If groundwater rich in
minerals flows into a peatland, the chemistry of that water can affect which plant
species grow there. If precipitation supplies much of the water to a peatland,
sphagnum mosses often grow. Sphagnum makes the water more acidic, limiting
the species of plants and animals able to grow there.

b. Lotic Series or the Running Water Series

 The term lotic habitat is derived from the Latin word “lautus” a form of
the verb meaning “to wash”. According to Welch (1952), the lotic or running
water series refers to all forms of inland bodies of water in which the entire body
of water moves continuously in a definite direction. The water follows the contour
of the land flowing downward ultimately into the sea. The units that make up the
series also undergo succession.

The genetic sequence of the units is:

Rivulet Brook Creek Streams (or

Rivers)

This expression indicates the growth of a running body of water from an

intermittent collection of water on land surfaces that eventually coalesce to form
larger volumes of water called rivulets. Rivulets in turn may converge to give rise
to brooks, to creeks, and ultimately to become a continuous permanent flowing
body of water called a river.

 River - is a natural waterway that transits water through a landscape from

higher to lower elevations.
 Stream - is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and
banks. Streams are important as conduits in the water cycle, instruments
in aquifer recharge, and corridors for fish and wildlife migration.
 Creek - A small to medium sized natural stream. Sometimes navigable by
motor craft and may be intermittent. A tidal inlet, typically in a saltmarsh or
mangrove swamp. Alternatively, between enclosed and drained, former
saltmarshes or swamps.
 Tributary - A contributory stream, or a stream which does not reach the
sea but joins another river (a parent river). Sometimes also called a
branch or fork.
 Brook - A stream smaller than a creek, especially one that is fed by a
spring or seep. It is usually small and easily forded. A brook is
characterized by its shallowness and its bed being composed solely of
rocks.

• Nature of succession in the lotic series

Succession in the lotic series is toward extension with time. The

bodies of water in the series increase the length, width and depth of their channel
with advancing age. A river’s age is based on the extent to which it has cut its
valley toward its base level.

Base level is the level of the body of water into which the river flows, that
is, sea level or the level of a receiving lake. It is also the lowest level to which a
land surface can be reduced by running water. The closer the river approaches
its base level, the more it is said to be. Also, not all parts of the stream are
usually in the same stage of development. Its upper reaches are usually youthful,
that is, are in earlier evolutionary stages – creeks, brooks, rivulets – in that
sequence moving upstream.

• Causes of succession in the lotic series

Extension is accomplished in the lotic series through continuous erosion.

The work of running water is through the combination of two types of erosive
action, namely:

1. Mechanical Erosion. Running water mechanically erodes the land by

abrasion, the grinding contact of the boulders, rock fragments, and
sediments it rolls or carries in suspension against the material of the
substrate.

2. Chemical Erosion. Rocks that are resistant to abrasion are worn down
through chemical erosion. Running water dissolves and carries away the
soluble minerals and materials in the soils and rocks it encounters along
its path.

The rate at which running water carves a new path for itself on the land
surface, establishes its channel, and eventually produces a fully developed valley
containing a permanent river, depends principally on the susceptibility of the
bedrock to erosion and the velocity of the water. Running water accomplishes the
greatest work of erosion during flood times. During those times, the velocity of
running water rises several folds which allow it to carry more and larger particles.
The abrasive power of water is thus correspondingly enhanced.

• Stream beds and valleys origin

A stream bed, or channel, is the trench on the ground that serves as

passageway for running water. The valley is the elongated lowland in between
mountain ranges, hills, or other uplands, which contains the stream on its floor.

With few exceptions, rivers excavate the channels and valleys in which
they flow. Rivers normally originate as tiny gullies in low places on the land
surface where run-off water from rain, concentrate. A gully

As it grows, its ability to cut the land increases. Several gullies may also
join together to form larger channels and collect more water.

Erosion at the head of the gullies causes them to lengthen, extending up

existing slopes of the terrain. This process by gullies grows by extending their
upper reaches is called headward erosion. The combination of headward
erosion (lengthening), downward cutting towards base level (deepening) and
sideward cutting (widening) eventually forms a fully developed valley with a
continuously flowing stream at its bottom.

• Types of lotic ecosystems

Types of Lotic systems based on chemical composition of the water.

1. Hard-water or carbonate rivers- with 100 or more ppm dissolved

inorganic solids
2. Soft-water or chloride rivers - with less than 25 ppm dissolved solids.
Water chemistry of carbonate Rivers is controlled by rock weathering
whereas; atmospheric precipitation is the dominant factor in chloride
rivers. Humic or black-water streams with high concentrations of
dissolved organic material, represent another class of streams found in
warm lowlands
• Stream or River Zonation

In a given stretch of streams, 2 zones are apparent:

1. Rapid zone- has a current great enough to keep the bottom clear of silt or
other loose material, thus providing a firm substrate

• Zone occupied by specialized organisms that become firmly attached

or cling to the substrate (eg, black fly and caddis fly larvae) or in the
case of fish, that can swim against the current or cling to the bottom
(e.g. trout or darters)
2. Pool zone- has deeper water, where the velocity of the current is reduced,
so that sand and silt settle, providing a soft bottom favorable for burrowing
and swimming animals, and in large pools, plankton. In fact, communities
of pools in large rivers resemble those of ponds

• Springs

- Springs are places where the groundwater reaches the surface

emerging from the soil.
- Generally occurs when the impermeable layers above which the
rainwater absorbed by soil flows get close to the surface.

- Types of Springs:

1. Rheocrene springs are formed on steep slopes and straight

away originate a small stream.
 2. Limnocrene springs are found at the bottom of ponds and
lakes.
3. Helocrene springs, finally, are found at outcrops of the
groundwater and give rise to wetlands, ponds and bogs

• Basis for River Classification

1. By nature of substrate

a. bedrock (non-alluvial rivers) – small rivers in mountainous

areas flowing directly on bedrock.
b. alluvial rivers - large rivers, flow on a bed a sediment they have
deposited and can continue to transport.

2. By the relationship to groundwater able

a. effluent river - the water surface in the river lies above the local
groundwater table in the river banks. Also called gaining river.
b. influent river - the water surface in the river lies below the local
groundwater table in the banks, then the river gains water from its
banks. Also called losing river.

3. By the percentage of flow time

a. perennial stream - rivers show a flow of water all the time, even
long after the last rainstorm in the watershed
b. ephemeral stream - flow for only a short time after a rainstorm,
and for the rest of time, usually most of the time, their beds are dry.
c. intermittent stream - rivers lie between perennial and
ephemeral: during the wetter part of the year they flow as a
perennial stream, whereas during the drier part of the year they
flow as an ephemeral stream. The water table always lies below the
bed of the stream; the stream never receives any water from its bed
or banks.

4. By morphology

Two characteristics are used in the classification of rivers by

morphology: sinuosity and “multichanneledness”.

 Sinuosity can be defined with respect to two arbitrary points

along the river as the ratio of the along-channel distance
between the two points and the straight-line distance
between the points. The minimum sinuosity, for a straight
 river, is 1; the more sinuous the river, the greater its
sinuosity. Very sinuous rivers can have values of sinuosity
approaching 4.
 Multichanneledness, an awkward but useful word, reflects
the number of individual flow channels shown by a river in a
cross-stream traverse across the entire river system. Many
rivers have only one channel, except perhaps where an
occasional island divides the channel into two. Other rivers
show a large number of channels, all of about the same size
and nature, separated by numerous bars and islands. The
individual channels of such a river are called anabranches.

a. Straight rivers - those with sinuosity not much

greater than 1.
b. braided rivers – low-sinuosity, multi-channeled
c. Meandering rivers – high-sinuosity, single-
channeled
d. Anastomosing rivers – high sinuosity, multi-
channeled

5. By sediment Load

a. bed-load rivers - rivers, especially those whose sediment

sources consist mostly of coarse sand and gravel, carry
mostly bed load
b. Suspended-Load rivers - the sediment load of such rivers
is mainly suspended load
c. Mixed-load rivers - both bed load and suspended load are
important in these rivers.

c. Reservoirs

A reservoir is defined as a water body contained by embankments or a

dam, and subsequently managed in response to specific community needs; or
any natural waters modified or managed to provide water for developing human
activities and demands.

Reservoirs are not lakes and differ from them in many respects. They are
impoundments of formerly free-running stream. They are lotic habitats converted
to lentic. They have the characteristic of both.

• Types of reservoirs

1. Impoundments - Reservoirs formed by a dam across the course of a

river, with subsequent inundation of the upstream land surface.
 2. Off-river or bounded reservoirs - Water bodies not constructed
within the course of the river and formed by partially or completely
enclosed water-proof banks (and usually filled by diverted river flows
or pipes).

3. Cascade - Reservoirs created by dams or weirs serially along a river

course.

• Longitudinal Zonation

1. Riverine zone - upstream end; Narrow, channelized basin; Relatively

high flow rates; High suspended solids; low light availability at depth;
Nutrient supply by advection; relatively high nutrient levels; Light-
limited primary productivity; Cell losses primarily by sedimentation;
Organic matter supply primarily allochthonous; More eutrophic

2. Transition zone - Broader, deeper basin; Reduced flow rates;

Reduced suspended solids; light availability at depth; Advective
nutrient supply; Primary productivity relatively high; Cell losses by
grazing and sedimentation; Organic supply is intermediate

3. Lacustrine zone - downlake, near the dam; broad, deep, lake-like

basin; low flow rates; relatively clear; high light availability at depth;
nutrient supply by internal recycling; relatively low nutrient levels;
nutrient-limited primary productivity; cell losses primarily by grazing;
organic matter supply primarily autochthonous; more oligotrophic

B. Marine Habitats

a. Coastal Habitats

The coast is a strip of land of indefinite width that extends from the
coastline inland as far as the first major change in topography. It is a broad
interface between land and water where production, consumption and exchange
processes occur at high rates of intensity. The coastal zone is directly influenced
by marine or lacustrine hydrodynamic processes.

The coastal zones only comprise 4% of the world oceans. However, 75%
of the world’s population resides in these areas. The size of the coastal zone
may be dwarfed by the oceanic or open water but the most productive
ecosystems can be found at the coasts.

• Classifications of Coasts
 Basically, coasts are classified based on geology as either active or
passive. Active coasts are those located near a plate boundary and impact of
tectonic activity is pronounced. Passive coasts are located farther from plate
boundaries and thus are not associated with tectonic activity.
Another classification is based on the sea level. Emergent coasts are
developed due to uplift of an area or a drop of sea water. Submergent coasts are
formed by subsidence f land adjacent to the sea or a rse n sea level.
Coasts can also be classified based on the way that they are formed.
Primary coasts are formed by more land driven processes like plate tectonics,
land erosion and sedimentation. Secondary coasts are formed by more ocean-
driven processes like wave erosion or growth of coral reef.
Primary coasts include land-deposition coasts, formed when rivers flow
into the ocean and sediment accumulates along a wide shelf. Secondary coasts
include marine-depositional coasts where sea movement causes accumulation of
sediments in a single place. Primary coasts are young while secondary coasts
are generally older coasts.
On a morphological standpoint, coasts can be erosional or depositional.
Erosional coasts developed where active erosion by wave action occurs or
directly caused by rivers and glacial movements. These coasts exhibit high relief
and rugged topography. Meanwhile, depositional coasts developed where
sediments accumulate from a local source or transported through rivers, glaciers
or by ocean movements. In contrast to erosional coasts, these coasts exhibit low
relief and characterized by widespread coastal plains.
• Coastal Profiles

1. Erosional coasts profile

 Headland - is an area of high land that juts into the sea.

 Cliff - is a steep, vertical face of rock, earth, or ice, formed

by erosion from weathering or by the action of water or ice.

 Beach - is a strip of land that lies along the edge of a body

of water.
 Cove - is a small, sheltered bay of an ocean or a lake.

 Salt marsh -is a marsh in which the water that inundates the
surface of the ground is salty. Most salt marshes form along
coasts and are flooded and exposed by the action of tides.

 Sea cave- is a hollow in the soft rock of a sea cliff or a

headland, carved out by the eroding action of waves.
  Sea arch - is a sea cave that has been eroded all the way
through by waves, leaving behind an arc of rock.

 Sea stack - is an isolated promontory of rock along the

coast, formed from a sea arch that has collapsed because of
the action of waves.

 Blow hole is formed when a joint between a sea cave and

the land surface above the cave becomes enlarged and air
can pass through it.

 Marine terrace- is a relatively flat, horizontal or gently

inclined surface of marine origin, mostly an old abrasion
platform which has been lifted out of the sphere of wave
activity.

2. Depositional casts profile

 Spit - is a long, narrow sandbar that is connected to the

shore at one end. It is deposited and shaped by currents
flowing along the shore, and often forms an arc around the
mouth of a river.

 Bar - is very similar to a spit. It is a ridge of sand or shingle

which forms across the mouth of a river, the entrance to a
bay or harbor. It is usually parallel to the coast.

 Tombolo - a bar linking an island to the mainland.

 Barrier islands - are long, narrow, offshore deposits of sand

or sediment that run parallel to the coastline.

 Lagoon-an area of water which is separated from the sea by

a narrow strip of land. This was formed when a spit extends
across the mouth of a river, to the extent that it causes the
river to become diverted along the coast.

 Delta – is a triangular shaped deposit at the mouth of a

stream or in the upper reaches of the drowned mouth.

Types:

• river-dominated delta – occurs where the tidal range

is very low and tidal current acton is very weak
 • tide-dominated delta – occurs in regions where wave
action is limited and tidal ranges are generally in
excess of 4m.
• wave –dominated delta – occur where wave energy is
high

 Beach – are accumulations of loose sand and pebbles which

is rapidly changed due to wave action.

 Shore - the area of land adjacent to a body of water that is

submerged at high tide and uncovered at low tide. An area
where beach occurs.

Major zones:

• Foreshore - the portion of the shore lying between the

normal high and low water marks; the intertidal zone.

• Backshore - the inner portion of the shore, lying

landward of the mean spring tide high water line.

 Coastline - is the maximum reach of storm waves or the

boundary between the shore and the coast.

 Shoreline- the line marking the intersection of water surface

with the shore. Migrates up and down as the tide rises and
falls.

 Littoral Zone (intertidal zone) – an area that stretches

between seaward limit of land plants and region below sea
level where sediment is not disturbed by wave action during
fair weather conditions.

Division based on wave action:

• breaker zone – where waves become unstable and

break
• surf zone – where much shallower waves are
projected up the beach face
• swash zone (splash zone) – area alternatively
covered and uncovered by water

swash - waves approaching beach

Backwash- waves retreating beach

Sediment profiles of littoral zone show the following features:

 • berm – top ridge which develops at the limit of wave
swash on steeply sloping features
• beach scarp – is a vertical wall of variable height that
extends from the base of the berm and is carved by
wave action at high tide.
• runnels – are linear depressions running parallel to
the shoreline found on shallow sloping beaches of the
foreshore.
• swash bars – are series of low broad sand bars that
are separated by the runnels.
• beach face – is the sloping portion of the beach,
below the berm.
• longshore bar - a deposit of sediment that forms
parallel to the coast within or just beyond the surf
zone.
• Longshore trough - a low area of the beach that
separates the beach face from the longshore bar.
• Longshore current - a current located in the surf
zone and running parallel to the shore as a result of
waves breaking at an angle to the shore.
• Longshore drift - the load of sediment transported
along the beach from the breaker zone to the top of
the swash line in association with longshore current.

 Dune – is a hill of loose sand formed in seashores where

winds are strong and tend to blow from one direction.

Classification:

• Foredunes – are mounds r ridges directly adjacent to

the beach. Serve as storm buffer
• Parabolic dunes – Arcuate sand ridges with the
concave portion facing the beach. Rare; often form
downwind of pools or damp areas.
• Barchan dunes – crescent-shaped dunes with the
extremities (horns) extending downwind (caused by
the horns migrating more rapidly than the central
portions). Sometimes indicate incomplete sand cover
moving over a non-erodible pavement.
• Transverse dunes – ridges oriented perpendicular or
oblique to the dominant winds. Their form is
asymmetrical with steep lee and gentle upwind
slopes.
• Longitudinal (seiif) dunes – dune ridges elongated
parallel to the wind direction and symmetrical in
 profile. occur in groups over wide areas; feature
sinous coastlines.
• Blowouts – hollows or troughs cut into dunes may be
caused when vehicles or pedestrians damage
vegetation.
• Attached dunes – formations of sand that have
accumulated around obstacles such as rocks.

• Types of Coastal Ecosystems

1. Estuary

Dryer (1973) defines an estuary as a “semi-enclosed coastal body

of water which has a free connection with the open sea and within which
sea water is measurably diluted with freshwater derived from land
drainage”. An estuary is sometimes referred to as a “drowned river valley”.
These portions of the coastal environment are often associated with
high rates of biological productivity. These areas have favorable supplies
of both nutrients and light. The estuary’s outstanding attribute is its
instability. Salinity fluctuations are the most conspicuous among other
inconstant environmental factors within. This non-uniformity of conditions,
however, produces several habitats like shallow water, deeper water,
rocky substrates, gravelly substrates, mud flats, mangrove swamps, etc.
The estuary is also a highly productive place due to its ability to
retain nutrients, and to the contributions of both land and sea. This chapter
presents the dynamics of estuary together with its ecological and
economic importance.
• Processes Forming Estuaries

1. Submergence. Estuaries may be formed as a result

of the sinking of the land and drowning of stream
valleys. As land area is depressed, existing shores
become submerged, the coastline moves inland, and
the sea may encroach and invade the mouth of a
stream. A coastal region developed through
submergence is characterized by irregular coastline
and numerous bays and inlets.

2. Emergence. Estuaries may also originate from the

rising of the land from the sea or the lowering of the
sea level. This results in the emergence of existing
shores and the migration of the coastline seaward.
The exposure of the land to wave attack cuts cliffs
 and consequently shoreline formed by emergence is
distinguished by its many cliffs.

• Processes that modifies estuaries

1. Erosion. Marine forces, such as waves, and currents

created by wave action, attack coastal rocks. They cut
and gradually wear down shoreline features like cliffs
and headlands. Upstream, running water also
continues to erode its valley.

2. Transport. Both stream and oceanic currents carry to

the shore sediments that are kept in suspension by
turbulence of the water. Ocean currents may also
remove sediments from the shore and bring them to
some other part of the coast.

3. Deposition. The velocity of a stream diminishes as it

enters the sea and causes it to drop its transported
sediments at its mouth or in the upper reaches of the
drowned valley where it meets the sea. The products
of erosion by the sea are likewise deposited at the
bottom of the seaward portion of an estuary. The
accumulation of riverine and oceanic sediments
creates various depositional features along the coast.

• Classifications

Based on geomorphology:

1. Coastal plain - the most extensively developed

estuary along coastline with relatively low and wide
coastal plains.

2. Fjord - deep, U-shaped coastal indentures gouged

out by glaciers and with a shallow sill at their mouth
formed by terminal glacial deposits.

3. Bar-built - shallow basins, often partly exposed at low

tide, enclosed by offshore bars or barrier islands,
broken at intervals by inlets (thus ensuring a free
connection with the sea). Sometimes the sand bars
are deposited offshore, but in other instances the
barriers may represent former coastal dunes that
have become isolated by gradual rises in sea levels.
 4. Tectonic - coastal indentures formed by geological
faulting or by local subsidence, often with a large
inflow of freshwater.

Based on hydrography:

1. Highly stratified or salt-wedge estuary - the flow of

river water is strongly dominant over tidal action, as in
the mouth of a large river. Freshwater tends to
overflow the heavier salt water, which form a wedge
extending along the bottom for a considerable
distance upstream. Such a stratified, or two layered,
estuary will exhibit a salinity profile with a “halocline”
or zone of sharp change in salinity from top to bottom.

2. Partially mixed or moderately stratified estuary -

freshwater and tidal inflow are more nearly equal, the
dominant mixing agent is turbulence, caused by the
periodicity in the tidal action. The vertical salinity
profile is less steep as more of the energy is
dissipated in vertical mixing, thus creating a complex
pattern of layers and water masses.

3. The completely mixed or vertically homogenous

estuary - tidal action is strongly dominant and
vigorous, the water tend to be well-mixed from top to
bottom and the salinity relatively high, approaching
that of the ocean. Major variation in salinity and
temperature are horizontal rather than vertical.

4. Hypersaline estuary - the inflow of freshwater is

small, the tidal amplitude low, and the evaporation
very high, the salinity of enclosed bays may rise
above that of the sea, at least during some seasons.
The salinity may rise to 60 ppt (recall that salinity of
the sea is around 35 ppt).

Based on ecosystem energetics:

1. Physically stressed systems – systems with wide

latitudinal range are subjected to high energy
breaking waves, strong tidal currents, severe
temperature or salinity shocks, low night time
oxygen, or high rates of sedimentation.
 2. Natural artic ecosystems – systems with ice stress
are exemplified by glacial fjords, winter ice stressed
intertidal zones and under-ice communities on artic
coast.

3. Natural temperate coastal ecosystem – systems

exhibit seasonal programming (embayment types
that lie in temperate latitudes). Regular seasonal
pulses in primary productivity and in the reproductive
and behavioral activities of animals are often timed,
or seasonally programmed by photoperiod or lunar
periodicities, or both. Temperate estuaries are
naturally fertile but very vulnerable to damage by
pollution, filling and other alteration in industrialized
regions.

4. Natural tropical coastal ecosystems – systems of

high density. Characteristically, temperature, salinity
and other physical factor stresses are low. As in
other ecosystems, these contain many species and a
great deal of chemical diversity within the species.

2. Lagoon

A lagoon is a semi-enclosed coastal basin with limited fresh water

input, high salinity, and restricted circulation; lagoons often lie behind sand
dunes, barrier islands, or other protective features, such as the coral reef
of an atoll lagoon.

Coastal lagoons occupy 13% of coastal areas worldwide, and are

often impacted by both natural and anthropogenic influences. Depending
on local climatic conditions, lagoons exhibit salinities which range from
completely fresh to hypersaline. They may be cut off from the sea for part
of the year by seasonal formation of sandbars which causes them to
become hypersaline. Lagoons can occur at any latitude and their salinities
vary from brackish to hypersaline depending upon climate and local
hydrology. Bottom sediments are usually sand or mud eroded which was
from the shoreline or swept in through the tidal inlet. In the tropics, the
water column is typically isothermal. In the subtropics, salinity generally
increases away from the inlet and the lagoon may display inverse flow.

• Classification

1. Choked Lagoons – consist of a series of connected

elliptical cells, connected by a single narrow entrance
 channel, along casts with high wave energy and
significant littoral drift.

2. Restricted Lagoons – consist of a large and wide

water body, usually oriented parallel to the shore, and
exhibit two or more entrance channels or inlets.

3. Leaky Lagoons – elongated parallel to the shore

water bodies with many ocean entrance channels
along coasts where tidal currents are sufficiently
strong to overcome the tendencies by wave action
and littoral drift to close channel entrances.

• Factors Affecting Lagoons

1. Physical Factors: precipitation and evaporation are

the most significant guiding forces. Except this other
factors that alter the lagoon condition are sunlight,
wind and tide, turbidity and transparency etc.

2. Chemical Factors: salinity, nutrient and dissolved

oxygen is supposed to be the significant driving forces
that alters the chemistry of the lagoon in a great
extent.

3. Geological Factors: littoral drift and ground water

discharge catchment influx and marine water intrusion
influenced lagoons as the inlet or lagoon mouth is
greatly depended up of the coastal geomorphologic
process.

4. Biological Factors: biologically the lagoon habitat is

extremely influenced by nine factors such as (i)
phytoplankton, (ii) zooplankton, (iii) benthic organism,
(iv) submerged aquatic vegetation (v) macrophytes,
(vi) shell fish and finfish, (vii) birds, (viii) dolphins and
(ix) microbes.

• Salt Marsh

Salt marshes are low-lying areas or intertidal flats covered with

herbaceous plants (grasses) and subjected to periodic atmospheric
exposure and inundations.
During the constructional phase of a coastline, a marsh develops
as a result of sediment deposition exceeding sediment removal by waves.
Three critical conditions are required for marsh formation. These include
abundant sediment supply, low wave energy, and a low surface gradient.
Once sediment accumulation reaches a critical height, the mud flats are
colonized by halophytic plants that aid in trapping sediment when flooding
occurs and add organic material to the substrate.
Salt marshes are the temperate (and arctic) counterparts of tropical
mangrove forests. They generally develop in shallow, low-energy
environments where fine-grained sediments are deposited over sandy
substrate.
These ecosystems are one of the most productive in the world
rivaling rainforests. Salt marshes also provide a benefit by protecting
against severe weather. They slow erosion along the shoreline and buffer
stormy seas. Also, filter pollutants before they enter oceans and
estuaries, either by settling of sediments or microbial and plant removal of
nutrients and other substances.

• Classification

1. High marsh - is a tidal marsh zone located above

the mean high water mark (MHW) which, in contrast
to the low marsh zone, is inundated infrequently
during periods of extreme high tide and storm surge
associated with coastal storms. High marshes are
older, occupy a higher topographic position, are more
influenced by upland conditions, and are subjected to
substantially fewer tidal submersions per year.

2. Low marsh - they form along the coast in protected

bays, along rivers, and behind barrier beaches, sand
bars, and rocky spits. Low marshes are younger,
lower topographically, and usually subjected to the
adjacent estuarine and marine processes.

• Factors Influencing Salt Marshes

1. sediment transport
2. climatic condition
3. tidal inundation
4. wave energy
5. salinity variation

4. Mangroves

Mangrove is a type of forest growing along tidal mudflats and

along shallow water coastal areas extending along rivers, streams and
their tributaries where the water is generally brackish. The mangrove
ecosystem is dominated by mangrove trees as the primary producer
interacting with associated aquatic fauna, social and physical factors of
the coastal environment.
To date, there are about 80 species of mangroves worldwide.
Mangroves are distributed around the world with majority of populations
occurring between the latitudes 30° N and S. At one time, 75% of the
world’s coastlines were dominated by mangroves.
All mangrove plants have special adaptations that allow them to
survive in their salty environment. Roots exclude about 90% salt content
of the saltwater. Leaves have special salt glands that eliminate salts. Salt
is concentrated it in bark or in older leaves which carry it with them when
they drop. Their unusual root systems give them support and stability in
the loose soil. Stilt roots serve, of course, to anchor the plants, but also
are important in aeration, because the mangrove mud tends to be
anaerobic. There is little oxygen present in these soils and prop roots and
pneumatophores allow them to get oxygen from the air. Stilt roots have
lenticels (small pores) which allow diffusion of oxygen during low tides.
Mangrove forests played preponderant ecological role such as
contribute to soil formation and coastline stabilization, habitat for many
aquatic species, filter for upland runoff and produce large amounts of
detritus that may contribute to the productivity of coastal and offshore
waters. Apart from the ecological importance, these areas benefit human
populations by providing resources and protection. Mangrove ecosystems
are highly productive systems.
• Classification of Mangrove Forests:

1. Fringe - Strips of mangrove found along

waterways/shoreline covered by daily tides
2. Overwashed - Small island with mangroves that are
frequently washed by the tides
3. Basin - Stunted mangroves located in places such
as the interior of swamps
4. Hammock – Stunted mangroves found in elevated
areas
5. Riverine - Luxuriant mangroves along tidal river and
creeks with a good input of fresh water.
6. Scrub - Dwarf stand of mangrove found on flat
coastal fringe

• Reproductive Strategy

 Mangroves reproduce through a viviparous

propagule.
  Vivipary refers to the continuous development of the
propagule while attached to the parent tree.
 The seed remains attached to the parents plant until
it germinates. It then falls from the tree and drifts on
the water until it finds somewhere to take root.

• Mangrove Zonation:

1. Seaward Zone – inundated by tide daily. substrates

are sandy to sandy loam, mudflat and coralline.
dominated by “front-liner” species: Bungalon,
Pagatpat and Bakauan
2. Middle zone – not reached by neaptide high tide.
substrates are clay, silt to silty clay soil. Species
dominant are Piapi, api-api, saging-saging, tinduk-
tindukan, pototan, langarai, tangal, malatangal
3. Landward or back mangrove zone - not affected by
tidewater except during exceptional higher tides
during “spring-tide” months. substrate generally clay
to silty clay. dominated by Deliuario, lagolo, piapi,
pototan, buta-buta, putat, nilad, tiwi, dampol,
mangasin, bani,
4. Riverine Zone – indenting the river system. Close to
water channels are bungalon, api-api, diliuario, tigbau,
saging-saging, tinduk-tindukan, pototan-lalaki, busain,
lanagrai, pototan, gapas-gapas, buta-buta, nilad

5. Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are compacted and cemented assemblages of

skeletons and skeletal sediment of sedentary organisms living in marine
waters within water depths of strong illumination.
Coral reefs are formed by the secretions of reef building corals
(hermatypic corals). These corals are made of tiny polyps with a symbiont
alga called zooxanthellae. The algae supply food to the coral and the coral
provides shelter and metabolic wastes as nutrients to the algae.
Coral reefs rival tropical rain forests as being among the most
complex communities on earth, and rock-producing reef communities are
among the most ancient life forms found in the fossil record. Indeed, coral
reefs are regarded as “rainforest of the sea”. Coral reefs only occupy 0.1%
(1/10) of the world’s oceans but they support 25% of all marine life.
Establishment of reefs require hard substrates, warm tropical
temperature, shallow, clear, high salinity water and strong wave action.
Reef formation follows four stages, namely: construction, sedimentation,
encrustation and cementation. Hard corals build by secreting calcium
carbonate skeletons. Boring organisms such as sponges, worms, and
bivalves, along with grazers such as parrotfish and sea urchins break
down the coral skeletons. Borers and grazers usually attack dead coral.
The resulting sediment settles into spaces in the reef. Coralline algae,
encrusting bryozoans, and minerals cement of the dead organic matter,
stabilized the reef structure.
Coral reefs are one of the most productive ecosystems in the
marine environment. Communities within the reef have significant impact
on human populace. On a global basis, 0.5 sq. mi. of reef can sustainably
yield 15 tons of fish and other seafood per year. However, the rate of
destruction continues due to various anthropogenic activities that
threatened the resource to decimation.
• Coral Reef Classification:

1. Fringing reefs - grow near the coastline around

islands and continents. They are separated from the
shore by narrow, shallow lagoons.

*Consists of 3 parts:

a. fore reef – receives medium wave energy

b. reef crest – waves break over
c. buttress – receives the brunt of wave action

2. Barrier reefs - form also parallel to the coastline but

are separated by deeper, wider lagoons. At their
shallowest point they can reach the water’s surface
forming a “barrier” to navigation.

3. Atolls - form when islands surrounded by fringing

reefs sink into the sea or the sea level rises around
them. These are usually located in the middle of the
sea.

• Coral reef zonation:

All reef types show similarities when it comes to vertical

zonation.

a. reef face – the seaward side of the reef. It is inclined

from gentle to steep slopes. this has often with
terraces creating more zonation
 b. reef crest – the highest point of reef front. It is
exposed at low tide, covered by waves at high tide.
Dominated by elkhorn coral and shelf coral.
c. reef flat – the sheltered side of the reef (lagoon side).
Highly variable.
Only covered short to several 100 meters. Also
characterized by lowest energy, coral sand and
dominated by delicate corals, eg. staghorn. It
becomes shallower and supports sea grasses.

6. Intertidal Zone

The intertidal or littoral zone (sometimes referred to as shore) is the

area of the coastal ocean that is exposed to the atmosphere at low tide
and submerged during high tide. Moisture and salinity is variable.
Organisms must adapt such changes in order to survive. However, due to
its distance from the terrestrial environment oxygen and nutrient levels are
high. The area is a critical interface between terrestrial and marine
ecosystems. It maintains an important balance for food chain, erosion
protection and serves as indicator for climate change.

• Zonation:

1. Spray zone/splash zone – dampened by ocean spray

and high waves and is submerged only during very
high tides or severe storms
2. High intertidal zone – floods during the peaks of daily
high tides but remains dry for long stretches between
high tides.
3. Middle intertidal zone – over which tides ebb and flow
twice a day, and which is inhabited by greater variety
of both plants and animals.
4. Low intertidal zone – virtually always underwater
except during the lowest of spring tides.

• Classification:

1. Rocky Shore - area of bedrock exposed between the

extreme high and extreme low tide levels

Formation: Rocky shores form as a result of marine

erosion of the overburden and the bedrock, due to a
combination of rising sea level and wave action, in
areas where there is low sediment supply.
 2. Sandy Shore – area of sand occur along the margin
of the coastal seas of the world having considerable
wave action, where the sand particles are not allowed
to settle by the action of tides and waves.

Formation: Sandy shores form through the deposition

of sand resulting from the erosion of glacial till and
bedrock in the area of occurrence.

3. Muddy Shore - area of mud and sandy mud exposed

between the extreme-high-tide and extreme low-tide
marks.

Formation: Muddy shores form from the deposition of

mud in sheltered tidal water, particularly in estuaries
where there is a large sediment supply.

b. Open Ocean Habitat

The open ocean refers to the realm of open water, called the
pelagic zone, is the area beyond the coastal boundaries. It encompasses
the entire water column and lies beyond the edge of continental shelf.
The open ocean ecosystem is the largest of all the ecosystems. It
contains approximately 65% of the volume of the world ocean. This
ecosystem consists of the smallest to the largest organisms. Life can be
found throughout the water column but mostly in the photic zone.
Together with coastal interface, it provides food and other benefits
to human population. This portion has also great influence on weather and
climate. Reports indicated that open ocean produces more than 50% of
the world’s oxygen through phytoplankton.
• Major Provinces

1. Neritic Province - the shallow water over the

continental shelf
2. Oceanic - the deep water beyond the continental
edge

• Ecological Zones

1. Epipelagic zone – from the surface to a depth of 200

m. it is a region of effective illumination. diurnal and
seasonal temperature is variable.
 2. Mesopelagic zone – lies underneath the epipelagic
zone extending to a depth of 1,000 m. very little light
reaches this zone
3. Bathypelagic zone – lies between 1,000 m and 4,000
m. darkness is virtually complete. light is produced
through bioluminescence
4. Abyssopelagic zone – lies below 4,000 m extending
to 6,000 m. cold and dark region with great pressure.
organisms are very few.
5. Hadopelagic zone – deeper than 6,000 m and is
found in deep-sea trenches. very little food is
available. some survive on hydrothermal vents.

c. Deep Ocean Ecosystem

The deep ocean is the abyssal zone. This region is very cold with great
pressure and nutrient poor. The deep ocean is in constant darkness where
photosynthesis cannot occur. Organisms that lived in this area are well-adapted
by creating by their own light source (bioluminescence). About 90% of known
organisms in the deep ocean have the ability to produce light.
Productivity in this ecosystem is totally dependent on chemosynthesis.
Organisms such as chemosynthetic bacteria use chemicals from hydrothermal
vents to create energy. Hydrothermal vents are fissures or openings in the ocean
floor that release hot, mineral rich water. There are two types of hydrothermal
vents, the black smokers and white smokers. The former is hotter than the later.
Black smokers spew black smokes mainly composed of iron and sulphide. The
bacteria serves as food for tube worms and then tube worms are preyed upon by
higher species.

Record Holders:

World’s Major lakes

Lake Continent Elevation Surface area Mean Volume

(m) (km2) depth (m) (km3)

Caspian Asia -28 374,000 209 78166

Superior N. 183 82,100 149

America 12232.9

Victoria Africa 1 68,460 40 2738.4

Aral Asia 53 54,100 16 865.6

Huron N. 177 59,500 59
America 3510.5

Michigan N. 177 57,750 85

America 4908.75

Tanganyika Africa 774 32,900 574 18884.6

Baikal Asia 456 31,500 730 22995

Great Bear N. 156 31,326 76

America 2380.776

Great N. 156 28,568 73

Slave America 2085.464

Erie N. 171 25,657 19

America 487.483

Winnipeg N. 217 24,387 14

America 341.418

Nyasa Africa 475 22,490 273 6139.77

Ontario N. 75 19,000 86
America 1634

Balkhash Asia 343 18,200 6 109.2

Ladoga Europe 4 17,700 52 920.4

Chad Africa 240 16,600 3 49.8

Maracaibo S. 0 13,010 22
America 286.22

Patos S. 0 10,140 2
America 20.28

Onega Europe 33 9,700 30 291

World’s Major Rivers

River Continent Length Cachment Average

(km) area (x103 Runoff
 km2) (km3/yr)

Amazon S. America 6,280 6,915 6,930

Congo Africa 4,370 3,820 1,460

Ganges- Asia 3,000 1,730 1,400

Brahmaputra

Yangzijiang Asia 5,520 1,800 995

Orinoco S. America 2,740 1,000 914

Parana S. America 4,700 2,970 725

Yenisei Asia 3,490 2,580 610

Mississipi N. America 5,985 3,220 580

Lena Asia 4,400 2,490 532

Mekong Asia 4,500 810 510

Irrawaddy Asia 2,300 410 486

St. N. America 3,060 1,290 439

Lawrence

Ob Asia 3,650 2,990 395

Chutsyan Asia 2,130 437 363

Amur Asia 2,820 1,855 355

Mackenzie N. America 4,240 1,800 350

Niger Africa 4,160 2,090 320

Columbia N. America 1,950 669 267

Magdalena S. America 1,530 260 260

Volga Europe 3,350 1,360 254

World’s Major Wetlands

Wetland Continent Description Covered Area

 (km2)

West Siberian Eurasia Bogs, mires, fens 2,745,000

lowland

Amazon River S. Savanna and forested 1,738,000

Basin America floodplain

Hudson bay N. Bogs, fens, swamps, marshes 374,000

lowland America

Congo River Africa Swamps, riverine forest, wet 189,000

Basin prairie

Mackenzie River N. Bogs, fens, swamps, marshes 166,000

Basin America

Pantanal S. Savannas, grasslands, riverine 160,000

America forest

Mississipi River N. Bottomland hardwood forest, 108,000

Basin America swamps, marshes

Lake Chad Basin Africa Grass and shrub savanna, 106,000

mashes

River Nile Basin Africa Swamps, marshes 92,000

Priarie Potholes N. Marshes, meadows 63,000

America

Magellanic S. Peatlands 44,000

Moorland America

Major Lakes in the Philippines

Lake Region Area (ha)

Laguna de Bay CALABARZON 89,076.30

Lanao ARMM 33,999.70

Taal CALABARZON 24,356.40

Mainit CARAGA 17,430.20

Nauhan MIMAROPA 7,899.50

Buluan ARMM/SOCCKSARGEN 6,134.20

Bato Bicol 3,792.50

Pagusi CARAGA 2,531.50

Labas SOCCKSARGEN 2,140.80

Lumao CARAGA 1,192.00

Buhi Bicol 1,105.80

Major Rivers in the Philippines

River basin Region Drainage Area (km2)

Cagayan Cagayan Valley 25, 649

Mindanao Southern Mindanao 23, 169

Agusan Northern Mindanao 10, 951

Pampanga Central Luzon 9, 759

Agno Pangasinan 5, 952

Abra Ilocos 5, 125

Pasig Southern Luzon/ Metro 4, 678

Mla.

Bicol Bicol 3, 771

Abulog Cagayan Valley 3, 372

Tagum-Libuganon Southern Mindanao 3, 064

Ilog-Hilabangan West Visayas 1, 945

Panay River West Visayas 1, 843

Tagaloan Northern Mindanao 1, 704

Agus Southern Mindanao 1, 645

Davao River Southern Mindanao 1, 623

Cagayan Northern Mindanao 1, 521

Jalaul Western Visayas 1, 503

Buayan-Malungun Mindanao 1, 434

Major Swamps and Marshes in the Philippines

Swamps/Marshes Region Area (ha)

Candaba Swamp, Central Luzon 32,000

Bulacan and Pampanga
Provinces

Lalaguna Southern Tagalog 400

Manlubas Swamp Bicol Region Unknown

Leyte-SAB-A Basin Region 6 90,000

Hinunagan Rice Paddies Region 6 5,000

Agusan Marsh CARAGA 90,000

Liguasan Marsh Central Mindanao 220,000

Aju, San Dionisio & Sara East Coast of Panay 45,000

Wetlands Island, Iloilo Province

Learning Activity 2

Collect fish samples from a water body that is economically important in your
area. Identify and describe the fishes that you have collected. Also, ask the locals
about the present value of the fish by unit (e.g. per kilogram, per piece, or other
unit used for valuation). Share your result to the other groups and make a paper
describing the qualitative status of fish community in different areas where fishes
are collected.

Guide Questions 2

1. Fishes are “cold blooded” animal or unable to regulate their own internal body
temperatures like humans do. This means that
a. Their body temperatures change based on the temperature of the
environment they are in
b. their body temperatures does not change based on the temperature of
the environment they are in
c. temperature change based on the body temperature of other individuals
d. none of these

2. About 58% of the total number of fish species can be found in marine
environment while fishes in freshwater environment is represented by
a. 41 % c. 38 %
b. 42 % d. none of these

3. Pampanga is dubbed as the “Tilapia capital of the Philippines” due to its high
annual production of tilapia. Tilapia is a bony fish that has a _________ body
form
a. Depress c. compress
b. combined d. torpedo

4. These plants are referred to as “truly marine” angiosperms because they

tolerate marine water salinity, grow while wholly submerged, and have the
capacity for flowering and pollination underwater.
a. Seaweeds c. seagrasses
b. Mangroves d. all of these

5. Its entire water mass is independent of all secondary movements taking place
in it. It flows more or less rapidly so that the shore and bottom are continually
bath by new water. Its load moves in a more or less definite pattern and follows
the course of least resistance toward a lower elevation. Its channels usually end
to the sea where it drains.
a. estuary c. oceans
b. lakes d. rivers

Answer to Guide Questions 2

1. b
2. a
3. c
4. c
5. a

Learning Assessment 2
Make a brief account on the biology and importance of a fish. Following the
format below. 5 species of fish.
 Name of the Fish (Scientific name)

By:

Name of Student

Picture of the fish

Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:

Introduction
Distribution

Economic Importance

Reference (Separate paper)