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Old and Latest Review of Related Studies and Literature on Fish Diversity in Lake
Leonard Wood, Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur
The paper elaborates the review of related literature which provides the basis for the
interpretation of the data gathered online. It includes the important informations and ideas
for the development a study. This paper includes the topics involve which are the following:
Lake Ecosystem, Lake Morphology, Water Quality and Fish Diversity.
Lake Wood, located at 320 m above sea level, has an extensive surface area covering
7.38 km2 with a maximum depth of 85 m. Lake water comes from rainfall, small rivers, and
groundwater and empties into the Dumanquilas Bay via its only outlet – the Biswangan River.
Lake Wood (7.84° N, 123.17° E) ranks as the country’s 11th largest lake in terms of area (Davies
1992). Located in the western part of Mindanao Island, Lake Wood has a maximum dimension
of 4.37 x 2.10 km (Figure 1) and a maximum depth of 85 m. The lake is about 48 km from
Pagadian City and is situated north of Dumanquilas Bay (Pratt 1916, Woltereck 1941). The lake
receives an average daily rainfall of 8.7 mm within a month, with peak rainfall in July (12.42
mm) and a minimum in January (4.24 mm) (Figure 2; Climate Hazards Center 2021). It is
situated at 320 m above sea level, with a volume of 356 x 106 m3. A mountainous terrain
surrounds the lake, particularly in the lake’s northwestern portion where Mt. Imbing (900 m) sits.
Both the northeast and southwest shores comprise rugged landscapes and are flanked to the
western and eastern lakeshore areas with relatively gentle and flat plains.
In the literature, the lake was first reported to the American administration by Captain
Smith, 14th Cavalry, United States Army, who explored it in 1904 during their expedition from
Misamis to Dumanquilas Bay. The lake was known as Lake Leonard Wood, with an outline
similar to figure eight (Pratt 1916). As part of the Wallacea expedition, Woltereck noted that the
lake is similar to Lake Danao in Leyte (Woltereck 1941). To date, only one published work has
been done on Lake Wood (Superales et al. 2013). While Superales et al. (2013) determined the
water quality, trophic status, and fish fauna of Lake Wood, its basic limnology needs extensive
research.
Lake Ecosystem
Lake Ecosystem is one of the most frequently studied freshwater ecosystems in the
Philippines; however, these studies focus mainly on Luzon Island (Magbanua et al. 2017).
Limnological studies remain inconsistent and fragmentary (Papa and Mamaril 2011), especially
in the Visayas and Mindanao Islands (Magbanua et al. 2017) and in small lakes in the country
(Brillo 2015). Most of the research on Philippine lakes focused on aquaculture and fisheries,
pollution, and eutrophication. Only a few have been dedicated to freshwater lake ecology and
biodiversity studies (Zafaralla 2001; Aquino et al. 2008; Papa and Mamaril 2011; Bannister et al.
2019; Mendoza et al. 2019; Navarrete et al. 2019). There is still a paucity of information
available on the status of the Philippine lakes, except for Laguna de Bay, the country’s largest
lake (Guerrero 2001).
Lake Morphology
The Lowrance™ echosounder, model LCX-27c, a dualfrequency (50/200 kHz)

recordable echo sounder equipped with a global positioning system (GPS) dive and traversed
428 known locations to cover the entire lake area. The echo-sounding equipment was used to
record lake depth measurements. The GPS equipment simultaneously determined and recorded
each depth’s location. Measured depths were then interpolated to create contour plots using the
“kriging” gridding method (Oliver and Webster 1990) in Surfer 16 (Golden Software, LLC.,
Colorado, USA). The maximum and mean depths were established based on the generated
bathymetric map. The lake’s volume was calculated by multiplying its mean depth with its
surface area (Lakewatch Florida 2001). This computation yielded an estimated volume of the
lake that determines the many lake ecosystem processes.
Lake Wood’s bathymetric map with the deepest part found at the lake’s center – a
maximum depth of 85 m and an average depth of 46.3 m. Based on the depth of the area, the lake
is divided into three basins – the northeast basin, northwest basin, and southwest basin. The
northeast basin is the largest and deepest basin, followed by the southwest basin and the
northwest basin. There is a rapid change in water depth on the northeast basin’s side, while a
gradual shift in water depth was recorded in the other two basins.
Water Quality
Lake Wood is currently eutrophic. As the mean concentration of PO4 is 0.092 (± 0.01)
mg/L, with values ranging from 0.04–0.19 mg/L. The PO4 level is highest in an area with
agricultural activities and is lowest at the lake’s center. Based on Carlson’s TSI and TSItsr by
Cunha (2013), the TSI of Lake Wood was 51.5 and 56.2, respectively. Based on the values set by
the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2016 for different water quality
guidelines, the obtained values for some physicochemical data were within the allowable ranges.
Mean temperature (27.90 °C) and pH (7.70) were within the allowable range of 25–31 °C and
6.5–8.5, respectively. The PO4 (0.092 mg/L) level was strongly below its threshold limit of 0.5
mg/L.
Surface DO (4.00 mg/L) concentration did not meet the standard minimum value of 5
mg/L for Class C water criteria and was significantly lower than the previously recorded level of
7 mg/L. While conductivity is not regulated, the mean value (165.20 µS/cm) in the lake was
slightly higher compared to the values (140 µS/cm) obtained by Superales et al. (2013).
Fish Diversity
A pioneering study was done on Lake Lakewood to lay down an environmental baseline
for the lake ecosystem focusing on limnology and aquatic faunal biodiversity. The lake, Danao in
the local term, is part of the ancestral domain of the Subanens. It harbors an endemic migratory
fish, Rasbora philippina, which is locally known as porang. Three species belonged to
Cyprinidae family, and eight species were of the Clariidae, Osphronemidae, Channidae,
Anguillidae, Cichlidae, Hemiramphidae, Anabantidaeand Gobiidae. One commercialized
cyprinid, locally known as Porang is endemic to the lake. Four shellfishes taxa belonged to the
families of Pomacea, Lymnaeidae and Corbiculidae and Viviparidae ( Superales et al., 2013).
In conclusion, limnology and lake conservation is a complex interdisciplinary endeavor

that demands concerted efforts at local, national, and global levels. Preserving the biodiversity of
lake ecosystems requires protecting habitats, controlling invasive species, and supporting native
fauna. Biodiversity assessments and ecological monitoring are necessary to strengthen these
efforts.
References
Superales, J., Zafaralla, M., Sacala, J., & Nabasca, J. (2014, May 1). WATER QUALITY
AND FISH FAUNA IN LAKEWOOD LAKE ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR, PHILIPPINES. |
International Journal of Ecosystems & Ecology Sciences | EBSCOhost.
https://openurl.ebsco.com/EPDB%3Agcd%3A9%3A13571881/detailv2?sid=ebsco
%3Aplink%3Ascholar&id=ebsco%3Agcd%3A96779029&crl=c
Cayasan, R. D., Limitares, D. E., Gomid, J. V. S., Nuñeza, O. M., & Villanueva, R. J. T.
(2013). Species richness of Odonata in selected freshwater systems in Zamboanga del
Sur, Philippines.
Ganzon, M. A. M., & Demayo, C. G. (2017). Geometric Morphometric Description of

the Body Shapes of the" Porang" Fish, Rasbora Sp., an Endemic Fish Species in Lake
Wood, Zamboanga Del Sur, Mindanao, Philippines. Journal of Informatics and
Mathematical Sciences, 9(4), 1067-1073.
Ganzon, M. A. M., & Demayo, C. G. (2022). Fish diversity in selected small lakes in
Mindanao, Philippines.
Baludo, M. Y., Papa, R. D. S., & Magbanua, F. S. (2021). Limnology of Lake Wood: An
Ancestral Lake of the Subanen Tribe. Philippine Journal of Science, 150(5).
Genovia, J. A., Barquilla, M. B., & Baludo, M. Y. Reproductive biology of rasbora

philippina at Lake Wood for basis management. Journal of Environmental Science and
Sustainable Development, 6(1), 149-166.

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Old and Latest Review of Related Studies and Literature on Fish Diversity in Lake

Leonard Wood, Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur

The Lowrance™ echosounder, model LCX-27c, a dualfrequency (50/200 kHz)

In conclusion, limnology and lake conservation is a complex interdisciplinary endeavor

Ganzon, M. A. M., & Demayo, C. G. (2017). Geometric Morphometric Description of

Genovia, J. A., Barquilla, M. B., & Baludo, M. Y. Reproductive biology of rasbora

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