Publication Date:
2021-07-24
Description:
Manila Bay is a major source of livelihood for the fishermen living around the area. The occurrence of hypoxia, a state where dissolved oxygen (DO) is not enough to support marine life, poses a serious threat to the bay and consequently to its fisheries sector. This study documents the variation of hypoxia throughout the bay for a sampling period of four years, from January 2012 to November 2015, with a monthly interval each survey. A total of 24 field surveys on 16 designated sampling stations, at varying depths, were conducted. Results show that hypoxia was present all year round but was more severe during the wet season (July, September, November) compared to the dry season. The averages of bay-wide DO concentration ranged from 3.42 to 7.63mg/l during the 4-year survey. Low DO concentrations were associated with high concentrations of nutrients, particularly nitrate. Nitrate spiked to a 44.6 µM concentration while bay-wide DO concentration dropped to as low as 0.01 mg/l in the wet season. An occurrence of hypoxia along the coasts, transitioning from western, northern and eastern areas, was observed as a common trend for all surveys. However, DO concentrations in areas near the coast, in depths around 5m to 15m, and in the deeper areas near the mouth of the bay, from around 10m to 35m depths were noted to be lower. In conclusion, hypoxia has been occurring year-round in Manila Bay with varying intensity but more prominent during the wet season.
Keywords:
Ecology
;
Environment
;
Fisheries
;
Oceanography
;
Manila bay
;
hypoxia
;
eutrophication
;
dissolved oxygen
Repository Name:
AquaDocs
Type:
article
,
TRUE
Format:
application/pdf
Format:
application/pdf
Format:
166-181
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