The fishes and their ecology

Abstract

An annotated list of 188 species of fishes recorded from San Miguel Bay, Philippines is presented. Of these, 48% are euryhaline marine species. The most abundant fishes belong to marine species whose representatives are known to seek brackish waters, especially when young. Such fish fauna characterizes San Miguel Bay as an estuary. A brief discussion follows of the distribution with regard to salinity of the Philippine fish fauna as a whole. The fish species of San Miguel Bay can be arranged into the following trophic groups: piscivores (23%), zooplanton feeders (18%), meiobenthos feeders (22%) and macrobenthos feeders (37%). The same ichthyofauna can also be split into the following groups: coastal pelagics (22%), oceanic pelgaics (3%), soft-bottom demersals (55%) and reef/hard-bottom demersals (20%). The role of the Bay as a nursery ground for fishes is discussed.