Comparative fluctuating asymmetry of spotted barb (Puntius binotatus) sampled from the Rivers of Wawa and Tubay, Mindanao, Philippines

摘要

Fluctuating Asymmetry (FA) commonly uses to evaluate environmental stress and developmental variability of different biotic elements. This study aims to describe the possible effects of pollutants on the body shapes of spotted barb (Puntius binotatus) with notes of physico-chemical parameters of Wawa River, Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur and Tubay River, Tubay, Agusan del Norte, Philippines. There were a total of 80 samples (40 females and 40 males) collected from each sampling areas. Digital imaging was prepared and the acquired images were loaded into tpsDig2 program. Standard landmarks on fish morphometric were employed. Using thin-plate spline (TPS) series, landmark analysis were completed and subjected to symmetry and asymmetry in geometric data (SAGE) software. Results in Procrustes ANOVA showed high significant differences of (P less than 0.0001) in the three factors analyzed: the individuals; sides; and the interaction of individuals and sides; indicating high fluctuating asymmetry. In Tubay River, the level of asymmetry in females were 79.06% and in males 71.69% while in Wawa River, the level of asymmetry in females were 76.60% and in males 62.64%. Therefore, indicating high level of asymmetry denotes environmental alterations. On the other hand, physicochemical parameters were also determined in the two sampling areas. The results of One-way ANOVA showed that the mean parameters in Wawa River has significant difference of (P less than 0.0001), while Tubay River has no significant difference. Results of Pearson-correlation of fluctuating asymmetry between physicochemical parameters shows no correlation which suggests that water components is not directly influenced by the fluctuating asymmetry. The approach of FA and physico-chemical parameters were significant for evaluating environmental condition as well as species state of well-being.