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Fish Diversity of the River Choto Jamuna, Bangladesh:present Status and Conservation Needs

Shams Muhammad Galib*
Aquatic Biodiversity Laboratory, Department of Fisheries, Facultyof Agriculture, University of Rajshahi, Rajshah-6205, Bangladesh

S. M. Abu Naser
Aquatic Biodiversity Laboratory, Department of Fisheries, Facultyof Agriculture, University of Rajshahi, Rajshah-6205, Bangladesh

A. B. M. Mohsin
Aquatic Biodiversity Laboratory, Department of Fisheries, Facultyof Agriculture, University of Rajshahi, Rajshah-6205, Bangladesh

Nipa Chaki
Aquatic Biodiversity Laboratory, Department of Fisheries, Facultyof Agriculture, University of Rajshahi, Rajshah-6205, Bangladesh

Foyzul Hassan Fahad
Aquatic Biodiversity Laboratory, Department of Fisheries, Facultyof Agriculture, University of Rajshahi, Rajshah-6205, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

River Choto Jamuna is an important and well-known river in north-west Bangladesh in terms of fish production and source of income for many fishermen living beside where this study has been conducted from January to December 2012. This study revealed the existing fish species and their composition along with diversity, richness and evenness indices. A total of 63 species of fishes have been recorded belonging to 41 genera, 23 families and 9 orders. Cypriniformes was recorded as the most diversified fish group in terms of both the number of species and individuals observed. Of all the fishes found, 41.27% of species were threatened in Bangladesh including 15.87% vulnerable, 15.87% endangered and 9.52% critically endangered species. Overall values of diversity, richness and evenness indices were found to be 3.717, 6.954 and 0.897, respectively. Finally, considering all the findings, the establishment of fish sanctuaries to conserve available fish species, both threatened and non-threatened, naturally recommended.

Keywords: Fish diversity, Choto Jamuna, Biodiversity, Shannon-weaver diversity, Margalef’s richness, Pielou’s evenness, Bangladesh.

Location: River Choto Jamuna, Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Conservation and Biodiversity

Commodity: Fish

Objectives:

The aim of the present paper was to carry out the first comprehensive biodiversity indices-based description of fish fauna in the river Chota Jamuna, Bangladesh.

Methodology:

Study area and duration: The present study was conducted in River Choto Jamuna at Badalgachi subdistrict (approximately 24°58’ N latitude; 88°55’E longitude) of Naogaon district, north-west Bangladesh, for a period of one year from January to December 2012. The River Choto Jamuna is one of the major distributaries of River Atrai, one of the major rivers in Bangladesh. Sampling framework Fish sampling was done monthly with the help of traditional fishing nets viz. cast nets, gillnets, lift nets and fishing traps locally known as Dohair, Brittiand Kholsun. All these fishing gears were operated at the same spot within 0.5 km area to ensure the harvesting of maximum species of study site in the catch. Gill net and fishing traps were set in the late afternoon and left overnight to be checked in the morning. When cast and lift nets were employed, twenty throws and fifteen hauls were made for the cast and lifts net, respectively. Immediately after harvesting, the fishes were counted on the spot. In this way, a total of 7449 individuals of recorded fish species were counted and categorized during the period of study. However, species that seemed difficult to identify on spot were preserved in 7 to 10% buffered formalin solution and transported to the Aquatic Biodiversity Laboratory of the Department of Fisheries, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh for identification and further study. These species were identified after analyzing their morphometric and meristics characters under laboratory situations. Identification of the fishes Fish fauna harvested from the study area was identified based on their morphometric and meristics characters following Bhuiyan (1964), Rahman (1989,2005) and Talwar and Jhingran (1991). After identification, fish species were systematically classified according to Nelson (2006). Biodiversity parameters to understand the seasonal diversity of fishes in the study area, month-wise data were collected. In this study, the diversity, evenness and richness indices were calculated for understanding the status of diversity using the following formulas: Shannon-Weaver diversity index, H= –Pi ln Pi (Shannon and Weaver, 1949)

Source of Information: International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation Vol.5(6),pp.389-395,June2013

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Diversityandrichness indices showed that the diversity of fish fauna was higher in the winter months (mainly November to February)than in other months. The maximum number of fish species was also recorded during this time. This is because water depth reduced to a minimum due to lack of sufficient rainfall this time allowing fishermen to employ their fishing gears more effectively. A similar result was also reported by Nath and Deka (2012) who have recorded the richest fish diversity in winter. The lowest number of species was recorded in the month of June; this is due to heavy rain during this time which makes fishing very difficult as the water level reached its maximum. The value of diversity and richness index in this study was found to be greater than that of Yisa et al. (2011)and Innocent et al. (2012), indicating comparatively richer biodiversity in the study area. At present, loss of biodiversity is an alarming threat but the earliest effective management is essential to deal with this issue. According to Lakra (2010), conservation of fish diversity is essential to maintain ecological/nutritional and socio-economic equilibrium. A major portion (41.72%) of the total fish species recorded from the river Choto Jamuna were found threatened in Bangladesh. However, several reasons including degradation of natural habitats, excess exploitation using illegal fishing gears, use of toxins in aquaculture ponds are responsible for this loss of fish diversity in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2000; Galib et al., 2009, 2010). The threatened species present in the study area was48.19% of the total threatened fish species of Bangladesh. The abundance of threatened fish species among the total catch (38.68%) strongly reflecting its potentiality to be an excellent site for nature conservation. The establishment of perennial and seasonal (during breeding seasons) fish sanctuaries may serve this purpose.

Knowledge Management: Journal