Species Diversity, Consumption Trends and Conservation Status of Freshwater Molluscs in Ghodaghodi Lake Area, Kailali District, Nepal

Abstract

The study deals with diversity, consumption trends and conservation status of freshwater molluscs in Ghodaghodi lake complex and associated lakes, Kailali District, Nepal. Field survey was conducted from March-April 2016. Altogether 17 Molluscan species were revealed from the study area including 13 gastropods and 4 bivalve species. Six Molluscan species viz. Pila globosa, Bellamya bengalensis, B. dissimilis, Brotia costula, Parreysia favidens, Lamellidens marginalis were reported as of food and medicinal value. Most of the people preferred Bellamya spp. followed by Pila sp. and Bivalve spp. large bivalves L. marginalis had restricted distribution and very low population in the study area while Parreysia favidens were collected only from permanent stream. DO (Pr= 0.00965), water temperature (Pr= 0.00257), depth (Pr= 0.02081), and elevation (Pr= 0.06898), Spearmans’s correlation coefficient were found statistically significant on mollusc species by one-way ANOVA. Species diversity was found by Shannon Wiener Diversity Index. Structured interview showed people collect molluscs either by hand picking or by using local tools (Heluka). Consumption trends are increasing by 62 % among Tharu community. People also opined that consumption, poisoning, habitat loss, climate change and pollution as major threats of molluscs.