Spatio Temporal Variation in the Fish Assemblance Structure of the Mechi River Eastern Nepal
Date
2019
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Abstract
Species diversity is widely recognized as an important trait of ecosystem functioning and
resilience. Spatio-temporal patterns of fish assemblage structure in Mechi River were
studied based on Stratified random survey conducted during September 2108 to April
2019. The survey was conducted on three different sampling stations at three different
seasons. The spatial and temporal patterns of fish assemblage were analyzed by using
Shannon Weinner index, the Simpson index and evenness. To examine the fish
assemblage structure, fish samples were collected in seasonal basis from three sites of the
River by using cast net and gill net. A total of 1772 individuals belonging to 4 orders, 8
families, 16 genera and 33 species were collected from Salakpur, Gadagalli and
Nakalbanda of Mechi River. The most abundant species were Schistura devdevi followed
by Puntius sophore and Barilius barila. The highest diversity index (2.93) and Simpson
index (0.93) was recorded during winter season for seasonal diversity. The highest
diversity index (92.69) and Simpson index (0.9) of fish were recorded from station 2 for
the station wise diversity. The CCA analysis (fig.12) showed that the fish assemblage
was highly correlated with temperature. Velocity and DO whereas negatively correlated
with carbon dioxide and slightly correlated with pH. This study may help to maintain
native fish adapted to these conditions in the Mechi River as well as it may help in
expansion of knowledge regarding the fish diversity of Nepal.
Description
Keywords
Structure, Fish