International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 2017; 5(3): 269-275

E-ISSN: 2347-5129 P-ISSN: 2394-0506 (ICV-) Impact Value: 5.62 A preliminary study on ichthyofaunal diversity of (GIF) Impact Factor: 0.549 IJFAS 2017; 5(3): 269-275 Diplai Beel of of , © 2017 IJFAS www.fisheriesjournal.com Received: 07-03-2017 Nizara Singha, Rajesh Nag and Parag Deka Accepted: 08-04-2017

Nizara Singha Abstract M.Sc. 4th Semester Student, The present study deals with the ichthyofaunal diversity of Diplai Beel of Kokrajhar District, Assam, Department of Zoology, Pandu India where 67 number of fish species including 4 exotic fish belonging to 49 genera under 25 families College, , Assam, India from 8 orders is recorded. Among the recorded fish species 1 species is recorded as vulnerable, 2 species are data deficient, 7 species are near threatened, 54 species are least concern, 1 species is endangered and Rajesh Nag other 2 species are not evaluated. The 25 different families recorded in the study are Belonidae, M.Sc. 4th Semester Student, Clupeidae, Cyprinidae, Nemacheilidae, Cobitidae, Badidae, Ambassidae, Anabantidae, Channidae, Department of Zoology, Pandu Gobiidae, Sisoridae, Amblycipitidae, Pangasidae, Osphronemidae, Nandidae, Bagridae, Clariidae, College, Guwahati, Assam, India Tetraodontidae, Chacidae, Heteropneustidae, Schilbeidae, Siluridae, Synbranchidae, Mastacembelidae and Notopteridae. The present study shows that Cyprinidae is the most dominant family with 25 number Parag Deka of species contributing about 37% of the 25 recorded family followed by Bagridae (10%). The study also Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Pandu College, reveals that the Diplai Beel is rich in fish diversity. Guwahati, Assam, India Keywords: Ichthyofaunal diversity, Diplai Beel, Kokrajhar District

1. Introduction The is blessed with different type of water resources in the form of rivers (19,150 Km), reservoirs (23,792 ha); beels, lakes and swamps (143,740 ha); ponds and mini

barrage (40,808 ha) and low laying paddy cum fish culture systems (2,780 ha) (Mahanta et al. 2003) [16]. This region is glorified with rich fish diversity with 267 fresh water fish species belonging to 114 genera under 38 families and 10 orders (Mahanta et al. 2003) [16], which is 33.13 % (approximately) of the total freshwater fishes of India (Sen, 2000[20]). Particularly in Assam lots of flood-plain wetlands originated from the two major drainage systems viz.,

Brahmaputra and Barak contribute enormous diversity of fish fauna which is supported by the subtropical climatic condition, favorable ecological and geographical condition with about 3.9 lakh hector of water area. The wealthy aquatic of Assam with the largest number of fish species (217) in North East India, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (167), Meghalaya (165), Tripura (134), Manipur (121), Nagaland (68), Sikkim (52) and Mizoram (48) (Mahanta [16] et al. 2003) . The fishes not only provide nutrition but also generate economy and strengthen livelihood of the poor people. Wetlands and lakes are major fishery resources of Assam contributing about 25% of the fish production (Chakravartty et al., 2012) [4]. The present study is therefore, an attempt to explore the ichthyofaunal diversity of Diplai beel, a natural freshwater body [6] (Choudhury and Brahma, 2016) located at Kokrajhar District, BTAD, Assam, India.

2. Materials and Method 2.1. Study area Diplai beel is a large natural wetland covering an area of 4.14sq km located at Kokrajhar 0 / / 0 / / district of Assam. The Beel is situated at latitude 26 17 31 North and longitude 90 19 14 st East. This lake is situated at 22km away from Kokrajhar town and 13 km from 31 National Highway at Salkocha. The Beel is surrounded by Boro, Rava and Garo Community. After the Correspondence creation of Bodoland Territorial council (BTC), Govt. has taken steps for development of Parag Deka Diplai Beel as Eco-Tourism Park. The Beel is surrounded by village Chotomalgaon, Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Pandu College, Pukhuripara, Jornagra, Borghola, Daukibari, Damodarpur etc. Diplai beel is connected to Guwahati, Assam, India Dakra beel and both are connected to river Brahmaputra by a long channel.

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2.2. Survey sites During the study, major fish landing site of the beel Bethagaon, Satipura and Bamunpara was surveyed and different fish species were collected from the local fisher. Fishes caught for personal consumption were also recorded.

2.3. Data collected from local fisherman Occurrence of the fish species other than collected directly from the Bethagaon, Satipura and Bamunpara sites were recorded from local fisher by interviewing them with the help of prepared questionnaires.

2.4. Collection, photography and identification of fish Fishes were collected in live condition and photographs were taken by digital camera placing them in a clean paper with a scale along the length of the specimen. The collected fishes were preserved in 10% formaldehyde solution for identification. The specimens were identified as per Talwar and Jhingran (1991) [21]; Jayaram (1999) [11]; Vishwanath (2002) [22].

3 Results A total of 67 species of fishes have been recorded from the study site belonging to 49genera, 25 families and 8 orders (Table-1) with IUCN status.

Table 1: Fish fauna of Diplai Beel with their IUCN status are given below

S. No Order Family Species Local Name Iucn Status 1 Osteoglossiformes Notopteridae Notopterus notopterus (Pallas, 1769) Kanduli LRlc 2 Chitala chitala (Hamilton, 1822) LRnt 3 Clupeiformes Clupeidae Gudusia chapra (Hamilton, 1822) Karati LRlc 4 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Hypophthalmichthys molitrix (Valenciennes, 1844) Silver carp LRnt 5 Hypophthalmichthys nobilis (Richardson, 1845) Bighead DD 6 Cabdio morar (Hamilton, 1822) Boriola LRlc 7 Salmostoma bacaila (Hamilton) Selkona LRlc 8 Laubuca laubuca (Hamilton, 1822) Lao puthi LRlc 9 Esomus danrica (Hamilton, 1822) Dorikona LRlc 10 Rasbora daniconius (Ham.-Buch.) Dorikona LRlc 11 Danio devario (Ham- Buch) Darikona LRlc 12 Danio rerio (Hamilton, 1822) Darikona LRlc 13 Amblypharyngodon mola (Hamilton, 1822) Moa LRlc 14 Ctenopharyngodon idella (Valenciennes, 1844) Grass Carp NE 15 Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758 Common carp VU 16 Puntius chola (Hamilton, 1822) Puthi LRlc 17 Pethia ticto (Hamilton, 1822) Puthi LRlc 18 Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822) Puthi LRlc 19 Puntius terio (Hamilton, 1822) Puthi LRlc 20 Pethia conchonius (Hamilton, 1822) Puthi LRlc 21 Systomus sarana (Hamilton, 1822) Puthi LRlc 22 Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton, 1822) Mirika LRlc 23 Cirrhinus reba (Hamilton, 1822) Lachim LRlc 24 Gibelion catla (Hamilton, 1822) Bhokua LRlc 25 Labeo gonius (Hamilton, 1822) Kurhi LRlc 26 Labeo calbasu (Hamilton, 1822) Bahu LRlc 27 Labeo rohita (Hamilton, 1822) Rou LRlc 28 Labeo bata (Hamilton, 1822) Bhangone LRlc 29 Nemacheilidae Acanthocobitis botia (Hamilton, 1822) Gethu LRlc 30 Cobitidae Botia dario (Hamilton, 1822) Bagh mach LRlc 31 Lepidocephalichthys guntea (Hamilton, 1822) Batia LRlc 32 Siluriformes Bagridae Rita rita (Hamilton, 1822) Ritha LRlc 33 Sperata aor (Hamilton, 1822) Ari LRlc 34 Sperata seenghala (Sykes, 1839) Ari LRlc 35 Mystus vittatus (Bloch, 1794) Singora LRlc 36 Mystus cavasius (Hamilton, 1822) Bor Singora LRlc

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37 Mystus tengara (Ham.-Buch.) Singora LRlc 38 Mystus bleekeri (Day, 1877) Singora LRlc 39 Siluridae Ompok pabo (Hamilton, 1822) Pavo LRnt 40 Wallago attu (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) Barali LRnt 41 Schilbidae Ailia coila (Hamilton, 1822) Kajoli LRnt 42 Clupisoma garua (Hamilton, 1822) ------LRlc 43 Pangasidae Pangasius pangasius (Hamilton, 1822) Koch LRlc 44 Amblycipitidae Amblyceps mangois (Hamilton, 1822) ------LRlc 45 Sisoridae Bagarius bagarius (Hamilton, 1822) Bagari LRnt 46 Claridae Clarias magur (Linnaeus, 1758) Magur EN 47 Heteropneustidae Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794) Singhi LRlc 48 Chacidae Chaca chaca (Hamilton, 1822) Checa LRlc 49 Beloniformes Belonidae Xenentodon cancila (Hamilton, 1822) Kokila LRlc 50 Synbranchiformes Synbranchidae Monopterus cuchia (Hamilton, 1822) Kuchia LRlc 51 Mastacembelidae Macrognathus aral (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) Turi LRlc 52 Macrognathus pancalus Hamilton, 1822 Turi LRlc 53 Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepede, 1800) Bami/gosi LRlc 54 Perchiformes Ambassidae Chanda nama (Hamilton, 1822) Chanda LRlc 55 Parambassis ranga (Hamilton, 1822) Chanda LRlc 56 Nandidae Nandus nandus (Hamilton, 1822) Gadgadi LRlc 57 Badidae Badis badis (Hamilton, 1822) Doom vesseli LRlc 58 Gobiidae Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton, 1822) Patimutura LRlc 59 Anabantidae Anabas testudineus (Bloch, 1792) Kawoi DD 60 Osphronemidae Trichogaster fasciata Bloch and Schneider, 1801 Kholihona LRlc 61 Trichogaster lalius (Hamilton, 1822) Kholihona LRlc 62 Ctenops nobilis (McClelland, 1845) Koina LRnt 63 Channidae Channa gachua (Hamilton 1822) Cheng LRlc 64 Channa marulius (Hamilton) Sal LRlc 65 Channa punctatus (Bloch, 1793) Goroi LRlc 66 Channa striatus (Bloch, 1793) Sol LRlc 67 Tetraodontidae Leiodon cutcutia Hamilton, 1822 Gangatope NE

LRnt=Near Threatened; LRlc= least concern, VU= Vulnerable; DD=Data deficient; NE= Not Evaluated; EN-Endangered

Fig 1: Family wise distribution of fish species

The study reveals 67 fish species recorded from Diplai Beel contribute about 3% share each and the rest of the families belonging to 49 genera under 25 families. It has also been (Table-1) were observed to be the least dominating with 1 % observed that Cyprinidae is the most dominant family share each. contributing about 37% of total recorded family, that includes The conservation status of the recorded fishes have been 25 species followed by Bagridae with 7 species holding a classified into five categories viz., LRnt = near threatened; share of 10%. The third highest dominancy is, however, LRlc = least concern, VU= Vulnerable; DD=Data deficient; shared by Channidae comprising about 6% share. The forth NE= Not Evaluated; EN-Endangered of which 1 species is dominanancy is shared by Osphronemidae and recorded as vulnerable, 2 species is data deficient, 7 species is Mastacembelidae with a share of 4% each. Ambassidae, near threatened, 55 species are least concern, 1 species is Notopteridae, Siluridae, Schilbeidae and Cobitidae family endangered and other 2 species are not evaluated.

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Parambassis ranga

Fig 2: Percentage distribution of conservation status of recorded fish species Chanda nama

Xenentodon cancila Gibellion catla

Macrognathus aral Tetraodon cutcutia

Macrognathus pancalus

Chaca chaca

Mastacembelus armatus Lepidocephalichthys guntea ~ 272 ~ International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies

Channa marulius Heteropneustes fossilis

Channa striatus Wallago attu

Channa gachua Nandus nandus

Channa punctatus

Ctenops nobilis

Anabas testudineus Hypophthalmichthys nobilis

Clarius magur Cirrhinus mrigala

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Notopterus notopterus Pethia ticto

Trichogaster lalius

Esomus danricus

During the study period some of the fishes although not recorded by photograph but are present in the studied beel. The information about their occurrence was collected from the local fisher of the Beel.

4. Discussion

Beels are the prime fishery resources in Assam which are Trichogaster fasciata highly productive in relation to fish productivity point of view which can convert the solar energy into organic matter in presence of rich nutrients available from natural sources. In Assam, generally three groups of people are involved in organized fishing in the beels. These are 1.People that catches fish for their own consumption. 2. People who belonging to the fisher community 3. Rural Entrepreneurs (Leaseholders). The present study, however, suggests high ichthyofaunal diversity with 67 numbers of species of fishes with some ornamental species. The rich fish diversity of the beels of

has also been reported from Chandubi (57 Puntius sophore species) (, 1985) [9], Dora (62 species) (Lahon, 1983) [15], Deepor (54 species) (Goswami and , 2012) [9], Tamranga beel (63 species) (Agarwala, 1996) [2], Urpod (60 species) (Saud et al., 2012) [19], Charan Beel (64 species) (Rahman et al., 2012) [17], Manaha Beel (53 species) (Rahman et al., 2012) [17] and Era Kopili Beel (47 species) (Chhetry and Deka, 2016) [5]. Rich fish diversity in the beels of , Assam has also been reported from Sone beel (70 species) (Kar and Dey (1993) [14]. Acharjee (1997) [1] has also reported 56 species in three beels of and [18] Sarma et al., 2012 reported 77 species recorded from Mystus vittatus Goronga Beel of of Assam). The exotic fish species Cyprinus carpio, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix are common in most wetlands (beels) of Assam. The commercially important fish species found in the wetland are Labeo rohita, Labeo gonius, Gibelion catla, Cirrhinus mrigala, Notopterus notopterus, Chitala chitala, Wallago attu, Channa marulius, Channa striatus, Cirrhinus reba, Labeo bata, Heteropneustes fossilis, Clarias magur, Anabas testudineus, Mystus tengra, Puntius spp, Systomus sarana, Pethia ticto etc. As expected cyprinidae is the most dominant family so far

recorded in the present study as also reported from earlier Mystus tengara workers of Assam (Chakravartty et al., 2012 [4]; Deka and ~ 274 ~ International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies

Dutta, 2013 [7]; Bordoloi and Hazarika, 2015 [3]; Kalita and Mahanta and L.K. Tyagi. Pub. Director, NBFGR, Deka, 2015 [13]; Rahman et al., 2016 [17]). Lucknow, India. 2003. The ecosystem of Diplai Beel supports a good habitat of 17. Rahman W, Deka R, Kalita B, Deka P. A Comparative variety of fish species with high density of surface and mid- study on Ichthyofaunal resource of Charan and Manaha column feeder. This beel is playing an important role for the Beel of Morigaon District of Assam, India. Intl J of Fish livelihood by producing animal protein and enhance socio- and Aquatic Studies. 2016; 4(4):43-51. economic condition for the local people. 18. Sarma D, Das J, Goswami UC, Dutta A. Present Status and Habitat Ecology of Ompok pabo (Ham-Buchanan) in 5. References Goronga Beel, Morigaon; Assam (India). J. Advances in 1. Acharjee B. Ecological status and productivity potential App. Sc. Research. 2012; 3(1):481-488. of some beels in Lower Brahmaputra basin, Assam. 19. Saud BJ, Chetia M, Verma VK, Kumar D. Eco- Ph.D. Thesis, Gauhati University, Assam. 1997, 206. Hydrobiology With Special Amphasis On Ichthyofaunal 2. Agarwala NK. Limnology and fish productivity of Diversity Of Urpod Wetland Of , Assam, India. Tamranga wetland in productivity indicators. Ph.D. Intl J. of Plant, Animal and Env. Sc. 2012; 2(3):103-109. Thesis, Gauhati University. 1996, 200. 20. Sen N. Occurrence, distribution and status of diversified 3. Bordoloi R, Hazarika AK. Biodiversity and Conservation fish fauna of North East India. In: Fish Biodiversity of status of Ichthyofauna of Doria beel, , India; J. North East India (eds. Ponniah, A.G. and Sarkar, U.K.). Research J. of Animal, Veterinary and Fishery Sciences. NATP publ. 2. NBFGR, Lucknow, India. 2000, 31-48. 2015; 3(8):1-8. 21. Talwar PK, Jhingran AG. Inland Fishes of India and 4. Chakravartty P, Chakravartty M, Sharma S. Survey on Adjacent Countries. Oxford & IBH, New Delhi. 1991, Fish Diversity with Special Reference to the Classified 1(2). Ornamental Fishes and their Prospects in the Kapla Beel 22. Vishwanath W. Fishes of North East India a field guide of District; J. The Science Probe. 2012; 1(2):12- to species identification. Agricultural Technology project, 21. Department of life Science, Manipur University, India. 5. Chhetry B, Deka P. Ichthyofaunal diversity of era kopili 2012. beel of of Assam, India. J. Intl. J. of 23. Yadava YS, Chandra R. Some Threatened Carps and Advanced Science and Research. 2016; 1(6):33-41. Catfishes of System. In Threatened 6. Choudhury HL, Brahma BK. A study on macrophyte Fishes of India, edited by PV Dehadradri, P Das and SR diversity of Diplai beel, Kokrajhar District, BTAD, Verma. Natcon Publ. 1994; 4:45-55. Assam. The Clarion. 2016; 5(2):36-40. 24. Quick dissolving tablets. http://www.fishbase.de 7. Deka K, Dutta A. Ichthyo-faunal diversity and status in 25. Quick dissolving tablets. http://www.iucnredlist.org Barbila Beel, Nalbari, Assam. J The Clarion. 2013; 2(2):32-37. 8. Dey SC. Studies on the hydrobiological conditions of some commercial lakes (Beels) of Kamrup District of Assam, their bearing on fish production. Final Technical Report, North Eastern Council. 1981, 177. 9. Goswami MM. Limnological Investigations of a tectonic lake of Assam, India and their bearing on fish production. Ph.D. Thesis, Gauhati University, Assam. 1985, 395. 10. Goswami C, Kalita MP. Ichthayofaunal Diversity & Anthropogenic Stress on Deepor Beel: the only Ramsar site in Assam. J. of Env. Sc. Toxicology and Food Tech. 2012; 2(1):54-59. 11. Hussain BH, Ratan CB, Dutta A. A Study of the Limnology and Ichthyology of Dhir Beel at , Assam, India Intl. Res. J. of Biol. Sc. 2015; 4(8):40-48. 12. Jayaram KC. The fresh-water fishes of Indian Region, Narendra Publishing House, Delhi. 1999, 561. 13. Kalita P, Pathak S, Deka P. A preliminary study on ichthyofaunal resource of Motapung-Maguri Beel of district of Assam, India. Intl J of Fauna and Biol Studies. 2016; 3(4):97-102. 14. Kar D, Dey SC. Inter relationship and dynamics of fish population of lake Sone in Assam. Environ. Ecol. 1993; 11(3):718-719. 15. Lahon B. Limnology and fisheries of some commercial beels of Assam, India. Ph.D. Thesis, Gauhati University, Assam. 1983, 349. 16. Mahanta PC, Tyagi LK, Kapoor D, Ponniah AG. Integration of Fish Biodiversity Conservation and Development of Fisheries in North Eastern Region: Issues and Approach, In: Participatory Approach for Fish Biodiversity Conservation in North East India. Edt. P.C.

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