J. Agrobiotech. Vol. 9 (1), 2018, p. 27–40. Aqmal-Naser & Amirrudin © Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin ISSN 1985-5133 (Press) Ichthyofauna in Rice Agroecosystem at Seberang Perai ISSN 2180-1983 (Online) Tengah, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia with Notes on the Introduced Species Ichthyofauna in Rice Agroecosystem at Seberang Perai Tengah, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia with Notes on the Introduced Species Mohd Aqmal-Naser1 & Amirrudin Bin Ahmad1,2 1School of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu Darul Iman, MALAYSIA. 2Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development,, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu Darul Iman, MALAYSIA Corresponding author: Amirrudin Bin Ahmad Institute of Tropical Biodiversity and Sustainable Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu Darul Iman, MALAYSIA Email:
[email protected] Keywords: Rice field Invasive species Introduced species Biological diversity Malaysia 28/ J. Agrobiotech. Vol. 9 (1), 2018, p. 25–40. ABSTRACT Twenty six species of fishes from 14 families were recorded from various habitats including river, concrete canals, earth ditches and storm drains in the rice field, following three different stages of paddy planting for two seasons of rice cultivation at Seberang Perai Tengah, Penang. Cyprinidae was the most dominant family recorded, that contributed the highest number of species in this study, followed by Osphronemidae, Clariidae and Bagridae. The most abundant families with high number of individuals collected were from Cyprinidae, Aplocheilidae and Anabantidae. There were seven introduced species recorded and two of them are considered as an invasive species namely Clarias gariepinus and Oreochromis niloticus. The emergence numbers of invasive species can threaten the native species population in the rice field and lead to the local extinction.