Fish Species Composition, Distribution, and Community Structure in the River Kankai, Eastern Nepal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55863/ijees.2024.0307Keywords:
Fresh water, Water parameters, Fish ecology, Fish distribution, CCA, MahabharatAbstract
It is essential to track how fishing pressure affects the exploited fish population in the River Kankai to ensure resource development and sustainability. The current state of affairs in the River Kankai, situated in the eastern Nepalese districts of Ilam and Jhapa, continues to raise serious concerns among the general public. The purpose of this study is to determine trends in the fish communities in the River Kankai across time and location and to examine how physicochemical factors affect fish dispersal and abundance at six sites that were chosen based on operability and accessibility. Monthly fish samples were collected between January 2023 and December 2023. We used cast nets in different sizes, monofilament gill nets, fish baits, and local fish traps to collect the fish. Fish abundance and distribution were largely determined by water parameters like turbidity, total hardness, total alkalinity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, water temperature, and nitrate-N, according to an analysis of variance (ANOVA) on canonical correspondence analysis. Altogether, 94 species in 12 orders, 28 families, and 60 genera were gathered, of which 6 species represented Nearly Threatened (NT) and 3 species were found to be Vulnerable (VU) as per the IUCN red list categories of threatened species. The current study aims to improve the community structure and ichthyofaunal diversity in the River Kankai.
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