Chapter 3. Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kema

Transcription

1 Chapter 3 Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kema

2 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius fi/amentosus (Valenciennes) 3.1. Introduction Central Kerala covers five districts, viz., Palakkad, Trissur, Ernakulam, Idukki and Kottayam with a small portion of Alappuzha. Out of the 15 major river systems of Kerala, this portion is blessed with seven major and three minor river systems. Periyar, Bharathapuzha, Muvattupuzha, Chalakudy, Manimala, Meenachil and Achencoil are the major river systems and Keecheri, Puzhakkal and Karuvannur are minor river systems of central Kerala. These river systems and their elaborated network of tributaries and distributaries harbour a rich and diverse fish fauna. This unique pool of germplasm has to be preserved and utilised judiciously. The Ichthyofaunal Germplasm inventory of Kerala was initially reported by the outstanding works of Jerdon (1849) and Day (1865,1878), followed by several other investigators down the years (Pillai, 1929; Mukerji, 1931; Hora, 1941; Hora and Law, 1941; Hora and Nair, 1941; Chacko, 1948; Silas, 1950, 1951 a, b, 1952; Rajan, 1955; Remadevi and Indra, 1986; Shaji and Easa, 1995a, b, c; Shaji et al., 1995; Zacharias et al., 1996; Easa and Shaji, 1996; Manimekalan and Das, 1998; Biju et al., 1999a, b, 2000; Bijukumar and Sushama, 2001; Kurup, 2002; Kurup et al., 2002,2004). But the diversity and population abundance in larger river systems of Kerala is yet to be explored in detail. In this study, an attempt is made to quantify the population abundance of ornamental fishes in from north to south, the three important river systems of Kerala namely, Bharathapuzha, Chalakudy and Periyar, with a view to estimate their potential as a commodity in the national and international ornamental fish trade Bharathapuzha and its fish fauna Bharathapuzha is the second largest river system of Kerala, with a length of 209 km i.e., 6.5 % of the total river length in Kerala (CWRDM, 1995). Bharathapuzha originates in the Anamalai hill ranges at an elevation of 1964m above msl and flows westwards. It is bordered by Palakkad, Malappuram and Trichur districts, and finally flows into the Arabian Sea at Population abundance of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala 79

3 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamentosus (Valenciennes) Ponn~ni. The river has a basin area of 4,440 Sq. Km in Kerala. The main tributaries are Gayathripuzha, Chitturpuzha (Kannadipuzha or Amaravathipuzha), Kalpathipuzha and Thuthapuzhha. Extensive studies have been undertaken in the past to study the freshwater fish fauna in the Bharathapuzha river system and its tributaries. Day (1865) has mentioned about the fish fauna of Bharathapuzha in his famous book Fishes of Malabar. Silas (1951b) described the fishes of Anamalai and Nelliyanpathi hill ranges with notes on their zoogeographical significances. Remadevi and Indra (1986) reported 11 species from Silent Valley National Park, upper stretch of Kunthipuzha, which included 2 new species Homa/optera pillai and Garra menoni. Easa and Basha (1995) studied the Kunthi river system as part of the faunal studies in the Nilgiri Biosphere of Western Ghats and reconfirmed the presence of these 11 species. Remadevi and Menon (1992b) found the extension range of Horalabiosa joshuai from Silent valley. Biju et al. (2000) reported 67 species from Bharathapuzha and its tributaries. Recently Bijukumar and Sushama (2001) recorded 61 species from Bharathapuzha river system with a focus on the threats to faunal diversity and conservation measures Chalakudy and Its fish fauna Chalakudy is the fifth longest river (144 km) in Kerala and its watershed lies between 10 5' to ' N latitudes and 76 15' to 76 55' E longitudes and flows through Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad districts of Kerala state. The river originates from the Anamalai and Nelliampathy hill ranges and joins Periyar at Elanthikkara. The main tributaries of this river are Parambikkulam, Sholayar, Kuriarkutty and Karappara. The Sholayar and Parambikulam rivers originate from the Anamalai hills, at 1066 meters above msl and 1686 meters above msl respectively. The Sholayar flows westwards for 44.8km, and then turns northwards and joins the Parambikulam river near Orukombankutty, which is at 473 m above msl. The Parambikulam river flows parallel to and north of Sholayar. Kuriarkutty river also originates in the Anamalai hills and joins Parambikulam river. Population abundance of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala 80

4 Resource abundance and sunival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamentosus (Valenciennes) Karappara river originates in Nelliyampathy Hills, Palakkad district (914m above msl), and finally joins the Parambikulam river at Orukombankutty. From this point this river is known as Chalakudy river. Some smaller streams such as Charappathodu, Kannamkuzhi, Pillaparathodu and Arurmuzhi also joins this river before it meets Periyar. Till it reaches the plains, the river has a rocky bottom with deep crevices and pools, and with many rapids and falls, well known being the Athirappilly falls (Biju et al., 2000) Chalakudy river has a catchment area of 1704 Sq. Km and has a total annual runoff of 3121 million m 3. There are a number of reservoirs in the river system, viz. Parambikulam, Thunakadavu, Peruvaripallam, Malakkapara, Lower Sholayar and Peringalkuthu. Numerous reports have been published with reference to the fishery resources of the Chalakudy river. Silas (1951a) studied the Ponnani drainage system and considered Chalakudy as a part of Periyar because it is connected with Periyar just before it joins the Arabian Sea. He recorded 8 species from the Nelliampathy hills. The works of Thobias (1973), Antony (1977) and J nasu (1991) were concentrated in the wetland areas of Chalakudy river in Thrissur District. Hence their list of species also includes fishes from Karuvannur and Keecheri rivers. Thobias (1973) collected 58 species of fresh water fishes from Thrissur district of which 51 were found in the Chalakudy river. Antony (1977) described hill stream fish species from Chalakudy river. Inasu (1991) studied the distribution of inland fishes and recordrd 57 species of which 17 species were from Chalakudy riv~r. Pethiyagoda and Kottelat (1994) reported 3 new species from this river under the genera Travancoria, Osteochilichthys and Horabagrus. Shaji et al. (1996) reported a new species under the genus Garra. The list of fishes so far reported from this river including past records gives a total number of 98 species, 34 families and 10 orders (Ajithkumar et al., 1998). Biju et al. (1999a) reported 41 species of freshwater fishes of Parambikulam wild life sanctuary. Biju et al. (2000) revalidated species list available in the Chalakudy river and recorded 83 species from the entire river system. Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 81

5 Resource abundance and su/vival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamentosu5 (Valenciennes) Periyar river and its fish fauna River Periyar is considered to be the longest river of Kerala, traversing 244 km, (PWD, 1974; CESS, 1984), i.e., 7.6 % of the total river length in Kerala (CWRDM, 1995). The Periyar originates in the Western Ghats from Chokkanpetty- Kallimalai side at an elevation of 1830 m above mean sea level (msl) and flows westwards and empties in to the Arabian Sea. The Periyar Tiger Reserve, where the major faunal studies have been concentrated lies between 9 216'and 9 40' lat and between 76'55' and 7i25' E. It is bordered by Kottayam district in the West, Pathanamthitta in the South, Peermedu taluk of Idukki district in the North and Madurai district of Tami! Nadu in the East. The elevation of the reserve ranges from 800 to 2019m. One of the tributaries, Mullayar joins Periyar 50 km down its course from the origin and the combined river flows in to the Periyar lake. The favorable slope of its course indicates a very turbulent flow in Periyar as well as its major tributary, the Chalakkudiyar. After crossing Vandiperiyar in its further flow downwards from Periyar lake, Perumthuraiyar and Kattappanayar joins Periyar and the swollen river reaches the catchment area of Idukki. After this, Edamalayar joins Periyar about 2 km away from Bhoothathankettu. Periyar thus flows down to Kaladi through the Malayattoor slope and take a twisted course to Aluva. At Aluva Periyar gets split in to two, the one which flows in the North West direction is Mangalapuzha and the other flowing in South West direction is the Marthandavarmapuzha. Mangalapuzha joins Chalakudypuzha and falls into the Arabian Sea. Marthandavarmapuzha further splits into two at Thaikkattukara. The major branch flows through the industrial area of Eloor and the minor one through Manjummel. At Varapuzha both flows into the Arabian Sea through the Cochin Backwaters. The river Periyar is inhabited by more than 60 species of indigenous fish species. (Radhakrishnan and Kurup, 2003) Many endemic, endangered and critically endangered freshwater fish species have been reported from Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Periyar river. (Raj, 1941 a, b; Chacko, 1948; Silas, 1951a, b). Chacko listed 35 species of fishes in the lake. Raj (1941a) Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 82

6 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamenlosus (Valenciennes) described a small-scaled Shizothoracinae, Lepidopygopsis typus from Periyar river and Hora (1941) recorded a Homalopterid loach, Travancoria jonesi, from Travancore. Menon and Jacob (1996) have described a small scaled barb, Crossocheilus periyarensis and rediscovered the Cyprinid fish Puntius ophicephalus from Periyar river adding two more species to fish fauna of Periyar Tiger reserve. Menon and Ramadevi (1995) described Hypse/obarbus kurali from West flowing rivers including Periyar river. Arun et al. (1996) added seven species to the Periyar including Bhavania austra lis, Cyprinus carpio communis, Oreochromis mossambicus, Garra mccle/landi, Bhavania australis, Nemacheilus guentheri and Travancoria jonesi. Recently, Gopi (2001) has reported a new Garra species, Garra periyarensis from streams of Periyar. All the above studies were concentrated on the taxonomical and biological aspects of the fish fauna with a focus on the species inventory and conservation measures. But the scope of utilisation of these resources in a new avenue like aquarium fish industry has never been seriously discussed. In the present chapter, an attempt has been done to investigate this unexplored area with a view to understand the scope and potential of indigenous ornamental fishes in the three river systems and their role as a sustainable source of supply to the national and international ornamental fishes markets. The pattern of fish diversity at different locations and the influence of altitude on species diversity. evenness and richness in the rivers are also presented in this chapter Materials and Methods A detailed fish resource survey of the selected three major river systems Viz., Periyar, Bharathapuzha and Chalakudy was carried out in the years 2002 January to 2003 December to find out the fish population abundance and assemblage structure of freshwater ornamental fishes. Each river system was classified in to upper, middle and lower stretches based on the altitude of their flow. The river system in each stretch was further divided in Population abundance of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala 83

7 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamentosus (Valenciennes) to several sampling locations with an approximate distance of kilometres based on the river breadth and distance. Sampling locations were fixed based on the reports of Ramachandran et al. (2001). Nine locations each were selected from Bharathapuzha (Fig. 3.1), Chalakudy (Fig. 3.2), and Periyar river (Fig. 3.3), for periodic assessment of the fish population abundance. The details of the locations in each river system along with the latitude, longitude and elevation are given in the table 3.1. The position of the selected zones was determined using hand held GPS and altitude was estimated using electronic Altimeter. The locations include higher elevation zones (>250m), mid elevation zones ( m) and low elevation zones «100m). Thus, regional comparisons along a river were made across the upper, middle and down stream sites. Fishing methods appropriate for all the microhabitats of fishes were used. Selective fishing gears used for the sampling operations include cast nets with 10mm, 15mm mesh size, gill nets with 20,3045,60 mm mesh size, scoop nets with different sizes and other local implements suitable for fishing. Destructive fishing methods were completely avoided in order to ensure that there is no destruction and loss of habitat. Detailed monthly sampling was carried out in each sampling station during pre monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon seasons for a period of 1 year. Sampling was done at both day and night hours, to ensure unbiased sampling. Catch per effort (CPUE) was estimated as per Arun (1997). Special care was taken to maintain uniformity in fish catch per effort so as to enable better comparison of the populations at each location in a.1i the river systems. Fishes were collected and preserved in 10% formaldehyde and brought to the laboratory for identification and conformation of species. Total number of fishes from each sampling station was taken separately to find out the catch per unit effort. Fishes were also packed in polythene bags and brought to the lab in live condition to take photographs without compromising its natural coloration and aesthetic appeal. Fishes were identified using the keys and descriptions of Jayaram (1981, 1991, 1999), Talwar and Jinghran (1991). Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 84

8 1. Kuttipuram 4. Malampuzha 2. Cheruthuruthy 5. Meenkara 3. Kalpathipuzha 6. Kanjirapuzha \.,.....,.,' \. "'",. \"..., '--.'," - 7. Palakkayam 8. Tbathengalam 9. Syrendri,. "- Fig Barathapuzha river system - detailed sampling locations

9 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ -p 1. Chalakudy 4. Aathirapilly 7. Parambikulam 2. Adichili 5. Vazhachal 8. Thekkadyaar 3. Vettilapara 6. Orukomban 9. Karappara Fig Chalakudy river systems - detailed sampling locations

10 ~ ~ ~ ~ "1) ~ 7,., " 1. Desam 2. Kaladi 3. Boothanthankettu 4. Pooyamkutty 7.Idukki 5. Parisakuthu 8. Vandiperiyar 6. Karimban 9. Thekkady Fig Periyar river system- detailed sampling locations.... J ~~.~~~,,~~

11 Table. 3.1: Sampling locations in the three rivers with latitude, longitude and altitude

12 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamentosus (Valenciennes) The density of fish population at each location was estimated as abundance index (AI), which was calculated according to Arun (1997). Thus the abundance index of a fish species k is described as AI= n (k)/nltotal FU x100 Where n (k) is the number of individuals of a species of 'k' caught at the study site and N is the total number of individuals of a species caught at the site. A fishing unit (FU) is defined as the unit time spent for fishing (1 hour) using fishing gears excluding the time spent for spreading and hauling the gears. Further, the abundance index values were grouped into four classes viz., Scarce, Moderate, Plenty and Abundant. The abundance index of ornamental fish population in the three river systems was estimated location wise and a comparison was made to understand the fish assemblage structure in these rivers. Species diversity, richness and evenness in the selected locations of each river system were calculated using the statistical software Primer 5 (Clarke and Warwick, 2001). The diversity indices so calculated for each location were further compared using two way ANOVA (Snedecor and Cochran, 1962; Fisher and Yates, 1963) to confirm wheth~~ there is any significant variation in diversity at the same altitude in different river systems and also between different altitudes in the same river system. Shanon-Weiner (Shanon and Weiner, 1949), diversity index wa's used to emphasize species richness. H' = -sigma pi loge (pi) where pi is the proportion of the total count arising from the ith species, The natural logarithm was used for biological interpretation. Margalef's index (d) (Margalef, 1958) was used to measure the number of species present for a given number of individuals and Pieleou's evenness index (J') for determining for species evenness (Pielou, 1969) Results The tables 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4 show the species collected from the various sampling locations in the three river systems viz., Bharathapuzha, Chalakudy and Periyar. A total no of 75 ornamental fish species, under 7 Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 85

13 Table. 3.2: List of indigenous ornamental fish species collected from Bharathapuzha river from different locations

14 Sampling Locations 1 Cheruthuruthy 2 Kuttipuram 3 Kalpathipuzha 4 Malampuzha 5 Meenkara 6 Kanjirapuzha 7 Palakkayam 8 Thathengalam 9 Syrendri

15 Table. 3.3: list of indigenous ornamental fish species in collected from Chalakudy river from different locations

16 Sampling Locations 1 ChaJakkudy 2 Adichlli 3 Vettilappara 4 Athirapilly 5 VazhachaJ 60rukomban 7 Parambikulam 8 Thekkadiyar 9 Karappara

17 Table. 3.4: list of indigenous ornamental fish species in collected from Periyar from different locations =,.."",.=

18 Sampling Locations 1 Desam 2 Kaladi 3 Bhoothathan kettu 4 Pooyamkutty 5 Parisakuthu 6 Karimban 71dukki 8 Vandiperiyar 9 Thekkady

19 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Centra! Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamenlosus (Valenciennes) orders, 20 families and 41 genera were collected from these three river systems. Out of this, 56 species were collected from Bharathapuzha, 54 from Chalakudy and 57 from Periyar river system % of the total number of fishes were found to be common in all the river systems studied % fishes were common to Bharathapuzha and Chalakudy river whereas 60% fishes were common to Bharathapuzha and Periyar % fishes were common to Chalakudy and Periyar rivers. 8% fishes were particular to each river system. The dominant species found in all river systems were Danio malabaricus, Garra mullya, Puntius filamentosus, Barilius baker;, Par/usiosoma daniconius, Tor kudree, Etrop/us maculatus, Punt/us fasciatus fasciatus, Barilius getensis, etc. The maximum number of species from Chalakudy river were collected from Athirappilly and Vettilappara (Table 3.2), and the lowest number of species were from Thekkadiyar and Karappara. Arattukadavu, Kanjirapuzha and Malampuzha were the locations in Bharathapuzha, where highest number of species were collected (Table.3.3). Lowest numbers of species in this river system were collected from Syrendri. Pooyamkutty and Bhoothathankettu were the locations where highest number of species occurred from Periyar river, whereas lowest numbers of fishes were collected from Thekkady (Table.3.4) Seasonal abundance Seasonal abundance index of the indigenous ornamental fishes collected from Bharathapuzha, Chalakudy and Periyar river systems are illustrated in the table 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7 respectively. The most abundant species in the Bharathapuzha were Barilius gatensis, Danio malabaricus, Chela fasciata, Puntius filamentosus, Etrop/us maculatus, Parlusiosoma daniconius and Xenentodon can cilia. Puntius fasciatus fasciatus, Danio aequipinnatus, Garra mullya and Barifius bakeri were also available in plenty. Most of the popular ornamental fishes (71 %) like Puntius denisonii, Barilius canarensis, Mastacembalus armatus, Chela dadiburgori, Tetraodon travancoricus Gonoproktopterus curmuca, Puntius jerdoni, Channa striatus, Pristo/epis Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 86

20

21 Table. 3.6: Abundance index of species in Chalakudy river during different seasons

22

23 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Pun/ius lilamentosus (Valenciennes) marginata, Aplochei/us lineatus, etc., were found to be scarce in Bharathapuzha (table.3.5). The most abundant species in Chalakudy river were Garra mullya, Barilius bakeri, Danio malabaricus, Puntius filamentosus, Parlusiosoma daniconius, Tor khudree, Gonoproktopterus curmuca and Etroplus maculatus (Table. 3.6). Puntius fasciatus fasciatus, Tetraodon travancoriclls, Garra surendranathanii, Barilius getensis were the species available in plenty. 10 species, viz., Barilius bendelisis, Nemacheilus triangularis, Danio aequipinnatus, Parambassis dayi, Puntius jerdoni, Esomus danricus, Garra mcclellandi, Ap/ocheilus lineatus, Saimostoma boopis and Puntius ticto were moderately available in this river system. Out of the 54 ornamental fishes obtained from Chalakudy river, 32 species comprising the well known aquarium species such as Puntius denisonii, Barilius can ere nsis, Etrop/us suratensis, Pristo/epis marginata, Horabagrus brachysoma, H. nigricol/aris, Channa marulius, C. striatus, Sicyopterus grise us, Mastacambelus armatus, Glyptothorax madraspatanam, etc. were found to be least abundant. Species exhibiting highest abundance in Periyar river were Puntius filamentosus, Barilius bakeri, Garra mullya, Parlusiosoma daniconius, Danio malabaricus, Garra surendranathanii, Danio aequipinnatis and Etrop/us maculatus (Table.3.7). Species like Salmostoma boopis, Puntius fasciatus fasciatus, Barilius gatensis, Puntius denisonii, Gonoproktopterus curmuca, Tor khudree were available in plenty. 'Moderate species' category in Periyar river system include Puntius amphibius, Parambassis dayi, Chanda nama, Horabagrus nigricol/aris and Puntius ficto. 38 species were found to be very scarce during the present study, the important ones being Nemacheilus triangularis, N. guentheri N. semiarmatus N. denisonii denisoni, Tetraodon travancoricus, Mastacambelus armatus, Horabagrus brachysoma, Mystus vittatus, Channa straitaus, Barilius canerensis, Pristo/epis ma rgina ta, Notopterus notopterus, Ap/ochei/us lineatus, etc Diversity indices The species diversity, evenness and richness in Bharathapuzha river locations are summarised in tables.3.8, 3.9 and 3.10 respectively. The Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 87

24 Table. 3.8: Species diversity index in different sampling locations of Bharatha ha river Cv.~t,"lm ~-~~ Table. 3.9: Species eveness index in different sampling locations of Bn n Table. 3.10: Species richness index in different sampling locations of B uzha river ""u.~rdlrn

25 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius fiiamentosus (Valenciennes) Shanon- Weiner diversity index (H') varied from and the highest average of 3.65 was observed in Kanjirapuzha «100m height) and the lowest observed at Syrendri (>500m) Pie Iou's evenness index, (J') was calculated for all the locations which ranged between 0.55 and The maximum value (0.74) was recorded in Thathengalam (>250m) while the lowest was noticed in Syrendri. Species richness index varied from 0.89 to Highest was observed at Kanjirapuzha and the lowest at Syrendri. The results of species diversity. species evenness and richness in the locations of Chalakudy river system are given in tables and 3.13 respectively. The Shanon-Weiner diversity index (H') ranged between Highest species diversity of 3.74 was observed at Vettilappara «100m height) and the lowest of 2.76 was found at Karappara (>500m altitude). Species evenness (Pielou's evenness index, J') ranged between (Table 3.12). Highest was observed above 550m i.e., in Orukomban (0.88) and the lowest was noticed Chalakudy (0.77) which is below 100m height. Margalef's species richness index (d) varied from Highest was observed at Athirappilly «1 OOms!) and the lowest at Karappara (> 500m). The species diversity, evenness and richness in Periyar river locations are given in tables 3.14, 3.15 and In Periyar river, the Shanon-Weiner diversity index (H') ranged from (Table. 3.14). The highest species diversity was observed in Pooyamkutty (3.77) which is <100 m elevation from the sea level and the lowest was observed Vandiperiyar (2.80) and Thekkady (2.97) i.e., 800m above msl. Pielou's evenness index, (J') varied from Highest evenness was observed at Kaladi «100 m) and the lowest at Bhoothathankettu (<100 m). Species richness Index (d) ranged from Highest was observed at Pooyamkutty (>108m) location and lowest at Thekkady (>860m). The figures 3.4 and 3.5 present a comparison of species diversity and species richness with altitude along the river systems studied. Both the Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 88

26 Table. 3.11: S pedes diversity index in different sampling locations of Chalakudy river C:VC.~A''''' Table. 3.12: Species eveness index in different sampling locations of Chalakudy Table. 3.13: Species richness index in different sampling locations of Chalakudy

27 Table. 3.14: Species diversity index in different sampling locations of Periyar Table. 3.15: Species eveness index in different sampling locations of Periyar Table. 3.16: Species richness index in different sampling locations of Periyar

28 , ~ 3.50 f 3.00 ~ 2.50 i 2.00 U 1.50! < Altitude >250 _ Bharathapuzha I' I_Chalakudy. i~~~~~ i Fig Species diversity at different altibjde ranges in the three rivers of Central Kerala 4.00, : 3.50! 3.00 " ;:200.I 1:50! en < > , I '1_ Bharathapuzha i I _ Chalakudy 1' I, l!~~~~_~ Altitude Fig Species richness at different altibjde ranges in the three rivers of Central Kerala r , ~.OO ~ ; i f ~ Q Abundant Plenty Moderate Status of abubdance Scarce I_ Bharathapuzha I ~ _Chalakudy,!_P~ya! Fig.3.6: Percentage composition of ornamental fishes In the rivers of Cental Kerala based on the population abundance

29 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing sftess in Puntius filamentosus (Valenciennes) species diversity and richness were found to be reduced in high altitude locations (>500m) of all river systems. Species diversity and richness in Bharathapuzha showed a gradual increase towards low altitudes. Species diversity and richness were highest in Periyar river along the middle altitudes, i.e., m. Similarly, in Chalakudy river also highest species richness was recorded along the middle altitudes. Catch data of the fishes collected during the pre monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon seasons of Bharathapuzha for a period of 1 year were statistically analysed by ANOVA (Table 3.17). Species abundance was highest for Danio malabaricus and Puntius filamentosus and there was significant difference between them (p<o.01). Fishes were sorted in to different clusters based on the ANOVA mean values. There was no significant difference in abundance among the species within 7 clusters (Appendix.2). But between the clusters the difference was significant (p<o.01). Highest species abundance was recorded from Malampuzha followed by Kanjirapuzha, Palakkayam, Cheruthuruthy and Kalpathipuzha. But there was no significant difference observed among these locations. Significant difference in fish abundance could not be seen at Meenkara, Thathengalam and Kuttipuram. Syrendri showed significantly lower abundance than rest of the locations. Between seasons, highest species abundance was recorded in post monsoon followed by pre monsoon. However, the difference was not significant between them. Significantly lower species diversity was observed during monsoon season. The ANOVA results of catch data from Chalakudy river for a period of I year is given in the table Species abundance was highest in Garra mul/ya. The species within the clusters 1-8 did not show any significant difference among them, but between the clusters difference was significant (p<o.01) (Appendix. 3). Athirappilly and Vettilappara showed highest species abundance than the rest. Between these locations, there were no difference in species abundance. Parambikulam was observed as the location with least abundance followed by Karappara and Thekkadiyar. But Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 89

30 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamenlosus (Valenciennes) the difference in abundance between them was not significant There was no significant difference between Chalakudy and Vazhachal. Similarly significant difference could not be seen between Adichili and Orukomban. Even though highest species abundance was recorded during the post monsoon season, the difference between pre and post monsoon seasons were not statistically significant. Monsoon season showed significantly lower fish abundance. In Periyar, highest species abundance was observed for Puntius filamentosus followed by Danio malabaricus (Table.3.19). Between these two species the difference in abundance was significant (p<0.01). There was significant difference observed between the 7 clusters, but within the clusters the difference in abundance was not significant (Appendix.4). Highest species abundance was recorded from Parisakuthu, Pooyamkutty and Karimban respectively. But there was no significant difference among these locations. Idukki and Thekkady showed lowest abundance and the difference between these locations were not significant. The rest of the locations did not show any significant difference between them. Highest species abundance was observed during post monsoon followed by pre monsoon and monsoon. Between the post and pre monsoon, there was no significant difference in species abundance. ANOVA of Shanon -Weiner diversity index of Bharathapuzha river is given in the table Significantly lower diversity was observed in Syrendri followed by Palakkayam. The differences between these two locations were significant (p<0.01). Differences were not significant among the other locations. Higher diversities were observed at Kanjirapuzha and Malampuzha. There were no significant differences between the seasons, but post monsoon showed higher values followed by pre monsoon. ANOVA of Pielou's index of species evenness in the locations of Bharathapuzha is given in the table Significantly high species evenness (p<0.01) was recorded at Thathengalam whereas the lowest was Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 90

31 Table. 3.17: ANOVA of species collected from Bharathapuzha during different Table. 3.18: ANOVA of species collected from Chalakkudy during different Table. 3.19: ANOVA of species collected from Periyar during different seasons SS -Sum of squres df- degree of freedom ms- Mean squres F- Variance ratio

32 Table. 3.20: ANOVA of Shanon -Weiner index of species diversity in the sampling locations of Bh =~~-.:-&.:-...,..,..= Table. 3.21: ANOVA of Pielou's index of species evenness in the sampling locations of of Table. 3.22: ANOVA of Margalefs index of species richness in the sampling locations of of SS -Sum of squres df- degree of freedom ms- Mean squres F- Variance ratio

33 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius fi/amentosus (Valenciennes) noticed at Syrendri. No significant difference could be seen among the locations as well as seasons in this river system. ANOVA of Margalef's index of species richness in Bharathapuzha river is given in the table Highest species richness in Bharathapuzha was observed at Kanjirapuzha station followed by Kalpathipuzha, Cheruthuruthy, Meenkara and Kuttipuram. But significant difference could not be observed between these locations. Significantly lower richness was observed in Syrendri. But between Palakkayam and Thathengalam the difference was not significant. Eventhough higher species richness in Bharathapuzha was observed during the post monsoon season, the difference was not significant between post and pre monsoon seasons. Significantly lower values were observed during monsoon season. ANOVA of Shanon-Weiner diversity index of Chalakudy river is given in the table In Chalakudy river, Vettilappara station showed high species diversity followed by Athirappilly, Adichili, Chalakudy, Vazhachal, Orukomban and Thekkadiyar. But significant difference in species diversity could not be seen among them. Karappara showed very poor species richness followed by Parambikulam. There was no significant difference observed between them. Higher diversity was observed during post monsoon. Between pre monsoon and post monsoon the difference was not significant. Significantly lower diversity was observed in monsoon season. ANOVA of Pielou's index of species evenness in the locations of the Chalakudy river is given in the table Significantly high species evenness (p<o.01) was observed in Chalakudy river locations at Orukomban and lowest was recorded at Chalakudy. No significant difference could be seen between the locations as well as seasons in this river system. ANOVA of Margalef's index of species richness in Chalakudy river is given in the table In Chalakudy river, highest species richness was Populalion abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Keraia 91

34 Table. 3.23: ANOVA of Shanon -Weiner index of species diversity in the sampling locations of Table. 3.24: ANOVA of Pielou's index of species evenness in the sampling locations of Table. 3.25: ANOVA of Margalefs index of species richness in the sampling locations of Chalakudy river SS -Sum of squres df- degree of freedom ms- Mean squres F- Variance ratio

35 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Pun/ius filamentosus (Valenciennes) observed at AthirappilJy station followed by Vettilappara. There was no significant difference between these two locations. The difference in species richness was not significant among Adichili, Chalakudy and Vazhachal locations. Lowest species diversity was observed in Karappara followed by Parambikulam, Orukomban and Thekkadiyar. But no significant difference could be seen between these locations. Among the seasons, post monsoon showed highest species richness and monsoon the lowest. Apparently, there was no significant difference between the richness of pre and post monsoon seasons. ANOVA of Shanon - Weiner diversity index of Periyar river is given in the table In Periyar river highest species diversity was observed at Pooyamkutty, followed by Kaladi, Karimban, Desam, Parisakuthu, and Idukki. The differences in diversity between these locations were not significant. Vandiperiyar exhibited very poor diversity compared to the rest. Among Vandiperiyar, Thekkady and Bhoothathankettu, significant difference in diversity was not observed. Post monsoon and pre monsoon showed significantly higher values than monsoon but between the post monsoon and pre monsoon, apparently there was no significant difference. ANOVA of Pielou's index of species evenness in the locations of the Periyar river is given in the table Significantly high species evenness (p<o.01) in Periyar could be observed at Kaladi and lowest was observed at Bhoothathankettu (p<o.01). But significant difference could not be seen between the locations and seasons. ANOVA of Margalefs index of species richness in Periyar river is given in the table In Periyar, higher species richness were observed at Pooyamkutty and Bhoothathankettu locations. But the differences between these locations were not statistically significant. Locations such as Desam, Kaladi, Karimban and Parisakuthu did not exhibit any significant difference in species richness. Thekkady station showed lowest species richness, followed by Vandiperiyar and Idukki, but the difference among them was Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 92

36 Table.3.26: ANOVA of Shanon -Weiner index of species diversity in the sampling Table. 3.27: ANOVA of Pielou's index of species evenness in the sampling locations of Table. 3.28: ANOVA of Margalefs index of species richness in the sampling locations of SS -Sum of SQures df- degree of freedom ms- Mean squres F- Variance ratio

37 Resource abundanoe and sulvival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntiu5 filamenlosus (Valenciennes) not significant. Monsoon season showed very poor species richness among the seasons. Even though post monsoon showed higher values, the difference between the pre and post monsoon was not significant Discussion In general fish populations are monitored by abundance estimates. One of the widely used approaches for estimating stream fish abundance involves the selection of sites (Le., sampling units) within a stream and the subsequent counting of fishes, collected from those sites with the help of fishing gears (Thompson, 2003). Sampling units can, for example, be defined as pools, riffles, and glides. Surveyed sites are either selected randomly or are chosen based on how well they represent the population of interest. Catch effort methods have been used in a number of studies to estimate total abundances of riverine fish (Johnson, 1965; Mann, 1971; Mahon et al., 1979; Mahon, 1980). In the present study. the catch effort data was used to estimate fish species abundance from the three important river systems of Central Kerala. This provided more accurate and sufficient database on the spatial and temporal pattern of fish distribution and abundance in the rivers during different seasons, which could be utilised as ornamental varieties in the national and international ornamental fish trade industry. The relative abundance of fishes in Bharathapuzha river system on an average showed that that out of the 56 species, 17.86% species were abundant whereas 5.36 % were included in the plenty category. In this river system 14.29% species were estimated to be moderately available and the rest 62.50% were treated as scarce resource. In Chalakudy river system, 14.81% of the total fishes were found to be most abundant and 7.41% were available in plenty % fishes were considered as moderately available and the rest 59.26% were assessed to be scarce. In Periyar river 14.04% fishes were very abundant and 10.53% were reported to be available in plenty. Moderately available fishes contributed 8.77% of Population abundanoe of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 93

38 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Pun/ius filamen/osus (Valenciennes) the total and the 2/3 rd of the species (i.e., 66.67%) were found to be scarce in Periyar river system. Similar works in fish abundance was carried out by Arun (1997) in the Periyar lake-valley systems of Southern Western Ghats. But extensive studies covering any of the three river system have not been undertaken so far, which makes the comparison of the present results difficult. Species composition based on the relative abundance in the river systems of Kerala have been investigated by Arun (1998) and Kurup et al. (2004). Arun (1998) studied the population abundance of 27 fish species in Periyar lake and streams and suggested that four species viz., Garra mullya, G. mcclellandi, Barilius bakeri and Gonoproktopterus curmuca are most abundant. The authors also reported that 6 species such as Nemacheilus keralensis, Ompok bimaculatus, Travancoria jonesi, Channa gachua, C. marulius and Glyptothorax madrasapatnam were scarce in Periyar lake and streams. The findings of present study are in agreement with these results. Kurup et al. (2004) studied the abundance of fish population in the river systems in Kerala and classified the fishes on the basis of IUCN criteria in order to assess the status of the species. According to them, 84 species came under threatened category, which included 18 critically endangered, 38 endangered and 28 vulnerable species. 48 species were classified under the non-threatened category, among which 21 were nearly threatened with low risk whereas 34 species belonged to low risk of least concern. Both these studies were focused on the distribution and abundance in general, and have not attended to the potential of these fishes for the ornamental fish industry. Comparing the average species abundance during the different seasons, post monsoon and pre monsoon season showed highest abundance than monsoon. According to the previous studies (Arun, 1995; Shaji, 1998; Biju et al., 2000) conducted in the rivers of Kerala, catches in the post monsoon season were comparatively higher than pre monsoon season. The present survey results found that even though there is a slight dominance in Population abundance of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala 94

39 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamentosus (Valenciennes) experimental catch of the post monsoon season than the pre monsoon in all the three rivers, statistically there was no significance among them (Table ). But monsoon season showed very lean catches agreeing perfectly with the previous studies. The reason for this may be that the fishes are being removed from their habitat due to heavy rainfall in monsoon (Ramachandran et al., 2001) Only very few fast moving fishes could withstand the heavy water current, as reflected in monsoon catches. Further, by the end of pre monsoon season, most of the shallow areas of river tributaries in the upper stretches become dry due to the water heat and high temperature. Tributaries of water bodies can experience large variations in water level during the dry season, which can reduce fish abundance (Winemiller and Leslie, 1992; Jepsen, 1997). Several studies have analysed the fish community structure along an upstream down stream gradient in order to predict species richness based on measurements such as altitude, order, stream gradient, distance from source, etc. (Platts, 1979; Beecher et al., 1988; Oberdorff and Porcher, 1992). These abiotic factors can influence not only species richness but also trophic composition (Schlosser, 1982; Angermeier and Karr, 1983). In many studies, the number of species increased downstream with a marked difference in species richness between the upstr~am and downstream zones. The occurrence of such patterns of community structure have been evaluated to be due to two complementary processes that occur at different spatial scales: biotic zonation and continuous addition of species (Rahel and Hubert, 1991). After latitude, altitude has been suggested as the second most important natural factor controlling phytoplankton production in water bodies worldwide (Brylinsky and Mann, 1973). The nutrient concentrations and productivity of freshwater ecosystems increase along the river continuum and downstream areas should be expected to be more eutrophic. The present study also corroborates the view that altitude is one of the major factors influencing the species richness as well as quantitative and qualitative fish diversity in the rivers of Central Kerala (Fig.3.4 and 3.5). The fish diversity studied on the basis of Shanon-Wiener (H') and Margalef Population abundance of indigenous omamental fishes of Central Kerala 95

40 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius fi/amen/osus (Valenciennes) species richness index (d) revealed that, the altitude showed an inverse relationship with fish species richness and diversity. Fish communities were distributed throughout the water bodies with a gradual increase in richness towards downstream regions (Bhat, 2004). The author correlated the species richness of fishes and environmental and stream characteristics of rivers in rivers of Central Western Ghats and showed that species richness is positively correlated to stream depth and width and negatively to altitude. The present findings are in agreement with the findings of Dukes et al. (2000), who proved that fish diversity increased with increase in the stream order. i.e., the fish diversity reduce with the increase in the altitude of streams. Schiemer and Zalewski (1992) reported that habitat complexity creates conditions for the coexistence of a large number of fish species and their life stages, reduce competitive interactions, pressure of predators, catastrophic disturbances and provide feeding and spawning! rearing grounds. The most frequently mentioned abiotic variables are increase in habitat diversity and environmental stability (Gorman and Karr, 1978; Schlosser, 1982). StreSSing physico-chemical conditions are common in upstream zones, where very low temperatures and fluctuations in water flow have direct influence on the fauna, with a decrease in species richness (Schlosser, 1987; Rahel and Hubert, 1991; Paller, 1994). Species richness increased with increasing structural heterogeneity and variability of the ecotone in rivers wider than 2.5 m at altitudes below 500 m (Kirchhofer, 1995). The high species richness and diversity in the downstream reaches of the rivers in the present study may also be due to the same reasons. Though altitude showed an inverse relationship with fish diversity and richness, alternatively, the middle and upper reaches of Periyar showed an unusual trend of high biodiversity, which could be due to the presence of moderate populations of hill stream species (Fig and 3.5). Similarly, the species richness in Chalakudy river system was also slightly high compared to the species richness in the low altitude locations. In Chalakudy river system the middle stretches were occupied with moderate population of hill stream fishes such as Tor khudree, Danio malabaricus, Population abundanoe of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 96

41 Resource abundance and sujvival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Puntius filamenfosus (Valenciennes) Bari/us baker;, Barilius gatensis, Garra mul/ya, Gonoproktopterus curmuca and Garra surendranathanii which could survive well in the alternating cascade and pool-riffle channel reaches prevailing in these areas of the river system. Pielou's evenness index, (J') is a measure of how evenly individuals are distributed within a community when compared to the equal distribution and maximum diversity a community can have (Pielou, 1969). Carol et al. (2006) in their studies on the 14 Spanish reservoirs stated that species evenness has no dependency on the altitude. Indian scientists also have failed to find any specific relationship between species evenness and altitude ranges (Kurup et al., 2002; Bhat, 2004). The present study also could not find any specific relationship between species evenness and altitude. In Chalakudy, highest evenness was observed in Orukomban (470m), whereas in Karappara (950m) the species evenness was very less. Contrary to the poor evenness in the down stream locations like Chalakudy, better species evenness values were observed at Vettilappara (80m). In Bharathapuzha, maximum species evenness was found in Thathengalam at an altitude of 280m, but in Syrendri (551m) the evenness was observed very low. In Periyar, highest evenness was noted in down stretches Le., Kaladi (18m msl) and very low evenness values in high altitude stations like Vandiperiyar (803m) and Karimban (500m). Thus it can be concluded from the present findings that unlike species richness and species diversity the species evenness (J') had no correlation with the altitude in the rivers of central Kerala. The abundance index of the rivers of central Kerala showed that there is potential for some species to be used in the ornamental fish industry. The species that were categorised as abundant and plenty could be utilised as ornamental fishes in the domestic and international fish trade (Table 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6). At present, there is no shortage in the number of fishes under abundant category in the rivers for the commercial utilisation for trade, but the captive breeding technology should be developed and standardised in Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 97

42 Resource abundance and survival of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala with emphasis on handling and packing stress in Pun/ius filamenlosus (Valenciennes) the long run as a management measure to prevent the depletion of the natural population in the wild. Fishes available in plenty also have a potential for utilisation, but here also, the captive breeding technology should be developed simultaneously. The populations of species that come under moderate category have only limited potential to be used in ornamental fish industry directly from wild. The results show that majority of the species in the river systems come under the scarce category. In Chalakudy river 59.26% of the species were scarce whereas in Periyar and Bharathapuzha they were 66.67% and 71.73% respectively (Fig.3.4). The exploitation of these resources from the rivers would pose serious threat to the natural population that might lead to resource depletion and species endangerment in the future. Anthropogenic activities are the main cause for the alarming decline of fish populations in most of the rivers of Kerala (Kurup et al., 2002). Unsustainable and unethical fishing by using fish poisons, dynamiting and a wide array of prohibited fishing methods are rampant in the uplands and lowlands of most of the rivers (Shaji et al., 1996, Kurup, 2002). Habitat destruction of natural spawning and breeding grounds of the fishes through sand extraction and construction of physical obstructions across rivers has contributed to the population decline and the endangerment of the freshwater fishes. Stocking of alien species in the natural water bodies like check dams and reservoirs have now proved to be severe threats to the native sp~cies especially the juveniles and smaller fish species (Ramachandran et al., 2001). Natarajan (1989) conducted a thorough investigation of the ecological implications of introduction of exotics in the natural waters and has warned that it is an irrational step as all these exotics infringe on the food niche of the native species. However, there is no harm in utilising some of these resources in a judicious manner for the economic benefit of the state. Based on the export statistics of Marine Products Export Development Authority, detailed marketing analysis was done by Ramachandran et al. Population abundance of indigenous ornamental fishes of Central Kerala 98