Ichthyofaunal Diversity of Saralasagar Reservoir in Mahabubnagar District, Telangana, India

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1 2015; 2(5): ISSN IJFBS 2015; 2(5): Received: Accepted: B Sreenivas Reddy Research Scholar, Department of Zoology, S.N. Vanitha Mahavidyalaya, Nampally, Hyderabad , Telangana, India. K Satya Parameshwar Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, S.N. Vanitha Mahavidyalaya, Nampally, Hyderabad , Telangana, India. Ichthyofaunal Diversity of Saralasagar Reservoir in Mahabubnagar District, Telangana, India B Sreenivas Reddy, K Satya Parameshwar Abstract Present survey was undertaken for ichthyofaunal diversity study in the Saralasagar Reservoir situated in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana state in India. The study was undertaken between March-2013 and February-2015 covering two hot and two wet seasons. The fish fauna of Saralasagar Reservoir was collected for the present study. A total of 33 fish species belongs to 7 orders, 22 genera of 13 families were recorded. Order Cypriniformes was most dominant group represented by 12 species followed by orders Perciformes with 9 species. Siluriformes with 8 species, Osteoglossiformes 1 species, Beloniformes 1 species, Anguilliformes 1 species and Synbranchiformes 1 Species. Thus the Saralasagar Reservoir has good potential for fish fauna. As usual in many instances, Cyprinidae was the most dominant family. Out of 33 fish species 26 have least concern status, 3 are near threatened, 2 are Vulnerable, one is not evaluated and one is data deficient. This is considered the first study on the ichthyofaunal diversity of Saralasagar Reservoir. Keywords: Telangana, Mahabubnagar District, Saralasagar Reservoir, Ichthyofaunal diversity. Introduction Many studies have been made on ichthyofaunal diversity of various freshwater bodies in India during the last few decades [3, 8, 9, 12, 14 and 18]. There were some studies in Telangana state also [13, 15 and 16]. Recently some studies have been made on the ichthyofaunal diversity of the Mahabubnagar district [1, 10 and 11]. 41 fish species were recorded from Jammulamma reservoir, located in Gadwal revenue division of this district during , 109 species from Krishna River in the district in 2015 and 30 species from Koilsagar in As far as Saralasagar Reservoir is concerned poor attention has been paid towards the systematic investigation on diversity of fish fauna. So it is felt that there is a need to generate the information on diversity of fishes from Saralasagar Reservoir. Hence, to fill this gap, the present investigation was undertaken to present piscine inventory from the well-known but remotely located Saralasagar reservoir, and to suggest mitigating measures. It is the first effort in this direction. Correspondence B Sreenivas Reddy Research Scholar, Department of Zoology, S.N. Vanitha Mahavidyalaya, Nampally, Hyderabad , Telangana, India. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1. Study Area Present work has been conducted in Saralasagar Reservoir situated in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana, India. Telangana, the 12 th largest state in India is situated in the eastern edge of Deccan plateau. The climate and physiography of the region make the state one of the most important in the country with regard to water resources. Telangana state has wide range of water spread area under various Rivers and different man-made impoundments. Thus this state has great habitat heterogeneity. A large number of studies covering a wide variety of ecosystems and organisms suggest that species richness tends to vary strongly with ecosystem production and habitat heterogeneity. As the Telangana is rich in productive and heterogeneous fresh water habitats, it supports a great ichthyofaunal diversity. Mahabubnagar is the largest district in Telangana and is situated between N latitudes and E longitudes at an elevation of 630m above the sea level. Climatically it falls under the tropical region with cyclic rains and has varied habitats like rivers, streams, back waters, major, medium and minor irrigation tanks. Thus the district supports a wide range of fish species and there is a need to contemplate measures to protect these genetic resources. Saralasagar: Reservoirs were considered the single largest inland fisheries resources in India in terms of potential area of fish production. Saralasagar Reservoir is one of the most ~ 33 ~

2 important Reservoirs, constructed across the Chinnavagu, a tributary of the Krishna River about 48 kms away from the district headquarters and 142 kms away from the state capital Hyderabad. It is a perennial Lake and is situated in Kothakota mandal (Tehsil) of Mahabubnagar district in Telangana state. Saralasagar is the medium size irrigation project located at Shankarampeta village, Kothakota mandal of Mahabubnagar district in Telangana state and is situated between N latitudes and E longitudes. (Fig.1). this project is located exactly about 6kms from Kothakota Mandal Headquarters on National Highway No 44 on the pathway from Hyderabad to Bangalore. Main water source of this irrigation project is from River Krishna. The main purpose of construction of this Reservoir was to protect the economically backward areas of Kothakota mandal of the district and also eliminate the scarcity of food grains and water problems. Now the Saralasagar Reservoir has become prime importance for irrigation, drinking water to Mahabubnagar town and also for aquaculture practices. About 176 fishermen families depend on this Reservoir in continuing their lives. Thus this Reservoir plays a vital role in the Rural Economy. As the importance of the dams increased, new technologies were implemented in many countries. One of the outstanding examples of developments of Science and Technology in India with respect to dams is the Saralasagar dam project. Sarala Sagar project is the proof for the development of Science and Technology in Mahaboobnagar District. The Project has been implemented by a unique, rare and wonderful automatic Siphons System Technology. This is only one of its kinds in Asian Continent and Second in the World. The Technology for this project was brought from California in USA. In this Project 17 hood Siphons, 4 priming siphons were used. Whenever Water level of the tank exceeds its capacity, the siphons System automatically opens. This is the speciality of these siphons. This project was laid foundation in 1947 by then Wanaparthy ruler Raja Rameshwar Rao. He built this project on the name of his mother Sarala Devi. After the Independence, this project was again laid foundation by the military Governor of Hyderabad Major General Sri J.N. Chowdary on 15 th September, And later, this project was started in the year Fortunately an approximate of 4000 Acres of Agricultural land has been brought under irrigation through this project. The total length of the dam is m which is composed of m of Ogee dam, m of Siphon gates and m of Earth-filled dam. The fishermen of Saralasagar regularly stock the Indian major carps and exotic carps like common carp and grass carp every year in the month of July. The morphometric features of the Saralasagar Reservoir are furnished in the table1. Table 1: Morphometric features of Saralasagar Reservoir in Mahabubnagar district, Telangana, India Sl. No. Attribute Value 1 Location of the Reservoir N and E at Shankarampet village. 2 Nearest city Wanaparthy 3 District Mahabubnagar 4 State Telangana 5 Basin name Krishna 6 River Chinna vagu (Tributory of Krishna) 7 Size Medium sized 8 Purpose Irrigation and Drinking. 9 Year of completion Length of Dam (m) Height of Dam (m) Dam Type Earth-filled gravity dam. 13 Catchment area (Sq.Km) Total Water Spread Area (WSA) (Ha) Full Reservoir Level (FRL) (m) Maximum water level (m) Gross storage capacity at FRL (MCM) Water source Monsoon run-off / by lift from River Krishna 19 Average Rain fall (Cm) Monsoon Rain fall (Cm) Irrigated land (acres) 4, Seismic zone Seismic zone-ii 23 Temperature of Water 24 0 C C 24 Soil type Red soil Source: 1.India-WRIS (Water Resources Information System) 2. Irrigation & CAD Department, Mahabubnagar. 3. National Register of Large Dams (NRLD) Methodology Lot of interactions were made with local fishermen of Saralasagar Reservoir to draw the information about locally available fishes and their vernacular names. Sampling of fishes has been conducted on two sampling sites of the Reservoir for the estimation of its fish diversity. Fish were collected twice in a month for a period of two years from March 2013 to February 2015 covering two dry and two wet seasons. Fishes were collected from fishermen immediately after their catching ~ 34 ~ and photographed prior to their identification and preservation. Collected fish samples were preserved in 9-10% formalin. Big sized fishes (of length cm) were stored only after making an incision on their abdominal wall to one side (preferably left side) of the mid-ventral line in order to allow the entry of formalin in to their bodies. For fishes longer than 30cm, crude formalin was injected in several places along the abdomen and also made two or three incisions along the belly. Fish samples were brought to the laboratory for their

3 identification and preservation. Samples were sorted, labelled and stored in acrylic jars of suitable size. The fish were collected by operating various nets like gill nets, cast nets, hook nets, line nets, drag nets (pandi vala) and locally used indigenous box traps. The fishes were identified with the help [2, 4, 7 and of standard keys mentioned in the taxonomic literature 17]. The fishes were identified mainly on basis of colour pattern, specific markings on the surface of the body, structure and shape of fins, barbs, barbells, teeth and mouth shapes etc. The identified fishes were registered with the natural history museum of Sarojini Naidu Vanitha Maha Vidyalaya, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Assuming that fishing efforts were common for given type of fishing net, the relative abundance of the fish was classified in to four categories, namely: abundant (76-100% of the total catch), common (51-75% of the total catch), moderate (26-50% of the total catch) and rare (1-25% of the total catch). Fig 1: Location of Saralasagar Reservoir in Mahabubnagar District of Telangana, India Fig 2: Saralasagar Reservoir-which has the world 2 nd automatic gates. ~ 35 ~ Fig 3: Satellite image of Saralasagar Reservoir.

4 3. Results and Discussion During the present study a total of 33 species of primary freshwater fishes belonging to 13 families and 22 genera were recorded from the study sites of Saralasagar Reservoir. On the basis of percentage composition and species richness, order Cypriniformes was dominant (12 species) followed by Perciformes (9 species), Siluriformes (8 species), Osteoglossiformes, Beloniformes, Anguilliformes and Synbranchiformes (1 species each) (Table 2 and Chart 1). During the present investigation the Order-wise percentage composition is Cypriniformes (36.36%), Perciformes (27.27%), Siluriformes (24.24%), Anguilliformes (3.03%), Osteoglossiformes (3.03%), Beloniformes (3.03%) and Synbranchiformes (3.03%) (Table.2 & Chart.1). Table 2: Ichthyofaunal diversity of Saralasagar Reservoir in Mahabubnagar District Sl. No Species Local name (Telugu) Family *Abundance *IUCN status ORDER: Cypriniformes 1 Catla catla (Hamilton,1822) Botcha Cyprinidae A LC 2 Labeo rohita (Hamilton,1822) Rohu Cyprinidae A LC 3 Labeo calbasu (Hamilton,1822) Kaki paraka Cyprinidae R LC 4 Labeo boggut (Sykes,1841) - Cyprinidae R LC 5 Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton,1822) Merige Cyprinidae M VU 6 Cirrhinus reba (Hamilton,1822) Arju Cyprinidae R LC 7 Cyprinus carpio communis(linnaeus,1758) Bangaru teega Cyprinidae C VU 8 Ctenopharyngodon idellus(valenciennes,1844) Gaddi paraka Cyprinidae M NE 9 Puntius chola (Hamilton,1822) Budda paraka Cyprinidae C LC 10 Puntius ticto (Hamilton,1822) Budda paraka Cyprinidae C LC 11 Amblypharyngodon mola (Hamilton,1822) Bedisha Cyprinidae C LC 12 Osteobrama peninsularis (Silas,1952) - Cyprinidae R DD ORDER: Siluriformes 13 Mystus cavasius (Hamilton,1822) Thella- jella Bagridae A LC 14 Mystus seenghala (Sykes,1839) Nare-jella Bagridae M LC 15 Mystus aor (Hamilton,1822) Muulti-jella Bagridae M LC 16 Rita gogra (Sykes,1841) Banki yeddu Bagridae R LC 17 Rita chrysea (F.Day,1877) - Bagridae R LC 18 Ompok bimaculatus (Bloch,1794) Teduva Siluridae M NT 19 Clarius batrachus (Linnaeus,1758) Marpu Claridae M LC 20 Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch,1794) Inglikam Heteropneustidae R LC ORDER: Perciformes 21 Chanda nama(hamilton,1822) Gaju chepa Ambassidae C LC 22 Etroplus suratensis (Bloch,1794) Gangamma puste Cichlidae C LC 23 Oreochromis mossambica (Peters,1852) Duboche Cichlidae R NT 24 Oreochromis nilotica (Linnaeus,1758) Duboche Cichlidae A LC 25 Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton,1822) Isuka dondu Gobiidae R LC 26 Channa striatus (Bloch,1793) Korra-matta Channidae C LC 27 Channa punctatus (Bloch,1793) Burada-matta Channidae R LC 28 Channa marulius (Hamilton,1822) Poo-matta Channidae R LC 29 Channa gachua (Hamilton,1822) Kamse Channidae C LC ORDER: Anguilliformes 30 Anguilla bengalensis ( Gray,1834) Malugu Anguillidae R NT ORDER: Osteoglossiformes 31 Notopterus notopterus (Pallas,1769) Chappatta Notopteridae M LC ORDER: Beloniformes 32 Hyporhamphus limbatus (Valenciennes,1847) - Hemiramphidae M LC ORDER: Synbranchiformes 33 Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepede,1800) Pamu chepa Mastacembelidae R LC * A: Abundant; C: Common; M: Moderate; R: Rare; LC: Least Concern; NE: Not Evaluated; VU: Vulnerable; NT: Near Threatened; DD: Data Deficient. ~ 36 ~

5 The ichthyofaunal diversity of Saralasagar Rservoir comprises of 13 families namely Cyprinidae, Bagridae, Siluridae, Claridae, Heteropneustidae, Ambassidae, Cichlidae, Gobiidae, Channidae, Anguillidae, Notopteridae, Hemiramphidae and Mastacembelidae (Table 2. & Chart. 2).The sequence of dominance of encountered families is, Cyprinidae (36.36%) > Bagridae (15.15%) > Channidae (12.12%) > Cichlidae (9.09%) > Siluridae (3.03%) = Claridae (3.03%) =Heteropneustidae (3.03%) = Ambassidae (3%) = Gobiidae (3.03%) = Notopteridae (3.03%) = Hemiramphidae (3.03%) = Anguillidae (3.03%) = Mastacembelidae (3.03%) (Table.2 & Chart 2). Chart 1: Order wise fish species composition and dominance in Saralasagar Reservoir. Chart 2: Family-wise fish species composition and dominance in Saralasagar Reservoir. Fig 4: Catla catla Fig 5: Labeo rohita Fig 6: Cirrhinus mrigala ~ 37 ~ Fig 7: Labeo calbasu

6 Fig 8: Ctenopharyngodon idellus Fig 9: Ciprinus carpio communis Fig 10: Mystus cavasius Fig 11: Mystus seenghala Fig 12: Ompok bimaculatus Fig 13: Clarius batrachus Fig 14: Puntius chola Fig 15: Rita gogra ~ 38 ~

7 Fig 16: Etroplus suratensis Fig 17: Oreochromis nilotica Fig 18: Glossogobius giuris Fig 19: Notopterus notopterus Fig 20: Channa striatus Fig 21: Channa marulius The family Cyprinidae was the largest, most dominating and was represented by 12 species, Catla catla, Labeo rohita, L.calbasu, L. Boggut, Cirrhinus mrigala, C. reba, Cyprinus carpio communis, Ctenopharyngodon idellus, Puntius chola, P.ticto, Amblypharyngodon mola and Osteobrama peninsularis. Among these Cyprinids Catla catla and Labeo rohita were abundant, Cyprinus carpio communis, Puntius chola, P.ticto and Amblypharyngodon mola were common, Cirrhinus mrigala and Ctenopharyngodon idellus were moderate. Labeo calbasu, L.boggut, Cirrhinus Reba and Osteobama peninsularis were found rare. The family Bagridae was represented by 5 species, Mystus cavasius, M.seenghala, M.aor, Rita Gogra and R.chrysea. Among them Mystus cavasius was abundant, M.seenghala, M.aor were moderate and Rita species were found rare. The family Siluridae was represented by 1 species, Ompok ~ 39 ~ bimaculatus and was found moderate. The family Claridae was represented by 1 species, Clarius batrachus and was found moderate. The family Heteropneustidae was represented by 1 species, Heteropneustes fossilis and was found rare. The family Ambassidae was represented by 1 species, Chanda Nama which found common. The family Cichlidae was represented with 3 species, Etroplus suratensis, Oreochromis mossambica and O.nilotica, of which E.suratensis was found common, Oreochromis mossambica was rare and O.nilotica was abundant and heavy competitor here for Indian major carps. The family Gobiidae was represented by a single species, Glossogobius giuris and was found rare. The family Channidae was represented by 4 species, Channa striatus, C.punctatus, C.marulius and C.gachua, of which Channa striatus and C.gachua were found common and others are rare. The family Notopteridae was represented by 1 species,

8 Notopterus notopterus and was found moderate. The family Hemiramphidae was represented by 1 species, Hyporhamphus limbatus and was found moderate. The families Anguillidae and Mastacembelidae were also represented by a single species each, Anguilla bengalensis and Mastacembelus armatus respectively. Out of 33 fish species found in the Saralasagar Reservoir, 11 species belong to the carp group. The carps, Catla catlla, Labeo rohita, L.boggut, Cirrhinus mrigala, C.reba, Cyprinus carpio communis and Ctenopharyngodon idellus are highly commercial and economically important. Whereas the other carps Labeo calbasu, Puntius chola, P.ticto, Amblypharyngodon mola and Osteobrama peninsularis are commercially less important. Among the cat fishes, Mystus cavasius, Mystus seenghala and Mystus aor belonging to Bagridae are of high Economic importance, while Rita Gogra and R.chrysea belonging to Bagridae have less importance. Ompok bimaculatus belonging to family Siluridae, Clarius batrachus belonging to Claridae, Heteropneustes fossilis belonging to Heteropneustidae are also economically important. Among the murrels, Channa striatus and C.Marulius bears high economic importance while C. gachua and C. Punctatus have moderate Economic importance. Anguilla bengalensis and Mastacembelus armatus belonging to families Anguillidae and Mastacembelidae were also carry high Economic value. Notopterus notopterus belonging to Notopteridae, Etroplus suratensis, Oreochromis mossambica and O.nilotica belonging to Cichlidae have little Economic importance. Hyporhamphus limbatus belonging to Hemiramphidae is a valued commercial fish here in driedsalted and fresh forms. As the Saralasagar Reservoir is Rain fed as well as a River fed one, Riverine fauna like Mystus seenghala, Notopterus notopterus, Anguilla bengalensis, Mastacembelus armatus, Labeo calbasu etc occur very often as the Saralasagar Reservoir is majorly fed with Krishna River Water from Priyadarshini Jurala Project (PJP). Almost all the fish species present in this Reservoir are included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened species and most of them were given the least concern status, a few are near threatened, very few are vulnerable, one is data deficient and one is not evaluated. The alien species Oreochromis nilotica was the most predominating species and heavy competitor for Indian major carps in Saralasagar reservoir. In every 100 catches it constitutes about 30-35%. This may be due to the over exploitation of Indian Major Carps (IMC) and its prolific feeding and breeding behaviour. Oreochromis mossambica, which was given the Near Threatened (NT) status by the IUCN was also evident in Saralasagar Reservoir. Certain species like Rita chrysea which is common in Mahanadi River system was also evident in Saralasagar Reservoir. Thus, the Saralasagar Reservoir has good potential for fish fauna and significant in respect of its fish diversity. Many Researchers have reported the strong dominance of Cyprinidae family in their investigation on ichthyofaunal diversity. Reported 23 species belonging to seven orders where Cyprinidae was dominant with 11 species from Jawalgaon Reservoir of Solapur district in Maharashtra [14]. Reported 37 species from Issapur Dam in district Yavatmal where Cyprinidae family was dominant with 20 species [8]. Reported 18 species from Errukh Lake in Solapur district where Cyprinidae was dominant with 8 species [3]. Reported 22 species from Ramappa Lake in Warangal district in Andhrapradesh Cyprinidae was dominant with 9 species [16]. ~ 40 ~ Reported 30 species from Koilsagar Reservoir of Mahabubnagar district in Telangana Cyprinidae was dominant with 13 species [10]. Reported 109 species from Krishna River in Telangana Cyprinidae was dominant with 65 species [11]. 4. Conclusion The fish community in Reservoirs include the native and alien species, introduced for the purpose of fish production. The present study is the first ever documentation of ichthyofauna in the Saralasagar Reservoir of Mahabubnagar district in Telangana state. Invasive species like Tilapia are becoming a threat to the native Indian major carps here, this must be checked out. Over exploitation must be prevented by following a fishing holiday of about three months during the breeding season from July to September in order to allow the proper growth of fishes and mesh regulation in fishing is also an important factor. Sustainable fish production by taking appropriate steps for sustaining diversity is necessary to conserve these resources. 5. Acknowledgements We owe our sincere thanks to the Head, Department of Zoology and Principal, S.N. Vanitha Maha Vidyalaya, Hyderbad for providing the necessary Laboratory facilities for the identification and preservation of fish species. We are very much thankful to Dr. D.V. Rao, Scientist and Officer- in- Charge, Freshwater Biology Regional Centre ZSI, and Hyderabad, India for his help in the identification of certain fish species. We also express our sincere gratitude towards Dr. B. Laxmappa, Fisheries Development Officer for his generous help during the field visits. The cooperation provided by fishermen Rangaswamy, Shantaiah and field assistant Veeresham during the data collection is also greatly acknowledged. 6. References 1. Ansar A. Studies on fisheries of Jammulamma Reservoir, Gadwal, Mahabubnagar, Andhra Pradesh. 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