Ecological notes on fishes

Abstract

Lowe-McConnell (1969, 1975) has reviewed the ecology of tropical freshwater fishes in relation to their great diversity, mechanisms of speciation and the ability of so many species to co-exist. However, most of the information discussed is from Africa and South America. Most of the studies on freshwater fishes in Asia have been taxonomic with little ecological information. Only two comprehensive ecological studies on Malaysian freshwater fishes have been published since 1962. Inger and Chin ( 1962) have given a comprehensive account of the ecology of riverine fishes in Sabah, East Malaysia, while Johnson (1967b) conducted an extensive survey of the distribution and community composition of freshwater fishes in Peninsular Malaysia in relation to water chemistry. However, a large area of the central region of Peninsular Malaysia, where Tasek Bera lies, was not studied. Recently Bishop (1973) in an intensive limnological survey of a small Malaysian river, the Sungai Gombak, included a chapter on the ecology of fishes. This included community structure, longitudinal succession, feeding segregation, diversity and annual productivity of the fish community. This section deals with some aspects of the ecology and behaviour of the fishes in Tasek Bera.