Ichthyofaunal Diversity in Jia Bharali River of North bank Landscape of Assam in Eastern Himalaya, Northeast India

Abstract

Ichthyofaunal diversity in Jia Bharali River of Assam, Northeast India, has been carried out from September 2018 to March 2021. The study emphasized the documentation of fish faunal diversity in relation to water parameters of previously undocumented ecological pockets of Himalayan foothill zones of north-bank landscapes of Assam. Study revealed altogether 69 fish species belonging to 6 orders and 20 families in Jia Bharali River. Cypriniformes was the most dominant (42 species) order followed by Siluriformes (14 species), Perciformes (8 species), Synbranchiformes (3 species), whereas, Beloniformes and Clupeiformes support one species each. The highest species diversity was found in Site-1 (H’ = 3.76) whereas, in terms of seasons, the highest species diversity was found in retreating monsoon (H’ = 3.80). Among the 69 species of fish, 56 species (81.16%) were IUCN categorized as Least Concern, 6 were Not Evaluated (8.7%), two species were Near Threatened (2.90%), three were Data Deficient (4.34%), and one species each was Endangered (1.45%) and Vulnerable (1.45%) respectively. Analysis of the relationships between water parameters and ichthyofaunal diversity showed a positive correlation between increasing dissolved oxygen and species richness. Water temperature and pH showed a positive correlation with species abundance in the study area.