Abstract
Most parts of the Adyar wetland complex—Chembarampakkam Tank, Adyar River, Adyar Estuary and Adyar backwater (including a wetland rehabilitation site)-—were sampled for ichthyofaunal diversity from March 2007 to June 2011. A total of 3,732 specimens were collected and 98 taxa were identified. Twenty-two new records are reported from the estuarine reach. Forty-nine species were recorded at Chembarampakkam Tank. In the upriver stretch 42 species were recorded. In the middle stretch 25 species were encountered. In the lower stretch only five species were recorded. This lack of diversity in the lower stretch of the river can be directly linked to pollution, especially the lower reaches from Nandambakkam Bridge to Kotturpuram which exhibit anoxic conditions for most of the year. In brackish, saline and marginal waters of the estuarine reach 66 species were recorded, of which 47 occurred in the estuary proper, 34 at the point of confluence with the Bay of Bengal and 20 in the backwater which forms the creek. At the rehabilitation site, popularly referred to as the Adyar Eco Park, which is the westernmost region of the backwater, 28 species were recorded in 2011 which is a sharp increase from just four in 2007 when the area was an environmental disaster. A significant finding was Mystus cf. gulio which showed a marked morphometric difference concerning its maxillary barbels and efforts are on to discern its taxonomic status.
Highlights
Most parts of the Adyar wetland complex—Chembarampakkam Tank, Adyar River, Adyar Estuary and Adyar backwater—were sampled for ichthyofaunal diversity from March 2007 to June 2011
An ‘Adyar Poonga Ecological Restoration Plan’, popularly referred to as the ‘Master Plan’, for the rehabilitation of a part of the Adyar Creek was submitted which contained information of species encountered on the proposed site (Anonymous 2007) and this was followed by a survey of parts of the Adyar Wetland complex (Ramanujam et al 2008, 2010)
Forty-nine species occurred in Chembarampakkam Tank, 22 in the upriver stretch from Chembarampakkam to Nandambakkam and four in the downriver stretch from Nandambakkam to Kotturpuram [the four species were Puntius chola, Mystus cf. gulio, Oreochromis mossambica and Anabas testudineus]
Summary
Records that are unique to this survey. Ichthyofaunal constituents of two areas of the Adyar wetland complex have been documented: the Adyar Estuary (Raj 1916; Panikkar & Aiyar 1937; Anon 1950; Evangeline 1967b; Nammalwar 1982) and one source of the river at Chembarampakkam (Ragunathan 1978; Daniels & Rajagopal 2004). An ‘Adyar Poonga Ecological Restoration Plan’, popularly referred to as the ‘Master Plan’, for the rehabilitation of a part of the Adyar Creek was submitted which contained information of species encountered on the proposed site (Anonymous 2007) and this was followed by a survey of parts of the Adyar Wetland complex (Ramanujam et al 2008, 2010) This allows for further comparative analysis and it is possible to report on colonisation processes at the rehabilitation site. In February 2008 the Government of Tamil Nadu’s proposal to develop an eco-park and rehabilitate the wetland was accorded permission by the Madras High Court and the ‘Adyar Poonga Ecological Restoration Plan’ was put into operation This included clearing of thousands of tonnes of rubble, stopping pollution entering the site, elimination of alien invasive Prosopis juliflora and Eichhoria crassipes, planting of mangroves and other suitable coastal vegetation, etc. This is a consolidated report of all three phases—i.e., from March 2007 to June 2011, a period of four years and three months
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