Phenotypic Variations Among Three Populations of Chirruh Snowtrout, Schizothorax esocinus (Heckel, 1838) in Kashmir Himalaya with Insights from Truss Network System

Abstract

In the present study the intraspecific variation of Chirruh snowtrout, Schizothorax esocinus was investigated on the basis of morphometric characters using the truss network system that was constructed from the fish body. Altogether, 287 fish samples were collected from two rivers and one lake in Kashmir Himalaya. Data were subjected to principal component analysis, discriminant function analysis and univariate analysis of variance. The first principal component explained 68.40 % of total variation while second and third components explained 7.30 and 4.81 % respectively. The step-wise discriminant function analysis retained two variables that significantly discriminated the populations. Using these variables 85.1 % of the original groups were classified into their correct samples and 80.1 % of the cross-validated groups following omitting one procedure were classified into their correct samples. Of the total 31 transformed truss measurements only 28 showed significant (P < 0.05) difference among the populations. The findings of this study indicated the presence of different stocks of S. esocinus from different water bodies of Kashmir Himalaya.