Int. Jr. Bioinformatic and Biological Sci. : v.2 n.3 and 4, p. 135-144. Dec. 2014

DOI No. 10.5958/2321-7111.2014.00011.0

Heterogeneity in habitat use of three threatened

freshwater catfishes (Siluridae: Siluriformes) in five

major tropical rivers of India

Abhishek Kr. Malakar 1 * , Pallavi 1 , Vineet Kr. Dubey 1 , Karan V. Singh 2 ,

Wazir S. Lakra 3 and R. M. Mishra 4

1 National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Canal Ring Road, Lucknow 226002, Uttar

Pradesh, India.

2 National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Makrampur Campus, Karnal-132001,

Haryana, India.

3 Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Versova, Andheri (W), Mumbai 400061, India.

4 Awadhesh Pratap Singh University, Rewa 486003, Madhya Pradesh, India.

*Corresponding author: abhishekmalakar@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

To identify the priority habitats of the threatened catfishes of the genus Ompok

viz. Ompok pabda, O. pabo and O. bimaculatus in India the effects of habitat

variables on the structure of fish assemblage were evaluated from 40 sampling

sites located in Tones, Gomti, Ganga, Bramhaputra and Hoogly Rivers.

Canonical correspondence analyses were carried out to determine the influence of

environmental conditions on species occurrences and assemblage characteristics.

The microhabitat, hydromorphological parameters (depth and current velocity)

followed by conductivity, temperature and total dissolve solid (TDS) were found

to be significant in structuring the assemblage of the three catfishes. Fast water

with shallow depth in different rivers was significantly associated with occurrence

of O. pabda whereas slow water and higher depth were significantly associated

with O. bimaculatus. Some other environmental parameters such as conductivity,

TDS and pH were also found to be significant in shaping the habitat preference of

the Ompok species studied. Our results depicted the importance of environment

influences on the Ompok species which are of conservation and management

interest.

Keywords: Ompok species, Habitat, Aquatic Biodiversity, Riverine System

Freshwater ecosystems have frequently been cited as the most altered and

threatened habitats by human activities (Dudgeon, 1992). Disturbance to physical

habitat and water quality have resulted in fish assemblage shifts, decreased native

species diversity, community homogenization, range reduction and extinction

(Gorman and Karr, 1978; Rabeni and Smale, 1995; Jones et al., 1999; Marchetti