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Finfish diversity and seasonal abundance in the largest arid mangrove forest of the Indus Delta, Northern Arabian Sea

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Abstract

Finfish composition and seasonal abundance was studied in the world largest arid mangrove ecosystem of the Indus Delta, Pakistan. Sampling was done from February 2010 to July 2011 in a narrow creek with thick mangrove forest and in a wide creek with sporadic patches of mangrove forest along its banks. The sampling revealed 84 fish species, corresponding to 2,274 individuals in 60 genera and 29 families, weighing a total of 217 kg. A minimum of 8 species were recorded in December 2010 while a maximum of 32 species were recorded in April 2010 (average 21 ± 5.8). The most speciose families were the Mugilidae (9) followed bythe Sciaenidae (8) and the Ariidae (7), the remaining 26 families being represented by 1–5 species. The average sizes of 28 dominant species in the collection ranged from 76.9 to 284.6 mm (SL), consisting mostly of juveniles. Relative abundance (%) and relative biomass (%) of species was between 0.04 and 9.1 and 0.01–12.14, respectively. The Pearson correlation of 0.52 (r 2 0.27) was observed among the environmental parameters and found significant between temperature and dissolved oxygen (p < 0.03). The canonical correspondence analysis showed strong relationships of different salinity and temperature ranges with the diversity and biomass composition. The species occurrence frequency was 69% in the wide creek and 31% in the narrow creek. We conclude that the Indus Delta is a highly productive zone in terms of fish diversity, providing ideal habitat for a nursery rather than a fishing ground and propose it to be a marine protected area (MPA).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pakistan Museum of Natural History, Garden Avenue, Shakarparian, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Shabir Ali Amir & Rafaqat Masroor

  2. Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

    Pirzada Jamal A. Siddiqui

Authors
  1. Shabir Ali Amir
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  2. Pirzada Jamal A. Siddiqui
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  3. Rafaqat Masroor
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Correspondence to Shabir Ali Amir.

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Communicated by R. Thiel

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Amir, S.A., Siddiqui, P.J.A. & Masroor, R. Finfish diversity and seasonal abundance in the largest arid mangrove forest of the Indus Delta, Northern Arabian Sea. Mar Biodiv 48, 1369–1380 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-016-0613-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-016-0613-z

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