Abstract
The Ganges is one of the largest riverine ecosystem of India which supports diverse aquatic biodiversity in comparison to other aquatic ecosystems. The endemic fish species richness has significantly contributed to the eco-biocoenosis of Ganges riverine ecosystem. The main purpose of the current research was to assess the assemblage structure of endemic fish fauna in the river Ganges and its correlation towards the major water quality parameters. Collection of endemic fish species and important water quality parameters from eight sampling zones of river Ganges were done for the period of two years from September 2017 to August 2019. Fish diversity status was assessed by software PAST (version 3.0). The results of the current experimental research work evidently showed that Ganges riverine system offers the natural habitat of 31 fish species. Cyprinidae was the most dominant family followed by Balitoridae, Sisoridae, Schilbidae, Mastacembelidae, Salmonidae. Several physico-chemical parameters i.e. Water velocity, depth, water temperature, turbidity and dissolved oxygen subsidized as key significant environmental factors which directly and indirectly influence the diversity, species richness and distribution of fish population in the Ganges riverine ecosystem.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Tare, V., Yadav, A. V. S and Bose, P.: Analysis of Photosynthetic Activity in the Most Polluted Stretch of River Ganga. Water Research, 37(2003) 67–77.
Nautiyal, P., Agarwal, N. K. and Singh, H. R.: Certain abiotic components of the fluvial system and their interrelationships as evidenced by statistical evaluation. In: Advances in Limnology, edited by HR Singh, Narendra Publishing House, Delhi. (1993). pp. 181–186.
Malik, D.S., Sharma, A.K. and Bargali, H.: Status of phytoplankton diversity in relation to water quality of Bhagirathi riverine system in Garhwal Himalaya. International Journal of Advanced Science and Research, 3(1) (2018). 30–37.
Das, M. K.: Environment and fish health: a holistic assessment of Inland fisheries in India. In: Goswami UC (ed) Natural and anthropogenic hazards on fish and fisheries. Narendra Publishing House, Delhi, (2007) pp 137–151
Lakra, W. S., Sarkar, U. K., Gopalakrishnan, A. and Pandian, A. K.: Threatened freshwater fishes of India. NBFGR publication, Lucknow. (2010).
Hossain, M. S. Das, N. G. and Chowdhury, M. S. N. Fisheries Management of the Naaf River Chittagong, Coastal and Ocean Research Group of Bangladesh, (2007) 257 pp.
Payne, A. I., Sinha, R. K., Singh, H. R. and Haq, S.: A review of the Ganges Basin: its fish and fisheries. In: Welcomme RL, Peter T (eds) Proceedings of the second international symposium on the management of large rivers for Fisheries, vol 1, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand, (2004) pp 229–251
Hamilton, F.: An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges and its branches. Edinburgh and London. (1822).
Malik, D. S.: Population dynamics and conservation management of Himalayan mahseer (Tor species) in riverine aquatic ecosystem in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand (India). Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 3(1) (2011) 9–101.
Sarkar, U. K., Gupta, B. K. and Lakra, W. S.: Biodiversity, ecohydrology, threat status and conservation priority of the freshwater fishes of river Gomti, a tributary of river Ganga(India). Environmentalist, 30(1) (2010) 3–17.
Sinha, R. K.: The Ganges river dolphin Platanista gangetica. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society, 103(2006) 254–263.
Malik, D. S., Sharma, M. K., Sharma, A. K., Kamboj, V. and Sharma, A. K.: Anthropogenic influence on water quality and phytoplankton diversity of upper Ganga basin: A case study of Ganga River and its major tributaries. World Water Policy, 07 (2021) 88–111.
Day, F.: The Fishes of India: Being a Natural History of the Fishes known to inhabit the Seas and Fresh water of India, Burma and Ceylon. William Dawson & Sons Ltd., London. (1876) 778p.
Talwar, P. K. and Jhingran, A. G. Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries (Vol. 1 & 2). Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., Calcutta. (1991) 1158p.
Shannon, C. E. and Weaver, W. The mathematical Theory of Communication, University of Illinois Press, Urbana, USA. (1949).
Tyagi, D. and Malik, D. S. Status of phytoplankton diversity and biomass in relation to productivity of Ramganga reservoir at Kalagarh (Uttarakhand). International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 5(3) (2017) 430–434.
Khanna, D. R., Bhutiani, R., Matta, G., Singh, V. and Ishaq, F.: Physico-chemical and microbiological status of River Asan in Dehradun Uttarakhand. Environment Conservation Journal, 13(1&2) (2012) 145–150.
Khanna, D. R., Bhutiani, R. and Mukesh, R.: Fish Diversity and Their Limnological Status of Ganga River System in Foothills of Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Journal of Environmental Research and Development, 7(4) (2013) 1374–1380.
FMEnv.: National Environmental (Surface and Groundwater Quality Control) Regulations, S.I. No. 22, Gazette no. 49, vol. 98. Abuja: Federal Ministry of Environment. (2011).
Halim, M. A., Sharmin, S., Rahman, H. M. H., Haque, M. M., Rahman, M. S. and Islam, M. S.: Assessment of water quality parameters in baor environment, Bangladesh: A review. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 6(2) (2018) 263–269.
Kamboj, V. and Kamboj, N.: Spatial and temporal variation of zooplankton assemblage in the mining-impacted stretch of Ganga River, Uttarakhand, India. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(2020) 27135–27146.
Malik, D. S., Sharma, A. K. and Sharma, A. K. Current Status of Microbenthic Diversity And their Habitat Ecology in River Ganga and its Tributaries, Uttarakhand. Journal of Experimental Zoology, India, 23(2) (2020) 1413–1420.
Kale, V. S.: Consequence of temperature, pH, turbidity and dissolved oxygen water quality parameters. International Advanced Research Journal in Science, Engineering and Technology, 3(8) (2016) 186–190.
Malik, D. S., Sharma, A. K. and Sharma, A. K.: Status of Zooplankton Diversity, Abundance in Relation to Hydrography of Ganga River and its Tributaries at Rishikesh. Indian Journal of Ecology, 47(3) (2020) 739–745.
Sharma, A. K., Malik, D. S. and Bargali, H.: Present status of fish diversity and population abundance of selected fish species in Bhagirathi river at Uttarakhand. International journal of creative research thoughts, 6 (1) (2018) 432–438.
Kamboj, V., Kamboj, N. and Sharma, A. K.: A review on general characteristics, classification and degradation of river systems. In: Environmental Degradation: Causes and Remediation Strategies, Volume 1, Eds. Kumar, V., Singh, J. and Kumar, P., (2020). pp. 47–62.
Kumar, V, Malik, D. S. and Sharma, A. K.: Study on Distribution Pattern of Benthic Diversity in Relation to Water Quality of River Ganga And Its Tributaries., Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, 5(5) (2018) 88–103.
Nwankwo, C., Mohammed, A., Ikyereve, R. E. and Dawari, B. K.: The Impact of Human Water Exploitation on Physico-Chemical Characteristic of Mmubete River in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. International Journal of Science and Technology, 3(5) (2014) 292–297.
Agarwal, N. K, Singh, G., Singh, H.: Present status of Ichthyofaunal diversity of Garhwal Himalayan river Bhilangana and its tributaries with reference to changing environment. Environment Conservation Journal, 12(3) (2011) 101–108.
Sharma, A. K., Malik, D. S. and Tyagi, D.: Food and feeding habits of Tor tor (Hamilton, 1822) and Schizothorox richordsonii (Gray, 1832) inhibiting Bhagirathi river, Tehri Garhwal, India. International journal of Science and Nature, 10(1) (2019) 97–103.
Keskin, C. and Unsal, N.: The Fish Fauna of Gokceada Island, NE Aegean Sea, Turkey. Italian Journal of Zoology, 65(1998) 299–302.
Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to Department of Zoology and Environmental Science, Gurukula Kangri (Deemed to be University) Haridwar” for providing the laboratory facilities. The authors also acknowledge to the local fishermen for their helps in fish sampling during the study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Malik, D.S. et al. (2022). Anthropogenic Impact on Fish Faunal Diversity and Their Habitat Ecology in the Ganga River and Its Tributaries, Uttarakhand. In: Bahukhandi, K.D., Kamboj, N., Kamboj, V. (eds) Environmental Pollution and Natural Resource Management . Springer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05335-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05335-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-05334-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-05335-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)