Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Fish assemblage pattern, seasonality and their interaction with environmental variables: insights from canals of Sundarbans, India

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Tropical Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In the present study, the fish distribution and assemblage pattern in relation to environmental variables were studied in the canals of Indian Sundarbans. The Permutational analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) depicted the significant variation of water variables between the seasons (F = 10.40; p = 0.001), and stations (F = 1.96; p = 0.011). A total of 44 species belonging to 39 genera, 30 families and 16 orders were recorded with Cyprinidae (6 species) as the apex contributor. Significant temporal variations of fish Species Richness per sample (SRp) (p ≤ 0.05) were observed between pre-monsoon and monsoon season. By and large, fish assemblages did not portray the significant seasonal variation hinted towards the limited connectivity with tidal water through the sluice gate, thereby minimizing the movement of fish species between the canal and river. The fish assemblages pattern exhibited an overall 30% similarity among all the stations. The calculated value of Margalef richness (dʹ) and Shannon diversity (Hʹ) indices (4.42 ± 0.84 and 2.62 ± 0.18 for dʹ and Hʹ, respectively) indicating a moderate fish diversity in the canal system. The water variables such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, specific conductivity, transparency, depth and water flow play important role in structuring the fish assemblages in the studied canals which were evident from the BIO-ENV module, and the distance-based redundancy analysis (db-RDA). Meagre seasonal variation of fish populations related to variations in species-specific adaptation to the prevalent ecological conditions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anon (2003) Fisheries in irrigation systems of Arid Asia, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper No. 430. Rome, pp 150

  • Anon (2021) ICAR-NBFGR & The Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT (2019–2020). Inland Aquatic Resources of India and the Ecosystem Services Management: Status, Issues and some Policy Suggestions, pp 1−32

  • Ansari ZA, Chatterjee A, Ingole BS, Sreepada RA, Rivonkar CV, Parulekar AH (1995) Community structure and seasonal variation of an inshore demersal fish community of Goa, West Coast of India. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 41:593–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • APHA (2012) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. In: Rice EW, Baird RB, Eaton AD, Clesceri LS (eds) American Public Health Association (APHA), American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Water Environment Federation (WEF), 22nd edition, Washington, D.C., USA

  • Ayyappan S, Jena JK, Gopalakrishnan A, Pandey AK (2011) Handbook of fisheries and aquaculture, 2nd revised edition, Directorate of Information and Publications on Agriculture Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, 2011, pp 755

  • Basu A, Dutta D, Banerjee S (2012) Indigenous ornamental fishes of West Bengal. Recent Res Sci Technol 4(11):12–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Becker A, Laurenson LJB (2008) Presence of fish on the shallow flooded margins of a small intermittently open estuary in South Eastern Australia under variable flooding regimes. Estuar Coast 31:43–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhattacharya M, Kar A, Chini DS, Malick RC, Patra BC, Das BK (2018) Multi-cluster analysis of Crabs and Ichthyofaunal Diversity in relation to habitat distribution at Tropical Mangrove ecosystem of the Indian Sundarbans. Reg Stud Mar Sci 24:203–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2018.08.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blaber SJM (2008) Tropical estuarine fishes: ecology, exploration and conservation. John Wiley & Sons

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaber SJM, Cyrus DP, Albaret JJ, Chong VC, Day JW, Elliott M, Fonseca MS, Hoss DE, Oresanz J, Potter IC, Silver W (2000) Effects of fishing on the structure and functioning of estuarine and near shore ecosystem. ICES J Mar Sci 57:590–602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bose T, Baguli TK, Ghosh AK, Naskar KR (1999) A review of shell fish and fin fish species from the brackish water fisheries of the Sundarbans and their impact on the mangrove ecology. In: Guha Bakshi DN, Sanyal P, Naskar KR (eds) Sundarbans Mangal. Naya Prakash, Calcutta, pp 539–547

    Google Scholar 

  • Chowdhury MSN, Hossain MS, Das NG, Barua P (2011) Environmental variables and fisheries diversity of the Naaf River Estuary, Bangladesh. J Coast Conserv 15:163–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke KR, Gorley RN (2006) PRIMER v6: User manual/tutorial, PRIMER-E, Plymouth, pp 192

  • Daget J (1976) La production de poisson de consummation dansles ecosystem irrigues. In: Worthngton EB (ed) Arid land irrigation in developing countries-environmental problems and effects. Pergamon Press, pp 295–301

    Google Scholar 

  • Das BK, Roy A, Parida PK (2019) Livelihoods improvement of tribal fishers through inland open water fisheries management. In: Barat A, Kumar R, Siddaiah GM, Sivaraman I, Mahapatra BC, Pillai BR (eds) Souvenir - Cum - Extended Abstracts. In: National Workshop on "Aquaculture as a Livelihood Option for Tribal Farmers of India". ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater aquaculture, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. pp 130

  • Das Sarkar S, Naskar M, Gogoi P, Raman RK, Manna RK, Samanta S, Mohanty BP, Das BK (2019) Impact assessment of barge trafficking on phytoplankton abundance and Chl a concentration, in River Ganga. India. Plos One 14(9):e0221451

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Silva SS, Abery NW, Nguyen TTT (2007) Endemic freshwater finfish of Asia: distribution and conservation status. Divers Distrib 13:172–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dubey SK, Trivedi RK, Rout SK, Chand BK, Choudhury A (2014) Median lethal salinity (MLS 96 h) of two small indigenous fish species Amblypharyngodon mola and Pethia ticto from Indian Sundarban. J Aquac Res Dev 5:249. https://doi.org/10.4172/2155-9546.1000249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dubey SK, Trivedi RK, Chand BK (2015) Indigenous freshwater piscine resources of Indian Sundarban biosphere reserve: status and prospects. World J Fish Mar Sci 7(1):21–28. https://doi.org/10.5829/idosi.wjfms.2015.7.1.92103

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dubey SK, Chand BK, Trivedi RK, Mandal B, Rout SK (2016) Evaluation on the prevailing aquaculture practices in the Indian Sundarban delta: an insight analysis. J Food Agric Environ 14(2):133–141

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eschmeyer WN, Fricke R, van der Laan R (2021) Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp. Accessed 12 May 2016

  • Felts RA, Rajts F, Akhteruzzaman M (1996) Small Indigenous Fish Species culture in Bangladesh. Development of Inland Fisheries Technical Brief. IFADP. Sub project 2, pp 41

  • Flores-Verdugo F, González-Farías F, Ramírez-Flores O, Amezcua- Linares F, Yánez-Arancibia A, Alvarez-Rubio M, Day JW (1990) Mangrove ecology, aquatic primary productivity, and fish community dynamics in the Teacapán-Agua Brava lagoon estuarine system (Mexican Pacific). Estuaries 13:219–230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser TH (1997) Abundance, seasonality, community indices, trends and relationships with physicochemical factors of trawled fish in upper Charlotte Harbor, Florida. Bull Mar Sci 60:739–763

    Google Scholar 

  • Friedlandern AM, Parrish JD (1998) Habitat characteristics affecting fish assemblages on a Hawaiian coral reef. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 24:1–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froese R, Pauly D (2021) FishBase. www.fishbase.org. Accessed 01 May 2021

  • Gelwick F, Akin S, Arrington D, Winemiller K (2001) Fish assemblage structure in relation to environmental variation in a Texas Gulf Coastal Wetland. Estuaries 24(2):285–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gogoi P, Sinha A, Das Sarkar S, Chanu TN, Yadav AK, Koushlesh SK, Borah S, Das SK, Das BK (2019) Seasonal influence of physico-chemical parameters on phytoplankton diversity and assemblage pattern in Kailash Khal, a tropical wetland, Sundarbans, India. Appl Water Sci 9:156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-019-1034-5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gogoi P, Das SK, Das Sarkar S, Chanu TN, Manna RK, Sengupta A, Raman RK, Samanta S, Das BK (2020) Environmental factors driving phytoplankton assemblage pattern and diversity: insights from Sundarban eco-region. Ecohydrol Hydrobiol 21(2):354–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecohyd.2020.09.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta S, Dubey SK, Trivedi RK, Chand BK, Banerjee S (2016) Indigenous ornamental freshwater ichthyofauna of the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve, India: Status and prospects. J Threat Taxa 8(9):9144–9154. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.1888.8.9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gupta S, Banerjee S (2013) Indigenous Ornamental Fish Resources of West Bengal. Lap Lambert Academic Publishing, pp 172

  • Haldna M, Milius A, Laugaste R, Kangur K (2008) Nutrients and phytoplankton in Lake Peipsi during two periods that differed in water level and temperature. Hydrobiologia 599:3–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Harikrishnan K, Sabu T, Sanil G, Paul M, Sathish M, Das MR (1999) A Study on the distribution and ecology of phytoplankton in the Kuttanad wetland ecosystem, Kerala, India. Pollut Res 18(3):261–269

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison TD, Whitfield AK (2006) Estuarine typology and the structuring of fish communities in South Africa. Environ Biol Fish 75:269–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-0028-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt ML, Kovacs TG, Dube MG, Mac Latchy DL, Martel PHM, McMaster ME, Paice MG, Parrott JL, Van den Heuvel MR, Van der Kraak GJ (2008) Altered reproduction in fish exposed to pulp and paper mill effluents: roles of individual compounds and mill operating conditions. Environ Toxicol Chem 27:682–697

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hossain MA, Afsana K, Azad AKM (1999) Nutritional value of some small Indigenous Fish Species (SIS) of Bangladesh. Bangladesh J Fish 3(1):16–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Ingole SB, Naik SR, Kadam G (2010) Study of phytoplankton of freshwater reservoir at Majalgaon on Sindphana river district Beed (MS). Int Res J 1(13):87–88

    Google Scholar 

  • IUCN (2011) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. www.iucnredlist.orgj.15231739.2008.00953.x.

  • James NC, Cowley PD, Whitfield AK, Lamberth SJ (2007) Fish communities in temporarily open/closed estuaries from warm and cool-temperate regions of South Africa: a review. Rev Fish Biol Fish 17:565–580

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jayaram KC (1999) The Freshwater Fishes of the Indian Region. Narendra Publishing House, New Delhi, p 551

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayaram KC (1981) The freshwater fishes of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Sri Lanka: A Hand Book. Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta. pp 4775

  • Khan MG (1994) Present status and future plan for sustainable marine resources development. In: Paper presented at the seminar on sustainable development of marine fisheries resources in Bangladesh, held during Aug 29–30, 1994 at Fisheries Research Institute, FRI/UNDP, Bangladesh, p 21

  • Kottelat M (1984) Zoogeography of the fishes from Indochinese inland waters with an annotated checklist. Bull Zool Museum Univ Amsterdam 12:1–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar MA, Venu S, Padmavati G (2016) Habitat ecology and ichthyofaunal diversity of two creeks and their associated streams from Port Blair, South Andaman Islands. Int J Ecol 2016:1649368. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1649368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar L, Kumari K, Gogoi P, Manna RK, Roshith CM, Mol S, Kumar VME, Suresh VR, Das BK (2020) Risk analysis of non-native three-spot cichlid, Amphilophus trimaculatus, in the River Cauvery (India). Fish Manag Ecol 28(2):158–166. https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12467

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lakra WS, Sarkar UK, Kumar RS, Pandey A, Dubey VK, Gosain OP (2010) Fish diversity, habitat ecology and their conservation and management issues of a tropical River in Ganga basin, India. Environmentalist 30:306–319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-010-9277-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maltby E (2013) Waterlogged wealth: why waste the world’s wet places?, 1st edn. Routledge, England

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Mandal FB, Nandi NC (2015) Loss of small indigenous fish species in India: a case of concern. J Environ Sociobiol 12(1):35–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandal B, Mukherjee A, Banerjee S (2013) A review on the ichthyofaunal diversity in mangrove-based estuary of Sundarbans. Rev Fish Biol Fish 23:365–374. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-012-9300-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margalef DR (1958) Information Theory in Ecology. Gen Syst 3:36–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Minns CK (1989) Factors affecting fish species richness in Ontaria Lake. Trans Am Fish Soc 118:533–545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mohanty BP, Pati MK, Bhattacharjee S, Hajra A, Sharma AP (2013) Small indigenous fishes and their importance in human health. Adv Fish Res 5:257–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Molina A, Duque G, Cogua P (2020) Influences of environmental conditions in the fish assemblage structure of a tropical estuary. Mar Biodivers 50(1):5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mukharjee KN (1983) Nature and problems of neoreclamation in the Sundarbans. Indian J Landsc Syst Ecol Stud 6:1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Mukharjee M (2016) The concept of mixed mangrove forest farming system for poverty alleviation and mangrove restoration in Sundarban. http://fishadapt.com/publiations/presentations/mukharjee.pdf

  • Mukherjee S, Chaudhury A, Kundu N, Mitra S, Homechaudhury S (2013) Comprehensive Analysis of Fish Assemblages in Relation to Seasonal Environmental Variables in an Estuarine River of Indian Sundarbans. Estuar Coast 36:192–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-012-9558-z

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nagelkerken I, van der Velde G (2004) A comparison of fish communities of subtidal seagrass beds and sandy reaches in 13 marine embayments of a Caribbean Island based on species, families, size distribution and functional groups. J Sea Res 52:127–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nair NB, Arunachalam M, Madhusoodanan NKC, Suryanarayanan H (1989) Seasonal variation and species diversity of fishes in the Neyyer River of the Western Ghats. Trop Ecol 30(1):69–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Nandi NC, Das SR, Bhuinya S, Dasgupta JM (1993) Wetland Faunal resources of West Bengal. I. North and South 24-Parganas Districts. Records of Zoological Survey of India, Occasional paper no. 150. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, pp 50

  • NBFGR (2010) Threatened freshwater fishes of India, ICAR-NBFGR. ISBN: 978-81-905540-5-3

  • Nelson JS, Grande TC, Wilson MV (2016) Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nsor CA, Obodai EA (2016) Environmental determinants influencing fish community structure and diversity in two distinct seasons among wetlands of northern region (Ghana). Int J Ecol 2016:1598701. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1598701

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peres-Neto PR (2004) Patterns in the co-occurrence of stream fish metacommunties: the role of site suitability, morphology and phylogeny versus species interactions. Oecologia 140:352–360

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pielou EC (1977) Mathematical ecology. John Wiley & Sons, New York, p 385

    Google Scholar 

  • Pillay TVR (1967) Estuarine fisheries of the Indian Ocean coastal zone. Estuaries, Publn. No. 83. American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington D.C. pp 646–657

  • Pombo L, Elliott M, Rebelo JE (2005) Environmental influences on fish assemblage distribution of an estuarine coastal lagoon, Ria de Aveiro (Portugal). Sci Mar 69(1):143–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Potter IC, Hyndes GA (1999) Characteristics of the ichthyofauna and Southwestern Australian estuaries including comparisons with holarctic estuaries and estuaries elsewhere in temperate Australia: a review. Aust J Ecol 24:395–421

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar UK, Lakra WS (2010) Small indigenous freshwater fish species of India: significance, conservation and utilization. Aquac Asia 15:34–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar UK, Bakshi S, Lianthuamluaia L, Mishal P, Ghosh BD, Saha S, Karnatak G (2020) Understanding enviro-climatological impact on fish biodiversity of the tropical floodplain wetlands for their sustainable management. Sustainable Water Resources Management 6(5):1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarkar UK (2010) Diversity and Conservation of Small Indigenous Freshwater Fish Species of India. In: ICSF (International Collective in Support of Fish workers) and IFSI (Inland Fisheries Society of India). Small Indigenous Freshwater Fish Species: Their Role in Poverty Alleviation, Food Security and Conservation of Biodiversity. ICSF, Chennai, India.

  • Schlacher TA, Woodridge TH (1996) Ecological responses to reductions in freshwater supply and quality in South Africa’s estuaries: Lessons for management and conservations. J Coast Conserv 2:115–130

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shahnawaz A, Venkateshwarlu M, Somashekar DS, Santosh K (2010) Fish diversity with relation to water quality of Bhadra River of Western Ghats (India). Environ Monit Assess 161:83–91

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shannon CE, Weinner W (1949) The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois. pp 125

  • Simpson EH (1949) Measurement of diversity. Nature 163:688

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh AK, Lakra WS (2011) Risk and benefit assessment of alien fish species of aquaculture and aquarium trade in India. Rev Aquac 3:3–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith CL (1978) Coral reef area and the contribution of reefs to processes and resources of the world’s oceans. Nature 273:225–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smyth K, Elliott M (2016) Effects of changing salinity on the ecology of the marine environment. In: Book: Stressors in the Marine Environment, pp 161−174

  • Strickland JDH, Parsons TR (1972) A practical handbook of seawater analysis. Bull Fish Res Bd Canada 167−311

  • Strydom NA, Whitfield AK, Paterson AW (2002) The influence of altered freshwater flow regimes on larval and juvenile Gilchristella aestuaria (Pisces: Clupeidae) abundance in upper reaches of two South African estuaries. Mar Freshw Res 53:431–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talwar PK, Jhingran AG (1991) Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Vol-1 and Vol-2. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta, pp 1063

  • Tarplee, WH Jnr, Louder, DE, Weber, AJ (1971) Evaluation of the effects of channelization on fish populations in North Carolina’s coastal plain streams. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Internal Report. pp 13

  • Villar CC, Spach HL, Joyeus JC (2011) Spatial and temporal changes in the fish assemblage of a subtropical estuary in Brazil: environmental effects. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 91(3):635–648

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warwick RM, Clarke KR, Somerfield PJ (2008) k - Dominance Curves. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-008045405-4.00114-2

  • Whitfield AK, Patterson AW (2003) Distribution patterns of fishes in freshwater deprived Eastern Cape estuary with particular emphasis on geographical head water region. Water S A 29(1):61–67

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Analysis of physicochemical parameters by technical staffs (Mr. Subhendu Mandal, T. O. and Mr. Arunava Mitra, T. O.) and the other staffs associated with the project is duly acknowledged. The authors also acknowledged to Mr. Lohith Kumar, K., Scientist, ICAR-CIFRI, Barrackpore for preparation of map of the study area in the QGIS platform. We express our thanks to people around the Bhetkimari and Bishalakhi canal, Sundarbans for their constant assistance during sampling.

Funding

Authors are grateful to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi for financial support to carry out the research work under the Institutional project ‘Exploration of Canals Resources of Punjab and Sundarbans for fisheries development (REF/17-20/08)’.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR, Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute Kolkata Centre, CGO complex, Sector I, Salt Lake City, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700064, India

    Pranab Gogoi & Archana Sinha

  2. ICAR, Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700120, India

    Thangjam Nirupada Chanu, Mitesh H. Ramteke, Tasso Tayung, Aparna Roy & Basanta Kumar Das

Authors
  1. Pranab Gogoi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thangjam Nirupada Chanu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Archana Sinha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mitesh H. Ramteke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Tasso Tayung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Aparna Roy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Basanta Kumar Das
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

PG: Sample collection, taxonomic identification, statistical analysis, interpretation of data, manuscript preparation; TNC: Interpretation of results and manuscript preparation; Archana Sinha: Interpretation of results and manuscript corrections; MHR: Sample collection and filed estimation of water variables and manuscript preparation; TT: Sample collection, field estimation of water variables, taxonomic identification and manuscript preparation; AR: Sample collection and draft preparation; BKD: Overall guidance and manuscript correction.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pranab Gogoi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Statement

The authors declare that they have strictly followed all the rules and principles of ethical and professional conduct while completing the research work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gogoi, P., Chanu, T.N., Sinha, A. et al. Fish assemblage pattern, seasonality and their interaction with environmental variables: insights from canals of Sundarbans, India. Trop Ecol 63, 626–643 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-022-00232-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42965-022-00232-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation