Aquatic Ecology

, Volume 40, Issue 2, pp 263–272 | Cite as

Fish assemblage of a traditional fishery and the seasonal variations in diet of its most abundant species Wallago attu (Siluriformes: Siluridae) from a tropical floodplain

  • Md. Shahidul Islam
  • Mohammed Mokhlesur Rahman
  • Govinda Chandra Halder
  • Masaru Tanaka
Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The fish assemblage of a traditional Kata fishery and the stomach contents of Wallago attu were studied over a period of one year from a large floodplain system in Bangladesh. A total of 19 species of fish and 2 species of shrimp were recorded. W. attu (9.7–17.8%), Mystus vittatus (6.0–11.3%), M. aor (5.0–12.1%), Amblypharyngodon mola (4.4–9.3%) and Mastacembelus armatus (3.5–10.5%) dominated the catch. W.␣attu occupied the top position in abundance throughout the year, followed by M. vittatus and M. aor. Bagridae, Siluridae and Cyprinidae were three major families that contributed respectively 21.0, 17.4 and 16.1% of the total catch. Considerable seasonality was observed in the abundance of different fishes. A total of 14 different prey items were recorded, belonging to three major groups (fish, prawn and plant matters). The fish fed on at least eight species of small fishes (A. mola, M. vittatus, M. cavasius, Puntius stigma, P. ticto, Puntius sp., Glossogobius guris, and Heteropneustes fossilis) and some other unidentified small fishes. Other major prey items were small prawn, fish and prawn remains, and macroalgae. A. mola was the most important food item, contributing 23.7% of the total amount of diet by weight and 19.9% by frequency of occurrence. A. mola was followed by unidentified small prawn (13.7%), M. vittatus (13.1%), and unidentified small fishes (8.8%) by weight and by unidentified small fishes (15.9%), fish remains (12.5%), and M.␣vittatus (12.3%) by occurrence. Of the major diet categories, fish contributed 74.3% of the total diet by weight and 80.9% by occurrence, prawn contributed 18.5% by weight and 11.0% by occurrence and plants contributed 7.2% by weight and 8.1% by occurrence. A. mola and small shrimps were positively selected by W. attu. We concluded that W. attu is a piscivorous predator with potential impacts on prey fish communities; we also hypothesized that a specialized food-web based on the Kata fishery exists in and around the Katas which is of particular ecological significance.

Keywords

Kata fishery Fish assemblage Floodplain Piscivory Predator–Prey relationship Wallago attu 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Ahmed M.S. 2002. The biological basis of fisheries management in the floodplain of River Tias, Brahmanbaria. Final Project Report, SUFER Project, DFID, UGC, Bangladesh. 120pp.Google Scholar
  2. Anwar S., Siddiqui M.S. (1992) Observation on the predation by Mystus seenghala Sykes and Wallago attu Bloch and Schneider of the river Kali in north India. J. Environ. Biol. 13:47–54Google Scholar
  3. Beukers-Stewart B.D. and Jones G.P. 2004. The influence of prey abundance on the feeding ecology of two piscivorous species of coral reef fish. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 299: 155–184Google Scholar
  4. Bronmark C., Paszkowski C.A., Tonn W.M., Hargeby A. (1995) Predation as a determinant of size structure in populations of crucian carp (Carassius carassius) and tench (Tinca tinca). Ecol. Freshwat. Fish. 4:85–92CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Caley M.J. 1993. Predation, recruitment and the dynamics of communities of coral reef fish. Mar. Biol. 117: 33–43Google Scholar
  6. Connell S.D. 1998. Effects of predators on growth, morality and abundance of a juvenile reef fish: evidence from manipulations of predator and prey abundance. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 169: 251–261Google Scholar
  7. Dorner H., Wagner A. (2003) Size-dependent predator–prey relationships between perch and their fish prey. J. Fish. Biol. 62:1021–1032CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Dutta S.P.S. and Malhotra Y.R. 1991. Food and feeding habits of some fishes of Gadigarh stream Jammu. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. India. Sec. B Biol. Sci. 61: 163–168Google Scholar
  9. Eklov P, Persson L (1995) Species-specific antipredator capacities and prey refuges, interactions between piscivorous perch (Perca fluviatilis) and juvenile perch and roach (Rutilis rutilis). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 37:169–178CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Findlay C.S., Bert D.G., Zheng L. (2000) Effects of introduced piscivores on native minnow communities in Adirondack lakes. Canad. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 57:570–580CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Fraser D.F., Gilliam J.F. (1992) Nonlethal impacts of predator invasion, facultative suppression of growth and reproduction. Ecology 73:959–970CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Giri S.S., Sahoo S.K., Sahu B.B., Sahu A.K., Mohanty S.N., Mukhopadhyay P.K., Ayyappan S. (2002) Larval survival and growth in Wallago attu (Bloch and Schneider), effects of light, photoperiod and feeding regimes. Aquaculture 213:151–161CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Hixon M.A. (1991) Predation as a process structuring coral reef fish communities. In: Sale P.F. (eds), The Ecology of Fishes on Coral Reefs. Academic Press, New York, pp. 475–507Google Scholar
  14. Hoggarth D.D., Cowan V.J., Halls A.S., Aeron-Thomas M.A., McGregor J.A., Garaway C.A., Payne A.I., and Welcomme R.L. 1999b. Management guidelines for Asian floodplain river fisheries, Part 2: Summary of DFID research, FAO Fisheries Technical Paper 384/2, Rome, Italy. 117pp.Google Scholar
  15. Hoggarth D.D., Cowan V.J., Halls A.S., Aeron-Thomas M.A., McGregor J.A., Garaway C.A., Payne A.I. and Welcomme RL 1999a. Management guidelines for Asian floodplain river fisheries. Part 1. A spatial, hierarchical and integrated strategy for adaptive co-management. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. No. 384/1. Rome, FAO. 1999. 63p.Google Scholar
  16. Hyslop E.J. (1980) Stomach content analysis—a review of methods and their application. J. Fish. Biol. 17:411–429CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Ivlev V.S. (1961) Experimental Ecology of the Feeding of Fishes. Yale University Press, New Haven, CTGoogle Scholar
  18. Kahilainen K., Lehtonen H. (2003) Piscivory and prey selection of four predator species in a whitefish dominated subarctic lake. J. Fish. Biol. 63:659–672CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Kartha K.N., Rao K.S. (1991) Vertical distribution of fish in surface and bottom gill nets operated in gandhisagar reservoir. Fish. Tech. 28:96–99Google Scholar
  20. L’Abée-Lund J.H., Aass P., Saegrov H. (2002) Long-term variation in piscivory in a brown trout population, effect of changes in available prey organisms. Ecol. Freshwat. Fish. 11:260–269CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Lammens E.H.R.R. (1999) The central role of fish in lake restoration and management. Hydrobiologia 395/396:191–198CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Lathrop R.C., Johnson B.M., Johnson T.B., Vogelsang M.T., Carpenter S.R., Hrabik T.R., Kitchell J.F., Magnuson J.J., Rudstam L.G., Stewart R.S. (2002) Stocking piscivores to improve fishing and water clarity, a synthesis of the Lake Mendota biomanipulation project. Freshwat. Biol. 47:2410–2424CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Macchi P.J., Cussac V.E., Alonso M.F., Denegri M.A. (1999) Predation relationships between introduced salmonids and the native fish fauna in lakes and reservoirs in northern Patagonia. Ecol. Freshwat. Fish. 8:227–236CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Menge B.A., Sutherland J.P. (1987) Community regulation: variation in disturbance, competition, and predation in relation to environmental stress and recruitment. Am. Nat. 130:730–757CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Munshi J.S.D., Singh O.N., Singh D.K. (1990) Food and feeding relationships of certain aquatic animals in the Ganga ecosystem. Trop. Ecol. 31:138–144Google Scholar
  26. Museth J., Borgstrøm R., Brittain J.E., Herberg I., Naalsund C. (2002) Introduction of the European minnow into a sub-alpine lake, habitat use and long term changes in population dynamics. J. Fish. Biol. 60:1308–1321CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Museth J., Borgstrom R., Hame T., Holen L.A. (2003) Predation by brown trout, a major mortality factor for sexually mature European minnows. J. Fish. Biol. 62:692–705CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Nash R.D.M. (1982) The diel behaviour of small demersal fish on soft sediments on the west coast of Scotland using a variety of techniques, with special reference to Lesuerigobious friesii (Pisces, Gobiiae). Mar. Ecol. 3:161–178Google Scholar
  29. Olson M.H. (1996) Predator’ –prey interactions in size-structured fish communities, implications of prey growth. Oecologia 108:757–763CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Osidele O.O., Beck M.B. (2004) Food web modelling for investigating ecosystem behaviour in large reservoirs of the south-eastern United States: lessons from Lake Lanier, Georgia. Ecol. Model 173:129–158CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Pinnegar J.K., Trenkel V.M., Tidd A.N., Dawson W.A., Du Buit M.H. (2003) Does diet in Celtic sea fishes reflect prey availability? J Fish Biol 63 (Supplement A): 197–212CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Rahman A.K.A. (1989) Freshwater Fishes of Bangladesh. Zoological Society of Bangladesh. Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, pp. 364Google Scholar
  33. Skov C., Lousdal O., Johansen P.H., Berg S. (2003) Piscivory of 0+ pike (Esox lucius L.) in a small eutrophic lake and its implication for biomanipulation. Hydrobiologia 506–509:481–487CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Taylor R.J. (1984). Predation. Chapman & Hall, LondonGoogle Scholar
  35. Tonn W.M., Magnusson J.J. (1982) Patterns in the species composition and richness of fish assemblages in northern Wisconsin lakes. Ecology 63:1149–1166CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Tonn W.M., Paszkowski C.A., Holopainen I.J. (1992) Piscivory and recruiments, mechanisms structuring prey populations in small lakes. Ecology 73:951–958CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Tsai Chu-fa, Ali M.Y. (eds), (1989) Openwater Fisheries of Bangladesh. The University Press Limited, Dhaka, 212 ppGoogle Scholar
  38. Turner G.F. (1993) Teleost mating behaviour. In: Pitcher T.J. (eds), Behaviour of Teleost Fishes, 2nd edn. London, Chapman & Hall, pp. 307–331Google Scholar
  39. Walters C.J., Juanes F. (1993) Recruitment limitation as a consequence of natura selection for use of restricted feeding habitats and predation risk taking by juvenile fishes. Canad. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 50:2058–2070CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Werner E.E., Gilliam J.F., Hall D.J., Mittelbach G.G. (1983) An experimental test of the effects of predation risk on habitat use in fish. Ecology 64:1540–1548CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Yang Y.S. (1988) Food resource utilization partitioning of fifteen fish species at Bukit Merah Reservoir, Malaysia. Hydrobiologia 157:143–160Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2005

Authors and Affiliations

  • Md. Shahidul Islam
    • 1
  • Mohammed Mokhlesur Rahman
    • 2
  • Govinda Chandra Halder
    • 3
  • Masaru Tanaka
    • 4
  1. 1.Division of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School of AgricultureKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan
  2. 2.World Fish CentreBangladesh OfficeDhakaBangladesh
  3. 3.Chief Scientific OfficerBangladesh Fisheries Research InstituteChandpurBangladesh
  4. 4.Division of Applied Biosciences, Faculty of Fisheries, Graduate School of AgricultureKyoto UniversityKyotoJapan

Personalised recommendations