Hitesh Das.pmd - An International Quarterly Journal of ...

ISSN: 0974 - 0376
NSave Nature to Survive
: Special issue, Vol. III: 377 - 382; 2013
AN INTERNATIONAL QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
www.theecoscan.in
DIVERSITY, ABUNDANCE AND HABITAT STUDY OF
LARVIVOROUS FISHES IN URBAN AREAS OF NALBARI DISTRICT,
ASSAM
Hitesh Das and Amalesh Dutta
KEYWORDS
Diversity
Larvivorous fishes
Nalbari
Assam
Prof. P. C. Mishra Felicitation Volume
Paper presented in
National Seminar on Ecology, Environment &
Development
25 - 27 January, 2013
organised by
Deptt. of Environmental Sciences,
Sambalpur University, Sambalpur
Guest Editors: S. K. Sahu, S. K. Pattanayak and M. R. Mahananda
377

NSave Nature to Survive
QUARTERLY
HITESH DAS* AND AMALESH DUTTA
Department of Zoology, Gauhati University,
Guwahati - 781 014
E-mail:hiteshdas11@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Both indigenous and exotic fishes are used as
biological control agents of mosquitoes
throughout the country. Such mosquito larvae
eating fishes are found in all types of freshwater
habitats. A study was conducted to assess the
relative abundance, diversity and habitat of
these fishes from different aquatic habitats like
ponds, wetlands, irrigation canal etc. of
Nalbari town area of Nalbari district during
2010-2011. During survey period altogether
21 species of larvivorous fishes belongs to 15
genera, 11 families and 5 orders were
observed. Present study indicates that order
Perciformes contributes highest and
Osteoglossiformes along with Siluriformes
contributes lowest species composition.
Among these fishes Channa gachua was the
dominant species found from all types of
habitats, while Puntius sp. and Notopterus
notopterus were collected higher from only
those habitats with high dissolved oxygen
content (6.8 ± 0.21- 8.6± 0.04 mg/L).
INTRODUCTION
Larvivorous fish are those that feed on immature stages of mosquitoes. According
to Job (1940), larvivorous fish must be small, hardy and capable of getting about
easily in shallow waters among thick weeds where mosquitoes find suitable
breeding grounds. They must be drought resistant and capable of flourishing in
both deep and shallow waters as well as living in drinking water tanks and pools
without contaminating the water. They must have the ability to withstand rough
handling and transportation for long distances. Larvivorous fish must be prolific
breeders having shorter span of life cycle. They must breed freely and successfully
in confined waters. Larvivorous fish should be surface feeders and carnivorous
in habit and should have a predilection for mosquito larvae even in the presence
of other food materials. Another important criterion of all larvivorous species
should be its appearance. They should not be brightly coloured or attractive.
They should be compatible with the existing fish life in that environment. Above
all, they should have no food value, so that the fish-eating people discard them.
The use of fish for controlling mosquitoes was an important tool in the pre-DDT
era (Floore, 2006; Walker and Lynch, 2007). Typically fish were introduced into
all potential mosquito breeding habitats, including rice fields, marshes, dams,
canals and ponds (Hadjinicolaou and Betzios, 1973; Motabar, 1978). Biological
control, particularly using larvivorous fish, was important to malaria control
programmes in the 20 th century, particularly in urban and periurban areas for
immediate use in developed and developing countries (Gratz and Pal, 1998). It
has a very positive role to play in the integrated control methodologies in which
both pesticides and fish or other biotic agents have their own roles (Mulla, 1961).
Biological control refers to the introduction or manipulation of organisms to
suppress vector populations. A wide range of organisms helps to regulate mosquito
populations naturally through predation, parasitism and competition. As biological
mosquito control agents, larvivorous fish (i.e., those that feed on immature stages
of mosquitoes) are being used extensively all over the world since the early
1900s (pre DDT era) (Raghavendra and Subbarao, 2002). There was no significant
work done on larvivorous fishes from Assam. Only single reference is documented
in this respect from the work of Sheikh et al. (1991). The urban areas of Nalbari
town generally not regarded as a malaria dominant zone, but in previous years
Anopheles minimus, a common species among malaria vector mosquitoes was
reported from this area (Prakash et al., 1995). Therefore present work was attempt
to study on the Nalbari town of Nalbari district, Assam.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
*Corresponding author
Study area
The Nalbari town is the head quarter of Nalbari district. It lies between 26º44/N
latitude to 91º44/E longitude. There are diversified aquatic habitats such as ponds,
marshy wetlands; irrigation canals etc. are located in urban areas of this town.
378

LARVIVOROUS FISHES OF NALBARI DISTRICT, ASSAM
Table1: Seasonal availability of fish species in urban areas of Nabari district
TaxonomicPosition Name of the species PM (N ) M (N) RM(N) W(N)
Order
Osteoglossiformes
Family
Notopteridae Notopterus notopterus (Pallas) 10 11 12 8
Order
Cypriniformes
Family
Cyprinidae Amblypharygodon mola (Hamilton-Buchanan) 20 42 31 24
Rasbora daniconius (Hamilton) 10 15 8 11
Esomus danrica (Hamilton) 22 34 14 21
Puntius sophore (Hamilton) 31 45 43 21
P. ticto (Hamilton) 10 15 8 11
Order
Perciformes
Family
Ambassidae Chanda nama (Hamilton) 12 17 12 13
Pseudambassis ranga (Hamilton) 13 18 10 14
Anabantidae Anabus testudenius (Bloch) 14 18 11 8
Cichlidae Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) 33 44 23 32
Osphronemidae Trichogaster fasciatus (Schneider) 21 20 14 9
T. chuna (Hamilton- Buchanan) 14 31 21 12
T. lalius (Hamilton- Buchanan) 11 23 12 8
Channidae Channa gachua (Bloch- Schneider) 40 65 44 32
C. punctata (Bloch) 23 33 24 25
C. stewartii (Playfair) 8 10 7 8
C. striata (Bloch) 7 9 6 7
Gobiidae Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton- Buchanan) 12 18 6 8
Order
Siluriformes
Family
Bagridae Mustus vittatus (Bloch) 14 23 18 19
Order
Cyprinodontiformes
Family
Aplochelidae Aplocheilus panchax (Hamilton) 16 34 19 21
Family
Poecilidae Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard) 21 38 17 33
Note- PM= Pre-monsoon, M= Monsoon, RM= Retreating monsoon, W= winter, N=Number of fish species
Sampling of fish
Fish samples were collected during the period of 2009-2010
in four different seasons viz., pre-monsoon (March-May),
monsoon (June-September), retreating monsoon (October-
November) and winter (December-February) after Borthakur
(1986).Sampling was done from the study site with the help of
cast net, dip net, local bamboo traps and hooks etc. The fish
samples were preserved in 5% aqueous formalin solution (v/
v) directly.
Identification
Identification of collected fish samples were done after Jayaram
(1999), Talwar and Jhingran (1991), Nath and Dey (2000).
The latest scientific names of the fish species were followed
after the website www. Calacademy. org/res/ ichthyo/
catalogue.
Diversity indices
Species diversity of ichthyofauna was estimated using
Shannon-Weiner index (H) after Shannon-Weiner (1949) and
Evenness index (E) was estimated following Pielou (1966).
Dominance status of various species was described on the
basis of relative abundance following Engelmann’s scale
(Engelmann, 1973).
Habitat Study
The habitat study of larvivorous fishes was carried out on the
basis of both primary and secondary data. The primary data
were collected from the field through survey and spot
observation. Secondary data were collected through
observation and interview with the fishers through
questionnaire. More over habitat of each species was traced
by means of tolerance level of dissolved oxygen in each type
of habitat.
Sampling of water
The water samples were collected during the period of 2009-
2010 in monthly intervals. Dissolved oxygen analysis was
performed at the sites by Winkler’s modified technique
according to APHA (1998).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A total of 21 species of larvivorous fishes belong to 5 orders,
11 families and 15 genera have been recorded from the urban
areas of Nalbari district during the study period. The fish species
of these areas belong to the following five orders-
379

HITESH DAS AND AMALESH DUTTA
Table 2: Dominant status of different fish species in urban areas of Nabari district
TaxonomicPosition Name of the species Number Relative Dominancestatus
abundance (R A) %
Order
Osteoglossiformes
Family
Notopteridae Notopterus notopterus (Pallas) 41 2.52 Recedent
Order
Cypriniformes
Family
Cyprinidae Amblypharygodon mola (Hamilton-Buchanan) 117 7.18 Subdominant
Rasbora daniconius (Hamilton) 44 2.70 Recedent
Esomus danrica (Hamilton) 91 5.58 Subdominant
Puntius sophore (Hamilton) 140 8.59 Subdominant
P. ticto (Hamilton) 44 2.70 Recedent
Order
Perciformes
Family
Ambassidae Chanda nama (Hamilton) 54 3.31 Subdominant
Pseudambassis ranga (Hamilton) 55 3.37 Subdominant
Anabantidae Anabus testudenius (Bloch) 51 3.10 Recedent
Cichlidae Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) 132 8.10 Subdominant
Belontiidae Trichogaster fasciatus (Schneider) 64 3.93 Subdominant
T. chuna (Hamilton- Buchanan) 78 4.79 Subdominant
T. lalius (Hamilton- Buchanan) 54 3.31 Subdominant
Channidae Channa gachua (Bloch- Schneider) 181 11.10 Dominant
C. punctata (Bloch) 105 6.44 Subdominant
C. stewartii (Playfair) 33 2.02 Recedent
C. striata (Bloch) 29 1.78 Recedent
Gobiidae Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton- Buchanan) 44 2.70 Recedent
Order
Siluriformes
Family
Bagridae Mustus vittatus (Bloch) 74 4.54 Subdominant
Order
Cyprinodontiformes
Family
Aplochelidae Aplocheilus panchax (Hamilton) 90 5.52 Subdominant
Family
Poecilidae Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard) 109 6.69 Subdominant
RA 31.7 % = Eudominant (Engelmann, 1973)
Table 3: Seasonal variation in species abundance, species richness, species diversity and evenness of fish species in urban areas of Nabari district
Seasons Pre-monsoon Monsoon Retreating monsoon Winter
Number of individuals (N)(Species Abundance) 362 563 360 345
Number of species (Richness) 21 21 21 21
Species diversity (H) 3.25 2.86 2.47 2.90
Evenness (E) 0.55 0.45 0.42 0.50
Table 4: Different types of habitat of larvivorous fishes with dissolved
oxygen level
Habitat Type
Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)
Pond (P) 8.6 ± 0.04
Marshy Wetlands (MW) 5.9 ± 0.20
Deep Irrigation Canals (DIC) 6.8 ± 0.21
Shallow Irrigation Canals (SIC) 4.5 ± 0.18
Rivulets (R) 7.2 ± 0.11
Crop Fields (CF) 5.8 ± 0.30
Osteoglossiformes, Cypriniformes, Siluriformes, Perciformes
and Cyprinodontiformes. Out of these 21 species, 5 belong to
family Cyprinidae, followed by Channidae (4), Osphronemidae
(3), Ambassidae (2), Notopteridae (1), Anabantidae (1),
Cichlidae (1), Gobiidae (1), Bagridae (1), Aplocheilidae (1),
and Poecilidae (1). The collected fish species from different
types of habitats of Nalbari town are depicted in Table 1.
Among all the orders of fish fauna Cypriniformes were found
to be the order with highest species composition (56%) and
order Osteoglossiformes along with Cyprinodontiformes with
lowest species composition (5%) respectively.
Among these species, 11 species assessed as subdominant, 7
as recedent category and 1 species as dominant category.
Channa gachua (Bloch- Schneider) was the highest dominant
(RA-11.10 %) and Channa striata (Bloch) (RA-1.78 %) was the
least dominant species. All the larvivorous fish species with
their dominance status plotted in Table 2. Species abundance
found maximum during monsoon and minimum during
winter. Species richness noted equal in all seasons. Species
diversity (H) estimated maximum during pre-monsoon and
minimum during retreating monsoon. Evenness observed
maximum during pre-monsoon and minimum during
380

LARVIVOROUS FISHES OF NALBARI DISTRICT, ASSAM
Table 5: Habitat types of larvivorous fish species in urban areas of Nabari district
Name of the species P MW DIC SIC R CF
Notopterus notopterus (Pallas) + - - - - -
Amblypharygodon mola + - + - + +
Rasbora daniconius (Hamilton) + - + - + -
Esomus danrica (Hamilton) + - + - + +
Puntius sophore (Hamilton) + - + - + -
P. ticto (Hamilton) + - + - + -
Chanda nama (Hamilton) + - + - - -
Pseudambassis ranga (Hamilton) + - + - - -
Anabus testudenius (Bloch) + + + - + -
Oreochromis mossambicus (Peters) + + + - - -
Trichogaster fasciatus (Schneider) + + + - + +
T. chuna (Hamilton- Buchanan) + + + - + +
T. lalius (Hamilton- Buchanan) + + + - + +
Channa gachua (Bloch- Schneider) + + + + + +
C. punctata (Bloch) + + + - + +
C. stewartii (Playfair) - + + - - -
C. striata (Bloch) - + + - - -
Glossogobius giuris (Hamilton- Buchanan) + - + - + -
Mustus vittatus (Bloch) - - - - + -
Aplocheilus panchax (Hamilton) + + - + - +
Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard) - - + + - -
Note: + = present; - = absent
Osteoglossiformes Cypriniformes Perciformes
Siluriformes Cyprinodontiformes
Recedent Subdominant Dominant
Figure 1: Larvivorous fish species of urban areas of Nalbati Town (%
per order)
retreating monsoon. All the results regarding diversity and
abundance of larvivorous fish species of Nalbari town area
are depicted in Table 3. All the larvivorous fish species were
collected from different types of freshwater aquatic habitats
like pond, marshy wetlands, deep irrigation canals, shallow
irrigation canals, rivulets and crop fields of Nalbari town area.
The values of dissolved oxygen of each habitat are plotted in
Table 4.
Among all the larvivorous fishes Channa gachua was the
dominant species collected from all types of aquatic habitats
of Nalbari town. This species collected from habitats in which
dissolved oxygen level ranged between 4.5± 0.18 mg/L and
8.6 ± 0.04 mg/L and regarded as a hardy and dissolved
oxygen tolerant species. On the other hand species like Puntius
sophore, P. ticto and Notopterus notopterus were collected
higher from only those habitats with high dissolved oxygen
content (6.8 ± 0.21- 8.6± 0.04 mg/L).
Although the young ones of Channa gachua feed on mosquito
larvae, the adults feed on small feeds on smaller fish and it is
Figure 2: Dominance status of larvivorous fishes of urban areas of
Nalbari Town (% per category)
therefore, not suitable for anti-mosquito operations (Khanna,
1970). Predatory fishes like Channa, Notopterus and Mystus
whose fry may destroy mosquito larvae but whose adults may
predate upon other fish including larvicidal fish species.
Gambusia affinis collected from only deep and shallow
irrigation canals, while Aplocheilus panchax collected from
ponds, marshy wetlands, shallow irrigation canals and crop
fields. Both these two species are typical surface feeders, which
fulfill the characteristic features of larvivorous fish (Hora and
Mukherjee, 1938).
Among the other fishes, species like Amblypharyngodon mola
and Rasbora daniconius are sub-surface feeders. Column
feeders like Puntius sp., Trichogaster sp., Chanda, Anabas,
etc., which feed on mosquito larvae when chance permits. All
the larvivorous fishes and their habitats are depicted in Table 5.
REFERENCES
APHA 1998. Standard methods for the examination of water and
381

HITESH DAS* AND AMALESH DUTTA
wastewater including bottom sediment and sluge. 20 th edition,
American Public Health Association, (New York).
Borthakur, M. 1986. Weather and climate in N. E. India. Northeastern
Geographer. 18(1 and 2): 20-27.
Engelmann, H. D. 1973. Untersuchungen zur Erfassung
predozoogener komponenten im definierten. Okosystem.
Forschungen. Staatl. Mus. Naturkde., Gorlitz.
Floore T. G. 2006. Mosquito larval control practices: past and present.
J. Am Mosq Control. 22: 527–533.
Gratz, N. G. and Pal, R. 1988. Malaria vector control: larviciding.
In: Wernsdorfer WH, McGregor I, Ed. Malaria: Principles & practice
of malariology. Edinburgh, UK: Churchill Livingstone. pp. 1213-26.
Hadjinicolaou, J. and Betzios, B. 1973. Gambusia fish as a means of
mosquito control of Anopheles sacharovi in Greece. World Health
Organization; Geneva, Switzerland.
Hora, S. L. and Mukherjee, D. D. 1938. The absence of millions,
Lebistes reticulates (Peters) in India. Malaria Bureau No.4, Health
Bulletin, Delhi. 12:1-49.
Jayaram, K. C. 1999. The fresh water fishes of Indian region. Narendra
Publishing House, New Delhi.
Job, T. J. 1940. An investigation of the nutrition of the perches of the
Madras coast. Rec Mind Mus. 42: 289-364.
Khanna, S. S. 1970. An Introduction to Fishes, Central Book Depot,
Allahabad, pp 448-449.
Motabar, M. 1978. Larvivorous fish, Gambusia affinis: a review.
World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland.
Mulla, M. S. 1961. Mosquito control investigations with emphasis on
integration of chemical and biological control in mosquito abatement.
29 th Proc Pap Ann Con Calif Mosquito Contr Assoc. pp. 1-4.
Nath, P. and Dey, S. C. 2000. Fish and Fisheries of North Eastern
India (Arunachal Pradesh), 217 p. Narendra Publishing House (New
Delhi).
Pielou, E. C. 1966. Ecological Diversity. Wiley Inter Science. London.
Prakash, A., Mohapatra, P. K. and Srivastava, V. K. 1995. Vector
incrimination in Tamulpur primary health centre, district Nalbari,
lower Assam during malaria outbreak Indian J. Med Res. 103:146-9.
Raghavendra, K. and Subbarao, S. K. 2002. Chemical insecticides in
malaria vector control in India. ICMR Bull. 32: 1-7.
Shanon, C. E. and Wiener, W. 1949. The mathematical theory of
communication. University IIinois Press, Urbana.
Sheikh, M. S., Dutta, A. and Kalita, J. 1991. Relative Efficiency of
Mosquitocidal Activities of Certain Indigenous Fish Species,
Environment & Ecology. 9 (4): 1011-1015
Talwar, P. K. and Jhingran, A. G. 1991. Inland fishes Vol. 1 and 2,
Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.
Walker, K. and Lynch, M. 2007. Contributions of Anopheles larval
control to malaria suppression in tropical Africa: review of achievements
and potential. Med Vet Entomol. 21: 2–21.
382