Assessment of Fish Assemblages and Physico-Chemical Parameters of Ranu Ki Gad Stream -A Tributary of River Bhagirathi in Central Himalaya (India (original) (raw)

The present study was conducted to document the fish assemblage structure and physicochemical parameters of an important tributary of river Bhagirathi in central Himalaya, India. The study reported altogether 14 fish species from Ranu-ki-gad stream belonging to two orders, three families and seven genera. Cyprinidae family (order Cypriniformes) was the dominating family, followed by the Cobitidae family (order Cypriniformes) and Sisoridae family (Siluriformes order), respectively. Among the species, Schizothorax richardsonii was dominating species, followed by Tor Putitora, Barilius bendelisis, Noemacheilus rupicola, Tor tor, and Pseudecheneis sulcatus. Habitat variability and hydrological parameters (water temperature, water velocity, pH, dissolved oxygen, free carbon dioxide, total dissolved solids and turbidity) along the stream significantly influenced the species richness and their assemblage structure. The lower stretch of the stream provides critical habitat for many hill stream fishes. The status of fish fauna was ascertained by CAMP (1998) assessment. Out of 14 fish species, the status of 2 species was not assessed due to data deficiency, four species were categorised as lower risk near threatened, four as vulnerable, and four species were under the endangered category.