Freshwater fish fauna of rivers of the southern Western Ghats, India
<p>The Western Ghats of India is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight <q>hotspots</q> of biological diversity in the world. It is also referred to as the <q>Great Escarpment of India</q>. This paper provides information on the diversity of freshwater...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Earth System Science Data |
| Online Access: | https://www.earth-syst-sci-data.net/10/1735/2018/essd-10-1735-2018.pdf |
| _version_ | 1818989819496235008 |
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| author | A. A. Arunkumar A. Manimekalan |
| author_facet | A. A. Arunkumar A. Manimekalan |
| author_sort | A. A. Arunkumar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>The Western Ghats of India is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the
eight <q>hotspots</q> of biological diversity in the world. It is also referred
to as the <q>Great Escarpment of India</q>. This paper provides information on
the diversity of freshwater fish fauna of six river systems of the southern
Western Ghats. The study area has been identified geographically using a GPS,
and the respective topographic map has been digitized using ArcGIS software.
The fish fauna were collected from various streams and rivers using cast
nets, dip nets, gill nets and drag nets. Among the 31 georeferenced sites
sampled from the rivers of the southern Western Ghats, a total of 64 species,
belonging to 6 orders, 14 families and 31 genera, were recorded. Among them,
the order Cypriniformes was dominant, with 3 families, 18 genera and 49
species (76.6 %). Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were
performed to express the contribution of the variables and their influence on
the species diversity. Interestingly, of the 31 sites, Thunakadavu stream,
Gulithuraipatti, Athirapally,
Naduthotam, Nadathittu, Mullaithodu, Thonanthikla, Noolpuzha and
Sinnaru exhibited
high variation in species diversity. Nearly 15 species were found to be
threatened in the Western Ghats. <i>Garra periyarensis</i> and
<i>Cirrhinus cirrhosus</i> are known to be vulnerable and
<i>Hemibagrus punctatus</i> is critically endangered because of various
anthropogenic activities. The study clearly indicates that certain timely
measures have to be taken immediately to protect the fish fauna in the
southern Western Ghats (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.882214" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.882214</a>).</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:44:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3eed53e585be448ba84687a0b2969e91 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1866-3508 1866-3516 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T19:44:32Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth System Science Data |
| spelling | doaj.art-3eed53e585be448ba84687a0b2969e912022-12-21T19:28:27ZengCopernicus PublicationsEarth System Science Data1866-35081866-35162018-09-01101735175210.5194/essd-10-1735-2018Freshwater fish fauna of rivers of the southern Western Ghats, IndiaA. A. Arunkumar0A. Manimekalan1Department of Biotechnology, Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore 641021, Tamil Nadu, IndiaBiodiversity and Molecular Lab, Department of Environmental Sciences, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046, Tamil Nadu, India<p>The Western Ghats of India is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the eight <q>hotspots</q> of biological diversity in the world. It is also referred to as the <q>Great Escarpment of India</q>. This paper provides information on the diversity of freshwater fish fauna of six river systems of the southern Western Ghats. The study area has been identified geographically using a GPS, and the respective topographic map has been digitized using ArcGIS software. The fish fauna were collected from various streams and rivers using cast nets, dip nets, gill nets and drag nets. Among the 31 georeferenced sites sampled from the rivers of the southern Western Ghats, a total of 64 species, belonging to 6 orders, 14 families and 31 genera, were recorded. Among them, the order Cypriniformes was dominant, with 3 families, 18 genera and 49 species (76.6 %). Principal component analysis and cluster analysis were performed to express the contribution of the variables and their influence on the species diversity. Interestingly, of the 31 sites, Thunakadavu stream, Gulithuraipatti, Athirapally, Naduthotam, Nadathittu, Mullaithodu, Thonanthikla, Noolpuzha and Sinnaru exhibited high variation in species diversity. Nearly 15 species were found to be threatened in the Western Ghats. <i>Garra periyarensis</i> and <i>Cirrhinus cirrhosus</i> are known to be vulnerable and <i>Hemibagrus punctatus</i> is critically endangered because of various anthropogenic activities. The study clearly indicates that certain timely measures have to be taken immediately to protect the fish fauna in the southern Western Ghats (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.882214" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.882214</a>).</p>https://www.earth-syst-sci-data.net/10/1735/2018/essd-10-1735-2018.pdf |
| spellingShingle | A. A. Arunkumar A. Manimekalan Freshwater fish fauna of rivers of the southern Western Ghats, India Earth System Science Data |
| title | Freshwater fish fauna of rivers of the southern Western Ghats, India |
| title_full | Freshwater fish fauna of rivers of the southern Western Ghats, India |
| title_fullStr | Freshwater fish fauna of rivers of the southern Western Ghats, India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Freshwater fish fauna of rivers of the southern Western Ghats, India |
| title_short | Freshwater fish fauna of rivers of the southern Western Ghats, India |
| title_sort | freshwater fish fauna of rivers of the southern western ghats india |
| url | https://www.earth-syst-sci-data.net/10/1735/2018/essd-10-1735-2018.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT aaarunkumar freshwaterfishfaunaofriversofthesouthernwesternghatsindia AT amanimekalan freshwaterfishfaunaofriversofthesouthernwesternghatsindia |