ASSESSMENT OF FISH DIVERSITY IN SHATGHARI POINT OF SURMA RIVER, GOLAPGANJ, SYLHET

Abstract

Studies were conducted to find out the status of fish diversity in Shatghari point of Surma river, Golapganj, Sylhet, Bangladesh from January 2015 to September 2015. Multivariate analyses were performed using the software PRIMER V6 and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) was done using the PAST softwere. In the present study, 34 species of fishes belonging to 7 orders were identified from the study area where Cypriniformes (11 species) encompassing highest percentage (76.56%) of the whole biomass. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Margalef richness index, Pielou’s evenness index and Simpson dominance index were found to be 2.31±0.69, 3.86±0.31, 0.46±0.03 and 0.88±0.007 respectively. Among the identified fish species, 44.63% was recorded as threatened according to IUCN and 5.49% was exotic species in respect of number. For CCA the top most 14 fish species were considered and it’s indicate that CO2 and TDS are two most important environmental parameters shaping species assemblage structure in Surma River at Shatghari point. All the water quality parameters found within the permissible limits for fisheries. In conclusion, bearing all the outcomes found in the study indicates that the Shatghari Point of Surma river is enriched with fish diversity including threatened fish species of Bangladesh which demands the immediate necessary actions for the conservation of the study area as a natural gene bank. Besides, existence of exotic species indicates potential threats to indigenous species in future in the river system of the Surma.