<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Fish diversity of a riverine ecosystem became reduced due to different manmade and natural calamities. This study investigated the present fish biodiversity status of the Dharla River located (25.8103° N, 89.6487° E) in the northern part of Bangladesh from January to December 2018. In this study, the existing fish biodiversity status of the Dharla River was estimated in terms of diversity indices and threatened status (both global and local). Data was collected from the three sampling sites of the river using different fishing gears and three selected fish markets located in the Kurigram district of Bangladesh. A total of 76 fish species were identified belonging to 8 orders, 26 families and 57 genera. The Cyprinidae was the most dominant family represented by 14 species followed by the Danionidae (13 species), Bagridae (8 species) and few minor families. Apart from the indigenous species, nine exotic fish species were also recorded. The Shannon-Weaver diversity (<italic>H</italic>), Pielous evenness (<italic>e</italic>) and Margalef richness (<italic>D</italic>) indices ranged from 3.00 to 3.71, 0.62 to 0.94 and 3.94 to 7.95, respectively. Out of 76 indigenous species, 28 species (37%) were identified as threatened in Bangladesh, which included critically endangered (4), vulnerable (9) and endangered (15) species. Indiscriminate fishing through poisoning and destructive fishing gears were identified as the major threats to fish biodiversity of the Dharla River. Thus, the river serves as considerable support for threatened indigenous fishes. Therefore, necessary steps are needed to stop destructive fishing, establish permanent fish sanctuaries and proper monitoring for maintaining sustainable biodiversity in the Dharla River.</p>
</abstract>

Fish diversity of a riverine ecosystem became reduced due to different manmade and natural calamities. This study investigated the present fish biodiversity status of the Dharla River located (25.8103° N, 89.6487° E) in the northern part of Bangladesh from January to December 2018. In this study, the existing fish biodiversity status of the Dharla River was estimated in terms of diversity indices and threatened status (both global and local). Data was collected from the three sampling sites of the river using different fishing gears and three selected fish markets located in the Kurigram district of Bangladesh. A total of 76 fish species were identified belonging to 8 orders, 26 families and 57 genera. The Cyprinidae was the most dominant family represented by 14 species followed by the Danionidae (13 species), Bagridae (8 species) and few minor families. Apart from the indigenous species, nine exotic fish species were also recorded. The Shannon-Weaver diversity (H), Pielous evenness (e) and Margalef richness (D) indices ranged from 3.00 to 3.71, 0.62 to 0.94 and 3.94 to 7.95, respectively. Out of 76 indigenous species, 28 species (37%) were identified as threatened in Bangladesh, which included critically endangered (4), vulnerable (9) and endangered (15) species. Indiscriminate fishing through poisoning and destructive fishing gears were identified as the major threats to fish biodiversity of the Dharla River. Thus, the river serves as considerable support for threatened indigenous fishes. Therefore, necessary steps are needed to stop destructive fishing, establish permanent fish sanctuaries and proper monitoring for maintaining sustainable biodiversity in the Dharla River.

Fish Diversity and Its Threatened Status of the Dharla River in Bangladesh

Faculty of Fisheries, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU)

Croatian Journal of Fisheries

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Fish Diversity and Its Threatened Status of the Dharla River in Bangladesh"}

Fish diversity of a riverine ecosystem became reduced due to different manmade and natural calamities. This study investigated the present fish biodiversity...

Fish Diversity and Its Threatened Status of the Dharla River in Bangladesh

Published Online: Dec 07, 2021

Page range: 163 - 172

Received: Apr 15, 2020

Accepted: Jan 17, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cjf-2021-0018

Keywords
Indigenous fish, IUCN, Biodiversity indices, Conservation

© 2021 Md. Ashraful Alam et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Fish Diversity and Its Threatened Status of the Dharla River in Bangladesh

Published Online: Dec 07, 2021

Page range: 163 - 172

Received: Apr 15, 2020

Accepted: Jan 17, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/cjf-2021-0018

KeywordsIndigenous fish, IUCN, Biodiversity indices, Conservation

© 2021 Md. Ashraful Alam et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Indigenous fish, IUCN, Biodiversity indices, Conservation