Exploration of freshwater fish diversity in Goa
Exploration of freshwater fish diversity in Goa
Of the states in Peninsular India with rivers originating in the Western Ghats, Goa remains the least explored for fish biodiversity. The previous attempts dates back to 1970’s with a record of about 35 fish species from rivers of Goa (Tilak, 1972; Yadav, 1976). As part the efforts to catalogue the freshwater fish diversity in the Western Ghats, NBFGR Kochi Unit in conjunction with ICAR Research Complex for Goa conducted intensive appraisal of fish diversity in freshwater habitats in Goa between 2013 and 2014. Nine sampling locations covering the two major river systems in Goa, Mandovi and Zuari, were sampled intensively using cast net, drag net, trap and scoop net. The survey yielded a total of 40 species of freshwater fish and 7 species of crustacean up to March 2014. The final round of sampling was conducted from 15-19 September 2014, where, in addition to previous locations, the lower reaches of the Zuari and Mandovi basin up to the estuarine zone, as well as the Chapora River, which originates in Maharashtra and enters the Arabian Sea in Goa were also included. The latest round of sampling yielded 15 additional species of fish, along with 6 species of crustaceans, bringing the total number of fish species to 55 and crustacean to 13. This is the first intensive effort in this century for cataloguing the freshwater rivers of Goa to explore the fish biodiversity. The major species obtained during the survey are Pethia setnai, Haludaria pradhani, Rasbora dandia, Aspidoparia morar, Devario malabaricus, D. aequipinnatus, Garra mullaya, Aplocheilus lineatus, Dawkinsia filamentosa, Mystus malabaricus, Schistura altipedunculatus, Carinotetraodon travancoricus, Channa gachua, Puntius mahecola, Puntius vittatus, Systomus sarana subnasutus, X. cancila, Aplocheilus kirchmayeri and Pseudosphromenus cupanus. Crustaceans observed during the survey are Macrobrachium canarae, M. malcolmsonii, M. cf. gracilirostre, Caridina cf. babaulti, C. cf. gracilirostris, C. cf. hodgarti and Parathelphusa sp. The research team included Dr. V. S. Basheer, Rahul G. Kumar, Charan R., Shanis R., Shyam K. (NBFGR, Kochi), Sreekanth G. B. and Manju Lekshmi N. (ICAR RC for Goa). Research team expresses sincere gratitude towards Dr. J. K. Jena (Director, NBFGR) and Dr. Narendra Pratap Singh (Director, ICAR RC for Goa) for their continuous support and encouragement.