Length-weight relationship, growth pattern and condition factor of four indigenous cypriniform Schizothorax species from Vishav Stream of Kashmir Himalaya, India

Mohammad Yasir Arafat; Yahya Bakhtiyar

doi:10.17017/j.fish.337

Mohammad Yasir Arafat Fish Biology and Limnology Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India
Yahya Bakhtiyar Fish Biology and Limnology Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, Srinagar-190006, Jammu and Kashmir, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17017/j.fish.337

Keywords: Capture fishery, condition factor, growth coefficient, length-weight relationship, Vishav Stream

Abstract

The indigenous Schizothorax spp. in the valley of Kashmir are facing constant threats and decline in their overall population. The current aim was to analyse the comparative length-weight relationship (LWRs) and condition factor (K) of 350 specimens belonging to four Schizothorax spp. (S. plagiostomus, S. esocinus, S. labiatus and S. curvifrons) from the Vishav Stream of Kashmir Himalaya, India. The fish specimens were sampled for a period of one year from April 2018 to March 2019. The results revealed that the growth coefficient ‘b’ in all the four Schizothorax spp. was found very close to 3, indicating an isometric growth pattern. No significant difference in the ‘b’ values of four Schizothorax spp. was found when compared with the isometric value (t-test: p > 0.05). The mean value of the ‘K’ for S. plagiostomus, S. esocinus, S. curvifrons and for S. labiatus were 0.81 ± 0.07, 0.80 ± 0.08, 0.85 ± 0.08 and 0.88 ± 0.12 respectively. The mean condition factor did not vary across four species (ANOVA: p > 0.05). The present findings could serve as baseline information for the management, stock assessment and future studies of indigenous capture fishery resources of the Vishav Stream and other similar habitats.

References

Ali S, Barat A, Kumar P, Sati J, Kumar R, Haldar RS (2014) Study of length weight relationship and condition factor for the golden mahseer, Tor Putitora from Himalayan rivers of India. Journal of Environmental Biology 35(1): 225–228.

Almaca C (1984) Form relationships among western pale-arctic species of Barbus (Cyprinidae, Pisces). Arquiros do Museu Bocage 2(12): 207–248.

Andrade MC, Jesus AJ, Giarrizzo T (2015) Length-weight relationships and condition factor of the eaglebeak pacu Ossubtus xinguense Jegu, 1992 (Characiformes, Serrasalmidae), an endangered species from Rio Xingu rapids, northern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 75(3): 102–105.

Anene A (2005) Condition factor of four cichlid species of a man-made Lake in Imo State, South-eastern Nigeria. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 5(1): 43–47.

Arafat MY, Bakhtiyar Y (2020) Morphometric attributes and their controlling elements in Himalayan snow trout, Schizothorax labiatus inhabiting Vishav Stream of South Kashmir, India. Journal of Ecophysiology and Occupational Health 20(1&2): 1–7.

Azevedo‐Santos VM, Coelho PN, Brambilla EM, Lima FP, Nobile AB, Britton JR (2018) Length–weight relationships of four fish species from the upper Parana River basin, Southeastern Brazil. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 34(1): 237–239.

Bagenal TB, Tesch FW (1978) Age and growth. In: Bagenal T (Ed) Methods for assessment of fish Production in fresh waters 3rd edition. IBP Handbook No. 3, Blackwell Science Publications, Oxford.

Barnham PSM CA, Baxter AF (1998) Condition factor, K, for salmonid fish. Fisheries Notes 5: 1–3.

Beyer JE (1987) On length-weight relationships. Part I: Computing the mean weights of the fish in a given length class. Fishbytes 5(1): 11–13.

Bhat FA, Yousuf AR, Balkhi MH, Mahdi MD, Shah FA (2010) Length-weight relationship and morphometric characteristics of Schizothorax spp. in the River Lidder of Kashmir. Indian Journal of Fisheries 57(2): 73–76.

Froese R (2006) Cube law, condition factor and weight-length relationships: history, meta‐analysis and recommendations. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 22(4): 241–253.

Fulton TW (1904) The rate of growth of fishes. Twenty-second Annual Report, Part III. Fisheries Board of Scotland, Edinburgh. pp. 141–241.

Goel C, Barat A, Pande V, Ali S, Kumar R (2011) Length-weight relationship of snow trout (Schizothorax richardsonii) based on linear and nonlinear models from Hill Stream of Uttarakhand, India. World Journal of Fish and Marine Sciences 3(6): 85–488.

Jobling M (2002) Environmental factors and rates of development and growth. In: Hart PJB, Reynolds JD (Eds) Handbook of fish biology and fisheries. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford. pp. 97–122.

Khallaf EA, Galal M, Authman M (2003) The biology of Oreochromis niloticus in a polluted canal. Ecotoxicology 12(5): 405–416.

Khan MA, Sabah (2013) Length–weight and length–length relationships for five fish species from Kashmir Valley. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 29: 283–284.

Koutrakis ET, Tsikliras AC (2003) Length–weight relationships of fishes from three northern Aegean estuarine systems (Greece). Journal of Applied Ichthyology 19(4): 258–260.

Kullander SO, Fang F, Delling B, Ahlander E (1999) The fishes of the Kashmir Valley. In: Nyman L (Ed) River Jhelum, Kashmir Valley. Impacts on the aquatic environment. Swedmar, Goteborg. pp. 99–163.

Le Cren ED (1951) The length-weight relationship and seasonal cycle in gonad weight and condition in the perch (Perca fluviatilis). The Journal of Animal Ecology 20: 201–219.

Lima FP, Nobile AB, Freitas Souza D, Siqueira CA, Lemos CA, ... Santos JAP (2017) Length–weight relationships for 35 fish species of the Atlantic Forest, SP/RJ—Brazil. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 33(3): 600–603.

Maguire JJ, Mace PM (1993) Biological reference points for Canadian Atlantic gadoid stocks. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. pp. 321–332.

Mir FA, Mir JI, Singh PR, Kumar P (2014) Length‐weight relationships of four snow trout species from the Kashmir Valley in India. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 30(5): 1103–1104.

Morey G, Moranta J, Massutı E, Grau A, Linde M, ... Morales-Nin B (2003) Weight–length relationships of littoral to lower slope fishes from the western Mediterranean. Fisheries Research 62(1): 89–96.

Mouludi-Saleh A, Eagderi S (2019) Length-weight relation- ship and condition factor of ten fish species (Cyprin- idae, Sisoridae, Mugilidae, Cichlidae, Gobiidae and Channidae) from Iranian inland waters. Journal of Wildlife and Biodiversity 3(4): 12–15.

Pauly D (1993) Editorial. Fishbyte section. Naga. ICLARM Quarterly 16: 26.

Ricker WE (1973) Linear regressions in fishery research. Journal of the Fisheries Board of Canada 30(3): 409–434.

Ruiz-Campos G, Ramirez-Valdez A, González-Guzmán S, González-Acosta AF, Zamorano DA (2010) Length–weight and length–length relationships for nine rocky tidal pool fishes along the Pacific coast of the Baja California Peninsula, Mexico. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 26(1): 118–119.

Salam A, Naeem M, Kauser S (2005) Weight-length relationship and condition factor of a freshwater wild Puntius chola from Islamabad, Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 8(8): 1112–1114.

Sidiq M, Ahmed I, Bakhtiyar Y (2021) Length-weight relationship, morphometric characters, and meristic counts of the cold water fish Crossocheilus diplochilus (Heckel) from Dal Lake. Fisheries & Aquatic Life 29(1): 29–34.

Snedecor SW, Cochran WG (1967) Statistical methods. Oxford and IBH Publishing Company, New Delhi.

Talwar PK, Jhingran AG (1991) Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries, volume 1. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India.

Ujjania NC, Kumar G, Langar RK, Krishna G (2012) Biometric studies of mahseer (Tor tor. Ham. 1822) from Bari Talab (Udaipur), India. International Journal of Innovations in Bio-Sciences 2(3): 138–141.

Wootton R (1990) Ecology of teleost fishes. Chapman & HaHall, London.