Ichthyofaunal diversity and productivity of Dilawara reservoir of Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

Samplings of fish were done from four sampling sites of Dilawara reservoir of Dhar Tehsil, Madhya Pradesh, for two consecutive years from January 2017 to December 2018 to assess the ichthyofaunal diversity. A total of 27 species belonging to 7 orders, 14 families and 21 genera were recorded during the present study. Order Cypriniformes was the most dominant among the 7 orders of fish recorded with 11 species followed by Order Perciformes with 8 species. Order Siluriformes was represented by 4 species. Order Clupeiformes, Order Osteoglossiformes, Order Beloniformes and Order Synbranchiformes were represented by single species each. The Simpson’s diversity index varied from 0.04 during winter 2017 to0.08 during Post Monsoon 2018. The Shannon – Weiner index swing in between 2.5 during Monsoon 2017 to 3.02 during winter 2018. The fish abundance was also compared among the environmental factors of season; some species were season specific, for example Notopterus notopterus, Glossogobius gluris, Clarias batrachus and Nastacembalus armatus. Of the total species identified, seven species were found in all the seasons.