Fish diversity, relative abundance comparison between native and non-native fish species of Dal Lake, Kashmir Himalaya India

Abstract

Diversity and species abundance assessments of any habitat often act as prime tools for its management and conservation.The goal of the current study is to learn more about the diversity and abundance of fish that exist today in Dal Lake, a significant urban lake of Kashmir Valley that has witnessed drastic changes over the last 40 years, from lower rung diversity, such as planktons, to higher rung diversity, such as fish.The study was conducted for a span of two years, between April 2019 and March 2021.With the aid of cast nets of varying mesh sizes, the fish were taken from five different sites within the lake.Over the course of the investigation, 4844 fish samples were gathered.The collected fish samples comprised of eight species with seven from the family Cyprinidae and one from the family Poeciliidae.Among the collected fish species from lake, Cyprinus carpio communis was highest in abundance followed by Pethia conchonius, while Schizothorax esocinus was least abundant.Shannon diversity index was highest (1.86) for site IV, while lowest (1.39) for site II.On a temporal scale it was highest (1.82) for the summer season and lowest (1.64) for the winter season.