Title : Ichthyo fauna status of ranikot stream Jamshoro, Sindh
Abstract:
The study was conducted to determine the fish diversity in Ranikot fort stream from January 2021 to December, 2022. The Ranikot stream is situated between 25° 53′ 47″ N, 67° 54′ 9″ latitude about 90 kilometres at the north of District Jamshoro. Fish is the only source which can serve much purpose for nutrient. Freshwater ecosystems are the world’s most endangered ecosystems and decline in freshwater biodiversity. It is in more critical condition when compared with even the worst affected land based terrestrial ecosystem. Stream aquatic ecosystems are one of them. A stream is a body of water with surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Ranikot is one of them, need to be investigated and utilize for fisheries.
A total of 1063 fish individuals were collected. Based on morphological characteristics, a total of 20 fish species were identified. These belong to 5 orders and 7 families. The fish fauna was dominated by the Cyprinidae family (69.42%), Mastasembelidae (13.45 % species) and Siliuridae (3.48%). In further, out of 20 species, Salmophasia contributes 41.4% followed by 6.7% both the Bata labeo and Puntius terio. While, out of these 20 species, 5 species were identified as stream water fishes including Labeo bata , L. pangusia, L.barbus, L.potail and L.porcellus. Among these species they contribute 6.7%, 6.1%, 5.7%, 5.4%, and 5.1% respectively. The study reveals that this stream is rich in fishes and might be consierdered as major resources for fisheries. Further, present investigation will be useful for fisheries management, policy and conservation strategies in future.
