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Seasonal Variation of Water Quality Parameters and Their Impact on Fish Biodiversity Indices of Hasadanga Beel: A Case Study

Chandan Sarkar1 and Nimai Chandra Saha2 *

1 Fishery and Ecotoxicological Research Laboratory (Vice Chancellors Research Group), The University of Burdwan, Burdwan, West Bengal, India

Corresponding author Email: csarkar.wbes@gmail.com

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.16.1.03

Fish diversity indices and their correlation with seasonal fluctuation of physicochemical parameters of Hasadanga beel was aimed to be studied. A three-year study on the relationship between the seasonal fluctuation of water quality parameters and fish biodiversity indices was conducted in Hasadanga Beel, a floodplain lake of Nadia district, West Bengal to measure the ecological health of the lake. Samples of water and fish species were collected at pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon period from 2015-2017 to estimate physicochemical parameters of water and fish biodiversity indices i.e. Shannon-Weaver species diversity index, Margalef’s Species richness index, Pielou’s Species evenness index and Simpson’s index of dominance. Total of 34 different fish species belonging to 8 Orders were found during the study period which varies seasonally. Water temperature (20.0-31.4 °C), pH (7.70-8.75), dissolved oxygen (3.9-5.0 mg/l), Free CO2 (0.0-15.0 mg/l), total alkalinity (156-193 mg/l), hardness (113-145 mg/l), and BOD (1.03-1.94 mg/l) values varied significantly (p<0.05) between three seasons. Shannon-Weaver species diversity index (Hꞌ) is ranged between 1.2911-1.3502, Margalef’s species richness index (D) is measured between 12.72-14.15, Pielou’s species evenness index (Jꞌ) is recorded between 0.8829-0.9140 and Simpson’s index of dominance (ID) is ranged between 0.05346-0.07139. Hꞌ has positive correlation with pH, alkalinity and hardness whereas negative correlation with temperature, free CO2, DO and BOD. D has positive correlation with pH, free CO2, DO and hardness whereas negative correlation with temperature, alkalinity and BOD. Jꞌ has positive correlation with temperature, pH, alkalinity and hardness and whereas negative correlation with free CO2, DO and BOD.  ID has positive correlation with temperature, free CO2, DO and BOD whereas negative correlation with pH, alkalinity and hardness. The obtained result suggests that various water quality parameters specially temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH are the key factors to regulate the fish biodiversity indices and should be taken into consideration for making policies for sustainable use of floodplain lakes.

Fish Diversity Indices; Floodplain Wetland; Physicochemical Parameters; Seasonal Fluctuation

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Sarkar C, Saha N. C. Seasonal Variation of Water Quality Parameters and Their Impact on Fish Biodiversity Indices of Hasadanga Beel: A Case Study. Curr World Environ 2021;16(1). DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.12944/CWE.16.1.03

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Sarkar C, Saha N. C. Seasonal Variation of Water Quality Parameters and Their Impact on Fish Biodiversity Indices of Hasadanga Beel: A Case Study. Curr World Environ 2021;16(1). Available From : https://bit.ly/3qDVVlX


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Article Publishing History

Received: 09-08-2020
Accepted: 30-12-2020
Reviewed by: Orcid Orcid Alhassan H Ismail
Second Review by: Orcid Orcid Ghanim Hassan
Final Approval by: Dr. Hiren B. Soni


Introduction

The transitional areas between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems are called wetland where the water table is generally at or near the surface on the land which is covered by shallow water1. It is estimated that, India contains about 757.06 thousand wetlands with a total wetland area of 15.3 m ha, which is nearly 4.7% of the total geographical area of the country 2. In India, West Bengal holds a significant position for its large aquatic wealth in terms of floodplain lakes or natural wetlands 3. Floodplain lakes are formed by cutting of river meanders from the main river due to erosion of river banks and siltation. Floodplain wetlands or ox-bow lakes supports a rich and profitable inland fishery system in eastern and north-eastern states of the country particularly in West Bengal 4. More than 150 floodplain lakes are situated in West Bengal covering an area of 42,000 ha, which accounts almost 22% of the state’s total freshwater area 5. These wetlands or floodplain lakes are locally named as beels or baurs. These beels are rich in finfish diversity which is economically beneficial. The productivity of fish can be increased by sustainable use of fish as well as water quality monitoring in regular basis. The physico-chemical parameters of water like pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, free carbon di-oxide, hardness, alkalinity, salinity, biochemical oxygen demand etc. should be recorded regularly for keeping the aquatic habitat favourable to the fish 6.

The present investigation was performed to study various physicochemical parameters of water in a floodplain lake for a period of three years from 2015 to 2017. River Jalangi and its branches form a large complex of floodplain lakes, locally known as “beels”. The study was based on the relationship between fish assemblage, seasonal fluctuation of water quality parameters and various biodiversity indices of such beel.

The water quality parameters have great influence on the fish assemblage of lakes 7. In India, since the last few decades, the floodplain lakes have become victims of environmental deterioration. Most of the lakes are shrinking due to siltation, various anthropogenic activities like municipal discharge, agricultural run-off, eutrophication etc. 8.

Therefore, seasonal changes in the physicochemical parameters of water and its relationship with various biodiversity indices of fish are very important for assessment of fish diversity in floodplain wetlands. So, the main objectives of the present study was to assess seasonal changes of various physicochemical parameters of water and their impact on various fish biodiversity indices of Hasadanga beel, a floodplain wetland of West Bengal to determine ecological health of the beel.

Materials and Methods

Study Area


The present studies were done on a floodplain lake namely Hasadanga beel. The Hasadanga beel is located besides NH34, near Bahadurpur rail station of the Sealdah-Lalgola Section of Eastern Railway, Under CD Block-Krishnagar-I, Sadar Sub-Division of Nadia District, West Bengal, India. The latitude and longitude of the area are 23026’41.56”N to 23027’48.50”N and 88027’26.54”E to 88029’16.83”E respectively. The tropic of cancer passes beside the area. The nearest town is Krishnagar, District-Nadia. The primary Source of pollution of the beel is agricultural run-off. The nearest river of the beel is Jalangi. Controlling authority of the beel is district administration, Nadia. Average depth of the beel is ranges between 0.7-2.25 m. Surrounding temperature (0C) is ranges between Summer-40-42 and Winter-9-12. Average rainfall is ranged between 1165-1215 mm. The beel is closed type and practices traditional type fisheries. Total length of the beel is 4.07 Km and water area is 64 Ha 8.

Figure 1a,b,c,d: a. Map of West Bengal, b. Map of Nadia district, c. satellite view of Hasadanga beel, d. photograph of Hasadanga beel. (Ref. mapsofindia.com, Google earth, photograph was taken by author, * Sampling locations)

Click here to view Figure


Sampling

The sampling was done at pre monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon season during the period from 2015 to 2017. Surface water samples were collected randomly from different sites of the beel (Fig. 1c) in 500 ml polypropylene bottles for determination of various physicochemical characters like temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, free carbon di-oxide, alkalinity, hardness, biochemical oxygen demand etc. following the method of APHA (2012)9. Total 27 water samples were collected during the three-year study. A Celsius alcohol based thermometer (range 0 °C to 100 °C) was used to measure the surface water temperature. pH of water was measured directly by using pen pH meter made by Hanna Instruments, Italy. Dissolved Oxygen, Free Carbon di-oxide, Alkalinity, Hardness and Biochemical Oxygen Demand were measured by titrimetry. Random sampling for fish was done from three nettings in the Beel (Fig. 1c) to make ten kilogram (10 kg) of sample for determination of fish diversity. Total number of species, total number of individuals in a sample and total number of individuals in a species were recorded at pre monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon seasons during the period from 2015 to 2017. Shannon-Weaver species diversity index, Margalef’s species richness index, Pielou’s species evenness index and Simpson’s index of dominance 10-12were determined using the following equations:

  1. Shannon-Weaver species diversity index (Hꞌ) = 
    Where S is the total no. of species; N is the total no. of individual; Ni is the no. of specimens in each species.
  2. Margalef’s Species richness index (D) = 
    Where S is the total no. of species; N is the total no. of individuals.
  3. Pielou’s Species evenness index (Jꞌ) = (Hꞌ)/log2S
    Where Hꞌ is the Shannon-Weaver species diversity index; S is the total no. of species.
  4. Simpson’s index of dominance (ID) = Æ© (Ni/N)2
    Where N is the total no. of individual; Ni is the no. of individuals in each species.
Data Analysis

All the results were initially analysed by Shapiro-Wilk test for determination of normal distribution of a population and further statistically analysed by one-way ANOVA method described by R Development Core Team (2011)13 followed by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) 14. All data used here are the arithmetic mean of three observations. The collected fish were preserved in 4 % formalin solution and shifted to the laboratory for identification. Identification of fish species was done by following standard literatures like 15-18. Method of Ghosh and Biswas (2018) 22 was used for determination of correlation.

Results

The seasonal fluctuation of physicochemical properties of Hasadanga beel during pre-monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon period are given in Table 1. Values are mean of three samples collected from three different sampling sites of the beel (Fig 1c). Hence Standard Deviation is mentioned after each value as ±. All values were initially analysed by Shapiro-Wilk test for determination of normal distribution of a population. Each value is super scribed by (a,b,c) and (m,n,o) which refers that values are significantly different (p<0.05) from each other following one way ANOVA and DMRT (Duncan’s Multiple Range Test) by the R software.

Table 1: Seasonal Variation of the Physicochemical Parameters of Hasadanga Beel at Pre Monsoon, Monsoon and Post Monsoon during the Period from 2015 to 2017.

Parameters

Seasons

2015

2016

2017

Mean

Water Temperature (°C)

Pre-Monsoon

31.3cmn±0.1

31.4cn±0.1

31.2cm±0.07

31.3

Monsoon

28.5bm±0.07

29.1bo±0.07

28.7bn±0.07

28.77

Post-Monsoon

20.2an±0.1

20.0am±0.04

20.9ao ±0.04

20.37

pH

Pre-Monsoon

8.65cn±0.01

7.85bm ±0.01

8.74bo±0.01

8.41

Monsoon

8.43an±0.01

7.70am±0.01

8.75co±0

8.29

Post-Monsoon

8.56bn±0.01

7.97cm±0

8.73ao±0

8.42

Free CO2 (mg/l)

Pre-Monsoon

0am±0

0am±0

0am±0

0

Monsoon

0am±0

11.5bn±0.1

0am±0

3.83

Post-Monsoon

0am±0

15.0cn±0.07

0am ±0

5

DO (mg/l)

Pre-Monsoon

4.5an±0.04

3.9am±0.07

4.4an±0.08

4.27

Monsoon

4.7bn ±0.04

4.3bm±0

4.7bn±0.07

4.57

Post-Monsoon

5.0co±0.01

4.7cm±0.04

4.9cn±0

4.87

Alkalinity (mg/l)

Pre-Monsoon

190bn±0.71

189bn±0.7

187cm±0.71

189

Monsoon

193co±0.71

175an±0.7

156am ±0.71

175

Post-Monsoon

184ao±0.71

175an±0.7

170bm±0.43

176

Hardness (mg/l)

Pre-Monsoon

145cn±0.71

140cm ±0.71

141cm±0.71

142

Monsoon

115an±0.43

117ao±0

113am±0.71

115

Post-Monsoon

119bm±0

119bm±0.43

120bn ±0.43

119

BOD (mg/l)

Pre-Monsoon

1.23bn±0

1.04am±0.01

1.85bo±0.01

1.37

Monsoon

1.67cn±0.01

1.42cm±0.01

1.94co ±0.01

1.67

Post-Monsoon

1.03am±0.01

1.25bn±0.01

1.55ao±0.01

1.27

(Values within columns indicated by different superscript letter (a,b,c) and values within rows indicated by different superscript letter (m,n,o) are significantly different at 5% level determined by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test).
 

Overall 34 fish species belonging to 8 Orders were recorded during the study period of three years (2015-2017) and are listed in table 2. Here IUCN refers to International Union for Conservation of Nature, PM refers to pre-monsoon, M refers to monsoon and PoM refers to post-monsoon. Here ‘+++’=highly abundant, ‘++’=moderately abundant, ‘+’=less abundant and ‘-’ =absent.

Table 2: Fish Species found in Hasadanga Beel during the Study Period of Three Years (2015-2017)

Order

Family

Species

Common name

IUCN status

Population trend

Occurrence

PM

M

PoM

1.Cypriniformes

  1. Cyprinidae
  1. Labeo rohita

Rohu/Rui

Least Concern

Unknown

+++

+++

+++

  1. Labeo bata

Bata

Least Concern

Unknown

+++

+++

+++

  1. Labeo calbasu

Kalbose

Least Concern

Unknown

+++

+++

+++

  1. Gibelion catla

Katla

Not Evaluated

 

+++

+++

+++

  1. Cirrhinus mrigala

Mrigel

Least Concern

Stable

+++

+++

+++

  1. Puntius sarana

Sarpunti

Least Concern

Unknown

+++

+++

+++

  1. Puntius sophore

Punti

Least Concern

Unknown

+++

-

+

  1. Puntius ticto

Punti

Least Concern

Unknown

+++

-

+

  1. Hypophthalmichthys molitrix

Silver carp

Near Threatened

Decreasing

+++

+++

+++

  1. Cyprinus carpio

Common carp

Vulnerable

Unknown

+++

+++

+++

  1. Ctenopharyngodon idella

Grass carp

Not Evaluated

 

+++

+++

+++

  1. Amblypharyngodon mola

Mourola

Least Concern

Stable

-

+

+

  1. Mylopharyngodon piceus

Black carp

Data Deficient

Unknown

+

-

+

2.Siluriformes

  1. Notopteridae
  1. Notopterus notopterus

Pholui

Least Concern

Stable

+++

+++

+++

  1. Notopterus chitala

Chital

Not Evaluated

 

++

++

++

  1. Bagridae
  1. Mystus vittatus

Tengra

Least Concern

Decreasing

+++

+++

+++

  1. Aorichthys (Sperata) aor

Aar tengra

Least Concern

Stable

+

-

-

  1. Siluridae
  1. Wallago attu

Boal

Vulnerable

Decreasing

+++

+++

+++

  1. Schilbeidae
  1. Eutropiichthys vacha

Vacha

Least Concern

Decreasing

+

-

+

  1. Clariidae
  1. Clarias batrachus

Magur

Least Concern

Stable

+++

++

++

  1. Saccobranchidae
  1. Heteropneustes fossilis

Singhi

Least Concern

Stable

+++

++

++

3.Perciformes

  1. Gobiidae
  1. Glossogibius giuris

Bele

Not Evaluated

 

-

++

++

  1. Anabantidae
  1. Anabas testudineus

Koi

Least Concern

Stable

+

++

++

  1. Nandidae
  1. Nandus nandus

Bheda/Roina

Least Concern

Unknown

-

++

++

  1. Cichlidae
  1. Oreochromis niloticus

Nilontica

Least Concern

Stable

+

+++

+++

4.Ophiocephaliformes

  1. Ophiocephalidae
  1. Channa marulius

Shal/Gajal

Least Concern

Unknown

+++

++

++

  1. Channa striata

Shol

Least Concern

Stable

+++

++

++

  1. Channa orientalis

Cheng

Vulnerable

Decreasing

+

+

+

  1. Channa punctata

Lata

Least Concern

Stable

+++

+++

+++

5.Mastacembeliformes

  1. Mastacembelidae
  1. Mastacembelus pancalus

Pankal

Not Evaluated

 

+

+

+

  1. Macrognathus aculeatus

Guchi

Not Evaluated

 

+++

++

++

6.Clupeiformes

  1. Clupeidae
  1. Gudusia chapra

Khoira

Least Concern

Decreasing

++

++

++

 7.Beloniformes

  1. Belonidae
  1. Xenentodon  cancila

Kankle

Least Concern

Unknown

++

++

++

8.Symbranchiformes

  1. Symbranchidae
  1. Monopterus cuchia

Ban/Cuche

Least Concern

Unknown

+++

+++

++

Number and Percent Composition of Families, Genera and Species under various Orders of fish fauna found in Hasadanga beel during the study period are listed in Table 3.

Table 3: Number and Percent Composition of Families, Genera and Species Under Various Orders.

Sl no

Order

Families

Genera

Species

% of Families in an Order

% of Genera in an Order

% of Species in an Order

1

Cypriniformes

01

09

13

6.25

34.62

38.25

2

Siluriformes

06

07

08

37.5

29.92

23.53

3

Perciformes

04

04

04

25

15.38

11.76

4

Ophiocephaliformes

01

01

04

6.25

3.85

11.76

5

Mastacembeliformes

01

02

02

6.25

7.69

5.88

6

Clupeiformes

01

01

01

6.25

3.85

2.94

7

Beloniformes

01

01

01

6.25

3.85

2.94

8

Symbranchiformes

01

01

01

6.25

3.85

2.94

 

Total

16

26

34

 

 

 

 

Percentage occurrence of fishes of Hasadanga beel under the various conservation categories of IUCN are listed in Table 4.

Table 4: Percentage Occurrence of fishes of Hasadanga Beel under the Conservation Status IUCN (2020) (Ref: https://www.iucnredlist.org/)

 

EN

VU

NT

LC

LR

DD

NE

Total

Number of species

00

03

01

23

00

01

06

34

Percent contribution

00%

8.82%

2.94%

67.65%

00%

2.94%

17.65%

100%

 

EN=Endangered

VU=Vulnerable

NT=Near Threatened

LC=Least Concerned

LR=Lower Risk

DD=Data Deficient

NE=Not Evaluated

Number of Families, Genera and Species under various Orders of fish fauna found in Hasadanga beel during the study period are graphically presented at Fig. 2.

Figure 2: Number of Families, Genera and Species Under Various Orders.

Click here to view Figure


Percentage occurrence of fishes of Hasadanga beel under the various conservation categories of IUCN are graphically presented in Fig. 3.

Figure 3: Pi Diagram showing the no. and Percentage of Species Under Various Threat Categories as per IUCN Status.

Click here to view Figure


The number of individuals belonging to 8 different orders of fish found per ten kilogram sample is represented graphically in figure 4.

Figure 4: Seasonal Variation in Number of Individuals Between 8 Orders of Fishes found /10 Kg Sample.

Click here to view Figure


Shannon-Weaver species diversity index, Margalef’s species richness index, Pielou’s species evenness index and Simpson’s index of dominance for fish were determined at pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon period for 2015, 2016 and 2017 are listed in table 5. Each value is super scribed by (a,b,c) and (m,n,o) which refers that values are significantly different (p<0.05) from each other following one way ANOVA and  DMRT (Duncan’s Multiple Range Test) by the R software.

Table 5: Various species diversity indices for fish of Hasadanga Beel at at pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon period for 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Sl no

Diversity indices

Season

2015

2016

2017

Mean

1

Shannon-Weaver species diversity index (Hꞌ)

Pre-monsoon

1.35cn

1.30bm

1.40co

1.35±0.04

Monsoon

1.29an

1.25am

1.32ao

1.28±0.03

Post-monsoon

1.34bn

1.31cm

1.37bo

1.34±0.02

2

Margalef’s Species richness index (D)

Pre-monsoon

13.24bn

13.10bm

13.44bo

13.26±0.14

Monsoon

12.72an

12.55am

12.82ao

12.69±0.11

Post-monsoon

14.15cn

13.98cm

14.25co

14.12±0.11

3

Pielou’s Species evenness index (Jꞌ)

Pre-monsoon

0.91cn

0.90cm

0.92co

0.91±0.01

Monsoon

0.88an

0.87am

0.89ao

0.88±0.01

Post-monsoon

0.89bn

0.88bm

0.91bo

0.89±0.01

4

Simpson’s index of dominance (ID)

Pre-monsoon

0.053an

0.054ao

0.052am

0.053±0.001

Monsoon

0.071cn

0.073co

0.070cm

0.071±0.001

Post-monsoon

0.057bo

0.056bn

0.055bm

0.056±0.001

(Values within columns indicated by different superscript letter (a,b,c) and values within rows indicated by different superscript letter (m,n,o) are significantly different at 5% level determined by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test).

Correlation between various physicochemical parameters with different species diversity indices of Hasadanga beel during the study period (2015-17) are listed in table 6.

Table 6: Correlations between Physicochemical Parameters and Species Diversity Indices

Parameters

Shannon-Weaver species diversity index (Hꞌ)

Margalef’s Species richness index (D)

Pielou’s Species evenness index (Jꞌ)

Simpson’s index of dominance (ID)

Temperature

-0.16742

-0.80804

0.40141

0.09948

pH

0.97974

0.84137

0.70887

-0.96372

Free CO2

-0.41729

0.33551

-0.84775

0.47857

DO

-0.13207

0.59732

-0.65465

0.19967

Alkalinity

0.65947

-0.05247

0.96393

-0.70942

Hardness

0.71298

0.02113

0.98090

-0.75934

BOD

-0.93050

-0.92200

-0.57656

0.90322


Discussion

In the current study, temperature ranges between 20.2 to 31.3, 20.0 to 31.4 and 20.9 to 31.20C during 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively (table 1). The temperatures are significantly varies (p<0.05) at all the seasons in every year. The highest and lowest temperature was recorded at pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season of 2016. High solar radiation and low level of water may cause the comparative higher temperature during summer season. Oppositely, high water level and low solar radiation may cause the lower temperature of winter season at every year26, 27. The values of pH range between 8.43 to 8.56, 7.70 to 7.85 and 8.73 to 8.75 during 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively (table 1). Comparatively higher pH value may be caused by higher amount of macrophytes with algae and phytoplankton in the beel which consume Carbon dioxide from the water for photosynthesis thereby increase of pH level 27. The free CO2 remains nil at all seasons of 2015 and 2017 (table 1). But it ranges from 0.00 to 15.0 mg/l at 2016. The highest level of free CO2 recorded at post monsoon season which correspond the pH value of the water. The dissolved oxygen ranges between 4.5 to 5.0, 3.9 to 4.7 and 4.4 to 4.9 mg/l during 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively (table 1). Comparatively higher DO value recorded at post-monsoon season and lower DO value was recorded at pre-monsoon season. High water temperature during summer reduces the holding capacity for oxygen molecule and thereby decreases the solubility of oxygen which results low DO value during summer season28. The total alkalinity ranges between 184 to 193, 175 to 189 and 156 to 187 mg/l during 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively (table 1). The higher alkalinity value during summer season may be the result of organic decomposition, which releases CO2 which form bicarbonate ions causing increase in total alkalinity in water. Dilution of water due to rainfall causes reduction of total alkalinity at monsoon27. The hardness value ranges between 115 to 145, 117 to 140 and 113 to 141 mg/l during 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively (table 1). The maximum value of hardness was observed during summer season whereas minimum at monsoon season.  Reduction in water level at pre-monsoon may cause concentration of water with Ca and Mg salts which are responsible to increase hardness of water. Oppositely, at monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, the hardness has been decreased due to the dilution of the salts in water29. The Biochemical Oxygen Demand value ranges between 1.03 to 1.67, 1.04 to 1.42 and 1.55 to 1.94 mg/l during 2015, 2016 and 2017 respectively (table 1). Maximum BOD value was observed during monsoon season of every year. It may be due to huge inflow of rain-wash which contains detergents, domestic sewage and agricultural effluents. Higher BOD value may causes decline in aquatic biodiversity. These results corresponds the trends of earlier workers27.

Overall 34 fish species belonging to 8 Orders and 16 families were recorded during the study period of three years (2015-2017) (Table 2). Out of 34 species, three vulnerable and one near threatened species were found. Besides that, 23 least concerned species were found which constitutes almost 68% of total species. Almost 18% species found which were not evaluated by IUCN. Order Cypriniformes contains most numbers of Genera and Species followed by Siluriformes.  Earlier workers 23 records 46 fish species in total at the beels of Nadia district. Ghosh and Biswas24 recorded 33 species of finfish belonging to 8 orders and 17 families in a study on Chhariganga Oxbow Lake located in Nakashipara development block of Nadia district.

The Shannon-Weaver species diversity index (Hꞌ) ranges between (1.2911-1.3502) which corresponds earlier workers24 where Shannon-Weaver species diversity index ranges between 1.19-2.02, Margalef’s species richness index (D) ranges between (12.72-14.15), Pielou’s species evenness index (Jꞌ) and Simpson’s index of dominance (ID) ranges between (0.8829-0.9140) and (0.05346-0.07139) respectively which does not correspond with earlier workers24 where Pielou’s species evenness index ranges between 0.36-0.64 and Simpson’s index of dominance ranges between 0.21-0.51. These may be the result of jute retting and other environmental and anthropogenic factors in those beels studied by earlier workers24, 25.

Shannon-Weaver species diversity index (Hꞌ) is highest in post-monsoon period of 2017 whereas lowest in monsoon season of 2016. Hꞌ has positive correlation with pH, alkalinity and hardness whereas negative correlation with temperature, free CO2, DO and BOD. Margalef’s Species richness index (D) is highest in post monsoon period of 2016 and lowest in monsoon season of both 2015 and 2017. D has positive correlation with pH, free CO2, DO and hardness whereas negative correlation with temperature, alkalinity and BOD. Pielou’s Species evenness index (Jꞌ) is highest in pre monsoon period of 2017 and lowest in pre monsoon season of 2015. Jꞌ has positive correlation with temperature, pH, alkalinity and hardness and whereas negative correlation with free CO2, DO and BOD. Simpson’s index of dominance (ID) is highest in monsoon period of 2016 and lowest in pre monsoon season of 2017. ID has positive correlation with temperature, free CO2, DO and BOD whereas negative correlation with pH, alkalinity and hardness.

The Shannon-Weaver species diversity index, Margalef’s species richness index and Pielou’s species evenness index values are highest in 2017 and lowest in 2016 at all seasons. But Simpson’s index of dominance value is highest at 2016 and lowest at 2017 for all seasons. This may be due to low pH value, low DO value and low BOD value in 2016.

The Shannon-Weaver species diversity index is highest in pre monsoon season and lowest in monsoon season for the year 2015 and 2017. But in 2016, it is highest in post monsoon. The Margalef’s species richness index and Pielou’s species evenness index are lowest in monsoon and highest in post monsoon for all the seasons (except J’ for 2017). The Simpson’s index of dominance shows highest value in monsoon and lowest in pre monsoon period for all the years. These are probably due to fall of agricultural runoff from adjacent agricultural land in monsoon season.

So, the impact of seasonal variations of physicochemical parameters like temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH are found to influence in fish diversity of the Hasadanga beel. The physicochemical parameters and anthropogenic activities can be considered as the key factors for reduction of biodiversity of the beels. Similar results were also observed by earlier workers 19-21, 27, 28.

Conclusion

From the present study, it is evident that, Hasadanga beel, a floodplain wetland of Nadia district, harbours a large number of freshwater fish fauna as compared to similar works carried out in West Bengal23, 24. But the range of Shannon-Weaver species diversity index (Hꞌ) (1.2911-1.3502) suggests that the diversity of fish is moderate here. The low level of SW in monsoon season also indicates that the water is moderately polluted during monsoon season, which may be due to the inflow of agricultural run-off and domestic sewage. Comparatively high SW value in pre-monsoon season can suggest that the water temperature can also support positively the fish diversity in the wetland. The seasonal variation of fish diversity indices should be taken into account for making long term policies for sustainability of wetlands in the country.

Acknowledgement

The authors are thankful to the Head, P.G. Dept. of Zoology, Krishnagar Govt. College and Head, Dept. of Zoology, University of Burdwan for providing infrastructural facilities to carry out the work.

Conflict of Interest

Authors have not any conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations that can influence the work.

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