T866 SYSTEMATICS, GERMPLASM EVALUATION AND PATTERN OF DISTRIBUTION AND ABUNDANCE OF FRESHWATER FISHES OF KERALA (INDIA) O '.. ‘)Z_ N.. r 5.2 “S-.““'rT \ .1 L‘ 4JI4'- \ \ \,/'__ .'' _I‘ ._ x‘. '. THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY RADHAKRISHNAN K.V. SCHOOL OF INDUSTRIAL FISHERIES COCHIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY KOCHI - 682 O16 2006 Q)edi'ca ted to myfamiljr DECLARATION l, Radhakrishnan K.V., do hereby declare that the thesis entitled “Systematics, Germplasm evaluation and pattern of distribution and abundance of freshwater fishes of Kerala (lndia)" is a genuine record of research work carried out by me under the guidance of Dr. B. Madhusoodana Kurup, Professor, School of Industrial Fisheries, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Kochi-1_6 and no part of the work has previously formed the basis for the award of any Degree, Associateship and Fellowship or any other similar title or recognition of any University or institution. @£'a/P Kochi - 16 Radhakrishnan K.V. July 2006 10-O7-2006 CERTIFICATE This is to certify that the thesis entitled “Systematics, Germplasm evaluation and pattern of distribution and abundance of freshwater fishes of Kerala (lndia)" to be submitted by Sri. Radhakrishnan. K.V., is an authentic record of research work carried out by him under my guidance and supervision in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Cochin University of Science and Technol09Y, under the faculty of Marine Sciences. _§I""' “" Dr. B. Madhusoodana Kurup (Supervising Teacher) Dr. B. Madhusoodana Kurup Professor School of Industrial Fisheries Cochin University of Science and Technology Cochin- 682 016 Cochin-16 July~2006 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS l express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr. B. Madhusoodana Kurup, School of Industrial Fisheries, Cochin University of Science and Technology for his most valuable guidance, inspiring supervision and sparing his precious time in this study. I have profited from his persistent advice and constructive and simulative criticism. I am grateful to Director, School of Industrial Fisheries, Cochin University of Science and Technology for providing necessary facilities to carry out this work successfully. I wish to express my sincere thanks to NBFGR, Lucknow, for giving me an opportunity to work as a Senior Research Fellow in the NAT-ICAR project on "Germplasm inventory, evaluation and Gene banking of freshwater fishes". l owe special thanks to the Director, Zoological survey of India for giving access to the type and non type specimens of fishes and also for granting permission to avail the library facilities. Thanks are due to Dr. K. Remadevi and T.J. Indra for their generous help in confirming the identity of the new species and also other species collected as part of the study and rendering relevant literatures. I am deeply indebted to Dr. K.V. Jayalakshmy, Scientist-E, NIO, Cochin for helping me to carry out the statistical part of this work. Thanks are also due to Dr. C.C. Nair, Principal Scientist, KFRI, Peechi, for rendering the computer packages for toposheets. l would be remiss not to mention my gratitude to a number of fishermen and many anonymous people all around Kerala who have aided and abetted me throughout my tenure in this work. Special thanks are due to Mr.‘ M.D. Mahesan, and Mr. Santhosh who assisted me in sampling sun/eys. ll feel special indebtness to Mr, Jhony \/engooran, Mr. Kuriakose, Mr. Biju andMr. James of Pooyamkutty without whose help, the access to the interiors of the forests would not have been possible. lneffable thanks are given to Mr. T.G. Manojkumar, my counterpart in project work, for his inordinate and arduous efforts in making this work a grand success. l am greatly indebted to Dr. Joice V. Thomas, Mr. Venu, 8., Mr. Premlal. P., Mrs. Sreedevi, 0., Dr. Hari B and Dr. Euphrasia, C.J, for their valuable help, encouragement and constant support rendered for the sumptuous fulfillment of this research work. Words of gratitude are also due to Ms. Subhasree Sankar and Mr. Jhoney, Research Scholars at the School of Industrial Fisheries and allmy friends at Kakkanad for their timely help. My heartfelt gratitude to my loving uncle, C.P. Sunilkumar and other family members for their continuous motivation and encouragement as well as for their kind understanding and patience. The assistance extended to me by Mr. Justin Thomas and Mr. Yesudas of ‘Colour Majic’ and Ms. Nisha K.H and Neez. K.H for the computerized preparation of plates is acknowledged with immense gratitude. Radhakrishnan. K.V. CONTENTS Chapter 1 General introduction 1-'22 Introduction Review of Literature Objectives Organisation of Chapters Chapter 2 Systematics 23-254 Chapter 3 Germplasm inventory and distribution pattern of fishes 255-353 in the river systems of Kerala Chapter 4 Spatio-temporal variation in fish species abundance‘ 354-456 and assemblage in six major river systems Chapter 5 Summary and suggestions for management and 457-472 conservation of freshwater fish germplasm resources of Kerala References 473-518 Appendix Chapter 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION Cfiapter 1 Q‘enera[Intr0r{uctr'0n 1.1. Introduction Biodiversity is the measure of variety of Life. The convention on Biological diversity held at Janeva during 1992 proclaimed sovereign right and responsibility for the member countries to conserve and utilize the diverse resources for meeting the primary needs of growing populations. ln conjunction with this, in 2000, “Ecosystem approach" has been identified as the primary framework for the implementation of conservation plans and recommended the application of its principles (Narain, 2000). At the heart of this approach is the awareness that, without the -effective management of ecosystems, there can be no economic development that generates sustainable human and social welfare and on the other hand, without the full engagement of diverse sectors of society, there can be no effective biodiversity conservation (Daniels, 2001). The alarming deterioration of ecosystems and habitats as a result of industrialization and population expansion are the most serious threats facing which can even wipe out the unique biodiversity of the earth (Matthews, 1998). Awareness of this fact is of course, the reason for the materialization of the Convention on Biological Diversity itself (Kottelat and Whitten, 1996). Aquatic ecosystems and management are among the most discussed topics today. The loss in biodiversity is much faster in aquatic systems than the terrestrial environment (Moyle-and Williams, 1990) and this problem is particularly acute in streams and rivers (Allan and Fecker, 1993; Allan, 1995). Nelson (1994) opined that the loss of aquatic biodiversity is severe in freshwaters, which represent only a meager 0.1% of earth‘s water wealth, yet they harbour 40 % of the fish species so far recorded. Fishes are the key $_y.rtematz'cs, germplbsm evaluation and pattern qf¢fz'stri'6uti0n anrfafiunrfance Qffresfzwaterfirfies 1 Cfiapter I Qzneraflntrozfuction stone species, which determine the distribution and abundance of other organisms in the ecosystem they represent and are good indicators of the water quality and health of the ecosystem. However, nearly 20% of the world's freshwater fish fauna is already extinct or in the verge of extinction (Moyle and Leidy, 1992). Knowledge of species and communities can reveal crucial facts necessary for the management of ecosystems and habitats (Menon,1999). Identification, listing and prioritization of species are one of the important tasks in ecosystem conservation. lt is well known that species information itself has many gaps in various taxon. In many cases, the species has not been collected since its description and some species itself are still remain buried in the synonymy due to constant misidentification (Menon, 1999). Further, the paucity of specimens for taxonomic studies make it difficult to ascertain the specific differences existing between different specimens. Conservation of biodiversity also requires a thorough knowledge of the community ecology and natural characteristics and processes that create, support, or limit communities (Rathert et aI., 1999). The identification of pattern in community structure, influence of biotic and abiotic factors and inter and intra relationships over spatial and (or) temporal scales is a common prob­ lem with which community ecologists and bio-geographers struggle (Jackson etal. 1992). Briggs (1974) gives an account of the faunal strength of various zoogeographic regions. The greatest number of fish species in the world inhabits the south East Asian region. A noteworthy difference between the freshwater fish fauna of south-east Asia and those of other tropical areas is Systematics, germpfasin avafuatiorz ancfpattem 0f¢{z'stri'6utr'mi arzrfafizmcfance <f_fr'e.r/z'water'fi's/ies 2