Ichthyofaunal Diversity in Upper Stretches of River Beas Himachal Pradesh India

Abstract

The present communication highlights the present status of Ichthyofaunal diversity in upper stretches of river Beas. Six fish species viz., Schizothorax richardsonii represented the most dominant species, followed by Oncorhynchus myskiss, Salmo trutta fario, Nemacheilus rupecola and Garra gotyla gotyla, Glyptothorax indicus belonging to 3 orders and 3 families were recorded from the river Beas which indicates poor faunal biodiversity. The study indicates that fishes are endangered due to anthropogenic reasons which include human interference, habitat fragmentation, flow regimes and siltation followed by damming, unethical fishing practices, pollution, etc. Strict management measures with large scale community awareness would be necessary to conserve the fish biodiversity of river Beas.

A comprehensive DNA barcoding of Indian freshwater fishes of the Indus River system, Beas

“…The study encompassed the establishment of a reference library comprising 203 DNA barcodes from 43 different species belonging to 10 orders, with Cypriniformes exhibiting the highest diversity, followed by Siluriformes. Among the 43 species investigated, 27 were previously documented in the Beas River 32,33 . The current study has documented 16 species for the first time including Bangana dero, Barilius vagra, Cabdio morar, Chagunius chagunio, Chanda nama, Cirrhinus cirrhosis, Clupisoma prateri, Esomus danrica, Labeo boggut, Oreochromis niloticus, Salmostoma bacaila, Salmostoma phulo, Schizothorax plagiostomus, Tariqilabeo adiscus, Tariqilabeo latius, and Tor tor.…”

“…Reconstructing phylogenetic relationships becomes more challenging when there is ancestral hybridization and polyploidization, causing limited gene transmission between different populations or species 48,49 dero formed a distinct lineage with L. bata, L. boggut, and three additional forms, naming the clade "Bangana sensu stricto". The studies on the molecular phylogeny of genus Bangana are in its early stages and, its systematic status remains debatable 32 . Intra-species genetic divergence exceeding 2% was observed in Labeo gonius, Osteobrama cotio, Pethia conchonius, Ompok pabo, Chanda nama, Channa marulius, and Clupisoma prateri.…”

“…Higher intra-species divergence (1.9%) and haplotype diversity of 0.76 (H = 7) were also observed in L. bata. Haplotype 33 of L. bata population showed a highly divergent group from the remaining cluster of haplotypes ( Hap 28,29,30,31,32), possibly due to genetically isolated or geographically distant population.…”

Status of fish assemblage structure in the Ganga and Indus riverine systems of the western Himalaya

“…From the upper stretch of the Beas River, a total of six fish species have been recorded out of which three species of trout Schizothorax richardsonii , Oncorhynchus mykiss , and Salmo trutta fario are reported and three are sport fishes, namely, Nemacheilus rupicola rupicola, Glyptothorax indicus , and Garra gotyla gotyla . Species Schizothorax richardsonii , Glyptothorax spp., Nemacheilus spp., and trouts are highly utilized (Kumar & Khanna, 2014). Another study was conducted on the Maan Stream, which is a tributary of the Beas River located in Himachal Pradesh.…”