Length-weight relationships of 12 indigenous fish species in the Gajner Beel floodplain (NW Bangladesh)

Abstract

Summary The length–weight relationships (LWRs) were studied for 814 individuals covering eight families and 12 species of fish, e.g., Botia dario, Botia lohachata, Channa orientalis, Esomus danricus, Heteropneustes fossilis, Macrognathus pancalus, Nandus nandus, Ompok pabda, Pethia phutunio, Pethia ticto, Trichogaster fasciata and Trichogaster lalius captured from the Gajner beel floodplain, northwestern (NW) Bangladesh. Samples were collected occasionally from catches of fishermen from November 2014 to October 2015 using different types of traditional fishing gear, including gill net (mesh size ranges from 1.0 to 3.0 cm), cast net (mesh size ranges from 1.0 to 2.0 cm), square lift net (mesh size ~1.0 cm) and conical and box trap. The total length (TL) and body weight (BW) were measured for each individual. The allometric co‐efficient b values ranged between 2.64 (B. lohachata) to 3.27 (N. nandus) and were highly significant, with p < .001 for all species. Additionally, for the first time, the study provides LWR information for B. dario, B. lohachata, E. danricus, O. pabda, T. lalius and P. phutunio, beneficial for fishery biologists and to update the online database (FishBase). The study also recorded a maximum length for P. phutunio. The present observations are significant for the sustainable management and conservation of these fishes in the Gajner beel floodplain, NW Bangladesh and the surrounding ecosystems.

Life history traits of the Barred spiny eel Macrognathus pancalus (Hamilton, 1822) in a wetland ecosystem

“…The knowledge of life history traits of fish species is very significant to execution of proper management policies for protecting the economically important small fish like M. pancalus (Hossain et al, 2017). Studies of length frequency distributions (LFDs) usually express the ecology and life-history traits of fish (Khatun et al, 2019).…”

“…Additionally, relative weight (W R ) is the most accepted index to recognize the pre-predator status of fishes in the worldwide since long time (Rypel and Richter, 2008) and now it is using in Bangladesh for assessing the pre-predator status of freshwater fishes (Hossain et al, 2013c;Rahman et al, 2019a,b). Hence, several authors reported on growth pattern (Hossain et al, 2006;Abujam and Biswas, 2016;Hossain et al, 2017;Islam et al, 2017: Karna et al, 2018, maturity and fecundity (Suresh et al, 2006;Pathok et al, 2012), truss morphometric studies (Mahfuj et al, 2019). Considering the economic importance of this species, no prior research on life history traits of M. pancalus from Bangladesh and elsewhere.…”

New maximum size record, length–weight relationships and form factor of Hooghly Croaker Panna heterolepis Trewavas, 1977 from the Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh)

“…Length–weight relationships (LWRs) are essential for studying fish stock assessment and population dynamics (Hossain, Hossen, Ahmed et al, 2017; Parvin et al 2018; Hossen, Rahman, Hossain et al, 2019), allowing calculation of weights consistent with a given body length. It is widely used in analyses of fishery data, mainly because of the difficulty and time required to record weights in the field (Andrade & Camos, 2002).…”

Length-weight relationships of two fish species from the Jialing River, the largest tributary of the upper Yangtze River, China

“…The LWRs have been widely used to assess stock biomass, age structure and function, dynamic and growth of fish populations (Asadi, Sattari, Motalebi, Zamani‐Faradonbeh, & Gheytasi, ; Özaydın, Uçkun, Akalın, Leblebici, & Tosunoğlu, ; Wang et al, ). Therefore, the LWRs are vital element in the research of fish physiology, taxonomy, ecology and fisheries management (Écoutin & Albaret, ; Hossain et al, ; Offem, Samsons, & Omoniyi, ; Wang et al, ). For instance, the LWRs are frequently applied to the life‐history traits analysis of different fish species or the same species from different localities (Hossain et al, ; Wang et al, ).…”

“…Therefore, the LWRs are vital element in the research of fish physiology, taxonomy, ecology and fisheries management (Écoutin & Albaret, ; Hossain et al, ; Offem, Samsons, & Omoniyi, ; Wang et al, ). For instance, the LWRs are frequently applied to the life‐history traits analysis of different fish species or the same species from different localities (Hossain et al, ; Wang et al, ). In the field survey, LWRs can be used to convert length to weight and vice versa, especially when only length or weight measurements are available (Froese, ; Zeng, Huang, Chen, & Li, ).…”