Ichthyofaunal diversity in Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, Bay
of Bengal
R.
Rajaram 1 & T. Nedumaran 2
1 Department of
Marine Science, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu 620024,
India
2 Centre of Advanced
Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, Parangipettai 608502, Tamil
Nadu, India
Email: 1
drrajaram69@rediffmail.com
Date
of publication 26 March 2009
ISSN 0974-7907
(online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: M. Arunachalam
Manuscript details:
Ms # o1985
Received 23
April 2008
Final revised
received 14 October 2008
Finally accepted
09 February 2009
Citation: Rajaram, R.
& T. Nedumaran (2009). Ichthyofaunal diversity in Great Nicobar Biosphere
Reserve, Bay of Bengal. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1(3): 166-169.
Copyright: © R. Rajaram & T. Nedumaran 2009. Creative
Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this
article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by
providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Acknowledgements: The
authors are thankful to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of
India for providing financial support; to Shri D.R.K. Sastri,
Officer-In-Charge, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Station, Zoological Survey of
India, Port Blair for permitting us to make use of the library and laboratory
facilities; to Shri. N. Yesu Rathnam, Divisional Forest Officer and Shri B.
Chatterjee, Wildlife Warden of Campbell Bay, Great Nicobar Islands for the
encouragement and facilities and to the Indian Coast Guard for the logistic
support.
For
Table & Figure – click here
The Andaman and
Nicobar Islands are well known for their rich variety of fish. Rao et al. (2000) reported 539 fish species
from the freshwater and marine habitats of the islands. A wide variety of fish species occur in Great
Nicobar waters owing to the diversity of marine habitats, including mangroves,
creeks, lagoons, estuaries, muddy shores and coral reefs; Dhandapani &
Mishra (1998) recorded 88 species belonging to 55 genera, 33 families and seven
orders, with Perciformes being the dominant order. Local fisheries provide important food and
commercial resources (Kumaran 1973; Marichamy 1974; Sivaprakasam 1976a,b; Menon
1977; Sudarsan 1978; Talwar et al. 1982; Dorairaj & Soundararajan 1985,
1987; Mehta & Devi 1990; Talwar 1990; Rajan et al. 1992; Rao et al. 1992;
Dhandapani & Mishra 1993; Rajan et al. 1993; Rao & Devi 1996; Devi
& Rao 1997; Dhandapani & Mishra 1998; Devaraj et al. 1999; Rao et al.
2000; Ghosh 2001; Rajaram et al. 2007). The marine fishery resources of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are
estimated to be around 0.244 million tonnes, representing over 6% of the
estimated marine fishery potential of India. Annual marine fish landing in these waters is about 27000 tonnes,
accounting for 11% of the Indian total (Ghosh 2001).
Materials and
Methods
The Andaman and
Nicobar islands, located in the Bay of Bengal, include 524 islands of which 30
are inhabited. The 24-island Nicobar island
group includes Great Nicobar, which is covered by thick forest (70%) and has a
coastal system of reefs, mangroves, estuaries and wetlands (Fig 1). Collections were conducted in three-month
periods over three years from August 2000 to July 2003 in primary fishing
locations around Great Nicobar (Campbell Bay, Lashman Beach, Jawahal Nullah,
Gandhi Nagar, Vijaya Nagar, Laful Bay, Kondul, Pillobhabi, Galathea Bay and
River, Kopen Heat) using a variety of fishing gear including shore seines,
gillnets, cast nets, hook and line, and scoop nets. Scoop net collections were also made in all
the low tide collection stations on both the east and west coasts. Specimens were also procured from Zero Point
fish market at Campbell Bay, and landing centers including Gandhi Nagar and
Vijaya Nagar. The specimens were fixed
in 10% formalin.
Results and
Discussion
In the second
year of collection, 75 species of new record belonging to 55 genera, 75
species, 40 families and 13 orders were reported. Among these, Perciformes topped the list with
24 families, 34 genera and 50 species followed by Anguilliformes (2 families
with 5 genera and 7 species), Scorpaeniformes (2 families with 3 genera and 5
species), Tetraodontiformes and Cyprinodontiformes (2 families with 2 genera
and 2 species each), Laminiformes (single family with single genus and
species). The orders Clupeiformes,
Pleuronectiformes, Syngnathiformes, Siluriformes, Aulopiformes, Elopiformes and
Rajiformes were represented by a single family with single genus and species
each. In Perciformes, the families
Carangidae with six species, Haemulidae and Mullidae with three species each
and Lutjanidae with two species are the major families showing new distribution
records.
During the
entire study, 258 species belonging to 141 genera, 84 families and 19 orders
were recorded. Among these, Perciformes
topped the list with 47 families, 84 genera and 169 species followed by
Clupeiformes (4 families with 9 genera and 16 species), Tetraodontiformes (5
families with 8 genera and 16 species), Anguilliformes (5 families with 9
genera and 15 species), Scorpaeniformes (3 families with 5 genera and 8
species), Beryciformes (1 family with 3 genera and 5 species), Laminiformes (1
family with 2 genera and 4 species), Cyprinodontiformes and Pleuronectiformes
(3 families with 3 genera and 4 species), Rajiformes (2 family with 2 genera
and 3 species), Myctophiformes and Syngathiformes (1 family with 2 genera and 3
species), Aulopiformes (a single family with 2 genera and 2 species), Siluriformes
(2 families with 2 genera and 2 species) and Notacanthiformes, Elopiformes and
Ophidiformes were each represented by a single species.
In
Anguilliformes, 10 species of muraenid eel including the two species Rhinomuraena
quaesita and Moringua bicolor and Neoniphon aurolineatus, belonging
to the Holocentridae family under the order Beryciformes, are new distribution
records to the Bay of Bengal. In
Perciformes, Carangidae with 17 species, Serranidae with 12 species,
Lutjanidae, Clupeidae and Pomocentridae with nine species each, Haemulidae with
seven species, Apogonidae with four species, Chaetodontidae with five species,
Pomacanthidae with two species, Scaridae with three species are the major
families which include the commercially and ornamentally important species.
From the entire
survey, 147 species of new distribution records in the study area belonging to
15 orders, 97 genera and 59 families are reported. Among these, Perciformes topped the list with
33 families, 57 genera and 99 species followed by Anguilliformes (3 families
with 7 genera and 11 species), Tetraodontiformes (4 families with 6 genera and
7 species), Scorpaeniformes (3 families with 5 genera and 8 species),
Clupeiformes (2 families with 4 genera and 4 species). Rhinomuraena quaesita(Muraenidae), Moringua bicolor (Moringuedae) belonging to Anguilliformes
and Neoniphon aurolineatus (Holocentridae) of Beryciformes, upon their
collection from Great Nicobar Islands form new distributional records to the
Bay of Bengal.
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