Abstract:
Anthropogenic activities may impact ichthyofauna in freshwater bodies, and
therefore, baseline information on fish diversity is needed to monitor the
trends in abundance. The present study was undertaken to identify and
compare the diversity of freshwater fishes in Podi wewa (Site 1) in Ihala
Kadigamuwa village and Maunawa wewa (Site 2) in Maunawa village,
Kurunegala district, North-Western Province of Sri Lanka from October
2020 to May 2021. Weekly sample collections were made, and fish were
identified to the species level by morphological features using standard
taxonomical keys. Eight fish species belonging to five families from Podi
wewa and six species representing five families from Maunawa wewa were
identified. These species were Glossogobius giuris (Family Gobiidae),
Lepidocephalichthys thermalis (Family Cobitidae), Heteropneustis fossilis
(Family Heteropneustidae), Puntius vittatus, Esomus thermoicus, Rasbora
caverii and Puntius chola (Family Cyprinidae), Channa punctata and
Channa striata (Family Channidae), Anabas testudineus (Family
Anabantidae), and Trichogaster pectoralis (Family Osphronemidae). Order
Cypriniformes were the most species-rich group among the identified
species. Puntius vittatus, Rasbora caverii and Trichogaster pectoralis were
present at both sites 1 and 2. The most abundant species at site 1 was
Trichogaster pectoralis (44.12%) and Puntius vittatus (94.6%) at site 2.
Although the total abundance of fish in Podi wewa was lower (n= 68) than
that in the Maunawa wewa (n= 268), the fish diversity (H′= 1.3141) and
species richness (SR= 8) were higher at Podi wewa than those in the
Maunawa wewa (H′= 0.4148, SR= 6) based on the Shannon Weiner index.
Over-exploitation of water resources and fishery resources and water
pollution are the major threats to the occurrence of fish species in these
freshwater bodies. Therefore, strategies for conservation of fish species are
needed in the future.
