Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T20:04:25.490Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Distribution and community structure of fish in relation with water physico-chemical parameters of floodplain rivers in the Alitash National Park, Ethiopia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2022

Alamrew Eyayu  and
Abebe Getahun
Alamrew Eyayu*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Debre Berhan University, P.O.Box 445, Debre Birhan, Ethiopia
Abebe Getahun
Affiliation:
Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
*
Author for correspondence: Alamrew Eyayu, Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Riverine ecosystems are highly exposed to different forms of human activities and fish distribution in such habitats can be affected by different features of water. Tributaries of the Abbay and Tekeze Basins are supporting all life requesting activities in Ethiopia. Fisheries of these habitats are also the mainstay of livelihoods. However, brutal human activities are affecting these ecosystems and the fish therein. This study was thus undertaken to examine fish distribution and community structure in relation to water parameters in Ayima, Gelegu and Shinfa Rivers. 2719 fish specimens identified into 43 species were sampled using gillnets, cast nets and electro-fishing on a seasonal campaign. Based on frequency of occurrence (%FO), 5 species fell in the category of ‘euconstant occurrence’ or their FO was ≥75%, while many species were laid in the ‘constant occurrence’. Among others, site depth, total phosphorus, dissolved oxygen and river channel diameter were key environmental factors determining fish community structure. Similarity percentage produced an overall average Bray-Curtis dissimilarity of 60.8% between the fish communities of the three rivers. The final model accounted for 77.2% of the total variance in fish composition, and all canonical axes were significant (Monte Carlo test 499, p = 0.002). Generally, this study was conducted in areas where no ecological studies are undertaken and the results obtained from this study could be important for sustainable utilization of Ethiopian fisheries.

Keywords

Alitash National Parkfloodplain riversredundancy analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , July 2022 , pp. 171 - 182
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adite, A, Winemiller, K and Fiogbè, E (2006) Population structure and reproduction of the African bonytongue Heterotis niloticus in the Sô River floodplain system (West Africa): implications for management. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 15, 30–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Admassu, D, Abera, L and Tadesse, Z (2015) The food and feeding habits of the African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (Burchell), in Lake Babogaya, Ethiopia. Global Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture 3, 211–220.Google Scholar
Akombo, P, Akange, E and Adeyemi, S (2016) Diversity and abundance of Synodontis (Cuvier, 1816) species in the lower river Benue, Makurdi, Benue state, Nigeria. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 4, 238–242.Google Scholar
APHA (1998). Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. 20th Edition, American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and Water Environmental Federation, Washington DC.Google Scholar
Araoye, P (2009) Physical factors and their influence on fish species composition in Asa Lake, Ilorin, Nigeria. International Journal of Tropical Biology 57, 167–175.Google ScholarPubMed
Assaminew, K (2005) Distribution, abundance and feeding biology of the fish species in Koka reservoir and the associated Awash River floodplain, Ethiopia. Unpublished MSc. Thesis. UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands, Amstherdam, 119 pp.Google Scholar
Axenrot, T and Hansson, S (2004) Seasonal dynamics in pelagic fish abundance in a Baltic Sea coastal area. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 60, 541–547.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beetz, J (2004) Fish Ecology in a Seasonal Floodplain of the Okavango Delta, Botswana: A Preliminary Survey. Bostswana: Colby College and Harry Oppenheimer, Okavango Research Centre.Google Scholar
Bruton, M, Skelton, P and Merron, G (1984) Brief synopsis of the main findings and objectives of the Okavango fish research programme performed by the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology; Investigational report no. lI, Grahams town, South Africa: JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology.Google Scholar
Clarke, K (1993) Non-parametric multivariate analyses of changes in community structure. Australian Journal of Ecology 18, 117–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dadebo, E, Aemro, D and Tekle-Giorgis, Y (2014) Food and feeding habits of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) (Pisces: Clariidae) in Lake Koka, Ethiopia. African Journal of Ecology 52, 471–478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Day, J, Bills, R and Friel, J (2009) Lacustrine radiations in African Synodontis catfish. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22, 805–817.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Erȍs, T (2007) Partitioning the diversity of riverine fish: the roles of habitat types and non-native species. Freshwater Biology 52, 1400–1415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eyayu, A (2019) Fish biology and fisheries of the floodplain rivers in the Alitash National Park, northwestern Ethiopia. PhD Dissertation, Addis Ababa University. Addis Ababa. 228 pp.Google Scholar
Fish, G (1956) Some aspects of the respiration of six species of fish from Uganda. Journal of Experimental Biology 33, 186–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Getahun, A and Dejen, E (2012) Fishes of Lake Tana: A Guidebook. Addis Ababa University Press, Addis Ababa. 140 pp.Google Scholar
Golubtsov, A and Darkov, A (2008) A Review of fish diversity in the main drainage systems of Ethiopia based on the data obtained by 2008. In: Pavlov, D.S., Dgebudaze, Yu, Yu., Darkov, A.A., Golubtsov, A.S. and Mina, M.V. (eds). Ecological and Faunistic Studies in Ethiopia. Proceedings of jubilee meeting ‘Joint Ethio-Russian Biological Expedition: 20 years of scientific cooperation’, Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University press. pp. 69–102.Google Scholar
Golubstov, A, Darkov, A, Dgebuadze, Y and Mina, M (1995) An Artificial Key to Fish Species of the Gambella Region (The White Nile basin in the limits of Ethiopia). Joint Ethio-Russian Biological Expedition. Addis Ababa University Press, Ethiopia. 84 pp.Google Scholar
Habteselassie, R (2012) Fishes of Ethiopia. Annotated checklist with pictorial identification guide. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 250 pp.Google Scholar
Halim, A and Guma’a, S (1989) Some aspects of the reproductive biology of Synodontis schall (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) from the White Nile near Khartoum. Hydrobiologia 178, 243–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammer, Ø, Harper, DA and Ryan, PD (2001) PAST: paleontological statistics software package for education and data analysis. Palaeontologia Electronica 4, 9. Accessed at: http://palaeoelectronica.org/2001_1/past/issue1_01.htm, 21 November 2017.Google Scholar
Hermens, M, Daffé, M and Vandewalle, P (2007) Observations of the reduction of external gill filaments during larval development in Heterotis niloticus . Belgian Journal of Zoology 137, 247–249.Google Scholar
Hossain, M, Das, N, Sarker, S and Rahaman, M (2012) Fish diversity and habitat relationship with environmental variables at Meghna river estuary, Bangladesh. Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Research 38, 213–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khalid, A, Al-Badawi, A and Mohamed-Salih, H (2016) Preliminary observations on the ichthyofauna and ichthyobiomass of River Dinder flood plains in Sudan. Direct Research Journal of Agriculture and Food Science 4, 326–333.Google Scholar
Legendre, P and Legendre, L (1998) Numerical Ecology. 2nd English edition. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier, 853 pp.Google Scholar
Lepš, J and Šmilauer, P (2003) Multivariate Analysis of Ecological Data Using CANOCO. Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom. 269 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lévêque, C, Oberdorff, T, Paugy, D, Stiassny, M and Tedesco, P (2008) Global diversity of fish (Pisces) in freshwater. Hydrobiologia 595, 545–567.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luff, M and Bailey, N (2000) Analysis of size changes and incremental growths in African catfish Synodontis schall (schall) from Tell el-Amarna, Middle Egypt. Journal of Archaeological Science 27, 821–835.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Melak, T and Getahun, A (2012) Diversity and relative abundance of fishes in some temporary and perennial water bodies of the Baro Basin, Gambella, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal Biological Sciences 11, 193–206.Google Scholar
Melaku, S, Getahun, A and Wakjira, M (2017) Population aspects of fishes in Geba and Sor rivers, White Nile system in Ethiopia, East Africa. International Journal of Biodiversity, Article ID 1252604, 7.Google Scholar
Merron, G (1993) Pack-hunting in two species of catfish, Clarias gariepinus and C. ngamensis, in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Journal of Fish Biology 43, 575–584.Google Scholar
Mikia, M, Mady-Goma, I, Tsoumou, A, Mabanza, J, Vouidibio, J and Diatewa, M (2013) Preliminary data on the ichthyofauna of Djiri River (affluent of right bank of Congo River). International Research Journal of Environment Sciences 2, 1–6.Google Scholar
Mosepele, K (2014) Classical fisheries theory and inland (floodplain) fisheries management; is there need for a paradigm shift? Lessons from the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Fish and Aquaculture Journal 5, 1–8.Google Scholar
Moses, B (1987) The influence of flood regime on fish catch and fish communities of the Cross River floodplain ecosystem, Nigeria. Environmental Biology of Fishes 18, 51–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odo, G, Nwani, D and Eyo, E (2009) The fish fauna of Anambra river basin, Nigeria: species abundance and morphometry. International Journal of Tropical Biology 57, 177–186.Google ScholarPubMed
Pinkas, L, Oliphant, M and Iverson, I (1971) Food habits of albacore, blue fin tuna and bonito in Californian waters. Californian of Fish and Game 152, 1–105.Google Scholar
Rossi, L (2001) Ontogenetic diet shifts in a neotropical catfish, Sorubim lima (Schneider) from the River Parana System. Fisheries Management and Ecology 8, 141–152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sandon, H (1950) An illustrated guide to the freshwater fishes of the Sudan. Sudan Notes and Records. 27 pp.Google Scholar
Simasiku, E and Mafwila, S (2017) Fish species composition in the littoral zone of the Kavango floodplain river, Namibia. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies 5, 434–440.Google Scholar
Tedla, S (1973) Freshwater Fishes of Ethiopia. Ethiopia: Department of Biology, Addis Ababa University, 101 pp.Google Scholar
Temesgen, M (2017) Stuatus and trends of fish and fisheries in Lake Langeno, Ethiopia. PhD dissertation submitted Department of Zoological Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 243 pp.Google Scholar
ter Braak, CJF and Smilauer, P (1997–2002) CANOCO for Windows Version 4.5. Biometrics-Plant Research International, Wageningen, The Netherlands.Google Scholar
Tesfay, S (2016) Factors affecting stream fish community composition and habitat suitability. Journal of Aquaculture and Marine Biology 4, 1–15.Google Scholar
Tesfaye, G (2006) Diversity, Relative abundance and Biology of fishes in Angereb and Sanja Rivers, Tekeze Basin, Ethiopia, MSc. thesis, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia, 89 pp.Google Scholar
Tewabe, D (2008) Diversity, relative abundance and biology of fishes in Gendawuha, Guang, Shinfa and Ayima Rivers, Tekeze and Abay Basins, Ethiopia. M.A. Thesis. Addis Ababa University. 108 pp.Google Scholar
Tewabe, D, Getahun, A and Dejen, E (2010) Fishing activities in Gendwuha, Guang, Shinfa and Ayima Rivers in Tekeze and Abbay Basins, Ethiopia: preliminary study. Ecohydrology and Hydrobiology 10, 333–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiogué, C, Tomedi, M, Nguenga, D, Tekou, G and Tchoumboué, J (2014) Feeding habits of the African Carp Labeobarbus batesii (Pisces: Cyprinidae) from the Mbô Floodplain Rivers. Advances in Research 2, 757–765.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tongnunui, S, Beamish, W and Kongchaiya, C (2016) Fish species, relative abundances and environmental associations in small rivers of the Mae Klong River basin in Thailand. Agriculture and Natural Resources 50, 408–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Neer, W (2004) Evolution of prehistoric fishing in the Nile Valley. Journal of African Archaeology 2, 251–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vijverberg, J, Dejen, E, Getahun, A and Nagelkerke, L (2012) The composition of fish communities of nine Ethiopian lakes along a north-south gradient: threats and possible solutions. Animal Biology 62, 315–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wakjira, M (2016) Fish diversity, community structure, feeding ecology, and fisheries of lower Omo River and the Ethiopian part of Lake Turkana, East Africa. PhD. Thesis Addis Ababa University, Department of Zoological Sciences, 231 pp.Google Scholar
Wang, L, Lyons, J and Kanehl, P (2003) Impacts of urban land use on trout streams in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 132, 825–839.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weilhoefer, L, Pan, Y and Eppard, S (2008) The effects of river floodwaters on floodplain wetland water quality and diatom assemblages. Wetlands 28, 473–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welcomee, R (1985) River fisheries. Fisheries technical paper 262. FAO, Rome Italy.Google Scholar
Welcomme, R (1979) Fisheries Ecology of Floodplain Rivers. New York: Longman Publishers 317 Pp.Google Scholar
Wright, J and Page, L (2008) A new species of Synodontis (Siluriformes: Mochokidae) from tributaries of the Kasai River in Northern Angola. Copeia 2008, 294–300 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahorcsak, P, Silvano, R and Sazima, I (2000) Feeding biology of a guild of benthivorous fishes in a sandy shore on south-eastern Brazilian coast. Revista Brasileira de Biologia 60, 511–518.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zuur, A, Ieno, E and Smith, G (2007) Analyzing Ecological Data. New York: Springer. 680 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar