Ichthyofaunal diversity in the community-managed Jagadishpur Reservoir (Ramsar site) and Gajedi Lake, Lumbini Province, Nepal
Article Sidebar
Abstract Views: 313
File Views: 78
Main Article Content
Abstract
Abstract. Shrestha S, Khatri K, Shrestha N, Poudel RC, Sapkota K. 2025. Ichthyofaunal diversity in the community-managed Jagadishpur Reservoir (Ramsar site) and Gajedi Lake, Lumbini Province, Nepal. Biodiversitas 26: 3262-3272. This study aimed to establish baseline information on fish species diversity in the Jagadishpur Reservoir and Gajedi Lake, located in Lumbini Province, Nepal, managed under community-based systems. The study was conducted between 2018 and 2022 across three different seasons at five sampling stations using cast nets. Thirty-nine native fish species representing 27 Genera, 18 Families, and 9 Orders were recorded. Among them, Cypriniformes was the dominant order and Danionidae the most widespread family in both water bodies. In Jagadishpur Reservoir, Rasbora daniconius was the most abundant species, followed by Puntius sophore, whereas Amblypharyngodon mola and Trichogaster fasciata were the most common in Gajedi Lake. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H') ranged from 1.54 to 2.77, indicating moderate biodiversity. Pielou’s evenness index (J), ranging from 0.72 to 0.93, suggested a relatively even species distribution. Notably, Badis badis and Macrognathus lineatomaculatus were observed only once in the Jagadishpur Reservoir and Gajedi Lake, respectively. Both water bodies were found to be slightly alkaline. The Redundancy Analysis (RDA) results revealed low adjusted R² values for the two lentic systems, suggesting that while environmental variables do influence fish community structure, a substantial portion of the variation remains unexplained, likely due to the complex biotic interactions and unmeasured factors. The findings show that both wetlands support a rich diversity of native fish species and that they contribute to the understanding of fish richness and associated water quality parameters, and provide valuable insights for planning sustainable fishing practices, guiding future research, and informing conservation strategies.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Adrian R, Hessen DO, Blenckner T, Hillebrand H, Hilt S, Jeppesen E, Livingstone DM, Trolle D. 2016. Environmental impacts-lake ecosystems. In: Quante M, Colijn F (eds). North Sea Region Climate Change Assessment. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-39745-0_10.
Agarwal N, Rawat U, Singh G. 2019. Fish assemblages and habitat ecology of River Pinder in central Himalaya, India. Iran J Fish Sci 18: 118930. DOI: 10.22092/ijfs.2018.118930.
American Public Health Association (APHA). 2005. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater 21st Ed. American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association, Water Environment Federation, Washington DC.
Anna Z, Suryana AA, Maulina I, Rizal A, Hindayani P. 2017. Biological parameters of fish stock estimation in Cirata Reservoir (West Java, Indonesia): A comparative analysis of bio-economic models. Biodiversitas 18 (4): 1468-1474. DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d180424.
Aziz MSB, Hasan NA, Mondol MMR, Alam MM, Haque MM. 2021. Decline in fish species diversity due to climatic and anthropogenic factors in Hakaluki Haor, an ecologically critical wetland in northeast Bangladesh. Heliyon 7: e05861. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05861.
Barman SK, Kunda M, Mazumder SK, Nahiduzzaman M, Barman PP, Das SK. 2021. Fish-diversity in the Kura River of Bangladesh: Patterns and threats. Malays Appl Biol 50 (3): 1-14. DOI: 10.55230/mabjournal. v50i3.2208.
Besson M, Feeney WE, Moniz I, François L, Brooker RM, Holzer G, Metian M, Roux N, Laudet V, Lecchini D. 2020. Anthropogenic stressors impact fish sensory development and survival via thyroid disruption. Nat Commun 11: 3614. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17450-8.
Bhusal K, Rana D, Joshi A, Chaudhary I, Ghimire P, Pandey M. 2020. Diversity and abundance of winter wetland birds in Jagdishpur Reservoir Ramsar Site, Kapilvastu, Nepal. Danphe 29 (1): 1-14.
Boyd CE. 2015. pH, carbon dioxide, and alkalinity. In: Boyd CE (eds). Water Quality: An Introduction. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-17446-4_8.
Boyd CE. 2017. General relationship between water quality and aquaculture performance in ponds. In: Jeney G (eds). Fish Diseases. Academic Press, London. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-804564-0.00006-5.
Budhathoki P, Thakur CK, Sandilya MM, Poudel BD. 2022. Wetland flora of Jagadishpur Reservoir, Western Nepal. J Environ Sci 8 (1): 137-144. DOI: 10.3126/jes.v8i1.53659.
Clarke KR, Warwick RM. 2001. Change in Marine Communities: An Approach to Statistical Analysis and Interpretation 2nd Ed. PRIMER-E Ltd, Plymouth, Devon.
Cottet M, Descloux S, Guédant P, Cerdan P, Vigouroux R. 2016. Fish population dynamic in the newly impounded Nam Theun 2 Reservoir (Lao PDR). Hydroecol Appl 19: 321-355. DOI: 10.1051/hydro/2015004.
Dantas DD, Rubim PL, de Oliveira FA, da Costa MR, de Moura CG, Teixeira LH, Attayde JL. 2019. Effects of benthivorous and planktivorous fish on phosphorus cycling, phytoplankton biomass and water transparency of a tropical shallow lake. Hydrobiologia 829: 31-41. DOI: 10.1007/s10750-018-3613-0.
Dhakal S, Rai SK, Chalise P, Thapa TK. 2020. Algal flora of Gajedi Lake, Rupandehi District, Central Nepal. J Plant Res 18 (1): 27-38.
Dhital MR. 2015. Geology of the Nepal Himalaya: Regional Perspective of the Classic Collided Orogen. Springer, Cham. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-02496-7.
Endruweit M. 2016. Range extension of Lepidocephalichthys alkaia (Teleostei: Cobitidae) and notes on its sexual dimorphism. Dongwuxue Yanjiu 37 (3): 186-188. DOI: 10.13918/j.issn.2095-8137.2016.3.186.
Epa U, Narayana N. 2016. Feeding ecology and length-weight relationship of Indian glass barb, Laubuka laubuca (Hamilton 1822) at Maguru Oya Stream (Deduru Oya River tributary), Sri Lanka. Asian Fish Sci 29 (3): 151-163. DOI: 10.33997/j.afs.2016.29.3.003.
Espinosa-Mendoza DA, Arceo-Carranza D, Chiappa-Carrara X. 2025. The effect of the seasonal variations on the structure of the fish community in karstic wetlands. Wetlands 45 (2): 24. DOI: 10.1007/s13157-025-01909-9.
Faghihinia M, Xu Y, Liu D, Wu N. 2021. Freshwater biodiversity at different habitats: Research hotspots with persistent and emerging themes. Ecol Indic 129: 107926. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107926.
Funge?Smith S, Bennett A. 2019. A fresh look at inland fisheries and their role in food security and livelihoods. Fish Fish 20: 1176-1195. DOI: 10.1111/faf.12403.
Gautam D, Saund TB, Shrestha J. 2010. Fish diversity of Jagadispur Reservoir, Kapilbastu District, Nepal, A Ramsar site. Nepal J Sci Technol 11: 229-234. DOI: 10.3126/njst.v11i0.4150.
Goetz D, Miranda LE, Kröger R, Andrews C. 2015. The role of depth in regulating water quality and fish assemblages in oxbow lakes. Environ Biol Fish 98: 951-959. DOI: 10.1007/s10641-014-0330-z.
Grill G, Thieme MKCJK, Shahbol N, Sada R, Schmitt R, Opperman J, Martin E. 2020. High Conservation Value River Assessment-Methodology and Results. USAID/Nepal Paani Program, Nepal.
Gurung S, Gurung A, Sharma CM, Jüttner I, Tripathee L, Bajracharya RM, Raut N, Pradhananga P, Sitaula BK, Zhang Y, Kang S. 2018. Hydrochemistry of Lake Rara: A high mountain lake in western Nepal. Lakes Reservoi 23 (2): 87-97. DOI: 10.1111/lre.12218.
Hasan V, Widodo MS, Faqih AR, Mahasri G, Arief M, Valen FS, Tamam MB, Yonarta D, Pratama FS, Fitriadi R. 2020 Presence of striped flying barb Esomus metallicus (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) from west Sumatra, Indonesia. Ecol Environ Conserv 26: S73-S75.
Hasan V, Widodo MS, Wiadnya DG, Mukti AT, Irawan B. 2019. Distribution extension and first record of Lobocheilos falcifer (Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae) in Central Java Province, Indonesia. Ecol Environ Conserv 25: S158-S161.
Ignatius AR, Rasmussen TC. 2016. Small reservoir effects on headwater water quality in the rural-urban fringe, Georgia Piedmont, USA. J Hydrol Reg Stud 8: 145-161. DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2016.08.005.
IUCN. 2025. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Version 2025-1. https://www.iucnredlist.org.
Jayaram KC. 2012. The Freshwater Fishes of the Indian Region (Reprint). Narendra Publishing House, Delhi.
Jayaram KC. 2022. Catfishes of India (Reprint). Narendera Publishing House, Delhi, India.
Jha BR, Gurung S, Khatri K, Gurung A, Thapa AKCM, Gurung B, Acharya S. 2018. Patterns of diversity and conservation status of freshwater fishes in the glacial fed and rain fed rivers of Eastern Nepal. Environ Biol Fish 28 (2): 1295-1305. DOI: 10.3126/jist.v28i2.61235.
Jha. 2006. Fish Ecological Studies and Its Application in Assessing Ecological Integrity of Rivers in Nepal. [Dissertation]. Agricultural University (BOKU), Vienna. [Austria]
Karki S, Yokota S. 2024. Community-based farming water resource management and important factors for adaptation practices in Terai, Nepal. Water 17 (1): 47. DOI: 10.3390/w17010047.
Khatri K, Jha BR, Gurung S, Khadka UR. 2020. Freshwater fish diversity and its conservation status in different water bodies of Nepal. Nepal J Environ Sci 8: 39-52. DOI: 10.3126/njes.v8i1.34442.
Khatri K, Jha BR, Gurung S, Khadka UR. 2024. Freshwater fish diversity and IUCN Red List status of glacial-fed (Bheri) and spring-fed (Babai) rivers in the wake of inter-basin water transfer. J Threat Taxa 16 (1): 24535-24549. DOI: 10.11609/jott.8084.16.1.24535-24549.
Khowhit S, Tanee T, Khowhit D, Pumipuntu N, Muagmai N, Musiri P. 2024. Population dynamics of Eye-Spotted Barb (Hampala dispar: Cyprinidae) in Huai Kho Reservoir, Na Chueak District, Maha Sarakham Province, Thailand. Biodiversitas 25 (9): 3095-3104. DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d250931.
Kottelat M. 2013. The fishes of the inland waters of Southeast Asia: A catalogue and core bibliography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries. Raffles Bull Zool 27: 1-663.
Laba K, Shrestha S, Sigdel P, Chaudhary D. 2023. Fish diversity of Ghodaghodi Lake Area: An important Ramsar wetland site, Kailali, Far-Western, Nepal. Nepal J Sci Technol 28 (2): 107-116. DOI: 10.3126/jist.v28i2.61235.
Lai H, Bi S, Yi H, Guo D, Li H, Wang G, Liu X, Chen Q, Chen J, Zhang Z, Wei X, Liu S, Li G. 2022. Seasonal variation in the functional structure of demersal fish communities and response to environmental changes in the Pearl River Estuary, China. Ecol Indic 144: 109525. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109525.
Lamsal P, Pant KP, Kumar L, Atreya K. 2015. Sustainable livelihoods through conservation of wetland resources: A case of economic benefits from Ghodaghodi Lake, western Nepal. Ecol Soc 20 (1): 10. DOI: 10.5751/ES-07172-200110.
Legendre P, Gallagher ED. 2001. Ecologically meaningful transformations for ordination of species data. Oecologia 129: 271-280. DOI: 10.1007/s004420100716.
Margalef R. 1973. Information Theory in Ecology. Department of the Environment, Fisheries Research Board of Canada, Great Lakes Biolimnology Laboratory, Canada.
Meerhoff M, Teixeira MF, Kruk C, Alonso C, González-Bergonzoni I, Pacheco JP, Lacerot G, Arim M, Beklio?lu M, Brucet S, Goyenola G, Iglesias C, Mazzeo N, Kosten S, Jeppesen E. 2012. Environmental warming in shallow lakes: A review of potential changes in community structure as evidenced from space-for-time substitution approaches. Adv Ecol Res 46: 259-349. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-396992-7.00004-6.
Mehner T, Argillier C, Hesthagen T, Holmgren K, Jeppesen E, Kelly F, Krause T, Olin M, Volta P, Winfield IJ, Brucet S. 2021. Model-based decomposition of environmental, spatial, and species-interaction effects on the community structure of common fish species in 772 European lakes. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 30 (8): 1558-1571. DOI: 10.1111/geb.13302.
Mekonen S, Hailu A. 2021. Ichthyofauna of Gibe Sheleko National Park and some morphometric relationships of fish of the tributary rivers, Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Fisheries 9 (1): 9. DOI: 10.17017/j.fish.308.
Ministry of Forests and Environment (MoFE). 2018. National Ramsar Strategy and Action Plan, Nepal (2018-2024). Government of Nepal, Ministry of Forests and Environment, Kathmandu.
Missaghi S, Hondzo M, Herb W. 2017. Prediction of lake water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and fish habitat under changing climate. Clim Change 141: 747-757. DOI: 10.1007/s10584-017-1916-1.
Moniruzzaman M, Bhowmick AR, Karan S, Mukherjee J. 2021. Spatial heterogeneity within habitat indicates the community assemblage pattern and life strategies. Ecol Indic 123: 107365. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107365.
Montgomery AD, Fenner D, Donahue MJ, Toonen RJ. 2021. Community similarity and species overlap between habitats provide insight into the deep reef refuge hypothesis. Sci Rep 11: 23787. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-03128-8.
Mouludi-Saleh A, Eagderi S, Poorbagher H, Kazemzadeh S. 2019. The effect of body shape type on differentiability of traditional and geometric morphometric methods: A case study of Channa gachua (Hamilton, 1822). Eur J Biol 78 (2): 165-168. DOI: 10.26650/EurJBiol.2019.00011.
Muthukumaravel K, Pradhoshini KP, Vasanthi N, Raja T, Jaleel MA, Arunachalam KD, Musthafa MS, Ayyamperumal R, Karuppannan S, Rajagopal R, Alfarhan A, Chandrasekaran M, Chang SW, Ravindran B. 2021. Assessment of seasonal variation in distribution and abundance of plankton and ichthyofaunal diversity in relation to environmental indices of Karankadu Mangrove, South East Coast of India. Mar Pollut Bull 173: 113142. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113142.
Oli BB, Jha DK, Aryal PC, Shrestha MK, Dangol DR, Gautam B. 2013. Seasonal variation in water quality and fish diversity of Rampur Ghol, a wetland in Chitwan, Central Nepal. Nepal J Biosci 3 (1): 9-17. DOI: 10.3126/njbs.v3i1.41420.
Parichy DM, Postlethwait JH. 2020. The biotic and abiotic environment of zebrafish. In: Gerlai RT (eds). Behavioral and Neural Genetics of Zebrafish. Academic Press, United Kingdom. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-817528-6.00001-2.
Paul AK, Akter MS, Alam MA, Dewan S, Akhtar A. 2021. Fish biodiversity and conservation significance of the Jamuna River in Bangladesh. Croat J Fish 79 (2): 53-61. DOI: 10.2478/cjf-2021-0019.
Pielou EC. 1966. The measurement of diversity in different types of biological collections. J Theor Biol 13: 131-144. DOI: 10.1016/0022-5193(66)90013-0.
Pinna M, Zangaro F, Saccomanno B, Scalone C, Bozzeda F, Fanini L, Specchia V. 2023. An overview of ecological indicators of fish to evaluate the anthropogenic pressures in aquatic ecosystems: From traditional to innovative DNA-based approaches. Water 15 (5): 909. DOI: 10.3390/w15050909.
Pokharel KK, Basnet KB, Majpuria TC, Baniya CB. 2020. Species diversity, distribution and abundance of fishes of Seti Gandaki River Basin, Pokhara, Nepal. Himal Biodivers 8 (1): 5-14. DOI: 10.3126/hebids.v8i1.40234.
Rajbanshi KG. 2012. Biodiversity and Distribution of Freshwater Fishes of Central/Nepal Himalayan Region. Nepal Fisheries Society, Nepal.
Rashid G, Singh R, Kumar A, Paramasivam P. 2025. Spatiotemporal variation in fish species distribution and abundance in the Vaishav stream, Kashmir Himalaya-India. Plos One 20: e0316280. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0316280.
Regmi SR, Jha PK, Gyawali S. 2023. Seasonal variation and threat assessment of bird diversity at Gajedi Wetland, Rupandehi, Nepal. Nepal J Zool 7 (2): 8-15. DOI: 10.3126/njz.v7i2.60803.
Schallenberg M. 2021. The application of stressor-response relationships in the management of Lake Eutrophication. Inland Waters 11: 1-12. DOI: 10.1080/20442041.2020.1765714.
Shannon CE. 1948. A mathematical theory of communication. Bell Syst Tech J 27: 379-423. DOI: 10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x.
Shrestha J. 1981. Fishes of Nepal. Curriculum Development Centre, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
Shrestha J. 1994. Fishes, Fishing Implements and Methods of Nepal. Lalitpul Colony, Lashkar (Gwalior), India.
Shrestha TK. 2019. Ichthyology of Nepal: A Study of Fishes of the Himalayan Waters 2nd Edn. Himalayan Ecosphere, Kathmandu.
Simpson EH. 1949. Measurement of diversity. Nature 163 (4148): 688. DOI: 10.1038/163688a0.
Soo CL, Nyanti L, Idris NE, Ling TY, Sim SF, Grinang J, Ganyai T, Lee KSP. 2021. Fish biodiversity and assemblages along the altitudinal gradients of tropical mountainous forest streams. Sci Rep 11: 16922. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96253-3.
Suriya C, Satian C, Visut B, Supadha K. 2022. Diversity of freshwater fish at sago palm wetlands, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, Thailand. Biodiversitas 23 (12): 5994-6003. DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d231230.
Talwar PK, Jhingran AG. 1991. Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries Vol. 1 and 2. Oxford-IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
Valen FS, Widodo MS, Wiadnya DG, Hasan V. 2020. Contemporary distribution records of yellow finned Barb Mystacoleucus marginatus (Valenciennes, 1842) in Brantas Basin, Indonesia. Ecol Environ Conserv 26: S40-S43.
Vishwanath W. 2021. Freshwater Fishes of the Eastern Himalayas. Academic Press, Cambridge, MA.
Wahyuningsih H, Sinaga SMS, Hartanto A. 2022. Ichthyofauna diversity in Pematang Matik coastal waters, Serdang Bedagai District, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 23 (10): 4557-4564. DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d231005.
Wang J, Chen L, Tang W, Heino J, Jiang X. 2021. Effects of dam construction and fish invasion on the species, functional and phylogenetic diversity of fish assemblages in the Yellow River Basin. J Environ Manag 293: 112863. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112863.
Wanjari RN, Hamid I, Abass Z, Magloo AH, Ahmad I. 2025. Ecosystem services of aquatic biodiversity for food production and livelihoods. In: Sundaray JK, Rather MA, Ahmad I, Amin A (Eds). Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainability Through Aquaculture Technologies. Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-75830-0_11.
Westrelin S, Roy R, Tissot-Rey L, Bergès L, Argillier C. 2018. Habitat use and preference of adult perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) in a deep reservoir: Variations with seasons, water levels and individuals. Hydrobiologia 809: 121-139. DOI: 10.1007/s10750-017-3454-2.
Wilborn R, Rooper CN, Goddard P, Li L, Williams K, Towler R. 2018. The potential effects of substrate type, currents, depth and fishing pressure on distribution, abundance, diversity, and height of cold-water corals and sponges in temperate, marine waters. Hydrobiologia 811: 251-268. DOI: 10.1007/s10750-017-3492-9.
Withers JL, Takade-Heumacher H, Davis L, Neuenhoff R, Albeke SE, Sweka JA. 2021. Large- and small-scale movement and distribution of acoustically tagged lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in eastern Lake Erie. Anim Biotelem 9: 40. DOI: 10.1186/s40317-021-00263-x.
Wu L, Liu K, Wang Z, Yang Y, Sang R, Zhu H, Wang X, Pang Y, Tong J, Liu X, Ma M, Wang Q, Ma K, Liu F. 2025. Temporal-spatial variations in physicochemical factors and assessing water quality condition in river-lake system of Chaohu Lake Basin, China. Sustainability 17 (5): 2182. DOI: 10.3390/su17052182.
Zhang S, Zhan A, Zhao J, Yao M. 2024. Metropolitan pressures: Significant biodiversity declines and strong filtering of functional traits in fish assemblages. Sci Total Environ 944: 173885. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173885.
Zhuang J, Wang Y, Lin J, Zhang D, Peng Q, Jin T. 2024. Research progress and framework on the simulation and assessment of fish habitat degradation in lakes. Ecol Indic 158: 111461. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.111461.
Zogaris S, Koutsikos N, Chatzinikolaou Y, ?zeren SC, Yence K, Vlami V, Kohlmeier PG, Akyildiz GK. 2023. Fish assemblages as ecological indicators in the Büyük Menderes (Great Meander) River, Turkey. Water 15 (12): 2292. DOI: 10.3390/w15122292.