WATER QUALITY AND ICHTHYOFAUNAL DIVERSITY ASSESSMENT OF KAPLA Beel, A FLOODPLAIN WETLAND OF BARPETA DISTRICT OF ASSAM, NORTH-EAST INDIA
JYOTIRMOY THAKURIA *
Department of Zoology, ARBA Degree College, Pathsala-781325, Assam, India.
MANALISHA DEKA
Department of Zoology, BBK College, Barpeta-781311, Assam, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study was carried out for a period of one year from June 2017 to May 2018 to assess the water quality status and ichthyofaunal diversity of Kapla beel, a famous freshwater floodplain wetland of Barpeta district of Assam, North-East India. Various parameters as water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), biological oxygen demand (BOD), total alkalinity, total hardness, free CO2, total solid (TS), total dissolved solid (TDS), total suspended solid (TSS), turbidity and concentration of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were tested during the experiment by following the standard protocol provided by American Public Health Association (APHA) (2005). Fish species were collected and identified by following proper taxonomic literature. Most of the water parameters were found to be in a suitable range for its ichthyofauna except TS, TDS, TSS and N. The deleterious effect of various anthropogenic activities was observed in terms of some of the water parameters. A total of 65 economically important fish species were recorded and identified during the study period. As a whole, the wetland possesses very rich ichthyofaunal diversity with suitable water quality.
Keywords: Kapla beel, ichthyofaunal diversity, water quality, anthropogenic pressure.