Current Status of Fish Diversity and Abundance at Panjnad Headworks Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Present study is conducted to collect the information about current fish diversity at famous public place at Panjnad Headworks, Punjab, Bahawalpur, Pakistan. All fish samples were collected from three different sites (Panjnad, Abasia, Abu Dhabi canal) during February 2020 to January 2021 using different fish inclusive. The evident fish groups found were Cyprinids, Catfishes and others including (Channa punctata, Oreochromis niloticus, Oreochromis mossambicus, Bagarius bagarius). The data was statistically analyzed using ANOVA. Further relative abundance (Panjnad canal=57.81%, Abbasia canal=25.56%, Abu Dhabi canal=16.61%) and Simpson diversity index (D) (Panjnad canal=0.957335, Abbasia canal=0.923277, Abu Dhabi canal=0.893188) and Shannon-Wiener index (H) (Panjnad canal=3.19433, Abbasia canal=1.54355, Abu Dhabi canal=1.067311) were also calculated. Results revealed the diversity of fish population at Panjnad Headworks may be varied with seasonal variations. Maximum species originated belongs to family Cyprinidae which were 12 in number. It is suggested that there is a need of comprehensive strategies to conserve the nearly extinct group of fish species.