Fish diversity and abundance at the Satpura Dam and Tawa River region in Sarni, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Abstract

The goal of the current study was to determine the variety and abundance of fishes in the river Tawa at the Satpura dam in Sarni, close to the Thermal Power Station in Madhya Pradesh, for a period of one year, from January 2022 to December 2022. In total, 52 species from 10 orders and 16 families were counted. Family Cyprinidae had the most species with 25, followed by Bagridae, Siluridae, and Ophiocephalidae with 4 each. Site 4 had the highest observed number of species (47 species), followed by Site 2 (45 species), Site 3 (42 species), and Site 1. Two diversity indices—the Shannon and Simpson indexes—were combined to measure diversity. Simpson index values ranged from 0.01 to 0.03 whereas Shannon index values exhibited a similar trend and ranged from 2.77 to 3.78. When the current statistics were compared to the previously published data, it was discovered that while overall diversity is still retained, the number of specific species has drastically decreased. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to execute laws against illicit fishing, manage aquatic resources scientifically, expand research on activities that affect biodiversity, and adopt new procedures and protocols for their long-term preservation.