{"title":"Food and feeding habits of the endemic fish, Hypselobarbus thomassi (Day, 1874) in the Kallada River, Kerala, India","authors":"C. R. Renjithkumar, Roshni Kuttanellor, Madhusoodana Kurup Balakrishnan","doi":"10.22034/IJI.V8I2.459","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The feeding habits of the endemic cyprinid fish, Hypselobarbus thomassi (Day, 1874) was studied based on the monthly sampling in the Kallada River, Kerala, India from April 2010 to March 2011. Gut contents of 183 fish specimens were analysed and quantified using occurrence and volumetric methods. Analysis of the gut contents showed that semi-digested plant matter (22.11%) was the most preferred food item of the fish followed by Bacillariophyceae (19.80%), Chlorophyceae (19.38%), semi-digested animal matter (11.21%), soil particles (9.20%), seeds of plants (6.70%), Cyanophyceae (5.51%) and miscellaneous items (6.08%). The results indicated that H. thomassi is an omnivorous-stenophagic-column feeder. The gastrosomatic index (GaSI) ranged from 3.28-7.33 with an increment from August to November coincides with the spawning season and energy preservation for gonadal development. The information on feeding ecology of H. thomassi , a critically endangered fresh water fish from Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot would be useful towards formulating proper conservation plan for the species in its natural range.","PeriodicalId":14599,"journal":{"name":"Iranian Journal of Ichthyology","volume":"8 1","pages":"76-82"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2021-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Iranian Journal of Ichthyology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.22034/IJI.V8I2.459","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The feeding habits of the endemic cyprinid fish, Hypselobarbus thomassi (Day, 1874) was studied based on the monthly sampling in the Kallada River, Kerala, India from April 2010 to March 2011. Gut contents of 183 fish specimens were analysed and quantified using occurrence and volumetric methods. Analysis of the gut contents showed that semi-digested plant matter (22.11%) was the most preferred food item of the fish followed by Bacillariophyceae (19.80%), Chlorophyceae (19.38%), semi-digested animal matter (11.21%), soil particles (9.20%), seeds of plants (6.70%), Cyanophyceae (5.51%) and miscellaneous items (6.08%). The results indicated that H. thomassi is an omnivorous-stenophagic-column feeder. The gastrosomatic index (GaSI) ranged from 3.28-7.33 with an increment from August to November coincides with the spawning season and energy preservation for gonadal development. The information on feeding ecology of H. thomassi , a critically endangered fresh water fish from Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot would be useful towards formulating proper conservation plan for the species in its natural range.
期刊介绍:
Iranian Journal of Ichthyology (IJI) is a peer-reviewed journal for publication of high quality papers on any aspect of ichthyology and will be published 4 times a year by the Iranian Society of Ichthyology (http://www.isi-org.ir). The journal welcomes the submission of manuscripts that meets the general criteria of significance and scientific excellence, and will publish original scientific articles in the fields of ichthyology. The editors welcome the submission of original manuscripts including Research Articles, Short communications, and Views & News. Review papers by distinguished authors and Special Issues will also be considered. It is our aim to provide the international scientific community with an efficiently published journal, meeting high scientific and technical standards. Scopes of Iranian Journal of Ichthyology includes: Systematics, taxonomy, morphology, anatomy, biogeography, biodiversity, conservation, ecology and general biology of fishes (reproduction, food and feeding habits, age and growth, population dynamics, etc.). Papers on freshwater, brackish, marine and fossil fishes will be considered.