Biodiversity, distributions and isolation of microplastics pollution in finfish species in the Panjkora River at Lower and Upper Dir districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan

Abstract

O objetivo básico deste estudo foi determinar a diversidade ictiofaunistica do rio Panjkora nos distritos de Lower e Upper de Dir, na provincia de Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, no Paquistão. Amostras de peixes foram coletadas com redes de arrasto de março a setembro de 2020. Foram coletados 724 espécimes, classificados em 5 familias, 14 generos e 18 especies. Os resultados gerais revelaram que a maioria da ictiofauna do rio Panjkora contém 8 especies da familia Cyprinidae (56,49%), seguidas por 4 especies de Nemacheilidae (24,44%), 2 especies de Channidae (10,63%) e Sisoridae (7,04%) e 1 especie de Mastacembelidae (1,38%). Entre todas as especies de peixes, Schizothorax plagiostomus (16,57%) foi altamente predominante, seguida por Carassius auratus (11,87%) e Racoma labiata (9,66%), e elas foram relatadas como altamente abundantes, especialmente nos meses de abril, maio e junho. As especies menos abundantes foram Glyptothorax punjabensis, Glyptothorax sufii e Mastacembelus armatus, que constituiram 2,48%, 2,20% e 1,38%, respectivamente, do total de peixes amostrados. O índice de diversidade de Simpson (1-D = 0,919), o índice recíproco de Simpson (1/D = 12,3876) e o índice de Shannon (H = 2,68) indicaram que o rio Panjkora contém um grupo bastante rico e diversificado de espécies de peixes. Os microplásticos mais altos foram observados no local 7 em comparaçâo com outra área de estudo. Medidas de conservaçâo devem ser tomadas como prioridade máxima para proteger e conservar o ambiente marinho e o patrimonio natural de novas perdas e extinçâo e para parar ou minimizar as perdas ocorridas por práticas de pesca irresponsáveis.

Alternate abstract:

The basic aim of this study was aimed to determine the ichthyofaunal diversity of River Panjkora in both upper and lower Dir districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.Fish samples were collected by using fishnets from March to September 2020. A total of 724 specimens were collected and classified into 5 families, 14 genera, and 18 species. The overall results revealed that most fish fauna of river Panjkora contains 8 species of family Cyprinidae (56.49%) followed by 4 species of Nemacheilidae (24.44%), 2 species of Channidae (10.63%), and Sisoridae (7.04%), and 1 species of Mastacembelidae (1.38%), respectively. Among all kinds of fish species, Schizothorax plagiostomus (16.57%) was highly dominated and followed by Carassius auratus (11.87%) and Racoma labiata (9.66%) and were reported as highly abundant, especially during April, May, and June. The least abundant species were Glyptothorax punjabensis, Glyptothorax sufii, and Mastacembelus armatus, that constituting 2.48%, 2.20%, and 1.38% of the total fish samples. The Overall Simpson's diversity (1-D= 0.919) and Simpson's Reciprocal index values (1/D= 12.3876), and Shannon's index (H= 2.68) were indicating that river Panjkora contains a quite rich and diverse group of fish species. The highest microplastics observed in site 7 compared to other study area. Conservation steps should be taken as a top priority to protect and conserve the marine environment and natural heritage from further loss, extinction and stop or minimize losses incurred through irresponsible fishery practices