eChapter Name: Fish Diversity in Maguri Motapung Beel, Tinsukia District of Assam: A Brief Investigation
9789358872057
eBook Name: LIMNOLOGY AND MARINE BIOLOGY
by Sikha Sonowal, Monjeet Sonowal
INTRODUCTION
Fish live in a variety of watery habitats and comprise around 50% of all vertebrate species worldwide. There are approximately 21,723 known living fish species out of a total of 39,900 vertebrate species, with 8,411 found in freshwater habitats and 11,650 in marine environments (Jayaram, 1999). Fish are used as markers of contamination and contribute significantly to the preservation of human history and welfare, either directly or indirectly. According to Mittermeier et al. (1997), India ranks eighth in the world for freshwater biodiversity, making it one of the nations with significant biodiversity. There are over 2,500 fish species in India; roughly 930 of them are found in freshwater environments, and roughly 1570 are found in marine ones (Kar et al., 2006).
Fish diversity is particularly rich in the northeastern part of the nation; studies have shown that there are 267 freshwater fish species from 114 genera distributed over 38 families and 10 orders (Mahanta et al., 2003). Fish plays a crucial role in Assam's cuisine, where a wide range of fish species may be found in the region's floodplain wetlands because of the subtropical climate, favorable ecological and topographical circumstances, and inherent capacity for stocking. Assam's waters, including its wetlands, are home to around 217 fish species, representing 104 genera, 37 families, and 10 orders, according to Goswami & Singha (2023). Assam's lakes and marshes are vital for supplying the state's domestic fish needs, fostering economic growth, and giving the general public access to fairly priced food. In Maguri Beel, several fish are in danger of going extinct because of pollution, habitat damage, and the introduction of non-native species, overexploitation and human activity (Moyle & Moyle, 1995; Malakar & Boruah, 2017). The 2020 oil spill incident might have had a major impact on the variety of the ichthyofauna's composition. To address the same, a comparison of the same with earlier research is desperately needed. As a result, the current study intends to examine the fish variety of Maguri Motapung Beel, close to Motapung Village in the Tinsukia region of Assam and Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.