Investigation of fish fauna and environmental factors influencing biodiversity in the Zarineh River, Urmia Lake basin (West Azerbaijan Province)

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

The biodiversity of fish in the rivers is affected by various environmental factors. Occasionally, the severity of these environmental impacts is such that it leads to undesirable habitats for fish species and reduces biodiversity. The present study aimed to determine the most important environmental factors affecting the biodiversity of fish in the Zarineh River. For this purpose, in September 2018, seven stations were selected for fish sampling along the Zarineh River. Fish sampling from each station was carried out at 30 m with 3 replications (90 m in total) along the river according to the one-way method using an electrofishing device. In addition, environmental factors including water temperature, velocity, discharge, depth and altitude/elevation above sea level were also recorded at all stations. In total, 404 specimens were caught from the Zarineh River that belonged to 11 species. In this study, diversity indices including shannon–wiener, margalef, simpson, species richness, dominance and evenness were determined using Biodiversity Pro and PAST softwares. Canonical Correspondence Analysis was used to determine the environmental factors affecting the biodiversity and fish species. Based on the results, temperature, altitude/elevation above sea level, and water velocity were identified as environmental factors affecting the biodiversity of fish in the Zarineh River, respectively. In addition, depth, velocity and discharge were also identified as the most effective environmental factors on the abundance of fish species.

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Iranian Scientific Fisheries Journal
Volume 29, Issue 1
March and April 2020
Pages 81-91

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