Diversity and status of ichthyofauna of hill torrents of suleman mountain range, Dera Ghazi Khan region, Pakistan

The current study investigated abundance, species richness and diversity of Ichthyofauna of hill torrents of Suleman Mountain, Range, Dera Ghazi Khan Region, Pakistan. Fish sampling was carried out from ten sites. The fishes were identified following standard taxonomic keys. Relative abundance (%) and diversity indices were calculated. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare the fish abundance and diversity at different sites. Twenty fish species belonging to five families were recorded. Cyprinidae was the richest family represented by sixteen fish species, demonstrating a significant dominance (P<0.05) in number of species over other families. Tor macrolepis was the most abundant species (20.87%). A significant difference (P<0.001) was observed for species abundance at various sites, with maximum abundance (21.11%) found at Hingloon. Similarly, a significant difference (P<0.001) was demonstrated for species richness between different sites, with maximum taxa number found at Barthi. The fish fauna was indigenous with three endemic species i.e. Barilius pakistanicus, Labeo dyocheilus pakistanicus and Salmophasia punjabensis. Diversity indices values did not indicate conclusive status about fish diversity of the region. Simpson diversity index indicate greater diversity, Shannon Weiner indicate moderate diversity and Margalef index indicate poor fish diversity of the region. The occurrence in wild of some high value commercial fishes indicates towards commercial fisheries potential of the area.