Invasive fish and its consequences in the freshwater ecosystem of undivided Midnapore, West Bengal, India

Abstract

A primary goal of the current study is to conduct a complete survey of the diversity of freshwater exotic fish in Midnapore, West Bengal, India, with special attention paid to their effects on local fish species. Freshwater fish species from all the blocks in the three districts under study have been surveyed. According to observations, there are 14 foreign freshwater fish species in the research region, classified into 12 genera and 7 families. Two species, Barbonymus gonionotus and Piaractus brachypomus, are recorded for the first time from the study area and are comparatively recent phenomena. Most exotic fish species (12 species) were introduced in India as food fish for aquaculture purposes; two species were introduced for mosquito control for their larvicidal feeding habits. Of the twelve food fishes, three are also used in aquariums as pet fish among the residents of the study area. The ecological consequences of the exotic fish species on local fish diversity is an added criterion of the present investigation. All species in the study area have a complete set of distributional information. Thus, the focus of the current study is on the exotic fish faunal diversity in the study area.