Length-weight relationships of two conservation-concern mahseers (Teleostei: Cyprinidae: Tor) of the river Cauvery, Karnataka, India
Main Article Content
Abstract
Length-weight (LW) relationships are presented for two conservation-concern species of mahseer (Tor spp.) from southern India’s river Cauvery. Constructed from angler catch data, these are the first available LW relationships for the Critically Endangered Tor remadevii and the non-native and locally invasive Tor khudree. For T. remadevii, the value of b, the allometric parameter, was 2.94 (95% CI: 2.75–3.14) and was not significantly different from 3.0, indicating isometric growth (t = 0.61, P = 0.54). For T. khudree, b was greater at 3.18 (95% CI: 3.01–3.38), but with this also not significantly different from 3.0 (t = 1.91, P = 0.06). Outputs are discussed with reference to species conservation and recreational catch-and-release fisheries.
Article Details
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
References
Ali, A., N. Dahanukar & R. Raghavan (2013). Length-weight and length-length relationship of three species of snakehead fish, Channa diplogramma, C. marulius and C. striata from the riverine reaches of Lake Vembanad, Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5(13): 4769–4773. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3353.4769-73 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3353.4769-73
Bower, S.D., A.J. Danylchuk, R. Raghavan, S.E. Clark-Danylchuk, A.C. Pinder & S.J. Cooke (2016). Rapid assessment of the physiological impacts caused by catch-and-release angling on Blue-finned Mahseer (Tor sp.) of the Cauvery River, India. Fisheries Management and Ecology 23: 208–217.
Cook, K.V., R.J. Lennox, S.G. Hinch & S.J. Cooke (2015). Fish out of water: how much air is too much? Fisheries 40: 452–461. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03632415.2015.1074570
Cooke, S.J., W.I. Dunlop, D. Macclennan & G. Power (2000). Applications and characteristics of angler diary programmes in Ontario, Canada. Fisheries Management and Ecology 7: 473–487.
Cooke, S.J & C.D. Suski (2005). Do we need species-specific guidelines for catch-and-release recreational angling to effectively conserve diverse fishery resources? Biodiversity and Conservation 14: 1195–1209. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-004-7845-0
de Alwis Goonatilake, S., M. Fernado & O. Kotagama (2020). Tor khudree. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T169609A60597571. Accessed on 14 May 2020. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T169609A60597571.en DOI: https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T169609A60597571.en
Jerdon, T.C. (1849). On the fresh-water fishes of southern India. Madras Journal of Literature and Science 15: 302–346.
Kurup, B.M. & K.V. Radhakrishnan (2007). Tor remadevii, a new species of mahseer from Kerala (South India), and distribution and abundance of Tor spp. in the river systems of Kerala. In: Siraj, S.S., A. Christianus, N.C. Kiat, & S.S. De Silva (eds.). Mahseer, the Biology, Culture and Conservation. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the mahseer, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Malaysian Fisheries Society Occasional Publication No 14, Kuala Lumpur) 2007, 236pp.
Kurup, B.M. & K.V. Radhakrishnan (2010). Tor remadevii, a new species of Tor (gray) from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Pambar River, Kerala, Southern India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 107: 227–230.
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (2017). India’s National Wildlife Action Plan. http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/nwap_2017_31.pdf, Accessed on 17 June 2020.
Pinder, A.C. & R. Raghavan (2013). Conserving the endangered mahseers (Tor spp.) of India: the positive role of recreational fisheries. Current Science 104: 1472−1475.
Pinder, A.C., R. Raghavan & J.R. Britton (2015a). The legendary Hump-backed Mahseer Tor sp. of India’s River Cauvery: an endemic fish swimming towards extinction? Endangered Species Research 28: 11–17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00673
Pinder, A.C., R. Raghavan & J.R. Britton (2015b). Efficacy of angler catch data as a population and conservation monitoring tool for the flagship Mahseer fishes (Tor spp.) of southern India. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 25: 829–838. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2543
Pinder, A.C., A. Manimekalan, M.J.D. Knight, P. Krishnankutty, J.R. Britton, S. Philip, N. Dahanukar & R. Raghavan (2018a). Resolving the taxonomic enigma of the iconic game fish, the Hump-backed Mahseer from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. PLoS ONE 13(6): e0199328. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199328 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199328
Pinder, A.C., U. Katwate, N. Dahanukar & A. Harrison (2018). Tor remadevii. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T56096394A56717605. Accessed on 14 May 2020. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T56096394A56717605.en DOI: https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T56096394A56717605.en
Pinder, A.C., J.R. Britton, A.J. Harrison, P. Nautiyal, S.D. Bower, S.J. Cooke, S. Lockett, M. Everard, U. Katwate, K. Ranjeet, S. Walton, A.J. Danylchuk, N. Dahanukar & R. Raghavan (2019). Mahseer (Tor spp.) fishes of the world: status, challenges and opportunities for conservation. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 29(2): 417–452.
Pinder, A.C., R. Raghavan & J.R. Britton (in press). From scientific obscurity to conservation priority: research on angler catch rates is the catalyst for saving the Hump-backed Mahseer Tor remadevii from extinction. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.
Riedel, R., L.M. Caskey & S.H. Hurlbert (2007). Length-weight relations and growth rates of dominant fishes of the Salton Sea: implications for predation by fish-eating birds. Lake and Reservoir Management 23(5): 528–535.
Wild Life (1977). The monster mahseers of Karnataka. The Wildlife Association of South India, Bangalore: 1–8.