Fish scales as bio-indicator of water quality of River Ganga

Abstract

Various studies have been conducted in the past on the fresh waters related to the various aspects of limnology, physico-chemistry, primary productivity, plankton etc. in relation to environmental conditions and ecology, flora and fauna of River Ganga. In the present investigation some recent approach have been made to study the various parts of fishes like gill structures, scales for age determination, length and weight of fish for growth assessments etc. The SEM study of scales in relation to pollution and environmental conditions is a recent approach. At this stage, in the present study the scales of two most common fishes found in the study stretch were involved to create a base line.

Evaluation of Physicochemical Characteristics of Gomti River Water at Uttar Pradesh, India.

“…BOD has been used to detect the amount of organic materials in water which supports the growth of microorganism (Goel, 2006). In the present study, the average value found was 4.6mg/l is higher than the value obtained by the in Yamuna River (Khaiwal, et al, 2003) and in Ganga River (Khanna, et al,2007) correspondingly.…”

Assessment of Ganga river ecosystem at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India with reference to water quality indices

“…The average value of 11 years was found as 1.84 ± 0.32 mg/l. Khaiwal et al (2003) and Khanna et al (2007) noted the similar thing in river Yamuna and in river Ganga correspondingly. The minimum value as well as maximum value of chemical oxygen demand was observed to be 8.69 ± 0.56 and 12.00 ± 0.68 mg/l, respectively.…”

“…The average value of 11 years was found as 81.74 ± 12.24 mg/l. Khanna et al (2007) found average value of total hardness 12.71 mg/l while working on river Ganges. The nitrate ranged from 0.02 to 0.07 mg/l, while Phosphate fluctuated from 0.05 to 0.08 mg/l.…”

“…The average value of 11 years was found as 9.86 ± 1.12 mg/l. Khanna et al (2007) worked on the River Ganga and found average value of chemical oxygen demand to be 3.94 mg/l. The Ganga water contained highest free CO 2 2.91 ± 0.18 mg/l during course of this study followed by a gradual decrease to its lowest value of 1.75 ± 0.14 mg/l.…”

Untitled

“…Fish are always susceptible to a wide range of pathogens that cause several types of diseases in skin, liver, kidney, and other organs Nandi et al, 2016). In a study Khanna, Sarkar, Gautam, and Bhutiani (2007) have reported the relation between water pollution and scale morphology, that might be helpful in monitoring environmental pollution. In a similarly study, Dua and Gupta (2005) also have observed the toxic effects of mercury on fish scale and correlated the effect with the water pollution.…”