Population biology of the pool barb Puntius sophore (Hamilton 1822) (Cyprinidae) in the Padma River, Bangladesh

Abstract

The cyprinid pool barb Puntius sophore (Hamilton 1822) is widely distributed in freshwaters of Southern Asia. We determined some basic population biology parameters of P. sophore including sex ratio, length-frequency distributions (LFDs), length-weight relationships (LWRs), condition factors, relative weight and fecundity. Samples were collected monthly during July 2010 to June 2011 from the Padma River, Bangladesh. The overall fish sex ratio significantly differed from the anticipated value of 1:1 (p < 0.001) in favour of female specimens (1: 1.31). Females were significantly larger and heavier than males (p < 0.001). The LWRs showed isometric growth in both sexes; however, with clear monthly variation. Fulton's condition factor was found to be significantly correlated with the total length (TL) and body weight (BW) and the most suitable among the studied condition factors for interpreting population well-being. Total fecundity varied from 1488 to 18708 (5682 ± 3703), while the relative fecundity from 205 to 1868 (882.7 ± 369.5). The total fecundity was found to be significantly related with TL, BW, ovary weight, gonadosomatic index and Fulton's condition factor. The determination of population biology parameters including fecundity will deepen understanding of the overall condition of P. sophore populations and their regenerative capacities.

Keywords:

• Puntius sophore
• sex ratio
• length-weight relationships
• condition factors
• fecundity
• Padma River

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments aimed to improve the manuscript. We are indebted to Laima Monkienė for editing the English language of our manuscript.