Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Study of agricultural impacts through fish base variables in different rivers

  • Published:
International Journal of Environmental Science & Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Dominant agricultural society of Nepal demonstrates the sign of compromises on its rural and virgin landscape. The current study investigates the fish base indices on some of its watershed. It is a proven fact that fish base variables such as species diversity and the abundance indicate the extent of impact by various disturbances on the ecological integrity of the river system. Three rivers, namely Jhikhukhola, Rapti and Tinau were studied to see the agricultural impact by taking fish species number and their abundance as the indicators in this work. The study was done for an academic purpose from 2003 to 2006 in which sampling was done using electro-fishing gear by standard wading method. Four replicates of sample taken in four major seasons were obtained in the field. Altogether, 10542 fishes of 24 genera and 34 species were captured during the entire sampling. The comparison of their distribution and abundance showed a clear sign of impact mainly on the downstream of the rivers indicating the rapid increase in unaccounted and indiscriminate use of agricultural inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. This was further verified by nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test which showed the significant variations in the impact on the downstream in major agricultural season.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Balogh, S. J.; Huang, Y.; Offerman, H. J.; Meyer, M. L.; Johnson, D. K., (2003). Methylmercury in rivers draining cultivated watersheds. Sci. Total Environ., 304(1–3), 305–313 (9 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Berg, H., (2000). Pesticide use in rice and rice-fish farms in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Crop. Prot., 20(10), 897–905 (9 pages).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bohn, B. A.; Kershner, J. L., (2002). Establishing aquatic restoration priorities using a watershed approach. J. Environ. Manage., 64(4), 355–363 (9 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cowx, I. G.; Lamarque, P., (1990). Fishing with electricity, applications in freshwater fisheries management. Oxford. Fishing News Books, Blackwell Scientific Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Day, F., (1878). Fishes of india being a natural history of the fishes known to inhabit the seas and freshwaters of India, Burma and Ceylon, Vols. I and II. Today and tomorrow book Agency, New Delhi.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • De Oliveira Filho, E. C.; Lopes, R. M.; Paumgartten, F. J. R., (2004). Comparative study on the susceptibility of freshwater species to copper-based pesticides. Chemosphere, 56(4), 369–374 (6 pages).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorea, J. G., (2008). Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances in fish: Human health considerations. Sci. Total Environ., 400(1–3), 93–114 (22 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fowlie, A. R.; Hodson, P. V.; Hickey, M. B. C., (2008). Spatial and seasonal patterns of Mercury concentrations in fish from the St. Lawrence river at Cornwall, Ontario: Implications for monitoring. J. Great Lakes Res., 34(1), 72–85 (14 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Foy, R. H.; Kirk, M., (1996). Agriculture and water quality: A regional study. Int. J. Multiphas. Flow, 22(1), 124 (1 page).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Imam, E. H.; El Baradei, S. A., (2009). Impact of control structures on assimilative capacity of rivers and fish habitat. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 6(2), 315–324 (10 pages).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jha, R. B., (2006). Fish ecological studies and its application in assessing ecological integrity of rivers in Nepal. Ph.D. dissertation. Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Nepal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, R. A., (2004). Miller and Freund’s Probability and Statistics for Engineers. 6th Ed., Pearson Education Inc. New Jersey 07458, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kammerbauer, J.; Moncada, J., (1998). Pesticide residue assessment in three selected agricultural production systems in the Choluteca river basin of Honduras. Environ. Pollut., 103(2–3), 171–181 (11 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karr, J. R., (1981 ). Assessment of biotic integrity using fish communities. Fisheries, 6(6), 21–27 (7 pages).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karr, J. R., (2000). Health, integrity and biological assessment: The importance of measuring whole things, in: Pimentel, D., Westra, L.; Noss, R. F. (Eds.), Ecological integrity: Integrating environment conservation and health, Island Press, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karr, J. R.; Chu, E. W., (1995). Ecological integrity: Reclaiming lost connections, in: Westra, L., Lemons, J. (Eds.), Perspectives on ecological integrity, Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liang, Y.; Cheung, R. Y. H.; Wong, M. H., (1999). Reclamation of wastewater for polyculture of freshwater fish: Bioaccumulation of trace metals in fish. Water Res., 33(11), 2690–2700 (11 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, X. W.; Dang, Z.; Yang, C., (2009). Preliminary investigation of chloramphenicol in fish, water and sediment from freshwater aquaculture pond. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 6(4), 597–604 (8 pages).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McCarthy, L. H.; Stephens, G. R.; Whittle, D. M.; Peddle, J.; Harbicht, S.; LaFontaine, C.; Gregor, D. J., (1997). Baseline studies in the Slave river, NWT, 1990–1994: Part II. Body burden contaminants in whole fish tissue and livers. Sci. Total Environ., 197(1–3), 55–86 (32 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moiseenko, T. I.; Gashkina, N. A.; Sharova, Yu. N.; Kudryavtseva, L. P., (2008). Ecotoxicological assessment of water quality and ecosystem health: A case study of the Volga River. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Safe., 71(3), 837–850 (14 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • MOPE, (1998). State of the environment, Nepal (agriculture and forest). HMG/Ministry of population and environment, Kathmandu.

    Google Scholar 

  • MOPE, (2001). State of the environment, Nepal (agriculture and forest). HMG/Ministry of population and environment, Kathmandu.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noss, R. F., (1995). Ecological integrity and sustainability: Buzzword in conflict. Westra, L.; Lemons, J. (Eds.), Perspectives on ecological integrity, Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nouri, J.; Mahvi, A. H.; Jahed, G. R.; Babaei, A. A., (2008). Regional distribution pattern of groundwater heavy metals resulting from agricultural activities. Environ. Geol., 55(6), 1337–1343 (7 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oczkowski, A.; Nixon, S., (2008). Increasing nutrient concentrations and the rise and fall of a coastal fishery. A review of data from the Nile Delta, Egypt. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci., 77(3), 309–319 (11 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Okafor, E. Ch., Opuene, K., (2007). Preliminary assessment of trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the sediments. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 4(2), 233–240 (8 pages).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Okoumassoun, L. E.; Brochu, C.; Deblois, C.; Akponan, S.; Marion, M.; Averill-Bates, D.; Denizeau, F., (2002). Vitellogenin in tilapia male fishes exposed to organochlorine pesticides in Oueme River in Republic of Benin. Sci. Total Environ., 299(1–3), 163–172 (10 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Penczak, T., (2009). Fish assemblage compositions after implementation of the IndVal method on the Narew River system. Ecol. Model., 220(3), 419–423 (5 pages).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez, W.; Porcher, J. M., (2009). Fish biomarkers for environmental monitoring within the water framework directive of the European Union. In-situ trialing and validation of ecological and chemical water measurements. TrAC. Trend. Anal. Chem., 28(2), 150–158 (9 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shrestha, J., (1994). Fishes, fishing implements and methods of Nepal. Smt. M.D. Gupta, Lalitpur colony, Lashkar (Gwalior), India.

  • Shrestha, J., (2001). Taxonomic revision of fishes of Nepal. Jha, P. K.; Baral, S. R.; Karmacharya, S. B.; (Eds.), Environment and agriculture: Biodiversity, agriculture and pollution in South Asia, Ecological Society (ECOS), Kathmandu Nepal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soto-Galera, E.; Daz-Pardo, E.; Lopez-Lopez, E.; Lyons, J., (1998). Fish as indicators of environmental quality in the Rio Lerma Basin, Mexico. Aqua. Ecosys. Health Manage., 1(3–4), 267–276 (10 pages).

    Google Scholar 

  • Suthar, S.; Singh, S., (2008). Vermicomposting of domestic waste by using two epigeic earthworms (Perionyx excavatus and Perionyx sansibaricus). Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 5(1), 99–106 (8 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Talwar, P. K.; Jhingran, A. G., (1991). Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries, Vol. 1 and 2. Oxford and IBH Publishing Company Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uriarte, A.; Borja, A., (2009). Assessing fish quality status in transitional waters, within the european water framework directive: Setting boundary classes and responding to anthropogenic pressures. Estuar. Coast. and Shelf Sci., 82(2), 214–224 (11 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vinodhini, R.; Narayanan, M., (2008). Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in organs of fresh water fish Cyprinus carpio (Common carp). Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 5(2), 179–182 (4 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walters, D. M.; Roy, A. J.; Leigh, D. S., (2009). Environmental indicators of macroinvertebrate and fish assemblage integrity in urbanizing watersheds. Ecol. Indic., 9(6), 1222–1233 (12 pages).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Westra, L., (1995). Ecosystem integrity and sustainability: The foundational value of the wild. Westra, L.; Lemons, J. (Eds.), Perspectives on ecological integrity, Kluwer Academic Publishers, The Netherlands.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, P. O. Box 6250, Kathmandu, Nepal

    B. R. Jha Ph.D. (Assistant Professor) & S. Sharma Ph.D. (Full Professor)

  2. Universität für Bodenkultur, Max Emanuel-Straβe 17 A-1190, Wien, Austria

    H. Waidbacher Ph.D. (Full Professor) & M. Straif B.Sc.

Authors
  1. B. R. Jha Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H. Waidbacher Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. Sharma Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. M. Straif B.Sc.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to B. R. Jha Ph.D..

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Jha, B.R., Waidbacher, H., Sharma, S. et al. Study of agricultural impacts through fish base variables in different rivers. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 7, 609–615 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03326170

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03326170

Keywords

Search

Navigation