The Effect of Sand Mining and Irrigation Canals on Spawning Migration Labeobarbus spp. in Some Tributary Rivers of Lake Tana, Ethiopia

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Gizachew Teshome
Abebe Getahun
Waaie Anteneh

Abstract

The   effect  of   sand  mining  and   irrigation  canals  on spawning  migration  of  Labeobarbus  species  were   studied  from August 2013  to  April  2014  in  some tributary  rivers  of  Lake  Tana (Arno, Shini, Qimon and  Chibirna Rivers). Labeobarbus specimens were  collected using 6 and  8 cm monofilament gillnets, and  6, 8, 10 and  12  cm  mesh size  polyfilament  gillnets.  Total  of 7623  juveniles fish specimens  were  collected from  all sampling  sites  of  irrigation canal  using  beach seine  and  mosquito  nets with  5 mm  and  2 mm mesh size,  respectively.  One  way ANOVA was used to analyze  the physico-chemical  parameters and  some biological  factor  of  fishes. The  abundance and  distribution of adult migratory fish species were different between sand mining and  non-  sand mining tributary rivers of Lake Tana.  Some physicochemical parameters were  also showed significant  difference  between sand  mining  and   non  sand mining rivers  (P<0.05).  The   most  dominant  juveniles  in  irrigation  canal belong to  the  genus Labeobarbus which contributed 55.17%  while Varicorhinus  beso and  Garra  sp contributed  26.19%   and  18.62%, respectively. No significant difference was detected in the abundance of juveniles between the  two river irrigation canals. However,  there were  significant variations in juveniles mean abundances among the three  sampling  sites  within  the  rivers.  The  present findings  showed that   small  tributary  rivers  and   streams  are   the   main  spawning grounds for Labeobarbus species of Lake Tana  and  downstream fish migration influenced by the river diversion. Therefore, main spawning grounds or routes should be protected from the deleterious effects of anthropogenic  activities  like  irrigation  and  sand mining  for the  wise use of the fish resources.

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Teshome, G., Getahun, A., & Anteneh, W. (2023). The Effect of Sand Mining and Irrigation Canals on Spawning Migration Labeobarbus spp. in Some Tributary Rivers of Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Ecological Insights, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.59411/492b6p69
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Teshome, G., Getahun, A., & Anteneh, W. (2023). The Effect of Sand Mining and Irrigation Canals on Spawning Migration Labeobarbus spp. in Some Tributary Rivers of Lake Tana, Ethiopia. Ecological Insights, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.59411/492b6p69

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