Traditional (Morphological and Ecological) Approaches

#### **Chapter 1**

## Perspective Chapter: Crustaceans Taxonomy

*Zardasht Ahmed Taha*

#### **Abstract**

Crustaceans are one of the organisms living on the earth that is important to know forms (e.g., larvae, morphs, adults, sexes) and units. In the current era, crustaceans (crab, shrimp, and lobster) emerge as one of the most demanding seafood than other types of seafood, and therefore, natural implication of worldwide fisheries is more dominated by crustaceans. Because a large number of crustaceans taxa have been identified and described, it is necessary to definite groups. Crustaceans are one of the world's oldest and most diversified arthropods, as well as one of the most successful invertebrate groups, with an assessed 40,000 living species and more than 150,000 identified. The names "shrimp" and "prawn" do not relate to any specific taxonomic groups. Although "shrimp" is often used to refer to smaller species and "prawn" is more commonly used to refer to larger ones, there is no clear distinction between the two terms, and their usages are sometimes misunderstood or even reversed in various regions. This chapter aims to focus on the taxonomy of the crustacean and their contribution and importance in fisheries.

**Keywords:** crustaceans, taxonomy, classification crustaceans, binomial nomenclature, nomenclature rules

#### **1. Introduction**

Crustaceans are a varied group of arthropods (phylum Arthropoda) that includes Brine shrimp, copepods, ostracods, Sand hoppers, crayfish, crabs, lobsters, barnacles, prawns, krill, and mantis shrimp (see **Figure 1**) [1]. Crustaceans have branched (biramous) appendages, chitin and calcium exoskeleton, two pairs of antennae projecting in front of the mouth, and paired appendages that function as jaws with three pairs of biting mouthparts. Carcinologists have long argued the taxonomic classification of crustaceans, with five, six, or even 10 classes sometimes assigned to the group at the phylum, subphylum, or superclass level [2]. The Crustacean has been classified as a class by others [3].

#### **2. Taxonomy, systematic, and classification**

The term taxonomy is derived from the Greek *taxis* (it means "order" or "arrangement") and *nomos* (it means "law" or "science") (A.P. de Cadolle, 1813).

#### **Figure 1.**

*Illustration of the major groups of freshwater crustaceans [1].*


#### **Table 1.**

*Crustacean taxonomy is constantly being revised and reevaluated, and the classification system utilized herein is no exception (generally based on [3]).*

Taxonomy is the rehearsal and application of classification and can be used ass taxonomic units also familiar as taxa. It originally can be denoted only to the classification of organisms but up-to-date it is used in a fuller sense to the principle fundamental such as a classification. Taxonomy essentially copes with the naming and classification of taxa and forms only a part of biological systematics known as biodiversity. In taxonomy, the smallest unit of classification is called species, which consists of classification and nomenclature. Based on the relation of the organisms, it can be grouped or placed known as classification [4]. The system of classification is developed and used by Carl Linne, 1735, the term systematic can be used in taxonomy.

Crustaceans are divided into six categories (see **Table 1**).

1.Ostracoda—tiny animals with bivalve shells [5, 6].

2.Branchiopoda*—clam shrimp.*

**Figure 2.** *Crustaceans groups.*


Crustaceans are sometimes separated into two groups: entomostracans, which include copepods, barnacles, and fairy shrimp, and malacostaceans, which include lobsters, crabs, and shrimp (**Figure 2**).

#### **3. Species of crustaceans**

Crustaceans consisting of crabs, shrimps, and lobsters are one of the most important groups of Arthropod [7]. Now can be explained order Decapoda, for the first time about 8000 species of crustaceans dispersed among more than a thousand genera (Chace, 1951) and lately estimated a total number of extant species of 14,756 in 2725 genera (see **Figure 3**). This implies that in the last 50 years, the number of described species has nearly doubled. However, we are a long way from knowing the true global diversity of decapods. The number of known fossil species currently stands at 3300, and discoveries will continue as new localities are explored, more revisions are completed, and museum collections are more thoroughly studied.

According to Ernst Mayr's description of a species was groups of essentially or hypothetically upbringing natural populations, which are reproductively isolated from other groups (see **Table 2**). Moreover, for accurate taxonomic species, there are numerous kinds relating to ecological and evolutionary concepts (e.g., sibling species, cryptic species, sympatric species, allopatric species, syntopic species, allotopic species, monotypic species, insular species, polytypic species, continental species).

#### **3.1 Taxonomy levels**

There are three steps for a taxonomic study: (1) alpha-taxonomy (or classical taxonomy), which is concerned with the description of novel species and their classification into broad genera, (2) beta-taxonomy (or explorative taxonomy), which focuses on species-level relationships, and (3) gamma-taxonomy (or Encyclopedia taxonomy), which focuses on species-level relationships. Intraspecific differences and their evolutionary

links are often known as speciation research (i.e. study of speciation). In reality, because of the three levels of taxonomy overlap, practice is impossible to investigate any species in isolation from each other taxonomy has only been applied to a few animal groups (e.g. birds and butterflies) the gamma level was reached. Study or work in the majority of animal groups including crustaceans is at gamma and alpha levels.

Linnaeus invented this system of naming, and the standards for naming animals are currently written forth in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).


#### *DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109547 Perspective Chapter: Crustaceans Taxonomy*


#### **Table 2.**

*Number of species Decapoda [9].*


#### **4. Binomial nomenclature's importance**

Binomial nomenclature is widely used because it prevents the ambiguity that can arise when common names are used to refer to a species. Even within a country, common names might range from one region to the next and certainly from one country to the next. The scientific name, on the other hand, can be used anywhere in the world and in any language, avoiding confusion and translation difficulties [11]. The only internationally (universally) acknowledged standard way of referring to biological creatures is by their scientific names. They make it easier for scientists as well as trading partners who speak different languages to communicate. Without their utilization and standardization, no two individuals could truly know what organism they were discussing unless they had both seen it.

The processes used to create binomial nomenclature tend to favor consistency. Even while the existing stability is far from perfect, it is nevertheless helpful, for example, when species are transferred between genera (as is frequently the case as a result of new knowledge), the species descriptor is maintained. Similarly, historical species names may be kept as infraspecific descriptors if previously assumed to be different species relegated from species to a lower rank. Animals of subgenera and above have uninominal scientific names that begin with a capital letter. The ICZN mandates defined taxonomic ends, such as superfamily (−oidea), family (−idea), subfamily (−inae), and tribe (−inae) (−ini). The classification of shrimps exemplifies this underneath (also see **Tables 1** and **2**):

**Phylum**: Arthropoda incertae sedis **Subphylum**: Crustacea Brünnich, 1772 **Class**: Malacostraca Latreille, 1802 **Subclass**: Eumalacostraca Grobben, 1892 **Superorder**: Eucarida Calman, 1904 **Suborder**: Dendrobranchiata Bate, 1888 **Superfamily**: Penaeoidea Rafinesque, 1815 **Family**: Penaeidae Rafinesque, 1815 **Subfamily**: Penaeinae Rafinesque, 1815

#### **5. Nomenclature rules**

Typification is the process of identifying a nomenclatural type. It is the method by which taxa are given scientific names. A zoological object on which the original published description of a name is based is referred to as a "type." Except for the plenary powers of ICZN, the "type" cannot be modified once it has been identified (not even by the original author). Even though Linnaeus never defined any specimen as a "type," his descriptions were based on a single specimen, and he replaced old specimens with fresh ones. This method persisted throughout Europe for a long time, causing uncertainty when it came to tracing the original specimens. The entomologist Pierre Andre Latreille, who lived in the early 1800s, is thought to have started the practice of specifically defining types [10, 12]. Not all early authors kept type material, which can make later identification of species more difficult.

In 1901, the zoological code mandated typification for future work. There are 41 various type series; however, the following are the most well known [11]:


#### **6. Synonymy**

Synonymy is a term used to describe two or more names that belong to the same taxon. The Law of Priority states that when a species has multiple synonyms, only the oldest one is valid (ICZN) [11]. The oldest is treated as the proper name and is referred to as a senior synonym, whereas the others are referred to as junior synonyms. Synonyms are a major tricky for taxonomists. These are made owing to a lack of awareness of the available research or the amount of variation that a species can have. Many times, the same species is reported by two or more writers under multiple names without the authors being aware of the species differences (**Table 3**).



#### **Table 3.**

*Taxonomic structure of late Ordovician ostracod [5].*

#### **7. Priority**

This is a contentious aspect of zoological nomenclature, yet it is a principal ICZN rule that promotes stability. When two names for the same taxon are identified, the law of priority determines which one is valid. With few exceptions, the valid name is the oldest (as determined by published sources). The authority of a name in a family, genus, or species does not alter if its rank within the group rises or falls. According to Ref. [14] nomenclature of the Pentastomida with a list of species and used higher taxon, Pentastomida is a name that can be traced back to at least Huxley (1869). General taxonomical structure of the late Ordovician ostracod fauna of the Ellis Bay Formation, Anticosti Island, eastern Canada (see **Table 1**).

#### **8. Classification of Crustacean Decapoda**

Classification for the entire Crustacean Decapoda has been updated. There are 2725 genera and 17,635 species of decapods in the 233 families that make up the categorization (including both extant and fossil species **Figure 4**). The families in our taxonomy consist of 71 current species only, 109 fossil species, and 53 entirely fossil species. A total 14,756 species are now thought to be extant, while 2979 species are only known from fossils [11].

**Figure 4.** *Genera of Decapoda Crustaceans, both modern and extinct [10].*

*Perspective Chapter: Crustaceans Taxonomy DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109547*

#### **Author details**

Zardasht Ahmed Taha Department of Geology, College of Science, University of Sulaimani, Iraq

\*Address all correspondence to: zardasht.taha@univsul.edu.iq

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

### **References**

[1] Bowman TE, Abele LG. Classification of the recent Crustacean. In: Abele LG, Bliss dE, editors. Systematics, the Fossil Record, and Biogeography, the Biology of Crustacean. Vol. 1. New York: Academic Press; 1982. pp. 1-27

[2] Hobbs H, Crustacea H. Encyclopedia of Caves and Karst Science. London: Routledge; Retrieved December 5, 2006

[3] Martin JW, George E. Davis. An updated classification of the recent Crustacea. Vol. 39. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. 2001

[4] Simpson GG. Principles of animal taxonomy. In Principles of Animal Taxonomy. Columbia University Press. 1961

[5] Taha ZA. The taxonomic, biogeographical, palaeogeographical, and palaeoecological significance of the Late Ordovician ostracod Fauna of the Ellis Bay formation, Anticosti Island, eastern Canada. A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester. 2018. 182

[6] Taha ZA. Late Cretaceous Ostracoda in the Shiranish Formation Dokan Area, Kurdistan Region-NE Iraq. 2020

[7] Ghafoor IM. Crustacean. Crustacea. London, UK, London: IntechOpen; 2020

[8] Wolfe JM, Breinholt JW, Crandall KA, Lemmon AR, Lemmon EM, Timm LE, et al. A phylogenomic framework, evolutionary timeline and genomic resources for comparative studies of decapod crustaceans. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 2019:286

[9] De Grave S, Pentcheff ND, Ahyong ST. A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 2009

[10] De Grave S, Pentcheff ND, Ahyong ST, Chan TY, Crandall KA, Dworschak PC, et al. A classification of living and fossil genera of decapod crustaceans. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Supplement No. 21: 2009:1-109

[11] Josileen J, Pillai SL. Training Programme on taxonomy and identification of commercially important crustaceans of India. 2013

[12] Dubois C. Pierre Andre Latreille (1762-1833): The foremost entomologist of his time. Annual Review of Entomology. 1974;**19**:1-14

[13] Coad BW, McAllister DE. Dictionary of ichthyology. 2006. Available from: http://www.coad.ca/Dictionary/ CompleteDictionarylatestversion.htm

[14] Poore GCB. The nomenclature of the recent Pentastomida (Crustacea), with a list of species and available names. Systematic Parasitology. 2012;**82**:211-240

#### **Chapter 2**

## Eco-Morphology of Some Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Coastal Marine Waters

*Adefemi O. Ajibare, Olaronke O. Olawusi-Peters and Joshua O. Akinola*

#### **Abstract**

The relationship among the morphology, population of crustaceans and water quality of the coastal marine waters of Ondo State, Nigeria, was assessed in order to accentuate the sustainability of biodiversity in the coasts. Standard methods were employed to identify and examine the effect of the environment on the crustaceans. The DO (7.58 mg/l), temperature (29.53°C), pH (6.69), turbidity (44.03NTU), salinity (16.48‰), hardness (85.88 mg/l), biochemical oxygen demand (21.22 mg/l) and conductivity (41.55 μS cm<sup>1</sup> ). The population structure of decapod crustaceans follows the order *Nematopalaemon hastatus* > *Farfantepenaeus notialis* > *Holthuispenaeopsis atlantica* > *Macrobrachium macrobrachion > Sanquerus validus > Ocypode africana* > *Callinectes marginatus.* The sampled organisms (*F. notialis*, *M. macrobrachion*, *N. hastatus* and *Holthuispenaeopsis atlantica*) had mean total length (cm) (9.41 1.62, 7.14 0.77, 6.69 0.81 and 11.78 0.60) and body weight (g) of (3.21 1.63, 2.37 0.79, 1.34 0.56 and 6.72 0.47 g), respectively. *C. marginatus*, *Ocypode africana* and *Sanquerus validus* had a mean carapace length (cm) of 5.50 0.71, 4.83 1.27 and 8.31 3.50, respectively, and mean body weight (g) of 4.69 0.95, 3.41 4.72 and 66.21 50.45, respectively. PCA revealed strong correlation among BOD, DO and the morphological parameters of each species. Also, Single Factor and Comprehensive Pollution Indices revealed a slightly and moderately polluted aquatic ecosystem, respectively. Thus, adequate control of all activities in the ecosystem for healthy growth and survival of aquatic species is essential.

**Keywords:** shrimps, crabs, population, pollution, principal components analysis

#### **1. Introduction**

Crustaceans are among the most diverse, numerous, and widely distributed decapods. They are found all across the tropics and are key commercial fisheries for a country's economy. The majority of the species are only found in estuaries, and many of them require brackish or coastal water for larval development [1].

The relationships between the forms and functions of organisms, as well as the ecological qualities connected with the utilization of acquired resources, are studied in eco-morphological studies [2, 3]. The research answers fundamental concerns about organism niches, shared resources, and community organization, as well as basic techniques to developing a "fit" between organisms and their environments. Climate change, habitat destruction, and other forms of pollution are all contributing to the loss of marine biodiversity around the world. Because to changing environmental variables, fish have faced a greater vulnerability threat. Ecomorphological research has been increasingly important in recent years, particularly as the environment's impact on organism growth and survival has increased. Among vertebrates, aquatic species have the most morphological variety and exhibit a wide and strong link between form and function [4]. Thus, they can serve as a vital tool in understanding and establishing relationships between ecology and morphology.

Coastal waters are essential to life and concentrate more than half of the world's population of aquatic life. Although the areas have long been considered an unlimited resource, the health and biodiversity of the resource of the zones are being threatened with some fish stocks collapsing due to uneven environmental factors, changing chemistry, over-exploitation, pollution etc [5]. These have a profound impact on reproduction and survival of various species, ecological adaptation and community and productivity of the ecosystem [6].

The coastal marine waters of Nigeria have been adduced to be areas of high biodiversity of aquatic species with the composition, distribution, abundance and growth widely linked to numerous ecological factors. Several authors [7–12] have worked on decapods in the coastal marine waters of Ondo State, Nigeria and reported the overall wellbeing of the species as well as the level of pollution in the environment. The authors strongly suggested the need to examine the ecomorphology of decapods in the coastal environment in order to determine the effecsof the environment on the growth and well-being of the crustaceans. Recommendations from the various authors and dearth of information on ecomorphology of widely distributed decapods in coastal marine waters of Ondo State, Nigeria necessitated this study.

Since the organization of any community (atmospheric, aquatic, terrestrial) can best be understood through the relationship of organisms and how they acquire, use and share resources with each other, it is therefore essential to assess and study the eco-morphology of decapods in the coastal marine waters of Ondo State, Nigeria which is known for a diverse assemblage of fish species to understand the conditions of the ecosystem.

#### **2. Materials and methods**

#### **2.1 Study area**

The study was carried out in Ayetoro (Station I), Idiogba (Station II), Asumogha (Station III) and Bijimi (Station IV) of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State from September to December 2011. The study area falls within Latitude 5° 50<sup>0</sup> N–6° 09<sup>0</sup> N and Longitude 4° 45<sup>0</sup> E – 5° 05<sup>0</sup> E of the Greenwich Meridian. The stations were selected based on extensive shrimp fishing in the communities.

*Eco-Morphology of Some Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Coastal Marine Waters DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102987*

#### **2.2 Sample collection and identification**

Shrimps were collected monthly with the assistance of artisanal fishermen and were immediately preserved in ice chest before being transferred to the Fisheries and Aquaculture Laboratory of the Federal University of Technology, Akure where identification was done according to FAO Species Identification Sheets, (Volume VI) [13].

#### **2.3 Morphometric measurement**

Measurements were taken for total length (tip of rostrum to edge of telson), carapace length (posterior margin of carapace to edge of telson), rostral length (tip of rostrum to the posterior end of the orbit), and body length (posterior margin of the orbit to the edge of telson) to the nearest 0.01 cm using graduated measuring board while weight was determined with top loading digital Sartorius weighing balance (Model 1100) to the nearest 0.01 g.

#### **2.4 Water sampling and analysis**

Water samples from each station were collected monthly at sub-surface level with 250 ml sampling bottles and transported in ice chest to the Fisheries and Aquaculture Laboratory of the Federal University of Technology, Akure for analysis. Samples handling and preservation were done following the standard method [14]. The temperature, turbidity and conductivity of the water were done in-situ with a standard mercury-in-glass thermometer, turbidity meter and Knick Portamess conductivity Meter (Model 913) respectively while pH, Salinity and Dissolved Oxygen (DO) were determined using the Hanna multi-parameter kit (Model H19828).

#### **2.5 Data analysis**

Data obtained from physical and chemical measurements were subjected to multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 20.0 and was tested at P < 0.05 for significance. The mean values were compared with the water quality criteria of World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigerian Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA). Morphology and water parameter data were related with Principal Components Analysis (PCA) while the water pollution status was determined using both single-factor pollution index (SFPI) andcomprehensive pollution index (CPI).

**The single-factor pollution index** is defined as [15]:

$$P\_i = \frac{C\_i}{S\_i} \tag{1}$$

Where: *Pi* is the pollution index of pollutant *i*,

*Ci* is the measured concentration of the pollution indicator (mg/l).

*Si* is the National water quality standard permissible limit for the pollution indicator in surface water.

The water quality factor *Pi* is classified into five grades, as listed in **Table 1** [16].


#### **Table 1.**

*Standard grades for single-factor pollution index (PI).*


**Table 2.**

*Standard surface water quality categories based on CPI.*

The **comprehensive pollution index (CPI)** is defined as follows [17]:

$$\text{CPI} = \frac{1}{n} \sum\_{i=1}^{n} \frac{C\_i}{S\_i} \tag{2}$$

Where: CPI = the comprehensive pollution index,

*Ci* = the measured concentration of the pollution indicator (mg/l),

*Si* = National water quality standard permissible limit for the pollution indicator in surface water.

*n* = the number of chosen parameters.

CPI is classified into the water quality levels listed in **Table 2** according to [17].

#### **3. Results**

#### **3.1 Population structure of sampled organisms**

The population structure of the sampled organisms is presented in **Table 3**. The table revealed a total of 225 *Farfantepenaeus notialis*, 27 *Macrobrachium macrobrachion*, 1999 *Nematopalaemon hastatus*, 134 *Holthuispenaeopsis atlantica*, 2 *Callinectes marginatus*, 3 *Ocypode africana* and 18 *Sanquerus validus*. The most predominant species was *N. hastatus. M. macrobrachion* was not recorded in Station III, while *C. marginatus* and *Ocypode africana* were only recorded in Station III.

*Eco-Morphology of Some Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Coastal Marine Waters DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102987*


#### **Table 3.**

*Population structure of sampled organisms.*

#### **3.2 Morphological parameters of sampled organisms**

The morphological features of the sampled organisms are presented in **Tables 4** and **5**. The morphometric measurements of sampled shrimps varied across the sampled species. *F. notialis*, *M. macrobrachion*, *N. hastatus*and *Holthuispenaeopsis atlantica* had mean total length (cm) of 9.41 1.62, 7.14 0.77, 6.69 0.81 and 11.78 0.60 respectively and mean rostral length (cm) of 2.72 0.47, 2.48 0.25, 2.31 0.35 and 2.78 0.17 respectively. The mean carapace length (cm) of *F. notialis*, *M. macrobrachion*, *N. hastatus* and *H. atlantica* obtained in the aquatic ecosystem was 2.70 0.44, 2.36 0.25, 2.20 0.40 and 2.80 0.22 cm respectively while the corresponding mean body length (cm) was 5.63 0.92, 4.15 0.53, 4.49 0.54 and 6.30 0.51respectively. The body weight (g) of *F. notialis*, *M. macrobrachion*, *N. hastatus*and *H. atlantica* obtained in the aquatic ecosystem was 3.21 1.63, 2.37 0.79, 1.34 0.56 and 6.72 0.47 respectively (**Table 4**). The table further shows that *N. hastatus* had varying ranges of morphological features across the stations.

The morphometric measurements of sampled crabs which also varied across the sampled species are presented in **Table 5**. *C. marginatus*, *O. africana* and *S. validus* had a mean carapace length (cm) of 5.50 0.71, 4.83 1.27 and 8.31 3.50 respectively, and mean body weight (g) of 4.69 0.95, 3.41 4.72 and 66.21 50.45 respectively (**Table 5**).

#### **3.3 Water quality parameter of the coastal marine waters of Ondo State Nigeria**

The water quality parameters obtained in the coastal marine waters of Ondo state is presented in **Table 6**.

The Table shows that the parameters excluding turbidity and conductivity had no significant differences across the stations. The mean DO concentration was 7.58 mg/l, while water temperature and pH had a mean concentration of 29.53°C and 6.69 respectively. The turbidity and salinity of the aquatic ecosystem had a mean concentration of 44.03NTU and 16.48‰ respectively. Hardness, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and conductivity of the water body recorded mean values of 85.88 mg/l, 21.22 mg/l and 41.55 μS cm<sup>1</sup> respectively.


*Pertinent and Traditional Approaches towards Fishery*

 **4.** *Morphological parameters*

 *of sampled shrimps.*

**Table**

*Eco-Morphology of Some Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Coastal Marine Waters DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102987*


#### **Table 5.**

*Morphological parameters of sampled crabs.*


#### **Table 6.**

*Water quality parameter of the coastal marine waters of Ondo state Nigeria.*

#### **3.4 Water pollution assessment**

The Single-Factor Pollution Index (PI) and Comprehensive Pollution Index (CPI) of the Coastal Marine Waters are presented in **Table 7**. The Table shows that the values obtained for DO (1.26), Conductivity (1.19) and pH (1.01) classified the study area to be moderately polluted as the mean values were within 1.0–2.0 (as earlier stated in **Table 1**), while Temperature (0.98), Turbidity (0.88), Salinity (0.47) and Hardness (0.86) classified the water as slightly polluted (with values within 0.40–1.0 as interpreted in **Table 1**). The mean BOD (4.24) indicated heavy pollution as the value was within 2.0–5.0 (as in **Table 1**). The mean CPI (1.36) showed moderate pollution as the value was within 1.0–2.0 of the standard surface water quality (**Table 2**).

#### **3.5 Relationship between the morphology of sampled organisms and water quality**

The Principal Components Analysis of the morphological parameters of sampled organisms and water quality parameters is presented in **Table 8** (Shrimps) and 9 (Crabs) as well as **Figures 1**–**7**. The results generally revealed that there was a strong


#### **Table 7.**

*Single-factor pollution index (PI) and comprehensive pollution index (CPI) of the coastal marine waters of Ondo state Nigeria.*

correlation within the morphological parameters of each species of shrimps and crabs. Also, the important pollution indicator water quality parameters (Temperature, DO and BOD), all loaded positively (in the same principal component) with the morphological characteristic of each examined species (**Tables 8** and **9**). **Figures 1**–**7** further buttressed that parameters (principal components) in the same circle showed a positive correlation with one another. Similarly, pH, salinity, conductivity and turbidity loaded positively in the same principal component but negatively with temperature, DO and BOD (**Tables 8** and **9**). This shows that the parameters contributed significantly to the survival, growth and abundance of each species of shrimps and crabs in the water body.


#### **Table 8.**

*Relationships (principal components analysis) of the morphology of shrimps and water quality.*

*Eco-Morphology of Some Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Coastal Marine Waters DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102987*


**Table 9.**

*Relationships (principal components analysis) of the morphology of crab and water quality.*

**Figure 1.** *Relationships (PCA) of the morphology of* Farfantepenaeus notialis *and water quality.*

#### **4. Discussion**

The physical and chemical parameters of an aquatic ecosystem determine the quality of biodiversity in the environment, overall health and condition of the habitat. The parameters examined in the study area were within the tolerable range for coastal marine waters. The DO concentration was within the 4.5–8.5 mg/l recommended for the growth and survival of aquatic species within the ecosystem [18], while the

**Figure 2.** *Relationships (PCA) of the morphology of* Macrobrachium macrobrachion *and water quality.*

**Figure 3.** *Relationships (PCA) of the morphology of* Nematopalaemon hastatus *and water quality.*

slightly acidic water pH was similar to the observations of Deekae et al. [20] and Bolarinwa et al. [21]. The high DO concentration and slightly acidic pH value could result from photosynthesis by large amount of plants. Great uncontrolled plant growth, especially algal blooms increases the nutrient levels in the ecosystem, thus

*Eco-Morphology of Some Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Coastal Marine Waters DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102987*

**Figure 4.** *Relationships (PCA) of the morphology of* Holthuispenaeopsis atlantica *and water quality.*

**Figure 5.** *Relationships (PCA) of the morphology of* Ocypode africana *and water quality.*

**Figure 6.** *Relationships (PCA) of the morphology of* Sanquerus validus *and water quality.*

**Figure 7.** *Relationships (PCA) of the morphology of* Callinectes marginatus *and water quality.*

#### *Eco-Morphology of Some Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Coastal Marine Waters DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102987*

boosting the oxygen level of the ecosystem for a period of time. Water temperature recorded in the study was within the optimal limit for general metabolism, growth performance and enhancement of aquatic species [22].

The turbidity, salinity and conductivity concentrations were within the permissible range for coastal marine waters. There were variations in the turbidity and conductivity concentrations across the stations which could limit the distribution and abundance of organisms that requires stable concentration for reproduction, growth and survival. The hardness, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and electrical conductivity (EC) of the water body were extremely higher than the recommended limit for coastal marine waters [19], hence the 'heavy pollution'status of the BOD was not surprising. According to Yan et al. [15] these high concentrations could be adduced to the availability of a large amount of organic materials, a large quantity of urban runoffs, aggregation of both solid and domestic wastes and high concentration of dissolved ions in the ecosystem. These may also be responsible for the 'moderate pollution'status of the study area.

Moreover, the single factor pollution index revealed 'slight pollution'status for the study area in terms of all the parameters except for BOD that indicated 'heavy pollution' and in turn influenced the comprehensive pollution index to indicate a moderately polluted aquatic ecosystem. This shows that the pollution of the aquatic ecosystem spans from the physically observed human-mediated activities (such as domestic discharges, industrial effluents etc.) in the environment. The pollution level of the ecosystem reveals the environment to be relatively poor for the sampled species and other aquatic organisms in the water body. This was also in consonance with the findings of Bolarinwa et al. [21] on the same coastal waters.

The population structure of decapod crustaceans in the coastal marine waters follows the order *N. hastatus*>*F. notialis* > *H. atlantica* > *M. macrobrachion > S. validus > O. africana* > *C. marginatus*. It revealed that the decapods were highly predominant with *Nematopalaemon hastatus* which represented about three-quarter of the sampled crustaceans. This can be attributed to the breeding pattern of the shrimps as it breeds all year round with peaks in June and November [23, 24]. Also, the shrimp's ability to tolerate and adapt to diverse ecological niche and environmental conditions could be responsible for its predominance. *Farfantepenaeus notialis* and *Holthuispenaeopsis atlantica* were the second and third most dominant species in the ecosystem corroborating the assertions of Powell [24] and Olawusi-Peters and Ajibare [10] that the two species were of secondary importance to *N. hastatus* in Nigerian coastal waters. The low population structure of the other sampled organisms could be attributed to the moderately polluted water quality of the ecosystem as revealed by the results of the principal components analyses. Factors such as pH, salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen (which were slightly polluted) and BOD (which was heavily polluted) have shown to influence the distribution and abundance of organisms. For example, Deekae et al. [20] observed a positive relationship between the population of shrimps and temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen etc. in Luubara Creek, Nigeria and strongly recommended the effective control of all activities in the ecosystem.

The morphological features of the sampled organisms were within the morphological ranges recommended by FAO [13] and Powell [24]. *Holthuispenaeopsis atlantica* recorded the highest morphological features when compared with the other species. The species had been conspicuously noticed and identified to be carnivorous when compared to other species, especially the penaeid shrimps. Powell, [24] further explained that the species feed on small crustaceans in the river mouth, thus accounting for its large size. Moreover, the total and body lengths were within the expected

maximum size of 9–12 cm and 6–9 cm respectively for the species, thereby indicating the species to be in their adult stage. The most abundant species in the ecosystem (*N. hastatus*) showed diverse ranges of morphological features.

The average total length observed for *N. hastatus* in this study was within the range (4.87–9.71 cm) earlier stated by Ajibare et al. [25, 26] for white shrimps in the brackish waters of Ondo State, Nigeria. The shrimp's ability to tolerate wide ecological niche and environmental conditions could have been the reason for this [23]. Similarly, the observed morphological characteristics of *M. macrobrachion* in this study agree with the findings of Jimoh et al. [27] who studied female *M. macrobrachion* in Badagry creek, Nigeria and observed mean weight of 5.65 g. However, it was lower than the observations of Oyekanmi [28] and Ajibare et al. [29] who reported a body weight of 66.14 g and 76.25 g for *M. macrobrachion* in Asejire reservoir respectively. Alphonse et al. [30] also reported 15.74 g as the average weight of *M. macrobrachion* in Mono-River coastal lagoon system in the Republic of Benin. These variations may be as a result of the differences in the sex, season, location and pollution status of the habitats [25, 26]. Also, Daniels et al. [31] opined that widely distributed fish species have high variation in morphology features. This is substantiated by the higher carapace length recorded in the study when compared to the findings of Enin et al. [32] who worked on the population dynamics of estuarine prawns off the southeast coast of Nigeria and obtained CL of (1.67–2.01 cm).

The results of principal components analysis showed that there was a strong correlation within the morphological parameters of each studied species of shrimps and crabs. Also, Temperature, dissolved oxygen and the biological oxygen demand (which are important pollution indicators) had positive correlation and loaded in the same principal component with morphological parameters of each examined species. This indicated that the growth, size, morphology and abundance of each species of the shrimps (*F. notialis, M. macrobrachion*, *N. hastatus* and *H. atlantica*) and crabs (*C. marginatus*, *O. africana* and *S. validus*) might probably be affected by the temperature and the concentrations of DO and BOD since temperature reduces the DO (available to the biota), which in turn increases the BOD of the water [7, 22]. Also, pH, salinity, conductivity and turbidity (which had negative correlation with temperature, DO and BOD) contributed significantly to the survival, growth and abundance of each species of shrimps and crabs in the water body.

#### **5. Conclusion**

This study has used principal component analysis to examine the relationship between the tropical crustaceans and the environment and establish a baseline data on the eco-morphology of the coastal marine waters of Ondo state, Nigeria. The study revealed that the sizes of the decapod crustaceans were within the morphological range recommended by FAO and that all water quality parameters indicated slight pollution except BOD that indicated heavy pollution of the study area. However, the water quality (which was moderately polluted) can still sustain the biodiversity if the anthropogenic influence is regulated. The results of the principal components analysis (PCA) established that temperature, DO, and BOD had strong and positive correlation with the morphological parameters and therefore influenced the morphology/size of the crustaceans. Thus, improved management of the ecosystem is recommended in order to achieve healthy growth and survival of the aquatic species.

*Eco-Morphology of Some Decapod Crustaceans in a Tropical Coastal Marine Waters DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.102987*

#### **Funding disclosure**

The authors of this research publication received no research funds/compensation from any organization. The research project and publication were sponsored by all the authors.

#### **Competing interest statement**

The authors have declared that no competing interest exists in the manuscript.

#### **Author details**

Adefemi O. Ajibare<sup>1</sup> , Olaronke O. Olawusi-Peters<sup>2</sup> and Joshua O. Akinola<sup>2</sup> \*

1 Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology, Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Nigeria

2 Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology, Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria

\*Address all correspondence to: joesheathakinola@gmail.com

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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#### **Chapter 3**

## Biological Characteristics of Some Fish Species in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

*Giang Van Tran and Quang Minh Dinh*

#### **Abstract**

Vietnam, with a rich river system, many lagoons, and a long coastline, the fish fauna comprises both brackish and freshwater fish. The system of Mekong river is an extensive river located in the south of Vietnam. There are all kinds of brackish and freshwater fish in this river system. This chapter reveals data on the fish species composition and their roles in the Vietnamese Mekong delta. Moreover, the growth pattern and condition factor of some commercial fishes are also presented in this chapter. Their population structure and fishing status are also reported in this chapter.

**Keywords:** condition factor, goby, growth pattern, population structure, Vietnam

#### **1. Introduction**

Vietnam is one of the countries with a developed river system that comprises several extensive river systems, such as the Red river, the Ca river, the Dong Nai river, the Tien river, and the Hau river. Most of these rivers originate from other countries and flow into our country. According to statistics, about 2360 large and small rivers are widely distributed from the north to the south. With these characteristics, the fish system in Vietnam is very diverse and rich, with 1027 species classified into 427 genera, 98 families, and 22 orders. This fish system is considered diverse in species and high in biodiversity. The Mekong delta (VMD) is one of the two great deltas of Vietnam and is ranked 3rd globally [1]. The VMD is the last basin of the Mekong river with two main tributaries, the Tien and Hau rivers. This is an area with flat terrain and a dense system of rivers. On the other hand, VMD is also adjacent to the east sea and the Gulf of Thailand, with a coastline of nearly 700 km. Mekong river and rainfall mainly supply VMD's water source. The terrain in this area is favorable for the strong development of fishing and aquaculture from freshwater to brackish water [2]. The fish fauna in this area includes 332 species belonging to 77 families [3], including nearly 80 species of high economic value fish [4]. However, with the current exploitation of fish species, the number of some species is rapidly decreasing. Research on their biology is needed to supply appropriate data for the conservation and development of high-risk fish species. Therefore, the study "Biological characteristics of some fish species in the Mekong delta, Vietnam" provides these data.

#### **2. Material and methods**

This research was conducted at four sites covering a variety of aquatic environments. The first site has fresh water all year round in Cai Rang (Can Tho city, CRCT), the second site has brackish water due to saline intrusion in Long Phu (Soc Trang province, LPST); and year-round brackish water sites in Hoa Binh (Bac Lieu province, HBBL) and Dam Doi (Ca Mau province, DDCM). The biological characteristics of some investigated fish species include *G. aureus*, *G. giuris*, and *Glossogobius sparsipapillus*. The survey period lasted from January (2020) to March (2021). Fish samples were gathered using bottom nets with a net of 2a = 1.5 cm. Collected fish were analyzed in the laboratory with the following steps: (1) classify founded on the outer morphological characterization [3], (2) sex discrimination based on genital spines [5], (3) measure morphological, and (4) anatomical parameters. Morphological parameters were estimated, including total length (*TL*, cm), and weight (*W*, g) (**Figure 1**).

Data on the *TL* and *W* of each fish sample was employed to specify the regression equation between length and weight of fish based on a formula: *W = a\*TL<sup>b</sup>* (*a* and *b* were the coefficients). The coefficient *b* was employed to determine the growth pattern of the fish, for example, homologous growth when *b* 6¼ 3; unequal growth when *b* ≈ 3, based on the research method of Froese [7]. The *CF* coefficient was determined by a formula, specifically, *CF*=*W/TL<sup>b</sup>* [8]. Where *b* was the growth coefficient (from the regression equation between the *TL* and *W* of fish).

#### **Figure 1.**

*Sampling location in the study area. 1: Cai RangCan Tho, 2: Long PhuSoc Trang, 3: Hoa BinhBac Lieu, 4: Dam DoiCa Mau (modified from Dinh [6]).*

*Biological Characteristics of Some Fish Species in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106647*

The collected length data were sorted into different length groups to determine the population parameters through the formula *Lt* <sup>=</sup> *<sup>L</sup>*∞(1�e�*K*(*t*�*t0*) ). Where *L*<sup>∞</sup> was the maximum asymptotic length that the fish could reach (cm), *K* was the growth rate of the fish, *t* was the age of the fish at time *t*; *t0* was the conjectural age at which the length of the fish was zero [9]. Length frequency data were included in the FiSAT II software to definite the *L*<sup>∞</sup> and *K* of the population using the ELEFAN I feature [10]. Length frequency data were normalized using the NORMSEP feature to serve as the basis for determining t0 using the "Analysis of length-at-age" feature by [11].

The composite growth factor (*Φ*') was counted from the formula *Φ*'= logK +2*\**log *L*<sup>∞</sup> [12]. The longevity was determined by the formula *tmax* = 3/*K*, where was the growth rate [13, 14]. The total dead factor (*Z*) was specified by a yield curve converted from length-frequency data [15]. Natural mortality (*M*) was determined by Pauly's [13] formula Log*M* = �0.0066–0.279\*log*L*<sup>∞</sup> + 0.6543\*log*K* + 0.463/log*T*, where *L*<sup>∞</sup> was the maximum asymptotic length that the fish can reach (cm), *K* was the growth rate of fish, and *T* was the average annual surface water temperature. Mining mortality (*F*) and extraction coefficient (*E*) were determined according to the formula *F=Z–M* and *E = F/Z* [16].

The first catch length (*Lc*) was the length at which 50% of fish were caught and was determined by the yield curve conversion equation [9]. The Beverton & Holt [17] model was used to analyze the yield-to-addition (*Y*<sup>0</sup> */R*) and biomass-to-addition (*B*<sup>0</sup> */ R*) models as the basis for determining the maximum yield (*Emax*), the optimal mining factor (*E0.1*), and the mining factor at which *B*<sup>0</sup> */R* was reduced by 50% (*E0.5*)*.* In addition, the ratio between *Lc* and *L*<sup>∞</sup> (isopleths) of fish was also analyzed. This data (*Lc/L*∞) and the catch coefficient (*E*) were combined to determine the fishing status of the fish population established on the research method of Pauly & Soriano [18].

A t-test determined the variation of *b* and *CF* by sex and season. The changes of b and CF by length group and sampling site were employed in a one-way ANOVA. The population parameters were analyzed with FiSAT II.

#### **3. Overview of the river system in Vietnam**

Vietnam has a dense system of rivers with a total length of more than 41,900 km. Due to the rainy conditions, several rivers and streams have formed up to 2360 rivers and large and small canals [19]. In which, there are many river systems with large basins, such as Red, Ky Cung, Thai Binh, Ma, Bang Giang, Vu Gia—Thu Bon, Ca, Ba, Dong Nai, and Mekong rivers [20]. In 2011, the Mekong and Thai river systems covered an area of more than 1,167,000 km<sup>2</sup> , however, 72% of the surface discharge in these basins originated outside of Vietnam [19]. The topography is steep in Vietnam along the northwest and southeast axis, causing surface water to concentrate mainly in the east, where all the major river basins are located. Meanwhile, the western mountainous areas are much drier, mostly with streams and small rivers [21]. Almost all major rivers in Vietnam originate from outside. The vast majority of rivers here usually flow in the direction of northwest-southeast and empty into the sea. However, the exception is Ky Cung and Bang Giang rivers. These two rivers flow in the southeast-northwest direction. All rivers originate in high mountains, so upstream rivers are often very steep. Therefore, in the rainy season, the river water flows strongly; when returning to the river delta, it becomes winding and meandering. With the main water source of rivers originating from outside the territory, it is difficult to control the amount of water [22].

#### **4. Overview of the fish in Vietnam**

With a rich system of rivers and lagoons, the fish fauna of Vietnam is very diverse. According to Nguyen [23], Vietnam has 1027 species, classified into 427 genera, 98 families, and 22 orders. Vietnam is one of 16 countries that are assessed as having high biodiversity, species diversity, and fish species. Until 2016, 290 new fish species were announced in Vietnam. Today, with the strong development of molecular markers and morphological studies, the composition of fish species in Vietnam is increasingly being fully and accurately determined, including the Mekong river.

#### **5. Fishes in the Mekong Delta**

Fisheries managers and scientists have updated info on fish diversity within the Mekong river delta [24, 25]. The dominance of marine characterizes fish composition in the western estuaries originated species with Engraulidae and fish family being dominant. In contrast, estuaries resident species (Pangasidae, Ariidae, Cyprinidae, Cynoglossidae, and Engraulidae) primarily contribute to fish composition in the Japanese estuaries. Spatio-temporal variations of species composition might be because of the hydrological regime powerfully influenced by the Mekong flows. There are 14, including inland protected areas (IPAs), with sizes varying from 500 hour angles to 14,605 ha. All of them are Melaleuca swamp forests or fresh marshes [26, 27]. The aquatic setting of those IPAs is variable and consistent with seasons, for example, nearly IPA's area is inundated in flooding season; however, canal systems within the IPAs contain water during the dry season. Therefore, environmental conditions amendment dramatically between two seasons. A recent study instructed that the dyke systems close to the IPAs cause poor quality of water in each season and, thus powerfully have an effect on aquatic life [28], which explains that solely black fishes, that is, genus *Anabas testudineus*, *Channa striata*, etc., survive such conditions, and that they are resident species. Within the flooding season, the inundated IPAs provide feeding and nursing ground for white and gray fishes (short and long migration fishes, such as Cyprinidae, Botiidae, Cobitidae, Siluridae, and Pangasiidae). Improving the dyke systems, that is, lowering the peak of the dyke system, enabling water exchangeably, enhancing water quality, and supplying migration routes for fishes. However, the inland protected areas (IPAs) presently target the protection of Melaleuca forest, grassland, and water birds [27, 29] and, consequently, the dyke systems and hydrological management operate to stop the fire, and going diversity of aquatic animals and migration routes being ignored. Surprisingly, data on fish diversity in these IPAs are poor or not available. Recently, our team created the assessment of fish diversity in two IPAs (Lang fractional monetary unit and U Minh Thuong), and knowledge has proven that the variability of fish from outside the IPAs (better water quality and migration routes) is way more extensive than that from within the IPAs for each season. Therefore, higher management practices of the IPAs might reach each readying and preserving fish diversity.

One of the prominent functions of the mainstream is to supply deep pools that provide vital shelters and spawning grounds for many indigenous and endangered species, that is, *Bosemania microlepis*, *Hypsibarbus malcolmi*, *Pangasianodon gigas,* etc. [30, 31]. Halls et al. [32] reported that deep pools in the VMD provide the dry season refuges for about 200 fish species. There are 23 deep pools in the VMD located mainly in Dong Thap and An Giang provinces and believed to be the refuges for many white fishes [33].

#### **6. Fish growth, condition factor**

In *Glossogobius aureus*, study results on the length and weight of 742 individuals in four study sites found a close relationship (*r <sup>2</sup>* > 0.85, in all cases). It was found that this was a fish with equal growth because, in most months, the growth coefficient *b* was equal to 3. However, in February, April, May, and June, there was a dominant growth pattern of a length overweight and 2 months November and December, which dominates mass over the span. This coefficient reached the highest value in Hoa Binh—Bac Lieu, while it was the lowest in Cai Rang—Can Tho. The environment and the food source in HBBL may be more suitable for fish growth than in the rest of the regions. This coefficient in the wet season is higher than in the dry season. This suggests that fish could have a higher growth rate in the wet season than in the dry season because of more abundant food sources. There were also statistically significant differences between mature and immature fish. Specifically, this value of the immature fish group was higher than the mature fish group. The growth coefficient *b* for males was 2.90 0.04 SE, and for females was 2.82 0.04 SE, and the whole population's coefficient was 2.85 0.03 SE (**Figure 2**). This coefficient did not differ between males and females, showing that the growth of males and females was the same in the study sites. This coefficient for the whole population showed that this species belongs to the inequality growth group *b* < 3. The length of the fish tended to grow faster than the weight of the fish. This was similar to previous research on this species in the Con Tron area, Soc Trang province [35]. Also, there was a similar growth in *P. elongates* [36].

#### **Figure 2.**

*Changed LWR and CF of sex, fish size, season, and sites in* G. aureus. *(colorless columns: growth coefficient; gray columns: condition factor; number in each column: the number of individual fish; different letters (a, b and c) showed a significant difference; CRCT: Cai Rang—Can Tho; LPST: Long Phu—Soc Trang; HBBL: Hoa Binh— Bac Lieu; DDCM: Dam Doi—Ca Mau). Source: Phan et al. [34].*

#### **Figure 3.**

*Changed LWR and CF of sex, fish size, season, and sites in G. sparsipapillus (colorless columns: growth coefficient; gray columns: condition factor; number in each column: the number of individual fish; different letters (a, b and c) showed a significant difference; CRCT: Cai Rang—Can Tho; LPST: Long Phu—Soc Trang; HBBL: Hoa Binh— Bac Lieu; DDCM: Dam Doi—Ca Mau). Source: Truong et al. [37].*

The study results on *G. sparsipapillus* showed a close relationship between fish length and weight in 764 individuals of this population at study sites (*r <sup>2</sup>* > 0.7, in all cases). Growth coefficient *b* in this species varied over the months. This was a species of an inequality growth group, and fish length grows faster than fish weight because, in most months, this coefficient was less than 3. The *b* value was highest in Long Phu—Soc Trang and lowest in HBBL. Similar to *Glossogobius aureus*, this species had *b* values difference that was not statistically significant (p > 0.05) in sex but was statistically significant between the dry season and the wet season (**Figure 3**). However, in terms of maturity, in *G. sparsipapillus*, there was no difference between mature and immature groups like fish below *G. aureus*. The growth coefficient *b* of the whole *G. sparsipapillus* population showed that this was a species of inequitable growth fish group, with the growing length faster than the fish weight with the mean value of 2.68 0.03 SE. These results in two species were similar to many other fish species, such as *T. vagina* [38], *Boleophthalmus boddarti* [39], *Glossogobius giuris* [40], *Pseudapocryptes elongatus* [36], and the author's previous research on *G. aureus* [35] distributed in the Mekong delta.

Similar to *G. aureus* and *G. sparsipapillus*, *G. giuris* shows a positive relationship between fish weight and length (*p* < 0.01, *r <sup>2</sup>* > 0.8 for all cases). The growth coefficient of females was higher than that of males (*p* < 0.05), but this coefficient was not different between two groups of fish length (*p* > 0.05), as well as between wet and dry seasons (*p* > 0.05). Growth coefficients were similar across sex, fish size, and seasons (*b* = 3, *p* > 0.05). Unlike the two species above, the growth coefficient of this species (2.97 0.04 SE) was equivalent to the equal growth value (*p* > 0.05) (**Figure 4**). This was similar to some other fish species, such as *B. boddarti* [39], *P. schlosseri* [42],*T. vagina* [38], *and Pd. elongatus* [36]. In the previous research of Phan et al. [41], *G. giuris* collected from Tra Vinh to Soc Trang and Bac Lieu also expressed the isometric growth pattern in most cases, except in October and

*Biological Characteristics of Some Fish Species in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106647*

December 2016, the models of growth were negative allometry (2.79 � 0.07 and 2.85 � 0.07, respectively).

Condition factor (*CF*) in *G. aureus* differed over the study months (ANOVA, *p* < 0.05). There was no difference in sex and seasons (**Figure 2**). This showed that sex and environmental conditions in different seasons do not affect the fish's condition coefficient. However, there was a significant difference between the two groups of mature and immature fish. Specifically, this coefficient was higher in mature fish than in immature fish (**Figure 2**). At Dam Doi—Ca Mau, this index was the highest, followed by CRCT and LPST, the lowest was HBBL (**Figure 2**). Condition factor in *G. sparsipapillus* also changed over the study months (*p* < 0.05). *CF* was higher than in the other months in June, July, August, and September. Similar to *G. aureus*, the coefficient of this species was highest in DDCM and lowest in HBBL. There was no difference between males and females between dry and wet seasons (*p* > 0.05). But the mature fish group was higher than the immature group (**Figure 3**). The *CF* of *G. giuris* fluctuated monthly, reaching the highest value in November and the lowest in June (ANOVA, *p* < 0.01). The *CF* coefficient of females was higher than that of males, and that of the mature group was higher than the immature group (**Figure 4**). However, the *CF* coefficient of this fish in the dry season was equivalent to that of the wet season. Similarly, in the study of Phan et al. [34], *CF* values of this species were near the value of 1. Although the *CF* coefficients of the three species fluctuated by month, sex, and fish size, it was close to one threshold (p > 0.05) when considering the population as a whole. This showed that these fish were well adapted to the habitats.

Research results showed that these two species had similar growth patterns, with the growth pattern being negative allometry. With this growth pattern, the weight of these two fish species grew better than the fish length. The condition coefficients of *G. aureus* and *G. sparsipapillus* were equivalent to 1. This showed that these two fish species were well adapted to the environment.

#### **7. Population structure**

Length-derivative data for *G. aureus*, *G. giuris,* and *G. sparsipapillus* were converted to growth curves. Black and white bars in the von Bertalanffy growth curve showed a change in the groups' length and number over the study months. This equation of *G. aureus* had the parameters *L*<sup>∞</sup> = 30.44 cm, *K* = 0.51/year, *t0* = �0.09, and the von Bertalanffy growth curve equation for this population was *Lt* = 30.44 (1�*e* �0.51(*<sup>t</sup>* + 0.09)Lt <sup>¼</sup> <sup>18</sup>*:*00 1 � <sup>e</sup>�0*:*53 tð Þ <sup>þ</sup>0*:*<sup>10</sup> ). The von Bertalanffy growth equation of *G. giuris* parameters was *L*<sup>∞</sup> = 20.53 cm, *K* = 0.56/year, *and t0* = �0.02, and the von Bertalanffy growth curve equation, respectively, of the entire population Lt ¼ <sup>20</sup>*:*53 1 � <sup>e</sup>�0*:*56 tð Þ <sup>þ</sup>0*:*<sup>02</sup> . *G. sparsipapillus* distributed in CRCT had the parameters of the equation were *L*<sup>∞</sup> = 16.53 cm, *K* = 0.78/year, and *t0* = �0.10. Meanwhile, these parameters at lower LPST were equal to *L*<sup>∞</sup> = 15.60 cm, *K* = 0.82/year, *and t0* = �0.09. The von Bertalanffy growth curve of the population in CRCT and LPST were *Lt* = 16.53 (1�*e* �0.78 *(t* + 0.10)) and *Lt* = 15.60 (1�*<sup>e</sup>* �0.82 *(t* + 0.09)), respectively (**Figure 5**).

From the yield curve converted from the length frequency, the total death coefficient (*Z*), the natural death coefficient (*M*), the logging death coefficient (*F*), and the extraction rate (*E*) of the *G. aureus* populations were 3.38/year, 1.16/year, 2.22/year and 0.66, respectively. Similarly, *Z*, *M*, *F*, and *E* of *G. giuris* populations were

#### **Figure 4.**

*Changed LWR and CF of sex, fish size, season, and sites in* G. giuris. *(colorless columns: growth coefficient; gray columns: condition factor; number in each column: the number of individual fish; different letters (a and b) showed a significant difference). Source: Phan et al. [41].*

*Biological Characteristics of Some Fish Species in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106647*

#### **Figure 5.**

*The von Bertalanffy fish growth curve of G. aureus (a, n = 742, source: Dinh et al. [43]), G. giuris (b, n = 673, source: Dinh et al. [44]), and G. sparsipapillus (c: Cai Rang—Can Tho, n = 717, d: Long Phu—Soc Trang, n = 662, source: Nguyen et al. [45]) (the curves show the increase of fish length over time).*

**Figure 6.**

*The length converted catch curve G. aureus (a, source: Dinh et al. [43]), G. giuris (b, source: Dinh et al. [44]), and G. sparsipapillus (c: Cai Rang—Can Tho, d: Long Phu—Soc Trang, source: Nguyen et al. [45]).*

3.17/year, 1.40/year, 1.77/year, and 0.56, respectively. In *G. sparsipapillus*, these coefficients were lower in CRCT (2.17/year, 1.49/year, 0.68/year, and 0.31/year) than in LPST (3.46/year, 1.68/year, 1.78/year, and 0.51/year). Similarly, the length at first capture in the CRCT population (5.07 cm) was shorter than in the LP population (8.01 cm) (**Figure 6**).

*Biological Characteristics of Some Fish Species in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106647*

#### **Figure 7.**

*The relative yield-per-recruit and relative biomass-per-recruit for* G. aureus *(a, source: Dinh et al. [43]), G. giuris (b, source: Dinh et al. [44]), and G. sparsipapillus (c: Cai Rang—Can Tho, d: Long Phu—Soc Trang, source: Nguyen et al. [45]).*

After analyzing the results of analyzing the biomass and additional yield of two goby populations *G. aureus* at the four study sites, the maximum extraction coefficient (*Emax*) and the extraction rate were found optimal exploitation (*E0.1*) and the exploitation coefficient that the population decreases by 50% (*E0.5*) are 0.421, 0.355, and 0.278, respectively. Meanwhile, these coefficients in the *G. giuris* goby population were higher than those of the *G. aureus,* with these coefficients of 0.633, 0.515, and 0.323. These coefficients in *G. sparsipapillus* at the CRCT were 0.575; 0.465, 0.309, and at the LPST were 0.806, 0.652, and 0.368, respectively (**Figure 7**).

The growth coefficient (*Φ'*) of the *G. aureus* population was estimated from the formula *Φ'* = log*K* + 2log*L*<sup>∞</sup> was 2.23 and the maximum lifespan of the population was 5.66 years. The rate of *Lc/L*<sup>∞</sup> in this species was 0.32. Similarly, in *G. giuris*, this rate was 0.36; its *Φ'* was 2.37 and *tmax* was 5.36. In *G. sparsipapillus,* the *Φ'* and *tmax* in the CRCT population were 2.19 and 4.81 yrs., respectively, and in the LPST population, they were 2.32 and 3.61 yrs., respectively. The *Lc/L*<sup>∞</sup> of this species was 0.43 in CRCT and 0.51 in LPST.

*G. aureus*, *G. sparsipapillus,* and *G. giuris*, had a higher growth rate than the other two species. However, all three species of goby had lower growth ratios than some other fish species in the same area, such as *Boleophthalmus boddarti* [46], *Parapocryptes serpersater* [47], *Stigmatogobius Pleurostigma* [48], *Pd. elongatus* Tran et al. [49],*Trypauchen vagina* [50]. Coefficient *Φ'* of *G. aureus*, *G. sparsipapillus,* and *G. giuris* was lower than other species, such as *Pd. elongatus* in the Mekong delta [49], *Glossogobius matanensis* in Indonesia [51] and *Pa. serperaster* in the Mekong delta [52]. It could be because the *K* and *L*<sup>∞</sup> of *G. giuris* were smaller than *Pd. elongatus* [49], *G. matanensis* [51] and *Pa. serperaster* [52].

### **Author details**

Giang Van Tran<sup>1</sup> and Quang Minh Dinh<sup>2</sup> \*

1 Department of Zoology, Hue University of Education, Hue University, Vietnam

2 Department of Biology, School of Education, Can Tho University, Vietnam

\*Address all correspondence to: dmquang@ctu.edu.vn

© 2022 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

*Biological Characteristics of Some Fish Species in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106647*

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#### **Chapter 4**

## Feeding Diversity of Finfish in Different Wild Habitat

*Noor Us Saher, Raoof M. Niazi, Altaf Hussain Narejo, Noor Hawa, Abdul Hameed Baloch, Muhammed Tabish, Mussarat ul Ain, Faiqa Razi and Naureen Aziz Qureshi*

#### **Abstract**

Sonmiani Bay has unique faunal diversity and distribution especially finfish as mangroves provides an imperative ecosystem which offer the shelter and protection to the associated organisms and care of their juveniles in bay limits. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity pattern according to physical and physiological responses and feeding habits (carnivorous and herbivorous) of finfish species in accordance with current habitat conditions in the Sonmiani Bay. A total of 4499, individuals of comprising 155 finfish species that represent 50 families were captured by these four (beach seines, purse seines, gill nets, and cast nets) nets during a twelve-month survey in a year. The distribution pattern of finfishes captured classified into four groups (tidal visitors, permanent residents, partial residents, and seasonal visitors) according to their patterns of distribution. Understanding of the true feeding behavior of organisms needs a more reliable and functional approach. The feeding ecology is not only functional for food and feeding behavior of fish as usually described by various tools and techniques of analytical research to take up more reliable details to explain the feeding biology in fish but also the indicator of habitat quality and status.

**Keywords:** food and feeding, finfish, lagoon water, wild habitat, feeding diversity

#### **1. Introduction**

Ocean cover up the 99.8% of earth's livable space but its resources are finite and fisheries have increased greatly in local aptitude, regional reach, and mechanical capacity throughout the world during the past half-century [1, 2]. Therefore, it has been observed that around 30% of marine fishery resources in the worlds are overexploited, 60% brutally utilized, and only 10% moderately exploited [3]. Many fish and shellfish species used the surface and intertidal regions of estuaries as nursing ground and transferred to the lagoon area with the help of tidal currents [4, 5].

The estuaries are the water mixing sites of marine and rivers, therefore, have a diverse number of compounds that are deposited here from a various ecosystems. To estimate the ecological parameters of an estuary with the help of decapods and finfish could be beneficial to assess the man-made impact on the ecosystem and their health risk on human health [6–8]. The estuaries can be divided into four categories as the natural estuaries, the lagoons, the tectonic estuaries, and the fjords [9–11]. Coastal lagoons, the permanent inland basins as connected to the nearby marine water (Sea or Ocean) by one or more inlets that remain open either continuously or periodically. The depth and size of lagoons usually depend on the adjacent sea level. The swampy coastal lagoons indicate the low sea level and when sea level is high, the water body appears as bays and coastal lakes. Only 13% of global coastline is comprised of lagoons [12] and thought to be distinct coastal area from estuaries [9].

The coastal lagoons are characterized as a sandy or muddy bottom, which are created and sustained by the deposition of sediments that carried by rivers, tides, currents, waves, and wind [13]. Mangrove finfish can be classified into four assemblages based on their distribution patterns: permanent residents, partial residents, tidal visitors, and seasonal visitors [14].

Mangrove canopy, an imperative feature of the Pakistan coastal areas and is most copious in the Indus Delta that constitutes about 97% of the total mangrove cover; whereas the 3% mangroves are found at three locations (Miani Hor, Jiwani at Gawatar, and Kalmat Hor) along the Balochistan coast. Mangrove habitats are highly productive and diversified areas as provide shelter to a number of invertebrates (crustaceans, polychaetes and mollusks) and also known as home of several commercial and non-commercial fishes [15]. The universal importance of this ecosystems is an essential habitat to maintain a variety of organisms and serve as feeding habitat, nurturing ground, and temporary and permanent residence to several finfish species and other invertebrate species [16–19]. Miani Hor is a protected mangrove environment and various authors explained Miani Hor as a highly variable place of commercial fauna as many fish, shrimp, and crabs are caught from mangroves which are carried out to the market and consumed by locals and the faunal diversity found in mangroves of Sonmiani [15, 20–22]. The studies on the significance of mangroves as feeding habitat for fish species and several commercially important macrobenthos have been provided by several authors worldwide [23–25].

Fishes are the important component of aquatic environment and have important contribution into the aquatic and terrestrial food chain. The analysis of fish feeding habits is essential for the functional role of those fishes which have not commercial importance and it's useful to understand the biological interaction, interspecies competition and to build trophic model by the diet composition [26, 27]. Food is a significant component of an organism for their survival and has major influence on the distribution, growth, reproduction migration rate, and behavior of an individual into the ecosystem [28, 29]. Food and feeding habits of an organism are important tool to understand the behavior of species, different aspect of energy flow, and relationship between predator and prey and consumer and widely address the trophic structure [30]. These can be analyzed by the morphological character of mouth shape, individual size, sex, age, locality of individual [31–33] and the composition and resources of the environment [34]. Availability of resources into an ecosystem often depends on the seasonal variation of climate, which lead to alter the nutrient levels and responsible to change the diversity and abundance of a community that influence the food habits of an individual [35].

The examination of food and determination of feeding habits for fish species is imperative to assess the place in the food web and biological role of any species in any ecosystems [36]. Information on the diet of any fish species can provide valuable

#### *Feeding Diversity of Finfish in Different Wild Habitat DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110113*

guidance for the practices of the species culture and water body management, as needed for aquaculture and conservation purposes. Different fish species feed on wide range of food materials and obtain their nourishment from plants as well as animals. Depending upon the number of different type of food items consumed by them, fishes have been divided into two groups:


Food and feeding pattern of different fish is considered very important feature to help the selection of fish type for culture and farming. Fishes are herbivorous, carnivorous or omnivorous in nature, some fish groups are firmly herbivorous or carnivorous in habit, however various species remarkably adaptable in their food selection and feeding habits, therefore make use of the available food.

In aquatic ecosystem, among other nektons, fishes are a key consumer or top predator to occupy an obvious position in the trophic food web. The review of recent practice in feeding ecology of fish recognizes the need of directional efforts toward the assessment of descriptive ecology directly with the primary productivity in accordance with abundance of herbivore and carnivores finfish as primarily based on the diet information as mostly perceive directly through gut analysis or indirectly by computing some diet-based indices.

The widely used term feeding ecology explains the whole study about the feeding habit and acquired food of any particular species in relation with the habitat and tactics as animal adopts in specific environment to get its most enviable food through feeding or predation. In general, the tracing and occurrence of undigested food particles are recorded through stomach dissection [37, 38] for the qualitative and quantitative analyses. The examination of stomach contents along with various descriptive numerical techniques is used for estimation of diet and habits in aquatic animals [39]. There exists a different measure as described by various authors [37, 40–45] used as a handful tool to estimate stomach content and feeding habits of fish and likely used as an indicator of habitat status for any fish species.

An information of food components as ingested by the fish in natural habitat, quantitative analyses of gut content, the relevancy of morphological modification in the mouth or presence of any other supplementary body structure in relation with the food as intake by any particular fish are the most relevant areas to study the feeding ecology. However, the organic environment in the gut, sensational response for rejection and acceptance of food and responsive molecular signaling (**Figure 1**) are also important in feeding biology. The changes in position and structure of fish mouth are accountable for the food and feeding habits shown in **Figure 1**. Except mouth location and shape, further detailed study of various other factors like presence or absence of teeth, structure and number of teeth, mouth size, and presence of supplementary structure (spines, barbels), their location and modification can be helpful to determine the nature of food and habits of feeding in finfish species.

In previous studies, for the estimation of the fish stomach content different measures were adopted and used e.g. Index of Relative Importance [40]; Relation of total gut content weight with fish weight [41]; Feeding index [42]; Vacuity coefficient [44]; Visual assessment [40]; and Frequency of occurrences and volumetric

#### **Figure 1.** *A general description of areas needed to determine the feeding ecology in fish.*

contribution [43]. There are also different measures for the analyses of stomach content except the mentioned methods. The different statistical and mathematical models are also present in the literature as usually applied for the description of food and feeding analyses; Electivity index [46]; Pianka's overlap index [47]; Hurlbert's diet breadth [48]; Levin's standardized index and Moritia's index [49]; Shannon index [50]; Repletion index [44]; Pelicice feeding activity index [51] and Saikia's diet breadth index [52].

The different finfish species like to live different type of habitats for their survivals and throughout their life stage including sand and mud substrates, oyster beds, water column, and sea grass. These species have wide range of feeding habits, and mostly depend on Crustaceans, Fishes, Bivalves, polychaetes as a diet which depend on the availability of prey, life stage locality, and species [53, 54]. There are enormous studies on the assessment of food and feeding habitat of different species of fishes [41, 55–58] in wild environment. The overview of feeding habits of mostly Finfish families is presented in **Table 1**.

In addition some particular and detailed information on the food and feeding habits of most commercial species are available [44, 111–127] in different region of the world show that there nature of consumers and feed on shrimp, Crab, other small fishes, polychaete and bivalve, that likely vary according to the size and age of the fishes [128, 129].

The present study determines the permanent and seasonal finfish diversity of lagoon waters and categorization of the fish feeding habit according to the available literature based on experimentation and food study in wild finfish species as collected throughout the year (each month) from lagoon waters of Sonmiani Bay.

#### *Feeding Diversity of Finfish in Different Wild Habitat DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110113*



*Feeding Diversity of Finfish in Different Wild Habitat DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110113*



#### **Table 1.**

*A detailed review of literature on the feeding habits of various finfish families.*

#### **2. Materials and methods**

The lagoon area of Sonmiani Bay (Miani Hor) is located at the east coast of Balochistan and 90 km far from Karachi city [21, 130]. It is an estuary system having various islands, intertidal mudflats, and an extensive mangrove swamp. It extends up to 60 km and is widespread up to 7 km. The twisted and complicated water bodies

#### **Figure 2.**

*The coastal area of Sonmiani bay showing the sampling area with location (stars) of the net activities performed (yellow stars = gill net, green stars = cast net, violet star = commercial beach seine, and red stars = purse seine).*

*Feeding Diversity of Finfish in Different Wild Habitat DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110113*

connect it to the Arabian sea [131]. It is known as the largest bay in Pakistan. It spreads up to 363.3 square kilometers and about 80 km wide shelf area [132]. The rainwater runoff here from Porali and Windor rivers during the rainy season. This bay is extending up to 60 km in length and 7 km wide, twisted, and contorted body of water (**Figure 2**). Churna and Kiou islands are two islands present offshore and connected with intertidal mudflats, muddy beaches, mangrove forests, sandy beaches, and Hub River [131] characterizes Miani Hor. Three mangrove species have been reported from Pakistan (i.e. *R. mucronata; C. tagal* and *A. marina*). Miani Hor is the only region in Pakistan, where all these species are present together in a natural environment [133].

#### **2.1 Field sampling**

For the sampling of Finfish species, four sites were selected for a period from December 2001 to November 2002. Plate 1, shows the sampling area of this study which was comprised of the mouth of the bay*,* the front area of sand dune, mangrove creeks off Damb, and mangrove creeks of Bhaira village. The sampling site was muddy with some patches of sandy bottom. This helps to operate all types of nets in this area.

#### **2.2 Fishing methods**

The fishing methods/ nets adopted by local fishermen in *Miani Hor* (**Figure 3**), were also used for this study described as follows:

**Figure 3.**

*The diagrammatic view showing four different types of gears used for study purposes (a) beach seine (b) purse seine (c) gill net (d) cast net.*

#### *2.2.1 Beach seine (Cada)*

The beach seine is a well known commercial net used in Sonmiani Bay creeks. The net was used about 55.5 meters long and 9.2 meters wide at the center and at the corners it was about 7.4 meters wide curtains with 1 cm<sup>2</sup> mesh size. This methodology was used to operate by approximately 6–8 persons. This type of net is commonly used to catch small-sized pelagic and demersal fishes at high tide.

#### *2.2.2 Purse seine (Katra)*

The major commercial tool used to catch the sardine fisheries along the Sonmiani Bay (**Table 2**). It is about 250x100 meters curtain operating with two boats and with approximately 1 centimeter square mesh size. To capture a dense and mobile school of pelagic fish, the purse seine is effective.

#### *2.2.3 Gill net (Tukri)*

A type of commercial net provides major support for the shrimp fisheries of the Sonmiani bay (**Table 2**). Total size of Gill net used in the collection was 30.48 long and 3.65 meter wide with 1 square inch in mesh size. The gillnet is consisting of a web and a rectangular frame. It hangs into the water like a wall with the help of a head rope and foot rope.

#### *2.2.4 Cast net (Goal-jal)*

This is the type of non-commercial fisheries used by a fisherman in the coastal villages of the Sonmiani bay and support the domestic livelihood of the local people (**Table 2**). The cast net is a technical netting process and was used by only one person who was hired during collection time.

#### **2.3 Laboratory analyses**

#### *2.3.1 Taxonomic identification*

In the laboratory, the catch brought into the laboratory, washed, sorted according to the fish group and kept in marked polyethylene bags in deep freezer for subsequent study. The all collected finfish were identified up to the lowest taxonomic level. The fish species were identified with the help of field guide provided by Bianchi [91] and FAO Fish identification sheets by Psomadakis et al. [94].


#### **Table 2.**

*The status of different net types used to catch the marine fauna from the selected research sites of Sonmiani Bay.*

#### **3. Results**

#### **3.1 Finfishes diversity and habitat found in the Sonmiani Bay Area**

During the current research total 155 finfish species from 49 families were collected and identified. Different type of fishing gears was used for the collecting of fishes "beach seine, purse seine, gill net, and cast net" in various habitat like shore line, pelagic and benthos pelagic area and mangrove area of Sonmiani Bay.

Because various finfish acquire varied behavior with habitat, all collected species were subjected to ecological factors such as habit and manner of feeding with reference to their habitat, morphological modifications and habitat adaptation. Mangrove finfish can be classified into four assemblages based on their distribution patterns: permanent residents, partial residents, tidal visitors, and seasonal visitors [14]. These variances are related to food and shelter. Bottom-dwelling fish with limited visibility live in the muddy mangroves. Following are four types of finfishes of the Sonmiani Bay area:

#### *3.1.1 Permanent finfishes of Sonmiani Bay*

*Allenbatrachus grunniens* of the Batrachoididae family and *Oligolepis acutipennis* of the Gobiidae family are examples of permanent finfish fauna (**Table 3**). Mudskippers are mostly found on the soft mud flat due to their typical adaptation such as pectoral






#### **Table 3.**

*Permanent and seasonal diversity of Finfishes in two habitat of the Sonmiani Bay, during the study period, December 2001 to November 2002.*

fins and moist outer coat. The pectoral fins have bases to help them creep through the mud with more vigor and moist outer coat acts as a breathing organ respectively.

#### *3.1.2 Seasonal finfishes of Sonmiani Bay*

Seasonal finfishes in the area include the family Bothidae, which includes the species *Pseudorhombus elevates,* and the Soleidae, which includes the species *Solea elongate,* as revealed in our findings (**Table 3**).

#### *3.1.3 Demersal waters dweller finfishes of Sonmiani Bay*

Ariidae and Lutjanidae [134] are mostly demersal finfishes which usually found on the soft bentho-pelagic area and mostly travel toward the high tidal zone. (**Table 3**). Flatfish, flathead, rays, and demersal finfishes are buried in the mud of mangrove creeks, and while giant fish may live in deep waters, lesser species access the Sonmiani bay's tidal channels.

#### *3.1.4 Pelagic waters dweller finfishes of Sonmiani Bay*

Pelagic water dweller finfishes are those that only stay for a short time during tidal intervals, leaving at low tide and returning at high tide (**Table 3**). The family Engraulidae and clupeids are belonging to this group which are plankton feeder such as sardine, shad, and herring fishes. These fishes are fast swimmers.

#### **3.2 Carnivorous and herbivorous finfishes of the Sonmiani Bay**

The collected specimens of finfishes throughout the study were split into two groups based on their mode of nutrition; Bianchi [91] was followed during the observation. Fish were divided into groups based on their feeding habits and food preferences (**Table 4**). The finfishes of Sonmiani Bay were divided in this way to better understand the area's food webs. **Table 4** shows the list of herbivorous and partly herbivorous fishes which are 31 species, belong to three families of bony fishes. Fishes like mullets, herring, shads, sardine, and thryssa are herbivorous while some members of family clupeidae are partly zooplankton eaters.




#### *Feeding Diversity of Finfish in Different Wild Habitat DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110113*



#### **Table 4.**

*Carnivorous and herbivorous finfishes collected in the Sonmiani Bay, Balochistan during the study period December 2001 to November 2002.*

There were 119 species of bony fish from 42 families and 5 species of elasmobranches from four families among the carnivorous finfishes (**Table 4**). Sharks and rays dwell in the sea by nature, although some live in estuaries and bays, where they are voracious feeders among the school of fish. They are predators with formidable jaws that attack their prey. In the Sonmiani Bay waters, carnivorous fishes were discovered to be far more abundant than herbivorous fishes (**Table 4**).

#### **4. Discussion**

Fish feeding habits and trophic relationships always remain in focus and interest in scientific essays for ages therefore, fish diets have been extensively studied,

#### *Feeding Diversity of Finfish in Different Wild Habitat DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110113*

primarily through stomach content analysis, as providing important information on the ecology, physiology, and ethology of species, with huge difference in the way applications [135, 136].

Coastal waters especially lagoons have great importance because they provide feeding and nursery ground to a variety of fish and other species, highly dynamic because of high temperature and high transmission of light up to the bottom [137]. These water bodies can be exposed to very strong fluctuations of salinities due to seasonal variations of precipitation and evaporation. In addition, in the shallow environments, the seasonal fluctuations of temperatures are often more pronounced than in the adjacent sea and can make stressing conditions for many aquatic species. Due to such variabilities, their vulnerability makes these water bodies as a unique position at terrestrial, freshwater, and marine interfaces [138]. Coastal lagoons, along with estuarine environments and coastal wetlands, have been defined as Critical Transition Zones (CTZs). Those organisms that cover these areas as distributed in order to threedimensional scales that are more likely to subordinate with the environment and reserve consumption [139]. The biotic and abiotic factors support creation of numerous types of niches and habitats for living and dispersal of organisms [140]. The temperature and salinity may cause the divergence in structure and function of many benthic and pelagic communities because these communities are constantly interacting and suffering from these ecological factors [141–144]. The higher temperature supports the productivity and ultimately abundance of species in particular areas [145–147]. The feeding habits of the fauna may change due to the effect of salinity so therefore, salinity has a great influence on ecosystem as well as distribution and feeding habits of residential species. Tidal fluctuations cause a significant change and play a vital role in communication and other approaches which juveniles and other fauna adopted to take a sequential change [148]. These are the areas which organisms utilize and are distinct in habitat differences and accessibility due to the tidal flux [149]. However, seasonal and monthly variations also affect intertidal shallow environments, productivity, and the distribution and diversity of fish species.

In spite of primary productivity, the presence of vegetation also improves the food opportunity to the herbivores and carnivores species as the mangrove vegetation and allied mudflats have been reported as an important breeding and feeding site of a number of marine species [15]. The ecological status and environmental conditions of habitat can be the indicator of the faunal diversity and also provide the detailed information about the life history of fish species and decapods, and supportive feeding environment along with habitat requirements to complete the lifecycle are supposed to be helpful in the protection and restoration of the communities inhabiting in these areas [6, 150].

The marine fisheries policies of developing countries such as Pakistan are aimed at achieving the following objectives: filling protein gaps as regards improving marine fish supplies for domestic use, encouraging jobs, growing fishermen's economic interests, and increasing foreign exchange through exporting fish and shellfish. Maximum attention is being paid in Pakistan to achieve the ultimate goal that is, earning foreign exchange, which has established the marine fishing industry of Pakistan as an export supplier. The need for protection of fishery resources arises from the industrial sector, as it is understood from the natural predation of fish stocks [151]. Food quality and quantity are the two biggest exogenous elements impacting fish growth and indirectly, maturation and mortality, thus linked to health of fish [135]. Traditionally, data on the quality and quantity of food consumed by fish, which can be derived from the feeding habit studies, which has just been made available for fisheries research by incorporating it into appropriate fisheries models likewise; multispecies virtual population analysis

which, after scaling up to the overall biomass of predators and prey, provides estimates of the total biomass consumed by predators [135]. There are numerous challenges that need to be studied for the feeding biology of particular species as also variable in a group of same species; developmental or growth diversity includes morphological diversity from the smallest to the largest in body size; as the species passes through various ontogenic stages during its development and may have a preference of different types of food during each stage therefore, exhibit variable feeding habits; behavioral diversity due to exploration of high habitat diversity expanding from marine to freshwater due to migratory in nature, etc. Few scientists have studied the diet variations in fishes and explain the changes in diet composition with reference to habitat and season [152]. Whereas, the different authors have worked on feeding habits of various finfishes [134, 153–155]. It has been reported that 25 different food items represent zooplankton (0.54%), phytoplankton (82.53%), algae (0.92%), copepod fragment (2.69%), debris (4.86%), plant-like matter (7.34%), and unidentified matters (0.77%) in some clupediae species [156]. Investigation on feeding habitat of Sin croaker narrated that it's active carnivore and depends on the benthic crustacean, fishes, shrimp as food [156].

Systematic analysis of feeding characteristics of marine fish species during the early development stage, feeding habits, and growth of larvae and juveniles can provide the information about the nutrient feeding, that should be given through biological food for nutritional improvement and enhance the survival rate of fingerlings in culture condition. Therefore, systematic study serves as a model for large-scale generation of larvae and juveniles of marine fish [156].

Not only the opportunistic feeders, some other species also obtain their food according to the availability and abundance in their habitat and like opportunistic feeders, they adapted different ways to obtain food such as basic food, which is only utilized in favorable conditions, second is incidental food that's utilized during unfavorable conditions, and then obligatory food that comprises anything that is fed for survival not as a habit. A "food-based conservation" approach is favored with the ecoreinstatement as deal with the fish habitat and fish communities. It seems extremely obvious now not to rely on abstract sampling procedures for merely descriptive assessment of food and feeding biology in fish. Therefore, investigating only the ingested food to examine the feeding habit of fish is not a reliable method and items present in the gut addressed the single picture of feeding habit because feeding habit depends upon the availability of food in the environment. So, this method just provides a piece of limited information and does not explain the factors affecting the gaining or selection of food. It has been suggested to collect the plankton community when fish is sampled for the study so, it can be helpful to determine the availability and selectivity of food [95]. Food science is an applied science and the detailed feeding biology of fish can contribute to formulate feeding design for better management and growth of fish for the culture of species. Due to the contradiction and insufficient information about available food and feeding habit, molecular level studies have been suggested to validate the information on feeding habits as obtaining of food through smelling is related with some chemicals in the fish body. Therefore, the study through molecular taste science can also provide advanced tools and techniques in biological sciences.

#### **5. Conclusions**

Lagoons are the imperative feature of any coast line that offers important ecosystem services, such as coastline protection, shelter and food for migratory and resident

*Feeding Diversity of Finfish in Different Wild Habitat DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110113*

animals, fisheries resources, and recreation for human populations. These intertidal benthic and pelagic areas have a variety of sizes according to species diversity and distribution of species is greatly influenced by the change in biotic and abiotic factors; Abiotic factors mainly include salinity and temperature as affect the intertidal shallow environments, primary productivity, and the distribution and diversity of fish species. The ecological status and habitat environmental conditions can be the indicator of the faunal diversity and also provide the detailed information about the life history of fish species and deca-pods, along with particular supportive feeding environment and habitat requirements to complete the life cycle. These ecological indicators supposed to be helpful in the protection and restoration of the communities inhabiting in these areas. There are numerous challenges that need to be studied for the feeding biology of particular species as also variable in a group of same species and as well as developmental or growth feeding diversity as the species passes through various ontogenic stages during its development and may have a preference of different types of food during each stage therefore, exhibit variable feeding habits; behavioral diversity due to exploration of high habitat diversity.

#### **Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **Author details**

Noor Us Saher1 \*, Raoof M. Niazi2 , Altaf Hussain Narejo1 , Noor Hawa1 , Abdul Hameed Baloch1 , Muhammed Tabish1 , Mussarat ul Ain1 , Faiqa Razi1 and Naureen Aziz Qureshi3

1 Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, University of Karachi, Pakistan

2 Govt. Degree Boys Science College 5L New Karachi, Pakistan

3 Department of Zoology, Govt College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan

\*Address all correspondence to: noorusaher@gmail.com

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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### Section 2
