ICHTHYOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE KOKSU RIVER, UZBEKISTAN TO IDENTIFY KEY FISH SPECIES IN THE CONTEXT OF SMALL HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26577/eb.2023.v96.i3.011Keywords:
Hydropower, Koksu River, ichthyofauna, fish migration, habitat fragmentationAbstract
The study of biodiversity in key areas and conservation corridors in the Central Asian mountainous region is becoming increasingly relevant in light of large-scale anthropogenic interventions in the natural environment. Particularly hydropower development leads to habitat alteration and fragmentation, reducing the biodiversity of aquatic organisms. At the same time, science does not have sufficient information about the biogeography of large aquatic organisms such as fish in mountain rivers of Central Asia. This study presents fish ecological data from field surveys conducted in 2021–2022 at Koksu River, Shakhimardan river basin, Uzbekistan. Contrary to statements about the absence of fish from Koksu River, we confirm the presence of two fish species: snow trout (Schizothorax eurystomus Kessler, 1872) and stone loach (Triplophysa ferganaensis Sheraliev and Peng, 2021). Further studies should assess habitat preferences and migration patterns of the discovered fish to support conservation and restoration frameworks.
References
Berg, Lev Semenovich. Ryby presnyh vod SSSR i sopredel'nyh stran. Vol. 27. Izd-vo Akademii Nauk SSSR, 1948. (In Russian)
Burnashev, M. S. "Snow trouts of the Zeravshan River." Proc. Kishinev State Univ.(Biol.) 4 (1952): 111-125.
EU 2018. (2018). Guidance on the requirements for hydropower in relation to EU Nature legislation. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. P. 87
Fond CEPF. (2017). Ochag bioraznoobrazija v Central'noaziatskom gornom regione. S. 230. https://www.cepf.net/sites/default/files/mountains-central-asia-ecosystem-profile-russian.pdf (In Russian)
Freyhof, Jörg, and Maurice Kottelat. "Handbook of European freshwater fishes." (2007).
Fricke R., Eschmeyer W. N., and van der Laan R. 2019. Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes: Genera, Species, References, Version 05/2019, Eds. http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp
Hayes, Daniel S., Julia M. Brändle, Carina Seliger, Bernhard Zeiringer, Teresa Ferreira, and Stefan Schmutz. "Advancing towards functional environmental flows for temperate floodplain rivers." Science of the Total Environment 633 (2018): 1089-1104.
Jorde, Klaus, Bertalan Alapfy, Hannah Schwedhelm, Tobias Siegfried, Helmut Habersack, Jan De Keyser, Daniel S. Hayes, Anushik Purushottam, Matthias Schneider, and Oyture Anarbekov. "EU supports small hydropower in Central Asia." The International Journal on Hydropower & Dams 29, no. 5 (2022): 52-59.
Karimov B. Schizothorax eurystomus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: T169838369A169838374, Version 30/2022. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T169838369A169838374.en
Karimov, B. K., and V. N. Talskikh. "Biodiversity of Indicator Biocenoses of Lotic Ecosystems of the Aral Sea Basin, Central Asia, Used in Hydrobiological Monitoring." In Biodiversity, Conservation and Sustainability in Asia: Volume 2: Prospects and Challenges in South and Middle Asia, pp. 1031-1061. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-73943-0_57
Karimov, B. K., M. Matthies, V. Talskikh, M. A. Plotsen, and E. B. Karimov. "Salinization of river waters and suitability of electric conductivity value for saving freshwater from salts in Aral Sea Basin." Asian Journal of Water, Environment and Pollution 16, no. 3 (2019): 109-114.
Karimov, B. K., S. S. Shoergashоva, Fadong Li, V. N. Talskikh, and L. N. Latisheva. "Impact of agricultural development on water quality in Zarafshan River, Uzbekistan, Central Asia: Trends since 1960s." In Current Directions in Water Scarcity Research, vol. 5, pp. 411-436. Elsevier, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85378-1.00021-0
Mamilov N. Sh., Karimov B. K., Jörg Freyhof. (2021). Status aborigennyh nepromyslovyh ryb Central'noj Azii. Selevinia. T. 29. S. 137-138. (In Russian)
Nikol'skij, G. V. "Ryby Tadzhikistana." Tr. Tadzh. bazy AN SSSR, M., L., AN SSSR (1938). (In Russian)
Reynolds, J. B., A. L. Kolz, A. V. Zale, D. L. Parrish, and T. M. Sutton. "Electrofishing" Fisheries techniques, 3rd edition. American Fisheries Society (2012).
Sheraliev, Bakhtiyor, and Zuogang Peng. "Triplophysa ferganaensis, a new loach species from Fergana Valley in Central Asia (Teleostei: Nemacheilidae)." Journal of Fish Biology 99, no. 3 (2021): 807-817. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14764
Timirhanov, S. R. "Jekologicheskaja izmenchivost' gologo ocmana (gymnodiptychus dybowskii (kessler, 1874)) v vodoemah srednej azii i kazahstana." Vestnik KazNU. Serija jekologicheskaja 28, no. 2 (2016). (In Russian)
Timirhanov, Serik Rakishzhanovich. "Morfojekologicheskaja harakteristika populjacij cheshujchatogo osmana (Diptychus maculatus Steindachner, 1866) v vodoemah Central'noj Azii." Astrahanskij vestnik jekologicheskogo obrazovanija 2 (36) (2016): 38-46. (In Russian)
Turdakov F. A. (1963). Ryby Kirgizii. Frunze, Izd-vo AN KirSSR. S. 283. (In Russian)
Zinov'ev, Evgenij Aleksandrovich, Sergej Anatol'evich Mandrica. "Metody issledovanija presnovodnyh ryb." Perm': Permskij universitet (2003). (In Russian)
