Conservation of freshwater fishes of the Western Ghats Hotspot, India
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1
Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, India
With over 300 species, of which ~65% are endemic, the freshwater fish fauna of the Western Ghats mountain ranges is one of the richest and unique in the tropical world. The endemism is also just not restricted to the species level, as there is at least 1 family and 19 genera of fish that are unique to this region. Freshwater fish has also been part of history and culture in the Western Ghats since several centuries, and they are intricately linked to the daily life of millions of rural poor. Despite these striking statistics, the ichthyofauna of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot is threatened by a variety of stressors including large-scale deforestation, hydropower and drainage basin alterations, pollution, overharvest and alien species, resulting in over one-third of the fish fauna assessed as threatened on the IUCN Red List. While a number of species have experienced catastrophic population declines in the last few decades, several enigmatic new species (and genera) continue to be discovered from the Western Ghats indicating that our knowledge on the ichthyofauna of this region is still far from being complete. With increasing consciousness regarding the conservation of aquatic biodiversity, several conservation initiatives ranging from prioritisation and design of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) and Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) sites, to community conservation zones and temple sanctuaries, and the development of policies for protecting inland and freshwater fish species, have been initiated in the region.
Acknowledgements
IUCN Freshwater Biodiversity Unit, Cambridge
Zoo Outreach Organization, Coimbatore, India
Keywords:
Endemic,
South Asia,
Threatened species,
Mahseer,
Data deficient
Conference:
XVI European Congress of Ichthyology, Lausanne, Switzerland, 2 Sep - 6 Sep, 2019.
Presentation Type:
Plenary Invited Presentation
Topic:
THREATS AND CONSERVATION
Citation:
Raghavan
R
(2019). Conservation of freshwater fishes of the Western Ghats Hotspot, India.
Front. Mar. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
XVI European Congress of Ichthyology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fmars.2019.07.00151
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Received:
30 Jun 2019;
Published Online:
14 Aug 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. Rajeev Raghavan, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, Kerala, 682506, India, rajeevraq@hotmail.com