309
generally revealed Rotifera (64.41 %), Copepoda
(25.14 %), Protozoa (7.34 %) and Cladocera
(3.11 %). Some of the abundant zooplanktonic
forms are Arcella, Centropyxis, Brachionus,
Keratella, Lecane, Trichocerca, Filinia, Daphnia,
Ceriodaphnia, Simocephalus, Moina, Bosmina,
Bosminopsis, Macrothrix, Alona, Pleuroxus,
Chydorus, Dadaya, Cyclops, Diaptomus, etc.
Fish Diversity
Thirteen species of fi shes belonging to 10 genera,
6 families and 4 orders have been recorded in
Baskandi Anua which are listed below (Kar et al.
2000 ; Dhar 2004 ):
(1) Channa striata, (2) Glossogobius giuris,
(3) Channa punctatus, (4) Gudusia chapra, (5)
Macrognathus aral, (6) M. pancalus, (7)
Salmophasia bacaila, (8) Badis badis, (9)
Parambassis ranga, (10) Puntius ticto, (11)
Rasbora daniconius, (12) Amblypharyngodon
mola and (13) Puntius conchonius.
Fish Yield
Gudusia chapra shows the highest yield (75 %)
followed by Puntius, Mystus, Amblypharyngodon,
etc. The yield has since declined during the
decade beginning 2000 AD with Gudusia chapra
showing depleting trend.
The province of Assam is a signifi cant place
in Northeast India hotspot. The Barak valley
region is situated in the southern part of Assam.
The name accrues from the river it is bathed with.
The River Barak is one of the biggest rivers in
Assam which originates from the Naga Hills and
ends in River Meghna on its journey towards the
Bay of Bengal. With an anastomosing network of
many tributaries from Mizoram, Manipur,
Meghalaya and Tripura, it forms the Barak drainage which is associated with a large number of
wetlands which could be classifi ed into three
broad categories, namely, (a) the ‘Beel’ (perennial wetlands), (b) the ‘Haor’ (seasonal fl oodplain wetlands) and (c) the ‘Anua’ (river-formed
oxbow wetlands). These wetlands possess interesting features in the physico-chemical characteristics of water, the range values of some of
which are temperature 10–38 °C, turbidity 5.0–
330 NTU, pH 6.6–7.9, DO 3.2–7.1 mg/l, FCO 2
0.8–4.6 mg/l, TA 56.0–152.0 mg/l and conductivity 22.0–152.0 μmhos/cm. Further, the range of
some of the soil parameters revealed temperature
16–28 °C and pH 5.2–6.6. Some of the AM species abundantly found in the wetlands of Barak
valley are Eichhornia crassipes, Lemna minor,
Salvinia cucullata, Azolla pinnata, Trapa bispinosa, Hydrilla verticillata, Vallisneria spiralis,
Hygrorhiza aristata, Nymphoides indicum, N.
cristatum, Nymphaea nouchali, Vetiveria zizanioides, Euryale ferox, Jussiaea repens, etc. Some
of the phytoplanktonic genera which are plentifully found in these wetlands are Nostoc,
Anabaena, Microcystis, Euglena, Phacus,
Ankistrodesmus, Closterium, Volvox, Cosmarium,
Ceratium, Chlorella, Pinnularia, Synedra,
Navicula, Gyrosigma, etc. Further, some of the
abundantly available zooplankton in these wetlands are Arcella, Brachionus, Keratella, Lecane,
Trichocerca, Filinia, Simocephalus, Daphnia,
Ceriodaphnia, Bosmina, Bosminopsis, Moina,
Macrothrix, Alona, Pleuroxus, Dadaya,
Chydorus, Cyclops, Diaptomus, etc.
Freshwater fi shes belonging to almost all the
major orders and families do occur in the wetlands in Barak valley region. Some of these are
Notopterus notopterus, Gudusia chapra,
Salmophasia bacaila, Securicula gora, Puntius
spp., Amblypharyngodon mola, Botia dario,
Lepidocephalichthys guntea, Mystus spp.,
Wallago attu, Sperata spp., Eutropiichthys vacha,
Ailia coila, Badis badis, Xenentodon cancila,
Nandus nandus, Trichogaster spp., Anabas testudineus, Clarias batrachus, Channa spp.,
Mastacembelus armatus, Macrognathus spp.,
etc. As of now, fi sh yield from the wetlands of
Barak valley region is quite insignifi cant today.
Little detailed account of some of the wetlands spread across the length and breadth of the
Barak valley region is tabulated below followed
by their photographs and maps.
Concomitant to the wetlands detailed above,
there are many other wetlands in Barak valley
region of Assam. Salient features pertaining to
the physico-chemical characteristics of water and
soil of these other wetlands have been tabulated
in Table 20.7 , followed by brief account of their
biological features.
20.2 Wetlands of Northeast India (The Water Wealth of Northeast India)
generally revealed Rotifera (64.41 %), Copepoda
(25.14 %), Protozoa (7.34 %) and Cladocera
(3.11 %). Some of the abundant zooplanktonic
forms are Arcella, Centropyxis, Brachionus,
Keratella, Lecane, Trichocerca, Filinia, Daphnia,
Ceriodaphnia, Simocephalus, Moina, Bosmina,
Bosminopsis, Macrothrix, Alona, Pleuroxus,
Chydorus, Dadaya, Cyclops, Diaptomus, etc.
Fish Diversity
Thirteen species of fi shes belonging to 10 genera,
6 families and 4 orders have been recorded in
Baskandi Anua which are listed below (Kar et al.
2000 ; Dhar 2004 ):
(1) Channa striata, (2) Glossogobius giuris,
(3) Channa punctatus, (4) Gudusia chapra, (5)
Macrognathus aral, (6) M. pancalus, (7)
Salmophasia bacaila, (8) Badis badis, (9)
Parambassis ranga, (10) Puntius ticto, (11)
Rasbora daniconius, (12) Amblypharyngodon
mola and (13) Puntius conchonius.
Fish Yield
Gudusia chapra shows the highest yield (75 %)
followed by Puntius, Mystus, Amblypharyngodon,
etc. The yield has since declined during the
decade beginning 2000 AD with Gudusia chapra
showing depleting trend.
The province of Assam is a signifi cant place
in Northeast India hotspot. The Barak valley
region is situated in the southern part of Assam.
The name accrues from the river it is bathed with.
The River Barak is one of the biggest rivers in
Assam which originates from the Naga Hills and
ends in River Meghna on its journey towards the
Bay of Bengal. With an anastomosing network of
many tributaries from Mizoram, Manipur,
Meghalaya and Tripura, it forms the Barak drainage which is associated with a large number of
wetlands which could be classifi ed into three
broad categories, namely, (a) the ‘Beel’ (perennial wetlands), (b) the ‘Haor’ (seasonal fl oodplain wetlands) and (c) the ‘Anua’ (river-formed
oxbow wetlands). These wetlands possess interesting features in the physico-chemical characteristics of water, the range values of some of
which are temperature 10–38 °C, turbidity 5.0–
330 NTU, pH 6.6–7.9, DO 3.2–7.1 mg/l, FCO 2
0.8–4.6 mg/l, TA 56.0–152.0 mg/l and conductivity 22.0–152.0 μmhos/cm. Further, the range of
some of the soil parameters revealed temperature
16–28 °C and pH 5.2–6.6. Some of the AM species abundantly found in the wetlands of Barak
valley are Eichhornia crassipes, Lemna minor,
Salvinia cucullata, Azolla pinnata, Trapa bispinosa, Hydrilla verticillata, Vallisneria spiralis,
Hygrorhiza aristata, Nymphoides indicum, N.
cristatum, Nymphaea nouchali, Vetiveria zizanioides, Euryale ferox, Jussiaea repens, etc. Some
of the phytoplanktonic genera which are plentifully found in these wetlands are Nostoc,
Anabaena, Microcystis, Euglena, Phacus,
Ankistrodesmus, Closterium, Volvox, Cosmarium,
Ceratium, Chlorella, Pinnularia, Synedra,
Navicula, Gyrosigma, etc. Further, some of the
abundantly available zooplankton in these wetlands are Arcella, Brachionus, Keratella, Lecane,
Trichocerca, Filinia, Simocephalus, Daphnia,
Ceriodaphnia, Bosmina, Bosminopsis, Moina,
Macrothrix, Alona, Pleuroxus, Dadaya,
Chydorus, Cyclops, Diaptomus, etc.
Freshwater fi shes belonging to almost all the
major orders and families do occur in the wetlands in Barak valley region. Some of these are
Notopterus notopterus, Gudusia chapra,
Salmophasia bacaila, Securicula gora, Puntius
spp., Amblypharyngodon mola, Botia dario,
Lepidocephalichthys guntea, Mystus spp.,
Wallago attu, Sperata spp., Eutropiichthys vacha,
Ailia coila, Badis badis, Xenentodon cancila,
Nandus nandus, Trichogaster spp., Anabas testudineus, Clarias batrachus, Channa spp.,
Mastacembelus armatus, Macrognathus spp.,
etc. As of now, fi sh yield from the wetlands of
Barak valley region is quite insignifi cant today.
Little detailed account of some of the wetlands spread across the length and breadth of the
Barak valley region is tabulated below followed
by their photographs and maps.
Concomitant to the wetlands detailed above,
there are many other wetlands in Barak valley
region of Assam. Salient features pertaining to
the physico-chemical characteristics of water and
soil of these other wetlands have been tabulated
in Table 20.7 , followed by brief account of their
biological features.
20.2 Wetlands of Northeast India (The Water Wealth of Northeast India)