Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• zaniar ghafouri ¹
• soheil eagderi ²
• Hadi poorbagher ²

¹ Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, university of Tehran, karaj

² , Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran

Abstract

Knowledge of habitat requirements of aquatic animals plays an important role in fisheries and protection programs of aquatic ecosystems. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the suitability indexes of habitat use and habitat suitability index (HSI) of Cyprinion macrostomum in its distribution range in Zab River. A number of environmental variables, including Ph, temperature, EC, TDS, elevation, water depth, river width, river slope, velocity, substrate type, and the relative abundance of C. macrostomum at 6 stations and three replications from the downstream to upstream were examined during from the fall of 2021 to the summer of 2022. The results showed that habitat suitability of C. macrostomum is different during four seasons and this species prefers areas with Ph in the range 10-90, high temperature, low altitude, low bed slope, with medium velocity, and gravel and slate beds without vegetation, and these environmental factors expressed during the four seasons of the year are almost similar. But EC, TDS, river width and water depth factors are distinct in different seasons and it prefers different ranges of these factors during the seasons. In spring and summer seasons preferred the lower width and depth of the river, and in winter and autumn seasons preferred the width greater and depth higher of the water.

Keywords

• Habitat selection
• suitability index
• Zab River
• Tigris Basin