Research Journal of Animal, Veterinary and Fishery Sciences __ _____________ ______ ____ __ ISSN 2320 – 6535 Vol. 1 ( 6 ), 6 - 9 , July (201 3 ) Res. J. Animal, Veterinary and Fishery Sci. International Science Congress Association 6 Morphometric Analysis of Fish Population from two Different Ponds of Vadodara City, Gujarat, India Pathak Neelam B . Parikh Ankita N . and Mankodi Pradeep C. * Division of fisheries and Aquatic Biology, Dept . of Zoology, Faculty of Science, The MS Uni . of Baroda, Vadodara 390002, Gujarat, INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in Received 27 th May 201 3 , revised 8 th June 201 3 , accepted 15 th July 201 3 Abstract The present study was carried out with an aim to understand mor phometric relationship of Tilapia ( Oreochromis mossaimbicus) from natural waters. Samples were collected from two different ponds viz., Sama pond and Danteshwar pond of Vadodara city. These morphometric data represent specific structure of the inhabitant f ish population of these ponds. The average of t otal l ength and t otal w eight and s tandard l ength and t otal w eight of fishes of both ponds indicates that the morphometric structure of Sama pond fishes were bigger than that of Danteshwar pond. Condition facto r K values were 1.58 and 1.67 and the exponential equation were Wt = +0.609 (TL) 0.329 and Wt = - 1.169 (TL) 2.430 of fishes of both ponds respectively indicating allometric growth. The condition factor of fishes of both ponds indicates that all fishes were in good condition. However, biomass of fishes of Danteshwar pond was more compared to Sama pond. Correlation between t otal l ength and t otal w eight as well as s tandard l ength and t otal w eight was 0.76, 0.77 and 0.83, 0.87 of fishes of both ponds respective ly, which revealed positive correlation between length and weight of the fishes. Keywords: Tilapia, l ength – weight relationship‚ c ondition factor . Introduction Morphometric analysis is based on a set of measurements which represent size and shape var iation and are continuous data. In fish morphometric character represent one of the major keys for determining their systematic, growth variability 1 and various population parameters. The success of fishing industry depends mainly on fish catches in terms of weight which, in turn is a function of its length. These two measurements are closely related. As the growth of fish varies species to species and environment to environment, it is of great importance to have the knowledge of length - weight relationship of a species occurring in a particular area for its fishery 2 . The estimation of a and b parameters of length - weight relationship is important for stock assessment 3 . The length - weight relationship is an important tool in fish biology; physiology and ecolog y and fisheries assessment. This relationship serves three purposes viz. i. determine the type of the mathematical relationship between two variables so that if one variable is known the other could be computed, ii. the relative condition can be estimated to assess general well being of the fish and type of growth i.e. whether isometric or allometric and iii. helps to the potential yield per recruit in the study of fish population dynamics 4 . The length - weight relationship is very important for proper exploi tation and management of the population of fish species. To obtain the relationship between total length and body weight is also very much essential for finalizing the taxonomic characters of the species. Among the freshwater fishes, length - weight relation ship of different fishes has been studied by many researchers 5 - 7 . The changes in weight in relation to length are generally not on the basis of specific gravity but due to changes in the form of volume because the density in the organism and that of the su rrounding water. Such changes are analyzed by the condition factor or “Pondered index” 8 . The present work has been carried out on the morphometric aspects such as length - weight relationship and condition factor of Tilapia ( Oreochromis mossaimbicus ) from na tural water bodies i.e. Sama pond and Danteshwar pond of Vadodara city ( f ig ure 1). Material and Methods The Tilapia ( Oreochromis mossaimbicus ) were collected from the natural water bodies of two different ponds i.e. Sama and Danteshwar which are located i n Vadodara district of Gujarat State. The geo - location of Sama pond is 22 0 20‟35 N and 73 0 12‟02 E and of Danteshwar pond is 22 0 16‟34 N and 73 0 12‟39 E. These are perennial urban ponds and utilized by surrounding inhabitants for various activities. The following measurements and observations were recorded for each sample. i. Total length in centimeters. ii. Standard length in centimeters. Length was measured with the help of thread and scale (in cm). iii. Total weight in grams. Weight was measured with h elp of an electronic weighing balance to the nearest 0.01 gram (in gm). The relationship between the length (L) and weight (W) of fish was expressed by equation W=a L b Where W= w eight of fish in gram, L= t otal l ength (TL) of fish in cm. a=Constant (int ercept) , b = The l ength exponent (slope) Research Journal of Animal, Veterinary and Fishery Sciences ___ _ _ _______________________________ ____ ISSN 2320 – 6535 Vol. 1 ( 6 ), 6 - 9 , July (201 3 ) Res. J. Animal, Veterinary and Fishery Sci . International Science C ongress Association 7 When expressed in Logarithm: Log W=Log a + b Log L i.e. y = A+Bx , where Y = Log W, B = n (regression coefficient) and X =Log L. The “a” and “b” values were obtained from a linear regression of the length and weig ht of fish. The condition factor (K) of the experimental fish was estimated by using Fulton‟s condition factor: K= W/L 3 *100 . 9 . Where K= condition factor, W= weight of fish (g), L= length of fish (cm) The correlation (r 2 ) that is the degree of associatio n between the length and weight was computed from the linear regression analysis: R = r 2 Results and Discussion The analysis of the data revealed the growth pattern and condition of fishes of Sama and Danteshwar ponds. The regression line derived from th e graph represents a linear relationship between the two morphometric variables viz., length ( t otal and s tandard) and t otal weight ( f ig ure 2, 3, 4, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B) of fish population of both ponds. It can be seen from the graphs that the points are more or less very close to the line and hence it can be assumed that there is a close relationship between the length ( t otal and s tandard) and Total weight. From the graphs ( f ig ure 2 and 3, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B) the average of t otal l ength (TL) and t otal w eight (TW) and s tandard l ength (SL) and t otal w eight of fishes of two ponds indicates that range of TL and SL of fishes of Sama pond was bigger than the Danteshwar pond because the growth and condition of fishes are affected by the water quality of the resource s 10 . Correlation between TL and TW as well as SL and TW was 0.76, 0.77 and 0.83, 0.87 of fishes of both ponds respectively. This indicates that there were positive correlations between two variables where if the length will increase the weight will also i ncrease. The exponential equation of fishes of Sama and Danteshwar were Wt = +0.609 (TL) 0.329 and Wt = - 1.169(TL) 2.430 respectively. The theoretical value of „b‟ (regression coefficient) in length - weight relationship is reported as 3 when the body form of fish remains constant at different length i.e. the growth is isometric 11 . The value is less than or more than 3 indicates that is growth is allometric 12 . When the value is less than 3 indicate that the fish becomes more slender as they increase in length 13 . During the present investigation the „b‟ value was less than 3. This Indicates that fish become more slender as they increase in length and the growth pattern of fish population was allometric. The similar types of values were recorded from various marin e species 14 - 16 . Condition factor (K) of fish population of Sama and Danteshwar ponds were 1.58 and 1.67 respectively, these values were varied slightly with the results from other studies 17,18 and showed that all fishes were in good condition. Dan teswar Pond Sama Pond Figure - 1 Representation of study area Conclusion The present investigation indicates that the fishes of Sama and Danteshwar ponds were in good condition. The range of total length and standard length of Sama pond was bigger than the Danteshwar pond. There was positive correlation between length and weight of fishes of both ponds. The regression coefficient „b‟ revealed that the growth pattern of fish population of both ponds was allometric. Acknowledgements The authors are thankful to Head, Department of Zoology, The M.S. University of Baroda , Vadodara, for providing necessary laboratory facilities during the period of study. Authors ANP and NBP are thankful to UGC - RF SMS scheme and M. S. University of Baroda for providing URS (university research scholarship) for this research work respectively. Research Journal of Animal, Veterinary and Fishery Sciences ___ _ _ _______________________________ ____ ISSN 2320 – 6535 Vol. 1 ( 6 ), 6 - 9 , July (201 3 ) Res. J. Animal, Veterinary and Fishery Sci . International Science C ongress Association 8 Figure - 2 (A) Figure - 2(B) Figure - 2 (a and b) Graphical representations of the relationship of t he Total length and Total weight of fish population two ponds Figure - 3(A) Figure - 3 (B) Figure - 3(a and b) G raphical representations of the relationship of the Standard length and Total weight of fish population of two ponds Figure - 4(A) Figure - 4(B) Fig ure - 4 (a and b) Graphical representations of the values of Log length and Log weight of fish population of two ponds. References 1. Kovac V. and Copp G.H., Morphometry of the stone loach Barbatula barbatula ( L.). Do metric characters reflect the species‟ life history thresholds, Environ. Biol. Fish., 56 , 105 - 115 (1999) 2. Kulkarni A.S., Tendulkar M.V., Terdalkar S. 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