Relationship between fish body and sagittal otolith morphometrics in the pool barb Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822) from the Ganga and Punpun rivers of Bihar, India

The present study estimated the morphometric relationships between body and sagittal otolith of the economically and nutritionally important pool barb Puntius sophore (Hamilton, 1822). A total of 266 fish specimens were collected monthly from the Ganga and Punpun rivers of Bihar, India from September 2021 to March 2022 Length-weight relationships (LWRs), length frequency distribution, condition factor and otolith aspect ratio were assessed. The fish length and weight ranged from 5.57 cm to 11.17 cm and 1.18 g to 18.98 g, respectively. The b value in LWRs (b>3) were estimated as 3.20 and 3.17 for Ganga and Punpun, respectively. Condition factors indicated optimal growth conditions for this species in both the rivers. The fish and otolith morphometrics showed a positive correlation, and the highest coefficient of determination (R2) was observed between total fish length and otolith weight (R2= 0.942) followed by fish length and otolith length (R2=0.90). All of these relationships are significant to fisheries management and useful for future time series studies on food-feeding habits, stock structure, environmental change and resource conservation. Keywords : Coefficient of determination, Condition factor, Fish otolith, Growth, Length-weight relationship