assessment of river connectivity using genetic approach in

Assessment of River Connectivity Using Genetic Approach in

Chitwan Annapurna Landscape.

Study Report

Submitted to

Hariyo Ban Program

WWF, Nepal

2019

By

Solution Consultant Pvt. Ltd.

Kathmandu, Nepal

Agreement: # GX12

Team Members

Prof. Dr. Bibhuti Ranjan Jha

Kumar Khatri

Dikra Prasad Bajgain

Madan Subedi

Sumeet Moktan

Ram Din Mahato

1

Introduction:

Nepal has more than 6000 rivers and streams, most of which originate in the high Himalayas and

midhills and are fed by glaciers and springs forming perennial rivers. Those of lowlands are fed

by rain and intermittent streams and dry up during the low flow period. Nepal’s river can be

divided into four major river systems from east to west: the SaptaKoshi River, the Gandaki

River, Karnali River and the Mahakali River (FDD 1998).Water sheds represent upstream and

downstream linkages through a number of biophysical and socio-economic factors and processes

(Thapa 2009) since the downstream ecosystem is directly influenced by the health of the

upstream ecosystem (Wipli and Gregovich 2002; Crompton et al. 2003). Therefore, maintenance

of upstream downstream ecosystems is important for watershed management and functions.

However, a number of factors such as climate change, pollutions, and dams and weirs, are

known to affect river ecosystem thereby impacting the watershed processes. For example, studies

have shown that higher temperatures with present day precipitation patterns lead to increased

evaporation rates, reductions in stream flow, and increased frequency of droughts (Schaake

1990; Rind et al. 1990) affecting agriculture and productivity. Agriculture has become more

commercialized today; farmers have started using various kinds of agrochemicals to increase

yields. Although such practices have helped to increase productivity but it also create adverse

impact on soil and water bodies of the watershed (Shah et al. 2009; Dahal et al. 2007).

Similarly the construction of dams and weirs on free flowing lotic system for various purpose is

known to alter hydrology and geology of the river, which affects the entire biotic community of

the watershed including fish and humans), as well as the disruption of longitudinal corridor

(Jungwirth 1998;Jackson and Marmulla 2001; Jha 2007). Dams and weirs also disrupt the

longitudinal corridor of the river, which mainly affects the biota of the rivers, specially the fish

community known to be migratory as a biological necessity (Simon 1999; Markert et al. 2003;Jha

2007).

A number of studies have revealed that many countries including Nepal have unstable

watersheds. Therefore, protecting and strengthening watershed ecosystem is vital to address

environmental degradation affecting multiple of sectors in order to ensure livelihood of people

and boost their economy (Tiwari et al. 2008; V'Combe and Najjar 2009). Aquatic biodiversity is

considered as one of the best indicators of watershed health as they are known to reflect

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cumulative conditions of vital watershed components and processes (EPA 2008). This study is

intended to assess the impacts of dams/weirs on the river by evaluating the fish assemblage of

the selected species in two of the prominent rivers of Chitwan Annapurna Landscape (CHAL).

According to a recent literature, the total number of fish species found in Nepal is 230

(Rajbanshi 2012). However, this number varies with different authors. For instance, Shrestha

(2001) recorded 182 indigenous fish species from Nepal; Rajbanshi (2001) prepared a checklist

from the published literature and reported 187 species; Saund and Shrestha (2007) reported 199

species whereas Shrestha (2008) reported 217 indigenous fish species (Shrestha et al. 2009 and

the references therein).Different numbers of fish species have been reported from Narayani River

as well, mostly ranging approximately between 30 to 110(Edds 1993; Shrestha 1994; Rajbanshi

2001; Shrestha 1999; Swar 2001; Jha 2006; and Jha and Bhujel 2014). The coldwater rivers

Marshyandi and Budhi Gandaki, which are under the study, are the tributaries of Narayani River,

and the latest updates of the number of species are recorded as 26 (Mandal and Jha 2013) and 32

(EIA 2016) respectively.

Cold water fish of Nepal are facing problems due to an increasing number of dams and weirs,

which are the basic structure for the hydropower projects. Once abundant indigenous fish stocks

have been declining due to overfishing, harmful fishing practices (electrofishing, blasting, and

use of chemicals), pollution and developmental works. Developmental works such as river

damming has a major impact on river ecology and aquatic flora and fauna, including fish. In this

regard, the study of the impacts done by the disruption of longitudinal corridor of river is done

by assessing fish population and other fish base traits as it is the standard method. Marshyangdi

River represents the case of disrupted river as it already has a multiple of dams, and Budhi

Gandaki River is taken as a reference as it has so far no dams and belongs to the same

geographical region and has similar origin and discharge.

Marshyangdi River is a trans- Himalayan river originating from the northern slopes of the

Annapurna Himal and runs 153km through Manang, Lamjung, Gorkha and Tanahun districts to

join Trishuli River at Mugling (Pratt et al. 2002; Bajracharya 2011; Mandal and Jha, 2013). This

river basin spans an area of 4104.59km2 with an elevation of 318m to 8124 m above sea level

(Parajuli et al. 2015). It also lies within the Chitwan Annapurna Landscape (CHAL) famous for

their biodiversity value, diverse culture and ethnic groups (WWF 2013).Marshyangdi River

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Basin has risen to a highly prospective area for hydropower generationdue to its high gradient

topography (Khadka and Pathak 2016; Parajuli et al. 2015; Mandal and Jha 2013), with three

state-owned hydropower plant under operation and five private-owned hydropower plant under

construction (Karobar 2015).

Likewise Budhi Gandaki too extends beyond the Himalayas, originating from Manaslu Himalaya

and reaching above 8000 m in Gorkha district with 5370 km2 of catchment area (NEA 2011).

This river has a length of 128.5 km from its origin to the mouth, where it meets the Trishuli

River, which is one of the main trunks of Gandaki River System. Till today, there is no manmade

barrier in this river, but a reservoir type Mega Project with around 1200 MW energy is very

much on the way of construction. Therefore, the river still is a perfect reference to compare the

impacts of manmade barriers by assessing the population of some keystone fish species of the

region.

People are intimately connected to freshwater resources, and the control of these resources has

performed a unique role in the development of societies and economies worldwide (Postel and

Richter 2012). The co-evolution of societies and freshwater environments has resulted in

complex social-ecological systems in which humans have shaped the physical form of rivers

(Ashmore 2015), the spatiotemporal distribution of freshwater resources (Vörösmarty et al.

2010), and the structure and function of the ecosystems that occur in these environments

(Ormerod et al. 2010). Humans have also become dependent upon the services that freshwater

environments provide to society and must manage systems in a way that assures the sustainable

provisioning of these services (Falkenmark, 2003). Central to understanding watersheds and

effectively managing these complex social-ecological systems is the idea that humans are part of

the system and not external to it (Callicott et al. 1999).

Inherent in all social-ecological systems are opportunities and trade-offs. Watersheds provide a

range of resources and services that benefit humans and, in using these services to maintain or

increase their well-being, humans may change the structure and function of a watershed (Parsons

et al. 2016). Trade-offs occurs when an increase in one ecosystem service provided by

watersheds, for example crop production, results in a decline in another, such as water quality

(Qiu and Turner 2013). The present report is the study of one such change man makes to the

river by constructing the dams/weirs for the production of energy and agriculture alike, thereby

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changing the river ecosystem reflected by the population size and genetics of the aquatic biota,

mainly the fish. And, for the convenience four fish genera usually found in the region have been

assessed.

Objective:

The grand objective of the study is to assess the impact of the disruption of river connectivity by

constructing dams/weirs through comparing the population status of selected fish species with

the natural reference of same region and similar hydrological characteristics up to the genetic

level.

However, the grand objective has been divided into two parts and this part of the study is focused

to the following objectives:

• To review the past fish base studies of Marshyangdi and Buddhi Gandaki Rivers to

identify the indicator fish species

• To undertake a survey of fish species in the priority sub basin: Marshyangdi and Budhi

Gandaki Rivers.

• To collect the genetic materials from the live key indicator species for further analysis.

Methodology:

Study Area:

The study was conducted on two rivers Marshyangdi River (145 km) and Budhi Gandaki River

(128.5km) at eight different sites four from each river on Chitwan Annapurna Landscape

(CHAL). CHAL covers over 32,090 sq. km. spreads from Chitwan National Park in the south to

Manaslu, Langtang and Annapurna Conservation Area in the north comprising 19 districts. It

covers Gandaki Basin that includes seven sub-river basins (Kali Gandaki, Seti, Marshyangdi,

Daraudi, Budhi Gandaki, Trishuli, Rapti-Narayani). Marshyangdi sub-river basin covers an area

of 4211 km2and originates from the south-eastern flank of Muktinath Himal as Jargungkhola and

joins the Trishuli River at Mugling (WWF 2013). Budhi Gandaki on the other hand has the

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watershed area of 5370 km2 and originates from Manaslu Himalaya and reaches Trishuli River at

Benighat in Dhading.

Picture I: Map of the study area

The sampling sites were selected strategically four each on the Rivers Marshyangdi and Budhi

Gandaki. In River Marshyangdi, the four sampling sites were fixed in such a way that they were

placed upstream and downstream of each of the three dams. The first sampling site on this River

was fixed on the upstream of Upper Marshyangdi Dam, the second on the upstream of Middle

Marshyangdi Dam, the third on the upstream of Marshyangdi Dam and the last one just before

the confluence with River Trishuli at Mugling. The dewatered zones of all the hydropower plants

of the River were avoided as they were almost dry. The four sampling sites on undisrupted Budhi

Gandaki was fixed in such a way that it covered the entire distance of the proposed reservoir type

mega hydropower project. Each of the sampling sites is described in a scientific way with all the

details such as name, place, elevation and coordinates (Table 1).

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River Site Name Place Elevation Latitude Longitude

Marshyangdi MR1 Arkalebesi 917 28.32886°N 084.39955°E

Marshyangdi MR2 Akarbazar,

Besisahar

674 28.26365°N 084.36349°E

Marshyangdi MR3 Nayapool 337 27.95039°N 084.43031°E

Marshyangdi MR4 Abukhaireni 238 27.87068°N 084.55035°E

Budhi Gandaki BR1 Arkhet 523 28.09384°N 084.83572°E

Budhi Gandaki BR2 Arughat 475 28.04649°N 084.81619°E

Budhi Gandaki BR3 Ghatbesi 403 27.98172°N 084.77973°E

Budhi Gandaki BR4 Benighat 306 27.81442°N 084.78192°E

Table 1: The scientific details of the sampling sites

Picture 2: GIS map showing the studied Rivers with sampling sites

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Aquatic biodiversity

Many regional and river specific literatures were consulted to explore and select the best possible

fish species as indicator species that shows the impact of the construction of dams/weirs on the

river, thereby disconnecting the longitudinal corridor of the river continuum (Day 1889; Shrestha

1990, 2008; Talwar and Jhingran 1991;Shrestha 1994, 1999,2001; Rajbanshi 2002; Jha

2006;Pokharel 2011;Rajbanshi 2012; Mandal and Jha 2013; Jha and Bhujel 2014;EIA 2016;

Gillette et al. 2016;fishbase.org). In the basis of all the literatures, four prominent fish genera,

namely Schizothorax sps., Tor sps., Neolissochilus hexagonolepis and Garra sps. were identified

as the key indicator species for the sampling. Among these species, Tor and Neolissochilus are

identified long distance migratory species, while Schizothorax is known for short distance

migratory species preferring highly structured cold water rapids. The species of Garra was

selected because it is commonly distributed in all the river systems of Nepal, and it would be

interesting to know its population dynamics.

To compare the status of fish diversity and the population genetics of selected fish species in

these two rivers, the sampling method used is standard electro-fishing by wading method (Jha

2006; Sharma and Jha 2012). In this method a person carrying backpack electro-fishing gear

casts the anodic net in the river water to generate electric field within which the available fish are

attracted and shocked for a moment. The shocked fish are then fetched by two persons carrying

the dip nets and then they empty the captured fish in a water-filled bucket carried by a fourth

person. The fish sampling was done in the two runs of approximately 20 minutes and the

captured fishes were studied for variety of fish base characteristics such as type, abundance,

length, weight, sex etc. And, to complement the electro-fishing method, the cast net haul was

also used for sampling which was standardized for 10 times (Gillette et al. 2016).

A small section of dorsal fin measuring less than 0.5 cm was cut off with the help of a small

portable scissor from the individuals of all the selected indicator fish species for genetic analysis.

Each genetic material was packed in separate envelope marked with all the necessary labels such

as date, site and numbers. Representative photographs of the selected fish species were also

taken for documentation.

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All the fish captured were released back in their natural habitat once the necessary information

and material were collected. A few specimens of all individual fish species were preserved in

70% Ethanol and brought to the laboratory and kept for a record as type specimen. The sampling

was done in the 3rd week of December 2018, typically a coldest time of the year, that is, the deep

winter season.

Results and discussions:

This research was carried out to study the population genetics of selected fish species in two

rivers Marshyangdi and Budhi Gandaki, having more or less similar nature (gradient,

temperature and oligotrophic) but with the difference that the former is intervened with multiple

of dams with respective hydropower projects (Marshyangdi, Mid Marshyangdi and Upper

Marshyangdi) and the latter is free flowing.

According to a recent literature, the total number of fish species found in Nepal is 230

(Rajbanshi 2012). However, this number varies with different authors. For instance, Shrestha

(2001) recorded 182 indigenous fish species from Nepal; Rajbanshi (2001) prepared a checklist

from the published literature and reported 187 species; Saund and Shrestha (2007) reported 199

species whereas Shrestha (2008) reported 217 indigenous fish species (Shrestha et al. 2009 and

the references therein). Among these, Gandak River System reportedly harbor almost half of

these number of species, and the rivers under the investigation of this study, Marshyangdi and

Budhi Gandaki, being glacial-fed coldwater river will hold relatively fewer number of species

(EIA 2016; Mandal and Jha 2013).

A total of 192 individual fish belonging to 2 Orders, 5 Families, 10 Genera and 13 species from 4

sites each of the 2 rivers, Marshyangdi and Budhi Gandaki. The numbers captured during the

sampling was much less than actually reported from these rivers recently, 26 species for

Marshyangdi (Mandal and Jha 2013) and 47 for Budhi Gandaki EIA 2016). This may be because

of the severe winter conditions with very cold water as the fishes have tendency to move

downstream towards warmer conditions. Table 2 shows the species, with their numbers and

abundance sampled during this study.

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S.N. Order Family Genus Species Number

1 Cypriniformes Balitoridae Acanthocobitis botia 14

2 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Barilius bendelisis 1

3 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Barilius barila 28

4 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Garra annandalei 16

5 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Garra gotyla gotyla 14

6 Siluriformes Sisoridae Glyptothorax telchitta 4

7 Siluriformes Sisoridae Myersglanis blythii 1

8 Cypriniformes Cobitidae Nemacheilus corica 20

9 Siluriformes Sisoridae Pseudecheneis sulcata 3

10 Cypriniformes Cobitidae Schistura rupecula 1

11 Cypriniformes Cobitidae Schistura beavani 10

12 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Schizothoraichthys progastus 36

13 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Schizothorax richardsonii 44

Total 192

Table 2: Details of the Total Catch

A total of 76 fish individuals belonging to 2 Orders, 3 Families, 7 Genera and 7 species from

four sampling sites of Marshyangdi River were recorded during the study. Similarly a set of 116

fish individuals belonging to 2 Orders, 4 Families and 11 species, from four sampling sites of

Budhi Gandaki River. Slightly higher diversity and abundance of fishes in Budhi Gandaki

compared to Marshyangdi could be attributed to its maintenance of longitudinal corridor, which

is at least disrupted thrice in the latter’s case due to the hydropower projects. Table 3 and Table 4

shows the detail fish catch by electro-fishing of Marshyangdi and Budhi Gandaki Rivers

separately. As a complimentary method, cast net too was used for fish samplings to capture any

Genera missed by electro-fishing. However, no addition on the species list was made by this

indigenous method.

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Electro Fishing ( Marshyangdi River)


1 Cypriniformes Balitoridae Acanthocobitis botia 14

2 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Garra gotylagotyla 14






Total

76

Table 3: Details of the fish catch from Marshyangdi River

Electro Fishing (Budhi Gandaki River)


1 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Barilius bendelisis 1

2 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Barilius barila 28

3 Cypriniformes Cyprinidae Garra annandalei 16


5 Siluriformes Sisoridae Myersglanis blythii 1

6 Cypriniformes Cobitidae Nemacheilus corica 20


8 Cypriniformes Cobitidae Schistura rupecula 1




Total

116

Table 3: Details of the fish catch from Budhi Gandaki River

11

Tor putitora

Neolissochilus hexagonolepis

Schizothorax richardsonii

Schizothoraichthys progastus

Garra annandalei

Garra gotyla gotyla

Picture 3: The selected fish genera for genetic studies.

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Total of 119 short migratory fish were collected during sampling and tissues of 110 of them were

collected for genetic analysis. The tissues of some of the selected fishes were not taken as their

size was too small, less than 60 mm, which could influence their survival. During the field

samplings 2 species of snow trouts, Schizothorax richardsonii and Schizothoraichthys progastus,

and two species of sucker heads, Garra annandalei and Garra gotyla gotyla were sufficiently

captured. However, the selected long distance migratory genera Tor species, and Neolissochilus

hexagonolepis were not encountered at all (Pic 3 shows all the fish genera selected for genetic

studies). As Tor species, and Neolissochilus hexagonolepis travel long distance to the warm

waters of sub-tropical regions of Nepal and adjacent areas during the winter, it is natural that

they were absent in such a ice cool water of Marshyangdi and Budhi Gandaki Rivers (Shrestha

94; Jha 2006; Shrestha 2008; Rajbanshi 2012).

Table 4 shows the details of the selected fish species for the collection of genetic materials for

the study of fish population study by genetic approach. Expectedly the 2 species of snow trouts,

Schizothorax richardsonii and Schizothoraichthys progastus typical fish of cold high gradient

rivers of Nepal were in the dominating number and hence form the bulk of genetic materials for

the further studies. It will also be interesting to study the population of 2 distinct species of

sucker heads Garra annandelei and Garra gotyla gotyla as they commonly occur in almost all

the rivers of the country.

Marshyangadi and Budigandakai: List of fish with Genetic Material

Species

Place

Garra

annandelei

Garra

gotyla gotyla

Schizothorax

richardsonii

Schizothoraichthys

progastus

Askalebesi 1

Arkarbajar 8

Nayapool 14 39

Abukhaireni 1

Arkhet 3 1

Arughat 1 17

Ghatbesi 1 10

Benighat 6 8

Total 10 14 50 36

Grand

Total

110

Table 4: Details of selected fish with Genetic Material

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Conclusion:

A total of 7 and 11 species of fish were observed from Marshyangdi and Budhi Gandaki Rivers

which are more or less similar in nature (gradient, temperature and oligotrophic), but different in

having manmade structures. With the presence of seven species of fishes at Marshyangdi showed

less diversity and abundance indicating an impaired habitat conditions to support less fish than

free flowing river Budhi Gandaki. This shows that cold water fish of Nepal are affected by the

increasing number of hydropower dams that disrupt the river continuum.

The findings of the study showed that the long as well as short distance migratory fishes such as

Tor sps., Neolissochilus sps. and Schizothorax sps. are affected due to dams built in the river,

which created dewatered zone along the river stretch disrupting the longitudinal corridor.

However, the higher number of species in the Budhi Gandaki indicates the intact of river

continuum and the occurrence of functional ecological/biological migration of fish from their

proximity to downstream river connectivity with the major river Trishuli. It is a well-established

fact that the fish diversity increases as the river connectivity increases and connect the two or

more River Systems (Jha et al. 2007).While the values of various Diversity Indices in cold

oligotrophic water will be less compared to warm waters, the numbers are still useful to compare

between the different sites and to make plan and policies accordingly

The genetic diversity of a species is usually represented by variations across its geographical

range, with the more isolated and undisturbed populations often being the most distinct. The key

is to gather sufficient genetic data to characterize as much as possible of the genetic diversity of

the species, and in so doing to identify the wild populations that represent the most significant

contributions to that diversity (Bennerji et al. 2008). And in this direction, this study is one of the

beginnings of genetic studies of fish population in Nepal.

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Recommendations:

1. As fish population varies according to the seasons, the fish samplings and collections of

genetic materials should be done in all major seasons

2. As there is a great diversity in fish species of Nepal, more diverse type of fish should be

selected for the genetic studies

3. As there are big variations in origin and natures of water bodies in the country, the

samplings should be extended to cover as much variety as possible.

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