Stress Evaluation on Ecological Integrity of Selected Lotic Water Bodies

Abstract

Abstract The water quality of the freshwater streams of Pakistan has been degraded with time. The present study aims to explore the water quality and ichthyofauna diversity from the lotic water bodies of the Sialkot. Ten sampling sites were evaluated for pollution levels and ichthyofauna of the Sialkot region. Physicochemical parameters such as pH, temperature, biological oxygen demand (BOD), and total dissolved substance (TDS) were found to be disturbed. In addition, correlation analysis of water quality parameters was studied. The strongest positive correlation (1.0) was observed between alkalinity and bicarbonate. In contrast, a robust positive correlation (0.99) was observed between EC and TDS, whereas pH shows a moderate, weak negative (-0.30) correlation with EC, TDS, Alkalinity, and Bicarbonate, respectively. Moreover, a total of 22 fish species belonging to 10 families were studied and identified. The composition of the fish assemblage mainly belongs to the family Cyprinidae (41%), while the rests of the families contribute 59% to fish assemblage. Our results indicate that the amount of pollutants and overfishing by using pesticides and illegal mesh size is the main reason for reducing the fish population. During the current study, we found surface water quality of streams is being degraded day by day due to the accumulation of pollutants from industrial and domestic sewage waste. It is recommended that severe measures are needed to stop such water contamination, and regular monitoring should be undertaken to monitor the water quality in the study area.