The morphometric and meristic characteristics variation of Rutilus frisii kutum in the 3 river estuaries in Gilan Province

The study of fishes in aquatic ecosystems is important for many reasons, including systematic review, ecology, behavioral studies, and exploitation of fish stocks and fish farming. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify the apparent variation of Rutilus frisii kutum in three rivers estuaries of Gilan province. Sampling was carried out in the rivers of the Sefid rood, Anzali Lagoon, and Chelvand, and 30 fishes were taken from these rivers by using fishing net and boat and transported to the laboratory. After measuring 30 morphometric and 9 meristic characters, the data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA test. Mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum and coefficient of variation of all morphometric and meristic characters were calculated by population density of each river and compared them with Tukey test. The significant difference (P <0.01) between mean and high coefficients of variation in the morphometric characters of whitefish in the rivers showed the phenotypic difference in the populations of three rivers. The low mean of the coefficient of variation of the meristic characters showed the low diversity of these characters. According to the obtained results, the diversity of this fish, regardless of possible errors, is subject to variation of the habitat conditions, while the variation of the meristic characteristics due to its genetic nature is low. Therefore, further study is needed to protect and nurture these nutritious organisms.

کلیدواژه ها:

Caspian white fish ، Taxonomic keys ، Diversity