Length weight relationship and Fulton’s condition factor of Macrobrachium assamense peninsularie in Khoh tributary of Ram Ganga from Garhwal Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Macrobrachium assamense peninsularie length-weight relationship and Fulton’s condition factor was studied in Khoh tributary of Ram Ganga in the Garhwal Himalaya region of Uttarakhand for the period of one year from March 2009-Feb 2010. A strong positive relationship was observed between the length and weight in both the sexes (male and female) (b<3). Also when data was pooled, the growth was allometric (b<3). The values obtained from the length/weight relationship (LWR) showed that there was a high and significant correlation between the total length and weight after using the t-test for the significance of correlation.The highest correlation coefficient ‘r’ =0.94 i.e strong association between length and weight was observed. This means that as the length of the prawn increases the weight increases in the same proportion. Coefficient of determination r2 was also high (0.88) which indicated that the model used for the analysis fits the data, confirming the fitness of the model. The Fulton’s condition factor “K” was recorded highest (K = 2.0603) in March and lowest (K = 1.6195) in May in Male while in female, the condition factor (K = 2.1038) was highest in August and lowest (K = 1.5345) in October. The condition factor “K” ranges from 1.6195 to 2.0603 in male and 1.5345 to 2.1038 in female. It means the condition factor was sex and season dependent. The difference in condition factors in male and female may be attributed to the presence of ovigerous female, environmental conditions and changes in feeding intensity.

Keywords

• Fulton’s condition factor
• Garhwal himalaya
• Khoh tributary
• length- weight relationship
• Macrobrachium assamense peninsularie