An assessment of the distribution of the freshwater fishes of the Taman Negara Pahang, Malaysia

Surveys on the distribution of fish fauna in Keniam River, Taman Negara Pahang were conducted from 16 th -22 nd March 2011. Fish were sampled from 12 stations from 3 different zones of the river, namely, the upper reaches, middle reaches, and lower reaches. A total of 17 fish species belonging to 4 families were recorded. Analyses based on the number of individuals caught showed that 82% of total catch was represented by the Cyprinids. Mystus nemurus and Mystacoelucus marginatus were the most distributed within the Keniam River being present in the upper, middle and lower reaches of the river. Species richness (Margalef's D) for fish ranged from 2.33 to 2.96 while the Shannon-Weiner (H') Diversity index ranged from 1.80 to 2.07. The upper reaches recorded highest diversity (H'=2.07, D=2.96) as compared to the other zones of the Keniam River. Approximately 82% or 14 species of the fishes sampled were juveniles or sub adults based on the ratio of their mean standard length to their maximum attainable length.