Ichthyofauna of Tovè River in the South Benin: Specific Diversity and Spatial Distribution

Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems shelter an important animal biological diversity, which constitute a protein source for populations. In order to ensure the sustainable management of these commercially important resources, this study was conducted to explore the ichthyological fauna of the Tovè River in Benin. The fish fauna was sampled from October 2015 to September 2016 with a range of several fishing gears. A total of 46 species belonging to 30 genus and 19 families were identified. Cichlidae are the most dominant family with 13 species followed by Mormyridae with 7 species, Characidae and Clariidae, are represented each by 4 species. The most dominant species are Synodontis schall, Shilbe intermedius and Tilapia dageti respectively. The species richness is not significantly different between the 3 study areas (p > 0.05). The river upstream is the station that has the highest species richness (39 species). The middle and downstream of the river are the stations where there is the low species richness (35 and 31 species respectively). The spatial distribution of the fish fauna and its diversity are important data to be taken into consideration to establish a sustainable management of the ichthyological fauna of Benin.