Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

Vol 27, Nov Suppl. Issue, 2021; Page No.(178-187)

MORPHOMETRIC AND MERISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CLIMBING PERCH FISH (ANABAS TESTUDINEUS) IN THE SUB-POPULATION OF PEAT SWAMPS AGROECOSYSTEM

Helmizuryani, Rujito Agus Suwignyo, Zazili Hanafiah and Muhammad Faizal

Abstract

The environmental factor could change the morphometric and meristic characteristics of fish because of the natural adaptation. The climbing perch fish which originated from freshwater ecosystem was found in several peat-swamp area which has high diversity nutrients but at the same time potentially harm the species because of its low acidity level. However, there was no comprehensive report about the morphological characteristics of climbing perch fish caught in the Ogan Komering Ilir, South Sumatera Indonesia. The study aims to identify the morphometric and meristic characteristics of climbing perch fish from four different type of ecosystems using 33 morphometric characters and 12 meristic characters. The result was further analyzed using discriminant functional analysis and cluster analysis to see which caught fish had the similar characteristics among the sampling point. The results showed that there were seven morphometric characters having a significant difference where three of them differentiated the caught fish. The study proved that the water streams determined the size of fish. The fish caught in peat dome and oil palm plantation had a high similarity, but the fish caught in Teloko lake and another utilized area was slightly different. However, the study of meristic characteristics showed no significant difference indicating that the ecosystem characters only affected the morphometric characteristic of fish.