Introduction
Lakes and rivers are crucial water supplies in any area. Life on Earth depends on water, which
is a vital part of an ecosystem. The emergence of numerous civilizations close to lakes and
rivers has been influenced by the availability of water. Numerous biotic and abiotic biological
factors can influence the composition of fish communities in continental aquatic habitats,
particularly in artificial reservoirs. Lake has the biggest influence among them. The makeup
of fish communities, distribution patterns, and environmental factors are some of the variables
that affect the lake ecosystem. This is demonstrated by the profusion of ichthyofaunal diversity
in a lake, which was originally lentic, as opposed to the lotic zone Edmir Daniel Carvalho,
1998. Environmental knowledge and the idea of ecotone should be considered while managing
reservoirs Tundisi, 1993.
Fisheries refers to the use of aquatic resources for economic, social, or nutritional reasons. Both
capture and cultural fisheries are included in this. Fish populations make up over half of all
vertebrates worldwide; out of the 21,730 species of fish known to exist, only 11.7% are present
in Indian waters Murugan, A.S., 2012. Of the 2500 fish species found in Indian aquatic media,
only 930 are found in freshwater bodies Jayaram, 2000, whereas 1570 are found in marine
water bodies Kar, 2003. Fish output levels in Indian lakes might not be higher than 0.2% of
from available light energy, the energy fixation rate and gross production range from 0.0 to
0.68%. As bioindicators, river network connectedness, or flow regime, freshwater fishes are
highly valuable for evaluating the quality of water Chovane et al., 2003.
Dharwad has several notable lakes, including Unakal Lake, Kelageri Lake, and Sadhankeri
Lake. Unakal Lake, the largest water body in Hubli's urban area, was constructed by Sir M.
Visvesvaraya in 1893 to supply drinking water. Kelageri Lake is a popular spot for evening
strolls. Sadhankeri Lake is located within Sadhankeri Park, a well-maintained park with
boating facilities, musical fountains, and other attractions, inspiring the Kannada poet Dr.
Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre.
Lakes
There is considerable uncertainty about defining the difference between lakes and ponds. For
example, limnologists have defined lakes as waterbodies which are simply a larger version of
a pond or which have wave action on the shoreline, or where wind induced turbulence plays a
major role in mixing the water column. None of these definitions completely excludes ponds
and all are difficult to measure. For this reason, there has been increasing use made of simple
size-based definitions to separate ponds and lakes. There is no specific definition for Lakes in
India. The word “Lake” is used loosely to describe many types of water bodies – natural,
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Introduction
manmade and ephemeral including wetlands. Many of them are euphemistically called Lakes
more by convention and a desire to be grandiose rather than by application of an accepted
definition. Vice versa, many lakes are categorized as wetlands while reporting under Ramsar
Convention. India abounds in water bodies, a preponderance of them manmade, typical of the
tropics. The manmade (artificial) water bodies are generally called Reservoirs, Ponds, and
Tanks though it is not unusual for some of them to be referred to as lakes. Ponds and tanks are
small compared to lakes and reservoirs. Lakes can be divided into three categories (trophic
states) based on a lake's nutrient and clarity levels:
Oligotrophic lakes are generally clear, deep and free of weeds or large algae blooms.
Though beautiful, they are low in nutrients and do not support large fish populations.
However, oligotrophic lakes often develop a food chain capable of sustaining a very
desirable fishery of large game fish.
Eutrophic lakes are high in nutrients and support a large biomass (all the plants and
animals living in a lake). They are usually either weedy or subject to frequent algae
blooms, or both. Eutrophic lakes often support large fish populations but are also
susceptible to oxygen depletion. Small, shallow, eutrophic lakes are especially
vulnerable to winterkill which can reduce the number and variety of fish. Rough fish
are commonly found in eutrophic lakes.
Mesotrophic lakes lie between the oligotrophic and eutrophic stages. Devoid of oxygen
in late summer, their hypolimnions limit cold water fish and cause phosphorus cycling
from sediments.
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