Evaluation of gonadal indices to understand the reproductive rhythm of Macrobrachium assamense peninsulare from Rawasan stream, Uttarakhand, India

Macrobrachium assamense peninsulare is a minor freshwater prawn and found in the Foothill Rivers and streams of Uttarakhand. However, no such studies were found to understand the reproductive rhythm of this species by observing the gonad development throughout the year. The aim of present study was to govern the maturation of gonads by study the Gonado-Somatic index (GSI) and Dobriyal index (DI) to understand the gonadal rhythm and breeding seasons. The GSI value ranged from 0.281±0.56 to 8.583±0.86 and DI value ranged from 0.023±0.981 to 5.456±0.082 during the interval of two year (August 2013 to July 2015). It is clear from the value obtained from the study that the maximum value of indices was in the month of April and minimum in the October in both the sexes (male and female). The patterns of breeding suggest that the animal take single spawning within breeding season and breeding start in the month of May which continued till September.