Study of habitat preference of Kura fish (Barbus lacerta; Heckel, 1843) in Zarmood River (from Tajan River branches) Mazandaran Province, Iran

Understanding the habitat requirements of native species is essential for sustainable exploitation, along with the conservation of biodiversity of riverine ecosystems that have undergone extensive changes in human activities. In this study, the Zarmood River, an important tributaries of Tajan River in the north of Iran was investigated to evaluate the habitat preference of Kura fish in different ages. For this purpose, a suitable site  was first selected and then  by electrofishing agrigate  at 110 points fishes were caught. At each point where fish were caught, environmental parameters such as depth, flow velocity, abiotic and biotic substrate type were also measured. Results have shown that fish of different ages have different preferences.