Dataset Information

Economic contribution and attitude towards alien freshwater ornamental fishes of pet store owners in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

ABSTRACT: Malaysia is one of the top ten countries in the world that produce freshwater ornamental fishes. This industry can offer better livelihood opportunities to many poor households. However, most of the produced ornamental fishes are alien to Malaysia. In this study, we explore the contribution of alien freshwater fishes to the income of ornamental fish store owners and their attitude towards alien freshwater fishes within Klang Valley, Malaysia. Using a structured questionnaire, we surveyed 70 pet stores out of which 54 (81.42%) store owners responded. Most of the pet store owners were male (72%), Chinese (83%), and the highest educational level was at the secondary level (79%). Most of the pet store owners reported a monthly income of RM 2001-RM 5000 (78%) and were married (73%). Using Chi-square (?²) test, significant relationships (p < 0.05) existed between the attitude of store owners towards alien ornamental fish species versus educational level (?² = 16.424, p = 0.007) and contribution of alien ornamental fishes to the pet store owners' income (?² = 27.266, p = 0.003). Fish sales as the main income source also related significantly with the impact of fish selling business on income level (?² = 10.448, p = 0.007). This study showed that the ornamental fish sales contributed over half of the income (51-100%) from the businesses of store owners. Almost half of the respondents (42%) reported that alien ornamental fish was the highest contributor to their income from the ornamental fish sale. While the mismanagement of alien ornamental fishes could give various negative ecological impacts, the socio-economic benefits of these fishes cannot be denied.

SUBMITTER: Saba AO

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7811282 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Economic contribution and attitude towards alien freshwater ornamental fishes of pet store owners in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Saba Abdulwakil Olawale AO Ismail Ahmad A Zulkifli Syaizwan Zahmir SZ Shohaimi Shamarina S Azmai Mohammad Noor Amal MNA

PeerJ 20210113

Malaysia is one of the top ten countries in the world that produce freshwater ornamental fishes. This industry can offer better livelihood opportunities to many poor households. However, most of the produced ornamental fishes are alien to Malaysia. In this study, we explore the contribution of alien freshwater fishes to the income of ornamental fish store owners and their attitude towards alien freshwater fishes within Klang Valley, Malaysia. Using a structured questionnaire, we surveyed 70 pet ...[more]

PMID: 33520451

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Project description:Freshwater fishes are highly vulnerable to human-caused climate change. Because quantitative data on status and trends are unavailable for most fish species, a systematic assessment approach that incorporates expert knowledge was developed to determine status and future vulnerability to climate change of freshwater fishes in California, USA. The method uses expert knowledge, supported by literature reviews of status and biology of the fishes, to score ten metrics for both (1) current status of each species (baseline vulnerability to extinction) and (2) likely future impacts of climate change (vulnerability to extinction). Baseline and climate change vulnerability scores were derived for 121 native and 43 alien fish species. The two scores were highly correlated and were concordant among different scorers. Native species had both greater baseline and greater climate change vulnerability than did alien species. Fifty percent of California's native fish fauna was assessed as having critical or high baseline vulnerability to extinction whereas all alien species were classified as being less or least vulnerable. For vulnerability to climate change, 82% of native species were classified as highly vulnerable, compared with only 19% for aliens. Predicted climate change effects on freshwater environments will dramatically change the fish fauna of California. Most native fishes will suffer population declines and become more restricted in their distributions; some will likely be driven to extinction. Fishes requiring cold water (<22°C) are particularly likely to go extinct. In contrast, most alien fishes will thrive, with some species increasing in abundance and range. However, a few alien species will likewise be negatively affected through loss of aquatic habitats during severe droughts and physiologically stressful conditions present in most waterways during summer. Our method has high utility for predicting vulnerability to climate change of diverse fish species. It should be useful for setting conservation priorities in many different regions.

Dataset Information

Economic contribution and attitude towards alien freshwater ornamental fishes of pet store owners in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Publications

Economic contribution and attitude towards alien freshwater ornamental fishes of pet store owners in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Similar Datasets

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