International Journal of Zoology and Research (IJZR) ISSN 22788816 Vol. 3, Issue 2, Jun 2013, 1-8 TJPRC Pvt.

. Ltd.

ZOOPLANKTON DIVERSITY OF TONS RIVER OF UTARAKHAND STATE INDIA

R. K. NEGI & SHEETAL MAMGAIN Department of Zoology & Environmental Sciences, Gurukula Kangri University, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India

ABSTRACT
In the present study samples were collected from the three different locations of Tons river of Uttarkhand State from December, 2007 to November, 2009 on the monthly basis for the study of zooplankton diversity. During the present investigation, a total of 23 genera of zooplankton belonging to 7 major groups viz. Ciliophore, Cladocera, Copepod, Porifera, Rotifera, Ostracod and Zooflagellate have been reported from three selected sites of Tons river within the district Dehradun. The maximum zooplankton genera were recorded at site-II followed by site-III and site-I respectively. Diversity index of zooplankton ranged between (H) 0.000-0.198 at site I, (H) 0.00-0.240 at site II and (H) 0.00-0.223 at site III.

KEYWORDS: Zooplankton, Diversity, Tons River, India INTRODUCTION

Zooplankton plays an important role in the study of the faunal bio-diversity of aquatic ecosystems. They include representatives of almost every taxon of the animal kingdom and occur in the pelagic environment either as adults (holoplankton) or eggs and larvae (meroplankton). By sheer abundance of both types and their presence at varying depths, the zooplankton are utilized to assess energy transfer at secondary trophic level. They feed on phytoplankton and facilitate the conversion of plant material into animal tissue and in turn constitute the basic food for higher animals including fishes, particularly their larvae (Dhargalkar and Verlecar, 2004). Water quality monitoring is therefore of immense importance to activities involving the use of water bodies in the management of fisheries, water supply, pollution, sewage reservoir and impoundment (Adebisi, 1981; Ayodele and Ajani, 1999). The stability of zooplankton in any aquatic body of water is of profound importance because they represent important and sometimes unique food source for fish and many aquatic vertebrates (Ochang et al., 2005). They are an important link in food chains of virtually every inland water body converting phytoplankton/benthic plants, bacteria, fungi and decaying organic matter into animal tissue that can be used by larger animal. In an aquatic ecosystem, zooplankton form the microscopic animals (Redmond,2008) that play an important role in an aquatic food chain as they are largely consumed by fishes and other higher organisms in food chain. Zooplankton density has also been reported to vary depending on the availability of nutrients and the stability of the water (Redmond, 2008). Equally, results of several studies have shown that physical and chemical condition of aquatic ecosystems determine the occurrence, diversity and density of both flora and fauna in any given habitat, which may change with season of the year (Aoyagui and Bonecker, 2004; Ayodele and Adeniyi, 2006). In view of the foregoing, this study was conducted in Tons river of Uttarakhand state in order to assess its zooplankton diversity. Presently lacking or scanty information has been available and hence serving as a means of providing a baseline data in the field of zooplankton dynamics in the river this work has been undertaken.

R. K. Negi & Sheetal Mamgain

MATERIAL AND METHODS

For the collection of zooplankton, plankton net which is a ring type terricot net (24 mesh/mm 2) was used. A total of 10 liters of water was filtered through plankton net and the filtered water was collected in 125 ml reagent bottle. The plankton were preserved in 5% formaldehyde solution on the spot and were brought to the laboratory for identification. For the identification of plankton standard book of APHA (1998) and Ward and Whipple (1992) were consulted.

RESULTS
During the present investigation, a total of 23 genera of zooplankton belonging to 7 major groups viz. Ciliophore, Cladocera, Copepod, Porifera, Rotifera, Ostracod and Zooflagellate have been reported from three selected sites of Tons river within the district Dehradun for a period of two years from Dec., 2007 to Nov., 2009. Species composition and seasonal variation in zooplankton is documented in Tables 1-3. Species diversity is represented graphically in Figure 1 Zooplankton density recorded at three sites is represented in Figure 2). The maximum zooplankton genera were recorded at site-II followed by site-III and site-I respectively. Site-I was represented by 13 genera among which the dominating groups were cladocerans and rotifers with 4 genera constituting 3031% species followed by ciliophores (3, 23 %) and ostracod and zooflagellate with 1(8%) genera each. At site-II a total of 23 genera were reported among which the order rotifer was dominant with a total number of 7 (30%) genera followed by cladoceran and ciliophore with 5 (22%) genera each. porifera and zooflagellate with 2 (9%) genera each and ostracod and copepod with 1 (4%) genera each. Site-III was represented by 21 genera of seven groups. The most dominating group was rotifer with a total number of 6 (28%) genera followed by cladocerens and ciliophore with 5 (23-24%) genera each, porifera with 2 (10%) genera and copepod, ostracods and zooflagellate with 1 (5%) genera each.Among ciliophores, Campanella sp., Paramecium sp., Colpeda sp., Epistylis sp. and Vorticella sp. were reported occasionally. In case of cladocerans, Alona sp. and Daphnia sp. were dominant while Bosmina sp. was reported in abundance. Diapanosoma sp. and Moina sp. were reported occasionally. Among copepods, only Cyclops was recorded which was found abundant at site-II and site-III. Among psorifera, Spongiella and Trochospongiella were reported occasionally only at site-II and site-III. Among rotifers, Epiphanes sp. and Monostyla sp. were reported in abundance while Branchionus sp., Euchlanis sp., Keratella sp., Macrochaetus sp., and Mytilina sp. were reported occasionally. At all the sites, Cypris sp. belonging to the order ostracod was abundant. Among zooflagellates, Monas sp. and Oikomonas sp. were reported rarely. At site-I, ciliophores were reported maximum during post monsoon season while cladoceran, porifera and rotifers were reported maximum during winter season. Zooflagellates were recorded maximum during monsoon and post monsoon months while copepods were not recorded at all. At site-II, ciliophores were reported maximum during summer season while rotifers, ostracod and zooflagellates were reported maximum during winter season. Copepods were reported occasionally at site-II during certain months whereas cladocerans showed maximum distribution almost throughout the year with maximum number of species recorded during post monsoon months. At site-III, the ciliophores showed maximum abundance during summer season while rotifers and cladocerans were reported abundantly almost throughout the year. Copepod and ostracod were reported occasionally while porifera and zooflagellates showed maximum distribution during winter season.

Zooplankton Diversity of Tons River of Utarakhand State India

Zooplankton showed positive correlation with dissolved oxygen (0.499*) while negative correlation with free CO 2 (-0.561**) and silicate (-0.482*) only at site II. Thus, it can be concluded that physico-chemical factors like dissolved oxygen, free CO2 and silicate have direct relation with zooplankton abundance and distribution. Density of zooplankton (Figure 2) ranged between 0.5 -3.3 /ml at site I, 0.3 4.0 /ml at site II and 0.5 -3.0 /ml at site III. The maximum density was reported in October, 2009 and minimum density in July 2008 both at site-II. At almost all the sites the order Ciliophora and Cladocera showed maximum species d ensity.Diversity index of zooplankton ranged between (H) 0.000 0.198 at site I, (H) 0.00-0.240 at site II and (H) 0.00 -0.223 at site III. The maximum diversity index was reported in October, 2008 and June, 2009 (H, 0.198) and minimum in most of the months (H, 0.000) at site-I. At site II, maximum diversity index was reported in February, 2009 and March, 2009 as H, 0.240 and minimum in July 2008 and August, 2009. Maximum diversity index was recorded in the month of December, 2007 (H=0.223) and m inimum in July 2008, April, 2009 and November, 2009 with H=0.000 at site -III.

DISCUSSIONS
Bisht (1993) reported maximum zooplankton diversity in the month of September and minimum in the month of January during his investigation. Dobriyal et al., (1993) observed that the highest planktonic diversity was observed in the winter months when the water temperature is low, water current is low and the water is clear without turbidity. Brett et al., (1994) investigated freshwater diversity of California and observed the species dependent effect of zooplankton on the phytoplanktonic ecosystem and concluded that the presence of predaceous Cladocerans and Copepods have a direct effect on the presence of several algae species, dissolved nutrients and the ciliate micro-zooplanktons. Desai (1995) reported maximum zooplankton density from the month of September to January during his investigation and concluded that the zooplankton diversity is influenced by amount of dissolved oxygen and the temperature variation. According to Bonner et al., (1997) most of the zooplankton prefer either the steady or the low water current habitat and also that the phytoplanktonic diversity is greater in proportion than zooplankton diversity, among plank tonic diversity. During monsoon season very less zooplanktons were observed because of high turbidity and fast water current the present result are in collaboration with the findings of Kobayash et al., (1998). According to him the zooplankton density was negatively correlated with turbidity, conductivity, temperature and the amount of phosphorus present. MariaHeleni et al., (2000) studied the zooplankton diversity of river Aliakmon (Greece) and reported 79 species of zooplanktons. They also observed that the zooplankton diversity was influenced by a variety of abiotic factors (temperature, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus).Venkataraman et al., (2000) investigated freshwater wetlands of west Bengal and concluded that highest diversity as well as maximum number of new records of Cladocera species observed in Santragachi beel was presumably due to important bio-ecological relationship between macrophytes and zooplankton along with possible dispersal of zooplankton by avian agents. Chandrasekhar (2003) studied freshwater diversity of Andhra Pradesh and concluded that zooplanktons in general are very sensitive to changes in environment and also they are important part of aquatic food chain. Therefore any adverse effect on zooplankton will reflect on productivity of water system. He also concluded that they are most suitable indicator group for assessment of any kind of aquatic pollution. Maruthayanagam et al., (2003) studied the zooplankton diversity along with the physicochemical parameters of Tamilnadu and stated that higher density of zooplankton was recorded during the rainy season, with copepods forming the

R. K. Negi & Sheetal Mamgain

dominant group followed by cladocera, rotifera and ostracoda. Five species of rotifera, four species of cladocera and three species each of ostracoda and copepoda were recorded. The ostracods even though tolerate wide range of ecological factors, did not occur in polluted waters. The lower density of zooplankton during the summer months than in the rainy months was attributed to higher temperature, decrease in the nutrients and thereby the phytoplankton population. Dutta et al., (2004) investigated freshwater diversity of Jammu and collected 51 species of zooplankton. Out of all the orders the maximum dominance was shown by protozoans (35 sp.) followed by crustaceae (8 sp. and 2 larvae), rotifera (5 sp.), porifera (1 sp.), platyhelminthes (1 sp.) and annelidae (1 sp.). Zafar and Sultana (2005) during the study of river Ganga at Kanpur studied the zooplankton and macroinvertebrate diversity and observed that the quality of the water was responsible for quantitative and qualitative variations in zooplanktons. Ankathi and Piska (2009) studied the zooplankton diversity of Julur Nalgonda district and collected 26 genera of zooplankton. Out of which 8 genera were represented by rotifers, 5 by copepod, 12 by cladocera and 1 by ostracod. The Rotifer Branchionus sp. was dominant among zooplanktons. Among all the orders rotifer was dominant with a total percentage of 74.21% followed by copepod (17.27%), cladocera (4.90%) and ostracod (3.63%). Negi and Negi (2010) studied the zooplankton diversity of Hinval freshwater stream at Shivpuri of Garhwal region (Uttarakhand) and reported a total of 16 genera among which rotifers constituted the major zooplanktonic diversity (7 genera) followed by protozoans (4 genera), cladocerans (4 genera) and nemata (1 genus).

REFERENCES
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Zooplankton Diversity of Tons River of Utarakhand State India

11. Desai, P.V. (1995). Water quality of Dudhsagar river at Dudhsagar (Goa), India. Poll. Res., 14, 4, 377 382 12. Dhargalkar, V.K., & Verlecar, X.N., (2004) Zooplankton Methodology, Collection and Identification a field manual, National Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa 6, 403- 404 13. Dobriyal, A. K., Bahuguna, A. K., Kumar, N., & Kotnala, C. B. (1993). Ecology and seasonal diversity of planktons in a spring fed stream Khandagad in Garhwal Himalaya. In: Advances in Limnology (Ed.) Singh, H.R. Narendra Publishing House, New Delhi. 175 -180 14. Dutta, S. P. S., Mir, A. M., Kiran, K., Sharma, A., Khatoon, N., & Slathia, D. (2004). Ecology of plankton in some paddy fields of Miran Saheb, Jammu (J&K). Aquacult, 5,1, 1-10 15. Kobayash, T., Shiel, R. J., Gibbs, P., & Dixon, P. I. (1998). Freshwater zooplankton in the Howkesbury NepeanRiver: comparison of community structure with other rivers. Hydrobiologia, 377, 133 45 16. Maria-Heleni, Z., Michaloudi, E., Bobori, D. C., & Mourelatos, S. (2000). Zooplankton abundance in the Aliakmon River, Greece. Belg. J. Zool., 130, 29-33 17. Maruthanayagam, C., Sasikumar, M., & Senthilkumar, C. (2003). Studies on zooplankton population in Thirukkulam pond during summer and rainy seasons. Nature, Environment and Pollution Technology, 2, 13-19. 18. Negi, R. K., & Negi, T. (2010). Diversity of zooplanktons in the Hinval freshwater stream at Shivpuri (Garhwal region), Uttarakhand. J. Env. Bio- Sci., 24, 2, 167-169 19. Ochang S.N., Ayotunde E.O., & Okey I.B., (2005). Some aspects of the physico-hemical and biological properties of Cross River, an inland water body in South-Eastern Nigeria. Glob. J. Agric. Sci., 4, 139148. 20. Redmond, W. A. (2008). Lead."Microsoft Encarta 2007 [DVD]. Microsoft orporation, 2007 21. Venkatraman, K., Das, S. R., & Nandi, N. C. (2000). Zooplankton diversity in freshwater wetlands of Haora, district, W. Bngal. J. Aqua. Biol., 14, 1&2: 19-25 22. Ward, H. P., & Whipple, G. C. (1992). In: Freshwater biology (II Edition) (Ed.) W.T. Edmonds. International books and periodicals supply services, New Delhi. 23. Zafar, A., & Sultana, N. (2005). Zooplankton and macroinvertebrates of River Ganga at Kanpur. Uttar Pradesh J. Zool., 25, 1, 63-66

APPENDICES
Table 1: Species Composition and Seasonal Variation of Zooplankton Recorded from Tons River during December, 2007 to November, 2009 at Site-I
Months Phylum D 2007 Ciliophores Campanella sp. Epistylis sp. Paramecium sp. Colpeda sp. Vorticella sp. Cladocerans Alona sp. Bosmina sp. ++ Winter J 2008 F + # M + # Summer A M J + J # Monsoon A S + + + O + + N + Winter D J 2008 2009 + + Summer F + + M A M J + + J Monsoon A ++ S + + O + +
Winter

N 2009 + + -

- ++ ++ ++ + - - -

6
Table 1 Contd., # - + + + + + -

R. K. Negi & Sheetal Mamgain

Daphnia sp. Diaphanosoma sp. Moina sp. Copepods Cyclops sp. Porifera Spongiella sp. Trochospongiella sp. Rotifers Branchionus sp. Epiphanes sp. Euchlanis sp. Keratella sp. Macrochaetus sp. Monostyla sp. Mytilina sp. Ostracods Cypris sp. Zooflagellates Monas sp. Oikomonas sp.

# + ++ ++ -

++ + -

+ + + -

++ + ++ + + + -

- ++ ++ + + -

++ + -

+ ++ + -

+ -

+ + + -

+ -

+ + -

+ + + -

+ -

+ -

+ -

- ++ -

- Absent; + Recorded;

++ Abundant;

# Dominant

Table 2: Species Composition and Seasonal Variation of Zooplankton Recorded from Tons River during December, 2007 to November, 2009 at Site-II
Winter D J F 2007 2008 + # # ++ ++ + # ++ # ++ ++ ++ + + ++ ++ + ++ ++ Summer M + + ++ ++ + + + + A + ++ ++ + + + M + ++ + + J + + + + + + J ++ + Monsoon A + + S + + + + + + O + + ++ + + + Months Winter D J N F 2008 2009 + + + ++ + ++ + + + ++ # + + + + + + + # + + ++ + + + ++ ++ + + + + + + Summer M + ++ # + + + + + + A + + ++ + M + + + + + J + + + ++ J + ++ + + Monsoon A S + ++ ++ + + ++ ++ + Winter N O 2009 + + ++ # + + ++ + + + + + + +

Phylum Ciliophores Campanella sp. Epistylis sp. Paramecium sp. Colpeda sp. Vorticella sp. Cladocerans Alona sp. Bosmina sp. Daphnia sp. Diaphanosoma sp. Moina sp. Copepods Cyclops sp. Porifera Spongiella sp. Trochospongiella sp. Rotifers Branchionus sp. Epiphanes sp. Euchlanis sp. Keratella sp. Macrochaetus sp. Monostyla sp. Mytilina sp. Ostracods Cypris sp. Zooflagellate Monas sp. Oikomonas sp.

- Absent;

+ Recorded;

++ Abundant;

# Dominant

Zooplankton Diversity of Tons River of Utarakhand State India

Table 3: Species Composition and Seasonal Variation of Zooplankton Recorded from Tons River during December, 2007 to November, 2009 at Site-III
MONTHS Phylum D 2007 Ciliophores Campanella sp. Epistylis sp. Paramecium sp. Colpeda sp. Vorticella sp. Cladocerans Alona sp. Bosmina sp. Daphnia sp. Diaphanosoma sp. Moina sp. Copepods Cyclops sp. Porifera Spongiella sp. Trochospongiella sp. Rotifers Branchionus sp. Epiphanes sp. Euchlanis sp. Keratella sp. Macrochaetus sp. Monostyla sp. Mytilina sp. Ostracods Cypris sp. Zooflagellate Monas sp. Oikomonas sp. + ++ ++ + + ++ Winter J 2008 + ++ ++ ++ + ++ + F # + + + + + + + + + + M + + + + + + + + + + Summer A + + + + + + + + + + M J + + + + + + + + + + + + + J + Monsoon A + + + S + + + + + + + + O + + + # + + + + N + + ++ + Winter D 2008 # + ++ + J 2009 + ++ + ++ F + + + + + + + + Summer M A + + + + + + M + + + + J + + + + + + + J + + + Monsoon A + + + + S + + + + + + + O + + # + + + + + Win ter N 2009 # ++ ++ -

-Absent; +Recorded; Abundant; #Dominant

R. K. Negi & Sheetal Mamgain

Figure 1: Graphical Representation of Species Diversity of Zooplankton Reported at Three Selected Sites of Tons River during Dec., 2007- Nov., 2009

Figure 2: Orderwise Zooplankton Density Recorded per 1ml during Dec., 2007- Nov., 2009