Zooplanktonic fauna in relation to physico-chemical characteristics in Lake Pichhola, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India

Abstract

Zooplanktons are small animals that float freely in surface water, column of water bodies and whose distribution is primarily determined by water waves and current. Zooplanktons of Indian freshwaters have been studied by various researchers. Rapid development in recent years has led to an increased demand for water and it does depend on ground water. The freshwater zooplankton consists mainly of 4 major groups i.e. Protozoa, Rotifera and two orders of Crustacea viz., Cladocera and Copepoda. The physico-chemical parameters of lake Pichhola were fairly moderate. The average water quality parameters of the lake during the study period were, air temperature-28.30oC, water temperature-25.07oC, Depth of visibility-85.56 cm., pH-7.68, EC-0.45 mS/cm-1, dissolved oxygen-5.95 mg l-1, free CO2-17.08 mg l-1, Total dissolved solids-296.83 mg l-1, carbonates-33.74 mg l-1, bicarbonates-136.67 mg l-1, total alkalinity-156.13 mg l-1, orthophosphates-0.14 mg l-1, nitrate-nitrogen-0.60 mg l-1, GPP-0.39 g C m3 h-1, NPP-0.24 g C m3 h-1, CR-0.15 g C m3 h-1.