Abstract:
The present study scrutinizes the seasonal variation in the
distribution of crustacean zooplankton in relation to physico-chemical liminology
of Wular lake. Water samples were collected from five study sites during September
2010-August 2011. Remarkable spatial and temporal variations were observed among
the different study sites. Among the parameters recorded water temperature showed
positive correlation with pH (p<0.01) and orthophosphate (p<0.05).Transparency
showed a significant negative correlation with total alkalinity (p<0.01),
free carbon dioxide (p<0.01) and ammonical nitrogen (p<0.01). Crustacean
zooplankton were collected by filtering 100 L lake water through a 30 μm
nytal mesh and preserved in 4% formalin. A total of 42 taxa of crustacean were
recorded, among them 23 species belonged to Cladocera, 16 to Copepoda and only
3 to Ostracoda. Species diversity and density depicted an abrupt up surge on
the advent of warmer period (extending from March). Among the various sites
a maximum of 40 species were recorded from a single biotope (site III) against
the minimum of only 17 species being recorded from site I. Bray-Curtis cluster
analysis showed close similarity (0.928-0.944%) between summer and autumn in
terms of species diversity. Pearson correlation coefficient of the various physico-chemical
parameters of water with crustacean zooplankton depicted that not only a single
but multiple factors govern over the distribution and diversity of crustacean
in the lake.
Javaid Ahmad Shah and Ashok K. Pandit, 2013. Relation Between Physico-chemical Limnology and Crustacean Community in Wular Lake of Kashmir Himalaya. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 16: 976-983.
Subscribe Today 
