diversity of zooplankton in a perennial lake at sulur, coimbatore, india

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Diversity of Zooplankton in a Perennial Lake at Sulur, Coimbatore, India

Saravana Bhavan P1, *, Selvi A1, Manickam N1, Srinivasan V1, Santhanam P2 and Vijayan P3

1 Department of Zoology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 641046 India2 Department of Marine Science, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620024 India

3 Annamalai University Study Centre, Arakkonam 631001 India

Saravana Bhavan et al. 2015. International J Ext Res. 5:31-44http://www.journalijer.com

*Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected]

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JOuRnal Of extensive ReseaRch e-Print ISSN: 2394-0301

IntroductionZooplanktons play an important role in water purification and serve as bio-indicators of water quality (Gannon and Stemberger, 1978; Gajbhiye and Desai, 1981). They mediate transfer of ener-gy from lower to higher trophic levels in aquatic food chains and contribute significantly to secondary production (Sharma, 1998). They are the intermediate link between the phytoplankton and lar-vae of aquatic organisms. Abundance of zooplankton (rotifers, cla-docerans, copepods and ostracods) community is depends on the

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AbstractIn the present study, diversity of zooplankton was correlated with physico-chemical characteristics of a perennial lake at Sulur (Lat. 11º01’40” N and Long. 77º07’20” E), Coimbatore, India. In order to assess its suitability for inland aquaculture, the study was conducted for a period of one year from December 2011 to November 2012 in four seasons, like post-monsoon, summer, pre-monsoon and monsoon. A total of 34 zooplankton species was identified qualitatively, which includes 11 species of rotifera, 10 species of cladocera, 7 species of copepoda and 6 species of ostracoda. The mean population of each zooplankton groups from all the seasons was recorded in the following order, rotifers (734 ind./l) > copepods (586 ind./l) > cladocerans (583 ind./l) > ostracods (147 ind./l). This study revealed that the zooplankton productivity was found to be maximum during summer season (2804 ind./L), followed by pre-monsoon (1961 ind./L), post-monsoon (1800 ind./L) and monsoon (1638 ind./L). The popula-tion of zooplankton was positively correlated with various physico-chemical parameters, such as water temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, total dissolves solids and electrical conductivity of the lake water. Regarding species diversity, some degree of difference was seen in the Shannon (H) diversity index value between different zooplankton groups in summer (rotifer, 2.212; cladocera, 2.195; copepod, 1.851; ostracoda, 1.763). Since zooplankton, both in number of species and population was abundant in the Sulur Lake, there is possibility for continuous utilization of this water body for inland aquaculture.

Keywords: Biodiversity, rotifera, cladocera, copepoda, ostracoda.

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availability of bacterio-plankton and phytoplankton as food. The many of the larger forms of secondary consumers feed on small-er zooplankton, some of them are detritivorous, browsing and feeding on the substrate attached organic matter, phytoplankton. Some of them are concentrating on the freely suspended organic matter those lying on the bottom sediment. In an ecosystem, the zooplankton responds to a wide variety of disturbance including nutrient loading, acidification and sediment of input.

Rotifers are “wheel-bearer” refer to the crown of rotating cilia around the mouth, which is used for locomotion and sweeping of food particles towards the mouth. Since rotifers have short repro-ductive stages they increase in abundance rapidly under favorable environmental conditions (Dhanapathi, 2000). Cladocerans (“wa-ter fleas”) are a primary freshwater monophyletic micro-crusta-

Materials and MethodsThe freshwater and plankton samples were taken from a perennial lake at Sulur (Lat. 11° 01’ 40” N and Long. 77° 07’ 20” E), Coim-batore, India, for a period of one year from December-2011 to No-vember-2012 at five different sites (Fig. 1). The data were collected on monthly basis and interpreted seasonal wise, like post-mon-soon, summer, pre-monsoon and monsoon. The average annual rainfall was reported around 700 mm, the North East and the South West monsoons contributing to 47% and 28% respective-ly to the total rainfall. This lake is brought under Department of Fisheries, Government of Tamil Nadu and mainly used for aqua-culture of common carps, such as Catla catla, Labeo rohita and Cirrhinus mrigala. Some aquatic plants like algae and other water grasses are commonly seen in the lake.

Analysis of physico-chemical characteristics of lake waterThe surface water samples were collected in sterile polyethylene bottles and kept in an ice box and transported to the laboratory for the analysis of physico-chemical parameters. The water sam-ples were collected during the early morning between 6.00 AM

cean. These primary consumers feed on microscopic algae and fine particulate matter in the detritus, influencing cycling of energy. Copepods comprise a major portion of the consumer biomass in aquatic habitats and play a significant role in food webs both as primary and secondary consumers, and as a major source of food for many larger invertebrates and vertebrates including zooplank-tonivorous fishes and prawns (Bulkowski et al. 1985; Williamson, 1991; Altaff and Chandran, 1995; Aman and Altaff, 2004). Ostra-cods are of great interest, because of their possible use as indicator species of climate and ecosystem changes (Martens et al. 2008). They also found in heavily polluted areas (Edmondson, 1959). They are bivalve crustacean found numerous in both freshwater and marine environments. They are commonly called as ‘seed shrimps’ or ‘mussel shrimps’ and are very small, and the freshwa-ter ostracods are usually smaller than a millimeter. Some taxa are found in ground waters, semi-terrestrial environments, and even in terrestrial plants that accumulate water, such as bromeliads.

The freshwater zooplankton plays a key role in preservation and maintenance of ecological balance. The physico-chemical and biological characteristics of water are play an important role in plankton productivity (Rahman and Hussain, 2008; Poongodi et al. 2009; Radhakrishnan et al. 2009; Shanthi et al. 2010; Man-ickam et al. 2012b, 2014). With the passage of time, aquatic bod-ies became polluted gradually or abruptly due to anthropogenic activities including recreational. The sewage, domestic, industrial and agricultural effluents carrying organic matter with highly tox-ic substances reached the water bodies. Factors such as light in-tensity, food availability, dissolved oxygen level and predation are affect the population dynamics of zooplankton, and low pH and higher salinity can reduce their diversity and density (Horne and Goldman, 1994). Therefore, basic study on physico-chemical pa-rameters and diversity of freshwater zooplanktons are wanting and absolutely necessary. In order to evaluate the water pollution status and the suitability of the Sulur lake, Coimbatore, India, for inland aquaculture of fishes and prawns, the present work was aimed to assess the physico-chemical parameters and the diversity of zoo-plankton as this lake is mainly used for irrigation, fish culture and nursery rearing of M. rosenbergii.

Results and DiscussionPhysico-chemical characteristics of the lake waterThe mean value of air temperature was found to be the maximum during summer season, followed by pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon (Table 1). The mean values of water temperature,

to 8.00 AM every month third week from December-2011 to No-vember-2012. Air and water temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids were esti-mated by using “µP Based Water & Soil Analysis Kit Model 1160”.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of zooplanktonFor qualitative analysis of zooplankton, water samples were col-lected using Towing-Henson’s standard plankton net (150 µm mesh) in zigzag fashion horizontally at a depth of 50 to 100 cm for about 10 minutes with a uniform speed of boat. For the quantita-tive analysis of zooplankton 100 liters of water was filtered through a plankton net made up of bolting silk (No:10, mesh size:150 µm) using a 10 liter capacity plastic container. Immediately after filter-ing out the water, the plankton biomasses were transferred to poly-ethylene specimen bottles (100 mL) filled with 5% of formalin (10 mL), the aqueous solution of formaldehyde.

Different groups of zooplanktons, rotifera, cladocera, copepoda and ostracoda were segregated and separated under a binocular stereo zoom dissection microscope using a fine needle and brush. Individual species of plankton was mounted on microscopic slides with a drop of 20% glycerin after staining with eosin and rose ben-gal. The identification of zooplankton was made referring the stan-dard manuals, text books and monographs (Edmondson, 1959; Sharma and Michael, 1987; Battish, 1992; Reddy, 1994; Murugan et al., 1998; Altaff, 2004) using a compound microscope and pho-tomicrographs were taken using Inverted Biological Microscope (Model Number INVERSO 3000 (TC-100) CETI) attached a cam-era (Model IS 300).

The sample (1 mL) was taken with a wide mouthed pipette and poured into the counting cell of the Sedgwick Rafter. After allowing for settle some time they were counted. At least 5 such counting was made for each group. The species, sex and the devel-opmental stage of the plankton was considered. The average values were taken. Total number of plankton present in 1 liter of water sample was calculated (Santhanam et al. 1989) using the following formula:

N = n × v / V

WhereN = Total number of plankton per liter of water filteredn = Average number of plankton in 1 mL of plankton sample v = Volume of plankton concentrated (mL) and V = Volume of total water filtered (liter).

The population of each group of zooplankton was expressed in average (number of individuals per litre). The data between zoo-plankton versus physico-chemical characteristics were subjected to correlation and linear regression using IBM-SPSS (v20.0). The different diversity indices such as, species dominance (D), Shan-non’s diversity index (H’), species evenness and species richness were calculated using PAST (Paleontological Statistics) software package (PAST, v2.02).

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http://www.journalijer.comSaravana Bhavan et al. 2015. International J Ext Res. 5:31-44

pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO) and total dissolved solids (TDS) were found to be the maximum during summer season, fol-lowed by pre-monsoon, post-monsoon and monsoon seasons (Ta-ble 1). The mean value of electrical conductivity (EC) was found to be the maximum during summer season, followed by post-mon-soon, pre-monsoon and monsoon (Table 1). Similar results in physico-chemical parameters of freshwater bodies has previously been reported by Manickam et al. (2012b, 2014) while studying the diversity of zooplankton populations. Air and water temperatureWater temperature is one of the most changeable environmental factors, since it influences the growth and distribution of flora and

fauna. It influences upon the limnological phenomenon, such as stratification, solubility of gases, pH, conductivity and planktonic distribution (Singh et al. 1990). A rise in the temperature leads to the fast chemical and biochemical reactions. The growth and death of micro-organisms, the kinetics of the biochemical oxygen demand is also regulated to some extent by water temperature (Khuhawar and Mastoi, 1995). The water temperature has shown a tendency to follow closely to the atmospheric temperature due to shallowness of the lake (Singhal et al. 1985). An increase in solar radiation and concomitant evaporation due to comparatively lon-ger day length may explain gradual increase in both air and water temperature.

Physico-chemical Parameters Post-Monsoon (Dec’2011-Feb’ 2012)

Summer (Mar’2012-May’2012)

Pre-Monsoon (Jun’2012-Aug’2012)

Monsoon (Sep’2012- Nov’2012)

Air Temperature (oC) 24.90±0.76 26.75±1.42 26.41±0.96 25.59±1.63

Water Temperature (oC) 26.75±1.42 28.59±0.74 27.08±0.99 24.78±0.78

pH 7.46±0.90 8.30±0.57 7.68±0.59 6.94±0.65

Salinity (ppt ) 0.777±0.086 0.991±0.246 0.908±0.108 0.746±0.102

DO (mg/L) 6.94±0.78 8.22±0.62 7.06±0.97 6.32±0.60

TDS (g/L) 0.709±0.074 0.817±0.083 0.793±0.090 0.646±0.088

EC (µS/cm) 0.959±0.076 1.141±0.129 0.925±0.093 0.756±0.047

Table 1. Physico-chemical characteristics of the Sulur Lake water during December, 2011 to November, 2012†

Figure 1. Map shows sampling sites in the Sulur Lake


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DO-dissolved oxygen; TDS-total dissolved solids; EC-electrical conductivity.

† Each season-wise value is overall average of mean ± SD (n=15; 5 sites x 3 months).

Group (Phylum/ Class/ Order) Family Genus Species

Phylum: Rotifera

Brachionidae (Ehrenberg, 1838) Brachionus Pallas, 1776 Brachionus angularis Gosse, 1851

Brachionus calyciflorus Pallas, 1776

Brachionus caudatuspersonatus Ahlstrom,1940

Brachionus diversicornis Daday, 1883

Brachionus falcatus Zacharias, 1898

Brachionus quadridentatus Hermann, 1783

Brachionus rubens Ehrenberg, 1838

Keratella Bory de St.Vincent, 1822

Keratella tropica Apstein, 1907

Asplanchnidae (Harring & Myers, 1933)

Asplanchna Gosse, 1850 Asplanchna brightwelli Gosse, 1850

Asplanchna intermedia Hudson, 1886

Filinidae (Bartos, 1959) Filinia Bory and Vincent, 1824 Filinia longiseta Ehrenberg, 1834

Class: Branchiopoda;Order: Cladocera

Sididae (Baird, 1850) Diaphanasoma Fischer, 1850 Diaphanasoma sarsi Richard, 1895

Diaphanasoma excisum Sars, 1885

Daphnia Muller, 1785 Daphnia carinata king, 1853

Daphnia magna Straus, 1820

Daphnidae (Straus, 1850) Ceriodaphnia Dana, 1853 Ceriodaphnia cornuta Sars, 1853

Ceriodaphnia reticulate Jurine, 1820

Moinidae (Goulden, 1968) Moina Baird, 1850 Moina brachiata Jurine, 1820

Moina micrura Kurz, 1874

Moinodaphnia Herrick, 1887 Moino daphniamacleayi King, 1853

Macrothricidae (Norman & Brady, 1867)

Macrothrix Baird, 1843 Macro thrixgoeldii Richard, 1897

Class: CopepodaOrder: Calanoida

Diaptomidae (Baird, 1850) Heliodiaptomus Kiefer, 1932 Heliodiaptomus viduus Gurney, 1916

Sinediaptomus Kiefer, 1937 Sinodiptomus (Rhinediaptomus) indicus Sewell, 1934

Order: Cyclopoida

Cyclopoidae (Dana, 1853) Eucyclops Claus, 1893 Eucyclops speratus Lilljeborg, 1901

Mesocyclops Claus, 1893 Mesocyclops hyalinus Rehberg, 1880

Mesocyclops leuckarti Claus, 1857

Thermocyclops Kiefer, 1927 Thermocyclops hyalinus Rehberg, 1880

Thermocyclops decipiens Kiefer, 1929

Class: Ostracoda;Order: Podocopida

Cyprididae (Baird, 1845) Cypris Muller, 1776 Cypris protubera Muller, 1776

Eucypris Vavra, 1891 Eucypris bispinosa Victor and Michael, 1975

Strandesia Stuhlmann, 1888 Strandesia elongate Stuhlmann, 1888

Cyprinotus Brady, 1886 Cyprinotus nudus Brady, 1885

Heterocypris Claus, 1892 Heterocypris dentatomarginatus Baird, 1859

Cypretta Vavra, 1895 Cypretta fontinalis Hartmann, 1964

Table 2. List of zooplankton species recorded in the Sulur Lake during December, 2011 to November, 2012

Note: For convenient, the group rotifera is considered as a separate phylum, the sub order cladocera is considered as an order, the sub class copepod is considered as a class.

pHThe pH of water is mainly depends upon the carbonic system and interaction between carbonates and bicarbonates. The natural wa-ter in generally is alkaline in nature due to the presence of car-bonates. Generally, variation in pH is due to presence or absence of free carbon dioxide and carbonates. The direct relationship of pH with CO3 and an inverse relation with free carbon-dioxide is

well documented (Jhingran, 1982). The pH is attributed to climatic factors, agriculture and industrial activities associated with water bodies (Salam et al. 2000). Among biotic factors, high photosyn-thetic activity due to increased production of phytoplankton may support an increase in pH (Das and Srivastava, 1956). The higher pH is also attributed to anthropogenic activities like washing of cloths with detergents and mixing of sewage.

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Figure 2. Group of rotifers observed in the Sulur Lake. a. Brachionus angularis; b. Brachionus calyciflorus; c. Brachionus caudatus personatus; d. Brachionus diversicornis; e. Brachionus falca-

tus; f. Brachionus quadridentatus; g. Brachionus rubens; h. Keratella tropica; i. Asplanchna brightwelli; j. Asplanchna intermedia; k. Filinia longiseta

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SalinitySalinity is an important ecological factor for survival, metabolism and distribution of organisms including plankton in freshwater ecosystem. It may exert different ecological and physiological ef-fects depending on the interaction with other factors like tempera-ture, oxygen and ionic compounds (Odum, 1971). It affects organ-isms, mainly through changes in osmotic pressure and density of the water. The majority of freshwater animals have a low tolerance to any increase in salinity. It has also been reported that an in-crease of salinity during summer and decrease in winter (Kumar et al. 2002; Manickam et al. 2012b, 2014). The higher salinity record-ed during summer season might be due to more evaporation be-cause of higher air temperature whereas, the lower salinity noticed during monsoon months could be attributed to lower temperature and higher inflow of freshwater.

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)The oxygen content of natural water varies with temperature, sa-linity, turbulence, the photosynthetic activity and the atmospheric pressure. The oxygen supply to the water is mainly comes from two sources, atmospheric diffusion and photosynthetic activity. The quantity of dissolved salts and temperature greatly affects the ability of water to hold oxygen. The solubility of oxygen increases with decrease in temperature (Singh et al. 1990). In this study, the maximum DO recorded in summer season was due to increased photosynthetic activity. The minimum DO recorded in monsoon season was due to its utilization for decomposition of organic mat-ter and respiration of organisms.

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)The higher TDS recorded was due to increased anthropogenic activity and stagnation of water, which hampered water quality (Manickam et al. 2012b, 2014). In summer, most of the vegetation was decaying, so a rise in TDS was natural (Narayan et al. 2007). The higher TDS recorded was due to evaporation of water as a re-sult of higher temperature and inflow of drainage water containing large quantity of silt, clay and other materials. An excess amount of TDS in water tends to disturb the ecological balance due to suffo-cation of aquatic fauna even in the presence of fair quantity of DO (Trivedy and Goel, 1984).

Electrical Conductivity (EC)The most of salts dissolved in water are in ionic form by which water is capable of conducting electricity. Therefore, the EC of wa-ter depends upon the concentration of ions and its nutrient status. Natural water possesses low conductivity but contamination in-creases its level. EC is a good indicator of the overall water quality as for the pond and lake ecosystems are concerned. The changes in EC of water followed the same seasonal pattern as that of salinity. Qualitative Analysis of ZooplanktonIn this study, a total of 34 zooplankton species was identified qual-itatively, which includes 11 species of rotifera, 10 species of cla-docera, 7 species of copepoda and 6 species of ostracoda (Table 2; Figs. 2-5). Distribution of different numbers of freshwater zoo-plankton species (rotifers, cladocerans, copepods and ostracods) have been reported by us while studying in other freshwater bod-ies (Manickam et al. 2012b, 2014).

RotiferaUnder the phylum rotifera the identified 11 species (Brachionus angularis, Brachionus calyciflorus, Brachionus caudatus person-atus, Brachionus diversicornis, Brachionus falcatus, Brachionus quadridentatus, Brachionus rubens, Keratella tropica, Asplanchna brightwelli, Asplanchna intermedia and Filinia longiseta) comes under 4 genus, of which 7 species belongs to Brachionus (Bra-chionidae), 2 species belongs to Asplanchna (Asplanchnidae), 1 species each belongs to Keratella (Brachionidae) and Filinia (Filin-idae) respectively (Table 2; Fig. 2).

Rotifers are primarily omnivorous, but some species have been known to be cannibalistic. They are considered opportunists due to their higher intrinsic rates of natural increase among the ma-jor zooplankton groups (Green 1972; Sharma 1983). About 1700 species of rotifers have been described all over the world and 500 species (only 330 species belonging to 63 genera and 25 families have so far been authenticated) were described from Indian wa-ter bodies (Arora and Mehra, 2003; Kiran et al., 2007). The abun-dance of 148 species of rotifers, predominantly genus Brachionus was reported in West Bengal, India, (Sharma, 1992). In the present study as well Brachionus was represented maximum numbers. 21 species of Brachionus are known from India (Sharma, 1987a). B. calyciflorus considered as pollution tolerant one, a good indicator of eutrophication and accumulation of organic matter (Rajagopal et al. 2010; Manickam et al. 2012b; Manickam et al. 2014). Dutta and Patra (2013) reported that B. quadridentatus and B. diversicor-nis were thrived in eutrophicated and organically polluted water. 13 species of rotifers were identified in the eutrophicated Haled-harmapuri lake, Dharmapuri, India, and found that B. calyciflorus was the maximum in summer (Manickam et al. 2012b). The abun-dance of Brachionus caudatus have been reported by Vasisht and Sharma (1976) and Mandal (1980). The population of genus Ker-atella, particularly K. tropica represented a typically oligotrophic indicator (Sharma, 1992). Pejler (1983) mentioned that along a trophic scale, the number of planktonic rotifer species successively increased up to mesotrophic condition after which the number de-clined till hyper eutrophic stage. This generalization is applicable to the present study, due to the increased inflow of agricultural and household wastewaters during August-November increased the fertility of the lake water. Filinia longiseta was noticed throughout the year although it did not show higher population. This rotifer species is also considered as an indicator of eutrophication (Mae-mets, 1983; Baloch et al. 2000). Presence of F. longiseta was also reported by Nasar (1977) and Sharma (1992).

Crustacea (cladocera, copepoda and ostracoda)Crustacea is the largest phylum in terms of number of species and among zooplankton it holds the highest position both in terms of systematic and as secondary consumers in the food chain. Crusta-cean zooplanktons include 3 classes, branchiopoda, maxillopoda and ostracoda. The class branchiopoda have 2 sub classes, sar-sostraca and phyllopoda. The sub class, sarsostraca have 1 order, anostraca. The sub class, phyllopoda have 3 orders, notostraca, lae-vicaudata and diplostraca. The order diplostraca have 3 sub orders, spinicaudata, cyclestherida and cladocera. The class maxillopoda have 6 sub classes, thecostraca, tantulocarida, branchiura, pen-tastomida, mystacocarida and copepoda. The sub class copepoda

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Figure 3. Group of cladocerans observed in the Sulur Lake. a. Diaphanosoma sarsi; b. Diaphanosoma excisum; c. Daphnia carinata; d. Daphnia magna; e. Ceriodaphnia cornuta; f. Ceriodaphnia

reticulate; g. Moina brachiata; h. Moina micrura; i. Moinodaphnia macleayi; j. Macrothrix goeldii

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Figure 4. Group of copepods observed in the Sulur Lake. a. Heliodiaptomus viduus; b. Sinodiptomus (Rhinediaptomus) indicus; c. Eucyclops speratus; d. Mesocyclops hyalinus; e. Mesocyclops leuck-

arti; f. Thermocyclops hyalinus; g. Thermocyclops decipiens

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Figure 5. Group of ostracods observed in the Sulur Lake. a. Cypris protubera; b. Eucypris bispinosa; c. Stran-desia elongata; d. Cyprinotus nudus; e. Heterocypris dentatomarginatus;

f. Cypretta fontinalis

have one super order gymnoplea, which have 10 orders, platycopi-oida, calanoida, misophrioida, cyclopoida, gelyelloida, mormonil-loida, harpacticoida, poecilostomatoida, siphonostomatoida and monstrilloida. The class ostracoda have 2 subclasses, myodocopa and podocopa. The sub class, myodocopa include 2 orders, halo-cyprida and myodocopida). The subclass, podocopa include 3 or-ders, palaeocopida, platycopida and podocopida. In the present study, for convenient, the sub order cladocera is considered as an order, and the sub class copepod is considered as a class.

Under the sub phylum crustacea, there were 10 species (Diaph-anosoma sarsi, Diaphanosoma excisum, Daphnia carinata, Daph-nia magna, Ceriodaphnia cornuta, Ceriodaphnia reticulata, Moina brachiata, Moina micrura, Moinodaphnia macleayi and Macro-thrix goeldii) from the order cladocera (Branchiopoda), 2 spe-cies (Heliodiaptomus viduus and Sinodiptomus (Rhinediaptomus) indicus from calanoida and 5 species (Eucyclops speratus, Meso-cyclops hyalinus, Mesocyclops leuckarti, Thermocyclops hyalinus and Thermocyclops decipiens) from cyclopoida (copepoda), and 6 species (Cypris protubera, Eucypris bispinosa, Strandesia elon-gata, Cyprinotus nudus, Heterocypris dentatomarginatus and Cy-pretta fontinalis) from the subclass podocopa, order podocopida

(ostracoda) were identified (Table 2; Figs. 3-5). Under cladocera, 2 species each belongs to the genus Diaphanosoma and Daphnia (Sididae) respectively, 2 species each belongs to the genus Ceri-odaphnia (Daphnidae) and Moina (Moinidae) respectively, and 1 species each belongs to the genus Moinodaphnia (Moinidae) and Macrothrix (Macrothricidae) respectively (Table 2; Fig. 3). Under calanoid copepod 1 species each from the genus Heliodiaptomus and Sinodiaptomus (Diaptomidae) respectively were identified (Table 2; Fig. 4). Under cyclopoid copepod 1 species of Eucyclops, 2 species of Mesocyclops and 2 species of Thermocyclops (Cyclo-poidae) respectively were identified (Table 2; Fig. 4). In the case of ostracods, there were 6 species belongs to 6 genus Cypris, Eucypris, Strandesia, Cyprinotus, Heterocypris and Cypretta (Cyprididae) re-spectively identified (Table 2; Fig. 5).

Branchiopoda (cladocera)Zooplankton belongs to this class are free living crustacean groups with compound eye, usually a carapace and at least four pairs of trunk limbs which are in most cases broad lobed and fringed on the inner edges with bristles. Parthenogenesis is very common. About 600 species of freshwater cladocerans have been reported

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Zooplankton group

Post-Monsoon(Dec’2011-Feb’ 2012)




Mean value

Rotifera 666±145 941±134 740±103 588±60 734

Cladocera 515±161 867±113 507±121 445±42 583

Copepoda 510±117 779±150 557 ±52 500 ±50 586

Ostracoda 109±49 217±30 157±25 105±28 147

Total 1800 2804 1961 1638 2050

Table 3. Variation in population density of zooplanktons (ind./l) in the Sulur Lake during December, 2011 to November, 2012

Each season-wise value is overall average of mean ± SD (n=15; 5 sites x 3 months)

Physicochemical Parametersvs

Zooplankton population‘y’-value R R2 Correlation/

Linear type

Water Temperature 294.550x-5843.19 0.889 0.79 Positive

pH 869.800x-4555.383 0.943 0.89 Positive

Salinity 4195.314x-1546.73 0.908 0.824 Positive

DO 641.502x-2526.365 0.979 0.959 Positive

TDS 3038.562x-828.288 0.911 0.83 Positive

EC 5619.161x-2121.477 0.835 0.698 Positive

Table 4. Relationship between seasonal wise fluctuation of physicochemical parameters and zooplankton population in the Sulur lake

DO, dissolved oxygen; TDS, total dissolved solids; EC, electrical conductivity.

throughout the world, whereas only 110 in India (Korovchinsky, 1996). Among the freshwater form, a few genera are plankton-ic, while majority of them are littoral, live among the weed and some of them live on the bottom mud. Iqbal et al. (1990) have been reported 15 species of cladocerans in the Hub Dam Lake, Lasbela Districts, Karachi, Pakistan. Begum (1958) described 16 genera of cladocera. Baig and Khan (1976) also described the 4 genera of cladocera. There were 7 species of cladocera reported in the Haledharmapuri lake, Dharmapuri Town, India (Manickam et al. 2012b), and 14 species from Thoppaiyar, Dharmapuri dis-trict, India (Manickam et al. 2014). Sivakumar and Altaff (2004) recorded 7 species of cladocera from the Dharmapuri District, India. Among cladocera, some species develop maxima in cold-er months, while other species, such as Daphnia pulex shows two maxima, one in spring and another in autumn (Hall, 1964). In this study, cladocera were found maximum in summer months might be attributed to favorable temperature and availability of food; the genus Diaphanosoma occurred throughout the year while higher population was found during post-monsoon and summer months. It has been recorded that the Diaphanosoma occurred throughout the year, with the maximum population in summer in Thoppaiyar reservoir, Dharmapuri District, India (Manickam et al. 2014). In the present study, the species D. sarsi was found in higher popu-lation throughout the study period, and the genus Ceriodaphnia was found as second highest population in summer months espe-cially the species C. cornuta. It has been reported that C. cornuta was present only in oligotrophic lakes (Boucherle and Zullig, 1983;

Balakrishna et al. 2013). In this study, the genus Daphnia and Moi-na were the third and fourth dominant order respectively. Among these, M. micrura was observed in summer with high population followed by M. brachiata. Kurasawa (1975) stated that several Jap-anese lakes showed cladoceran and rotifer dominants in eutrophic lakes, and copepod dominance in oligotrophic lakes.

CopepodaThe class copepoda constitutes dominant zooplankton groups of both freshwater and marine habitats. It is the largest class of entomostracan division of crustacean. It includes 10 orders viz., platycopodia, calanoida, misophroida, cyclopoida, geleylloida, mormonilloida, harpacticoida, Poecilostomatoida, siphanosto-matioda and monstrilloida. On the basis of major articulation of the body, copepoda is divided into two groups, gymnoplea and podoplea. In gymnoplea (platycopida and calanoida), there are no appendages on the body segments posterior to the major articula-tion. In podoplea (other 8 orders), there are reduced appendages on body segment posterior to the major articulation. Copepods are including three free living groups viz., calanoida, cyclopoida and harpacticoida. Worldwide there are overall 5500 species of free living copepods present, which includes about 2300 species of calanoids, 450 species of cyclopoids and approximately 2800 species of harpacticoids (Bowman and Abele, 1982). It has been reported that Sinodiaptomus (Rhinediaptomus) indicus was one of the common calanoid copepod in freshwater bodies of South In-dia (Dharani and Altaff, 2002). Cyclopoids are primarily benthic,

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although a few species thrive in the pelagic zones of lakes, seas and oceans. They play an important role in aquatic food webs as either primary consumers or predators and source of food for lar-vae, juveniles and adults of many fish species. According to Willen (1999), the harpacticoida contains over 3000 species and subspe-cies belonging to 463 genera and 54 families, however the great majority of species is assumed to be still unknown mainly because large regions of the earth have not yet been extensively sampled. In the present study, among all the zooplankton species, copepoda was the third dominant group with 7 species. The population of cyclopoida was observed throughout the year. The lowest number was observed in monsoon months, while higher population was found in summer. Lewis Jr (1978) opines that cyclopoida produc-tion shows strong evidence of association with abundance of di-atoms (Bacillariophyceae) and blue green algae (Cyanophyceae), and these phytoplankton groups are more important resource for all the developmental stages of cyclopoida copepods. Copepoda domination may also be due to their feeding on diatoms, rotifera and cladocera (Hutchinson, 1967) and high reproduction capaci-ty. In the case of calanoida, there were three population peaks re-ported (April, July and October) in Keenjhar lake, Sindh, Pakistan (Baqai and Ishrat, 1973). Calanoid copepods are a good indicator of oligotrophic water. In the present study, the presence of high-er density of copepoda indicates their tolerance of higher salinity during summer.

Ostracoda Ostracods are equipped with a low Mg-calcite carapace attached by a dorsal hinge and a ligament (Pokorny, 1978). There are overall 1700 living species of known ostracods of which about one-third are freshwater forms. In the present study, ostracoda occupied fourth position of zooplankton in terms of both number of spe-

cies and total numbers present with a higher population density in summer months, and represented very low population diversity when compared to other groups. Patil and Gounder (1989) have reported the occurrence of seven ostracode species in Dharwad District (Karnataka, India). Its maximum population has been re-ported during summer in Fort Lake, Belgaum, Karnataka, India (Sunkad and Patil, 2004), in Haledharmapuri Lake, Dharmapuri town, India (Manickam et al., 2012b) and in Thoppaiyar reservoir, Dharmapuri District, India (Manickam et al. 2014).

Quantitative Analysis of Zooplankton The mean quantity of zooplanktons from all season, popula-tion-wise was recorded in the following order, rotifers (734 ind./L) > copepods (586 ind./L) > cladocerans (583 ind./L) > os-tracods (147 ind./L) (Table 3). The overall productivity of zoo-plankton (including all four groups) was found to be maximum during summer season (2804 ind./L), followed by pre-monsoon (1961 ind./L), post-monsoon (1800 ind./L) and monsoon (1638 ind./L) (Table 3). In the cases of rotifera, copepoda and ostraco-da the total productivity was found to be maximum in summer, followed by pre-monsoon, post-monsoon and monsoon. In the case of cladocera the total productivity was also found to be the maximum in summer, but which is followed by post-monsoon, pre-monsoon and monsoon (Table 3). The zooplankton assem-blage in the similar order of dominance (rotifera > copepoda > cladocera > ostracoda) have also previously been reported by us in other freshwater bodies (Manickam et al. 2012b, 2014). The popu-lation of zooplankton was positively correlated with various phys-ico-chemical parameters of the lake water (Table 4). The order of dominance of these zooplankton groups was observed to be differ-ent during 2007-2008 study in the Sulur lake, Coimbatore, India, copepoda > ostracoda > cladocera > rotifer (Shanthi et al. 2010).

Zooplankton group Diversity indicesPost-Monsoon

(Dec’2011-Feb’ 2012)




Rotifera(11 species)

Dominance (D) 0.133±0.008 0.122±0.005 0.119±0.003 0.121±0.004

Shannon (H) 2.163±0.046 2.212±0.041 2.242±0.016 2.226±0.025

Evenness_e^H/S 0.791±0.037 0.831±0.034 0.856±0.013 0.843±0.021

Margalef (R1) 1.545±0.054 1.463±0.030 1.515±0.030 1.569±0.026

Cladocera(10 species)

Dominance (D) 0.125±0.004 0.120±0.003 0.112±0.001 0.120±0.005

Shannon (H) 2.172±0.024 2.195±0.019 2.235±0.008 2.199±0.025

Evenness_e^H/S 0.877±0.021 0.897±0.017 0.935±0.008 0.907±0.021

Margalef (R1) 1.457±0.086 1.332±0.026 1.393±0.040 1.476±0.022

Copepoda(7 species)

Dominance (D) 0.171±0.004 0.166±0.005 0.167±0.003 0.175±0.004

Shannon (H) 1.826±0.019 1.851±0.022 1.843±0.016 1.809±0.015

Evenness_e^H/S 0.887±0.016 0.909±0.020 0.902±0.014 0.872±0.013

Margalef (R1) 0.968±0.043 0.915±0.030 0.948±0.014 0.965±0.016

Ostracoda(6 species)

Dominance (D) 0.204±0.021 0.175±0.004 0.177±0.004 0.185±0.010

Shannon (H) 1.681±0.057 1.763±0.012 1.760±0.012 1.734±0.030

Evenness_e^H/S 0.896±0.051 0.972±0.012 0.968±0.011 0.943±0.028

Margalef (R1) 1.118±0.177 0.930±0.024 0.991±0.030 1.085±0.062

Table 5. Variation in zooplanktons diversity indices in the Sulur Lake during December-2011 to November-2012

Each season-wise value is overall average of mean ± SD (n=15; 5 sites x 3 months)

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ConclusionsIn this study, no bloom of any of the zooplankton group was seen and no remarkable seasonal variations were noticed. The favorable growth of zooplankton was found in summer season. In this study, diversity of different species of zooplankton and their overall pop-ulation density showed their abundance due to prevalence of fa-vorable conditions, they disappeared in unfavorable conditions and reappeared on the return of favorable conditions. Thus, it is suggested that proper management measures may be adopted to keep the lake free from over pollution for engaging continuous, healthy and sustainable aquaculture practices.

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Conflict of interestsThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

AcknowledgementsThe authors express their sincere thanks to former Principal, Dr. K. Altaff, The New College, Chennai, India, for his help in species identification of zooplankton.

In another study at Vedappatti pond, Coimbatore, India the order of dominance among these zooplankton groups was also different, cladocera > rotifera > copepoda (Poongodi et al. 2009). Zooplank-ton species composition and dominance in a particular water body is controlled by several ecological factors including nutrients load and pollution status.

The calculated seasonal wise diversity indices values, such as Dominance (D), Shannon (H), Evenness (e^H/S) and Margalef (R1), richnes for these four groups of zooplanktons are presented in Table 5. Each index values were almost similar between seasons in respective zooplankton groups, because in every season there was no variation in the total number of species present. However, some degree of difference was seen in the respective index value between different zooplankton groups, because the number of spe-cies in each group was varies (for example, Shannon (H) diversity index in summer: rotifer, 2.212; cladocera, 2.195; copepod, 1.851; ostracoda, 1.763; in pre-monsoon: 2.242; 2.242, 1.843 and 1.760 respectively; in post-monsoon: 2.242; 2.242, 1.843 and 1.760 re-spectively; in monsoon: 2.226; 2.199; 1.809 and 1.734 respectively). The physico-chemical parameters and nutrients load in water play a significant role in the distribution patterns and species composi-tion of plankton (Horne and Goldman, 1994). In aquatic habitats, the physical properties of water, such as solubility of gases and sol-ids, the penetration of light, temperature and density, the chemi-cal factors, such as salinity, pH, hardness, phosphates and nitrates are very important for growth and dispersal of phytoplankton on which zooplankton and some higher consumer depend for their existence. In this study, during the assessment period, seasonal variation seen in the physico-chemical parameters was positive-ly correlated with zooplankton population density. Therefore, it is suggested that it should have impact on species composition, spe-cies diversity, species evenness and species richness of zooplank-ton.

The temperature during summer was an important factor, which attributed to zooplankton production favorably due to availability of food in the form of bacteria, phytoplankton and suspended de-tritus led to higher primary production (Ramakrishnah and Sark-ar, 1982; Kumar and Datta, 1994; Bais and Agrawal, 1995; Poongo-di et al. 2009; Radhakrishnan et al. 2009; Shanthi et al., 2010; Salve and Hiware, 2010; Manickam et al. 2012a,b, 2014). This may be due to lenticness of the lake. The presence of 5 species of rotifera (B. angularis, B. calciflorus, B. falcatus, F. longiseta and K. tropica), 4 species of cladocera (D. sarsi, C. cornuta, M. micrura and M. ma-cleayi), 4 species of copepoda (H. viduus, M. hyalinus, M. leuckarti and T. hyalinus) and 2 species of Ostracoda (C. protubera and H. dentatomarginatus) suggested that the lake was approaching to-wards eutrophication and is organically polluted during summer. This may be due to illegal dumping of organic waste from different sources and poor inflow of freshwater. While, in monsoon season, factors like lower water temperature, pH, salinity and TDS were not in favour of growth and diversity of zooplankton. This may be due attributed to loticness of the lake, due to dilution effect and decreased photosynthetic activity by primary producers (Bais and Agrawal, 1993). This may also be due to over predation of zoo-plankton by the higher trophic members, such as planktonivou-rous fishes, which regulate the zooplankton population (Poongodi et al. 2009). The population started to rises to a higher level in the winter (post-monsoon) as a result of return to favorable en-vironmental conditions, including temperature, pH, salinity and

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Article Information:Received: 10 April 2015 Accepted: 08 May 2015Online published: 12 May 2015

Cite this article as:P Saravana Bhavan et al. 2015. Diversity of Zooplankton in a pe-rennial lake at Sulur, Coimbatore, India. International Journal of Extensive Research. 5:31-44.

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