Abstract
This study investigated the ecosystem health of a floodplain lake, Tamrangabeel of Bongaigaon district, Assam, India using aquatic insects as bioindicator. The aquatic community of Tamrangabeel was represented by 37 species belonging to 19 families and 5 orders. Shannon –Wiener diversity index (Shannon Hꞌ) values were recorded less than 1 in all the sites of the lake which indicated perturbed condition of the lake. Order Hemiptera was found to be the largest order with highest number of species. Eudominant species recorded in this lake were Micronecta siva (order Hemiptera) and Cloeon sp. (order Ephemeroptera). Biological Monitoring Working Party (BMWP) Score, Average Score per taxon (ASPT), and Stream Invertebrate Grade Number-Average Level (SIGNAL) Score reported from the study reflected good ecological potential as well as slightly impacted nature of the water body. The values of different environmental variables of water of all the sites of the lake were found conducive for aquatic life. This study provided an early warning of perturbation of the lake which is to be addressed before it is too late.
Highlights
Aquatic biodiversity is one of the most essential characteristics of the aquatic ecosystem for maintaining its stability and a means of coping with any environmental change1,2
As there is increasing pressure on our water resources, they should be used for assessing the impact of pollution in aquatic ecosystems27
The aquatic community of Tamrangabeel was represented by 37 species belonging to 19 families and 5 orders (Table 1)
Summary
Aquatic biodiversity is one of the most essential characteristics of the aquatic ecosystem for maintaining its stability and a means of coping with any environmental change. Aquatic insects comprise a taxonomically diverse and ecologically important group of animals They are known to play a very significant role in the processing and cycling of nutrients as they belong to several specialized feeding groups such as shredders, filter feeders, depositor collectors and predators. They are known to play a very significant role in the processing and cycling of nutrients as they belong to several specialized feeding groups such as shredders, filter feeders, depositor collectors and predators3 In recent times they are used as biological tool and often used to determine the water quality based on type and number of species present, because pollution status of water bodies are expressed in biological and physico-chemical parameters. Together with energy and nutrients, water is arguably the centrepiece for the delivery of eco-system services to humankind .The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 7 defines ecosystems as a dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities and their nonliving environment interacting as a functional unit.The freshwater ecosystem services i.e nature’s works free of cost are valuable to the inhabitants who are poor and entirely depend on nature’s services directly for their livelihoods
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