Abstract
Impact of barge movement on phytoplankton abundance and biomass was assessed in the lower stretch of river Ganga, popularly known as Bhagirathi-Hooghly river, during April 2016 to March, 2017. Based on the magnitude of tide, intensity of shipping and boating activities, the stretch from Baranagar to Lalbag (278 km), located at latitude (22°38'33.41"N to 24°10'59.75"N) and longitude (88°21'21.29"E to 88°16'5.65"E) was divided into three zones viz. zone—I (Baranagar to Barrackpore), zone II (Triveni to Balagarh) and zone III (Nabadweep to Lalbag). Water samples were collected randomly from six stations covering 22 barge movements at their passage at three different time intervals viz., 30 minutes before ‘barge movement’, during ‘barge movement’ and 30 minutes after ‘barge movement’. Analysis revealed the presence of 52 phytoplankton taxa belonged to 5 phylum during the study period. The abundance of phytoplankton was highest in zone—I followed by zone III and the zone II. A 44% decrease (1,997 ±1,510 ul-1) in phytoplankton abundance was observed during ‘barge movement’ with respect to normal condition (3,513 ± 2,239 ul-1) which could be due to propeller turbulence in the passage. Cell damage study revealed 21% damage in phytoplankton cell structure in ‘during barge’ followed by ‘after barge’ (10%) condition compared to natural state (6%). Study revealed that phytoplankton biomass (Chlorophyll a) was influenced by ‘barge movement’ in the sampling stretches and the impact was assessed by one way ANOVA. The effect was found significant at Barrackpore (p <0.01), Triveni (p <0.01), Balagarh (p <0.01) and Lalbag (p <0.01) where as it was insignificant at Baranagar and Nabadweep, which may be due to continuous and existing boat trafficking at Baranagar and Nabadweep. Two way ANOVA computed using ‘barge movement’ and sampling stations showed significant (p<0.01) effect on magnitude of Chl a concentrations in the sampling locations. Thus, the ‘barge movement’ influenced phytoplankton abundance and biomass, it had a detrimental effect on phytoplankton cell architecture also. The data set of this work serves as foundation information to understand the ecological implications augmented barge induced environmental disturbances in waterways. This is the first such study which depicts the impact of ‘barge movement’ on aquatic food chain linkages in Bhagirathi- Hooghly river.
Highlights
IntroductionThe Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia port (1620 km) is known as the National Waterway No 1 of India
The Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia port (1620 km) is known as the National Waterway No 1 of India. It is the single most significant route of the country where cargo, passenger and cruise vessel are plied for the purpose of Inland Water Transport (IWT) [1]
The intertidal zone of estuary witnesses several changes due to vessel generated waves which resulted into changes in estuarine hydrodynamics including tidal regime [6]
Summary
The Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system from Allahabad to Haldia port (1620 km) is known as the National Waterway No 1 of India It is the single most significant route of the country where cargo, passenger and cruise vessel are plied for the purpose of Inland Water Transport (IWT) [1]. The waterways have been exposed to various natural and anthropogenic pressures such as hydrological alterations [2], exotic invasion [3], metal and pesticide contaminations [4], commercial navigation, tourist and passenger boating activities, fishing operation etc These stressors havelead to drastic change of the river ecosystem which in turn caused problem to the residents [5]. Barge trafficking and navigation through water ways cause numerous effect on chemical and biological components of the river ecosystem along with hydrodynamic alterations [7], habitat destruction, changes in water quality [8], reduction of ichthyoplankton catch [9, 10], loss of production of larval [8, 11] and adult fishes [12]
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