Zooplankton diversity as indicators of pollution in warm monomictic Dal–Nigeen lake

Abstract

The study aimed to assess the zooplankton diversity in Dal–Nigeen lake located in Srinagar, India. Zooplankton is a secondary producer which acts as the intermediate link between phytoplankton and fish in aquatic environment. Zooplankton diversity in the lake was monitored during autumn 2012 and summer 2013. Among zooplankton single species belonging to protozoa, 11 species to rotifera, 3 species to cladocera, and 2 species with single larval stage belonging to copepod were identified. Percent composition of zooplankton communities revealed that rotifera was the most dominant group followed by copepoda in summer, while rotifera was the most dominant group followed by cladocera in autumn season. The Shannon–Wiener diversity index (SWI) in summer varied from 1.29 to 3.63 and from 1.43 to 3.67 in autumn indicating moderate-to-good level of zooplankton diversity in the lake and low-to-medium impact of organic pollution from the anthropogenic activities. The study indicates that species abundance was lower in summer as compared to autumn season which may be due thereby to variation in environmental characteristics of the lake water.