Zooplankton study in Bukit Merah Reservoir, Malaysia: a preliminary biodiversity assessment

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities including uncontrolled development and agricultural intensification in the catchments area accelerate the sedimentation rate in lake and reservoir. Bukit Merah Reservoir is one of the freshwater ecosystems facing sedimentation issue and a major threat to its water quality from anthropogenic activities. These activities lead to invariably changing in water quality parameters and become the primary cause of variations to aquatic biodiversity such as zooplankton. This study investigated the biodiversity of zooplankton as a preliminary assessment in Bukit Merah Reservoir, the oldest artificial reservoir in Malaysia. Water and zooplankton samples were collected from six sampling stations which cover the littoral, limnetic and pelagic zones of the reservoir. Zooplankton analysis showed the presence of 49 taxa belonging to the three main groups of freshwater zooplankton dominated by Keratella cochlearis, Trichocerca sp., Polyarthra sp., Bosminopsis deitersi and Diaphanosoma sp. Analysis of variance revealed a significant difference was found (P<0.05) between the sampling stations during the study period. Zooplankton biodiversity reflects the water quality condition at the time of sampling that indicates the health of aquatic water body in the study site.