Plankton diversity in Dhaura and Baigul reservoirs of Uttarakhand

Abstract

Studies conducted for one year from June, 2006 to May, 2007 in two reservoirs of Uttarakhand, Dhaura and Baigul, revealed moderate plankton biodiversity. There were 30 species of phytoplankton and 15 species of zooplankton. The average plankton population was in terms of phytoplankton 28,201- 2,18,229 units l-1 and zooplankton 952-11581 units l-1 throughout the study. Microcystis spp. belonging to the group Cyanophyceae was the most dominant among phytoplankton. The range of Shannon and Simpson diversity indices (2.006-2.947 and 0.8019- 0.9215, respectively) indicate moderate diversity of plankton in these water bodies. The values of diversity indices indicate less disturbance level and medium productivity. Study of various physico-chemical and biological parameters revealed that these reservoirs have medium productivity and if managed properly, production at all the trophic levels can be enhanced.