Zooplankton of mountain and lowland waterbodies of Northwestern India

L.F. Litvinchuk

Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 2018, 322(1): 66–83 · https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2018.322.1.66

Full text

Abstract

In 2013–2015, 9 waterbodies situated in mountain and lowland regions of Northwestern India were studied. 46 species of zooplankton organisms were revealed, among them 18 Rotifera species, 20 Cladocera, 8 Copepoda, and 1 species of Anostraca. For this part of India, it was the first time detected 8 Rotifera species, 5 Cladocera, and 2 Copepoda. Cosmopolites and Paleotropic species were registered in all waterbodies studied in the Himalayans and lowland India. Palearctic and Holarctic species — in the Himalayans only. Tropic species were found in lowland India only. Species number and zooplankton species diversity index were low. Zooplankton density was relatively high in one from four mountain lakes and in all lowland waterbodies (99–487 thousands ind./m³). Zooplankton biomass was low (0.04–8.00 g/m³) in both mountain and lowland lakes, in exception two lowland lakes with wind onset and overwintering place for large birds. Rotifera dominated by biomass only in mountain region. Cladocera predominated in zooplankton density and biomass in majority of studied waterbodies. This group was represented by coastal and macrophyte forms which are usual for shallow waterbodies. Copepoda were abundant in five studied waterbodies and basically were represented by Cyclopoida. Calanoida group (Diaptomidae) was revealed in only one lowland lake located in a desert. Macrofiltrators represented the main part of zooplankton trophic structure. Microphages and predators subdominated in zooplankton communities.

Key words

zooplankton, rotifers, crustaceans, biodiversity, zoogeography, lakes, India, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Gujarat

Submitted May 22, 2017 · Accepted October 28, 2017 · Published March 23, 2018

References

Abubakr A. and Kundangar M.R.D. 2008. Ecological status of some floodplain lakes within Jhelum River basin, Kashmir. Nature Environment and Pollution Technology, 7(4): 719–728.

Ahangar I.A., Saksena D.N., Mir M.F. and Ahangar M.A. 2012. Crustacean community in Anchar Lake, Kashmir. Bulletin of Environment, Pharmacology and Life Sciences, 1(7): 18–21.

Akhtar S. 1972. Qualitative and Quantitative Studies on Freshwater Plankton, Rotifera, Cladocera, Ostracoda and Copepoda of Kashmir Lakes and Ponds. Ph. D. Thesis. University of Kashmir. 115 p.

А ndronikova I.N. 1996. Structural and Functional Organization of Zooplankton Trophic Lake Ecosystems of Different Types. Nauka, Saint Petersburg, 189 p. [In Russian].

Andronikova I.N. 2011. Use of zooplankton indices in the evaluation of ecological state of the near shore zone in Lake Ladoga. In: Invertebrates in Monitoring of Waterbodies State Condition. Bioindication in Monitoring of Freshwater Ecosystems. The II International Conference. St. Petersburg: 168–174. [In Russian].

Atashbar B., Agh N., Manaffar R., Van Stappen G., Mohamadyari A., Mertens J. and Beladjal L. 2016 . Morphometric and preliminary genetic characteristics of Branchinecta orientalis populations from Iran (Crustacea: Anostraca). Zootaxa, 4109(1): 31–45. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4109.1.3

Baba D.I., Sharma K.K. and Shvetambri. 2015. Zooplanktonic community structure of River Chenab of Jammu and Kashmir. Journal of Science, 5(9): 776–780.

Bahaar S.W.N. and Bhat G.A. 2011. Aquatic biodiversity in the paddy fields of Kashmir Valley, India. Asian Journal of Agricultural Research, 5(5): 269–276. https://doi.org/10.3923/ajar.2011.269.276

Bahaar S.W.N. and Bhat G.A. 2014. Impact of local cultural operations on the ecology of plankton in a rice field agro-ecosystem of North West Kashmir, India. Journal of Science, 3(3): 287–291.

Berg L.S. Freshwater fishes of the USSR and adjacent countries. Part 3. 4th Ed. M., AS USSR: 927–1382.

Bishnoi R.K. and Sharma B.K. 2016. Planktonic variations in a lotic water body of Shri Ganganagar District (Rajasthan). International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies, 3(1): 134–139.

Bond R.M. 1934. Report of phyllopod Crustacea (Anostraca, Notostraca and Conchostraca) including a revision of the Anostraca of the Indian Empire. Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, 10: 29–62.

Borkin L.J. 2014. Three expeditions of Saint-Petersburg Association of Scientist and Scholars in India: the Western Himalayans (2011, 2013), the Tar Desert and the Arabian Sea coast. Studies in the History of Biology, St Petersburg, 6(4): 124–133. [In Russian].

Borkin L.J. and Gannibal B.K. 2016. The third Western Himalayan expedition of Saint-Petersburg Association of Scientist and Scholars (2015). Studies in the History of Biology, St Petersburg, 8(4): 145–152. [In Russian].

Borkin L.J. and Litvinchuk S.N. 2013. Amphibians of the Palearctic: taxonomic composition. Proceedings of the Zoological institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 317(4): 494–541. [In Russian].

Chandra K., Gopi K.C., Rao D.V., Valarmathi K. and Alfred J.R.B. 2017. Current Status of Freshwater Faunal Diversity in India. The Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. 624 p.

Chatterjee T., Kotov A.A., Van Damme K., Chandrasekhar S.V.A. and Padhye S. 2013. An annotated checklist of the Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from India. Zootaxa, 3667: 1–89. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3667.1.1

Dar G.H., Bhagat R.C. and Khan M.A. 2002. Crustaceans zooplankton fauna. In: Dar G.H., Bhagat R.C. Khan M.A. (Eds.), Biodiversity of the Kashmir Himalaya. Anmol Publication Private Limited, Valley Book House, Srinagar: 193– 208.

Das S.M., Daftari S., Singh H.B., Akhthar S., Chaudhary S. and Ahmed N. 1969. Studies on the organic production in high altitude lakes of Kashmir. I. The general ecology and zooplankton of Kashmir lakes. Kashmir Science, 6: 1–22.

Foissner W. and Berger H. 1996. A user-friendly guide to ciliates (Protozoa, Ciliophora) commonly used by hydrobiologists as bioindicators in rivers, lakes, and waste waters, with notes on their ecology. Freshwater Biology, 35: 375–498. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.1996.tb01775.x

Ganie M.A., Parveen M., Balkhi M.H. and Khan M.I. 2015. Structure and diversity of cladoceran communities in two lakes with varying nutrient compositions in the Jhelum River Basin, Kashmir. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 3(2): 456–462.

Geptner V.G. 1936. General zoogeography. Biomedgiz. Moscow, 548 p. [In Russian].

Guidelines for the Collection and Processing of Materials in Hydrobiological Studies in Freshwater. Zooplankton and its Products. 1982. Leningrad, 33 p. [In Russian].

Gurney R. 1906. On freshwater Entomostraca in the collection of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 2: 273–281.

Hutchinson G.E. 1937. Limnological studies in Indian Tibet. International Review of Hydrobiology. 35(1–6): 134–177.

Jamila I., Yousuf A.R., Parveen M., Hassan K., Rehman M. and Sheikh B.A. 2014. Rotifer community in Manasbal Lake of Kashmir. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies, 1(6): 190–198.

Jeelani M. 2016. Lake Ecology in Kashmir, India. Impact of Environmental Features on the Biodiversity of Urban Lakes. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland, 328 p. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40880-4

Jindal R. and Thakur R.K. 2013. Diurnal variations of plankton diversity and physico-chemical characteristics of Rewalsar Wetland, Himachal Pradesh, India. Recent Research in Science and Technology, 5(3): 4–9.

Kemp S. 1911. Notes on Asiatic species of Crustacea Anostraca in the Indian Museum. Records of the Indian Museum, 6: 219–223.

Kiefer F. 1939. Freilebende ruderfusskrebse (Crustacea, Copepoda) aus nordwest und Sudindien (Pandschab, Kashmir, Ladak, Nilgirigebirge). Scientific Results of the Yale North India Expedition, Biological Report № 19, Karlsruhe (Baden): 83–203.

Kundangar M.R.D., Sarwar S.G. and Hussain J. 1996. Zooplankton population and nutrient dynamics of wetlands of Wular lakes, Kashmir, India. In: Jha P.K., Ghimire G.P.S., Karmacharya S.B., Baral S.R., Lacoul P. (Eds.), Environment and Biodiversity: In the Context of South Asia. Ecological Society, ECOS, Nepal: 128–134.

Kutikova L.A. 1970. Rotifer Fauna of the USSR (Rotatoria). Subclass Eurotatoria (Units Ploimida, Monimotrochida, Paedotrochida). Leningrad, Nauka, 744 p. [In Russian].

Manca M. and Mura G. 1997. On Branchinecta orientalis Sars (Anostraca) in the Himalayas. Hydrobiologia, 356: 111–116. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003131431295

Manuylova E.F. 1964. Cladocera of the USSR Fauna. Leningrad, Nauka, 328 p. [In Russian].

Monchenko V.I. 1972. Subterranean water Cyclops (Copepoda, Cyclopoidae) from Kisilkum. Middle Asia subterranean water fauna. Tr. ZIN AN SSSR, Leningrad, Nauka, 51: 78–97. [In Russian].

Mordukhai-Boltovskoi F.D. and Rivier I.K. 1987. Predatory Cladocerans (Podonodae, Polyphemoidae, Cercopagidae and Leptodoridae) of the World’s Fauna. Leningrad, Nauka, 182 p. [In Russian].

Naik A.A., Wanganeo A., Ishaq A. and Bhat N.A. 2012. Summer limnology of a high mountain Lake ‘Kailash Lake’, Bhaderwah. Jammu and Kashmir International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 3(3): 931–939. https://doi.org/10.6088/ijes.2012030133001

Nath S. 1994. A checklist of freshwater Crustacea of Jammu and Kashmir state. In: Nath S. (Ed.), Recent Advances in Fish Ecology, Limnology, and Ecoconservation. Daya Publishing House, New Delhi, 3: 83–98.

Paulose P.V. and Maheshwari K. 2007. Seasonal variation of zooplankton communiry structure of Ramgarh Lake, Jaipur, Rajasthan. The 12th Word Lakes Conference (Eds. Sengupta, M. and Dalwani, R): 82–87.

Raina H.S. and Vass K.K. 1993. Distribution and species composition of zooplankton in Himalayan ecosystems. Internationale Revue der gesamten Hydrobiologie und Hydrographie, 78: 295–307.

Rana P., Dhanze R. and Sharma I. 2013. Plankton diversity of four village ponds of Himachal Pradesh, India.10 p.

Rogers D.C. and Padhye S. 2015. Review of the large branchiopod crustacean fauna of the Indian subcontinent (Anostraca, Notostraca, Laevicaudata, Spinicaudata, Cyclestherida). Journal of Crustacean Biology, 35: 392–406.

Sars G.O. 1902. On the crustacean fauna of Central Asia. Part I. Amphipoda and Phyllopoda. Zoologicheskii Musei (Akademiia Nauk SSR). Annuaire du Musee Zoologique de l’Academie Imperiale des Sciences de Saint Petersbourg, 4: 130–164.

Shah J.A. and Pandit A.K. 2013a. Diversity and abundance of Cladoceran zooplankton in Wular Lake, Kashmir, Himalaya. Research Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences, 5(7): 410–417.

Shah J.A. and Pandit A.K. 2013b. Seasonal succession of crustacean zooplankton in Wular Lake of the Kashmir, Himalaya. Archives of Biological Sciences, Belgrade, 65(3): 1063–1068. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS150706081E

Shah J.A. and Pandit A.K. 2013c. Some crustacean zooplankton of Wular Lake in Kashmir, Himalaya. African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, 7(5): 329–335. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJEST2013.1483

Shah J.A., Pandit A.K. and Shah G.M. 2013. Distribution, diversity and abundance of copepod zooplankton of Wular Lake, Kashmir Himalaya. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment, 5(2): 24–29.

Shah J.A., Pandit A.K. and Shah G.M. 2015. A research on rotifers of aquatic ecosystems of Kashmir, Himalaya for documentation and authentication. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Section B: Biological Sciences, 85(1): 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-014-0334-7

Shannon C.E. and Weaver W. 1949. The Mathematical Theory of Communication. Univ. Illinois Press, Urbana, 117 p.

Sharma K.K. and Chandrakiran S. 2011. Comparative analysis of cladoceran communities from three subtropical freshwater ponds of Jammu: patterns, composition and diversity. The Bioscan, 6(2): 233–237. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9222-y

Sharma K.K. and Kotwal S. 2011. Studies on diversity and dynamics of Cladocera in a subtropical Sungal pond Akhnoor (J & K). The Biascan, 6(4): 623–625.

Sharma K.K., Kour S. and Antal N. 2015. Diversity of zooplankton and macrobenthic invertebrates of two perennial ponds of Jammu region. Journal of Global Biosciences, 4(2): 1382–1392. https://doi.org/10.9790/2402-1106031215

Sharma R., Sharma V., Sharma M.S., Kumar V.B., Rachana M. and Singh G.K. 2011. Studies on limnological characteristic, planktonic diversity and fishes (species) in Lake Pichhola, Udaipur, Rajasthan (India). Universal Journal of Environmental Research and Technology, 1(3): 274–285.

Sharma S. and Sharma B.K. 2008. Zooplankton Diversity in Floodplain Lakes of Assam. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, 290: 1–307.

Sharma V., Sharma M.S., Malara H., Sharma R. and Baghela B.S. 2008. Trophic status and zooplankton diversity of Lake Jaisamand in relation to its physico-chemical characteristics. 12th World Lake Conference (2007. Eds. Sengupta, M. and Dalwani, R.): 490–495.

Siraj S., Yousuf A.R., Bhat F.A. and Parveen M. 2006. Cladoceran community in Dal Lake Kashmir. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of India, 76B: 343–350.

Siraj S., Yousuf A.R. and Parveen M. 2007. Cladoceran community in Shalabug wetlans, Kashmir. Journal of Research and Development, 7: 67–74.

Sladecek V. 1973. System of water quality from biological point of view. Egetnisse der Limnologie, 7: 1–218.

Slathia D. and Dutta S.P.S. 2013. Hydrobiological study of a subtropical Shiwalik Lake, Jammu, J&K (India). International Journal of Chemical, Environmental and Biological Sciences (IJCEBS), 1(1): 143–149.

Starobogatov Ya.I. 1970. Fauna of mollusks and zoogeographic regionalization of inland waters of the World. Leningrad, Nauka. 372 p. [In Russian].

Subla B.A., Zhutshi D.P., Khan M.A., Vishan N., Wanganeo A. and Raina R. 1984. Distribution and ecology of zooplankton communities from Kashmir. Bulletin of Environmental Science, 1: 30–34.

Summarwar S. 2012. Studies on zooplankton diversity in Bisalpur reservoir. International Journal of Life science and Pharma Research, 1(4): 65–72.

Thakur R.K., Jindal R., Singh U.B. and Ahluwalia A.S. 2013. Plankton diversity and water quality assessment of three freshwater lakes of Mandi (Himachal Pradesh, India) with special reference to planktonic indicators. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185: 8355–8373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3178-3

Xu S., Hebert P.D.N., Kotov A.A. and Cristescu M.E. 2009. The non-cosmopolitanism paradigm of freshwater zooplankton: insights from the global phylogeography of the predatory cladoceran Polyphemus pediculus (Crustacea, Onychopoda). Molecular Ecology, 18: 5161–5179. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04422.x

Yousuf A.R. 1988. Copepod plankton of Lake Manasbal, Kashmir. Journal of Indian Institute of Sciences, 68: 307–313.

Zutshi D.P. and Vass K.K. 1982. Limnological studies on Dal Lake, Srinagar. Biological features. Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy, B48(2): 234–241.