ZOOPLANKTONIC ANALYSIS OF THE RIVER CHENAB, AT AKHNOOR, JAMMU

NSave Nature to Survive QUARTERLY 4(1) : 123-128, 2010 ZOOPLANKTONIC ANALYSIS OF THE RIVER CHENAB, AT AKHNOOR, JAMMU S. P. S. DUTTA* AND K. K. VERMA Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Jammu, Jammu - 180 006 E-mail: duttasps@gmail.com ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Importance of zooplankton as fish food and fish predators (Nickolsky, 1999) as indicators of water quality (Sladeck, 1983) is well known. These influence ionic composition and nutrient quality, either by removal of materials as food or through addition of feacal matter and excretory products. There is a greater diversity among zooplankton as compared to phytoplankton and their composition varies with seasonal production of meroplankton such as eggs, larvae and juveniles of the benthos, nekton etc (Walsh, 1978). Zooplanktonic analysis from various lotic waters of Jammu has earlier been attempted by Dutta (1978), Zutshi (1992), Sawhney (1998) Sharma, (1999), Rathore (2009) and Sharma, (2009). However, there is no record of any study for the river Chenab, draining the Jammu region, and has been attempted. Study Area J and K, the north western Indian state, is located between 32 0.17 and 37 0.5 north latitude and 74 0.40 and 80 0.30 east longitude (Fig. 1). The state of J and K enjoys the top most position on the tourist map of India and is divided into three regions viz. Ladakh, Kashmir and Jammu, each drained by a riverine system (Fig. 2). The Indus: It is the longest river in the subcontinent, with its total length of about 3500 km. At present, only a part of this river passes through Ladakh division of the state. The Jhelum: Kashmir province of the state is drained mainly by this riverine system. In Kashmir valley, the river Jhelum has total length of about 170 km. The Chenab: The main drainage of Jammu province is by the river Chenab (Fig. 2). This river is formed by the confluence of two streams viz. Chandra and Bhagha, at Tandi, in Himachal Pardesh (Fig. 3) and these streams have their origin from glaciers that slides from the South East and North West slope of Baralucha Pass, respectively, at an altitude of 5000 metres above the mean sea level. The river Chenab covers a distance of 200 kms in Panji Valley of Himachal Pardesh, before entering the state near Padar. After flowing from Doda, Ramban, Reasi, Akhnoor it ultimately enters into Pakistan downstream the Pargwal wetland, Akhnoor. It is joined enroute by small rivers, streams and nullahs viz. Kalani, Kalguni, Bhelessa, Neeru, Banihal, Munwar, river Tawi and unaccountable rivulets those come in its way. Some of its tributaries at higher reaches are torrential snowfed and cold water. At the actual line of control (Indo-Pak Border), near Akhnoor, the river broadens after entering the Pakistan. The river Chenab in its upper reaches has fast flow due to steep gradient. Flow of the river increases many times during summer and monsoon season. Water flow is reduced during winter, due to snowfall and low temperature in upper catchment area. For the present study, three stations at the distance of 5 kms each from one to next viz. Chardagram (Fig. 3) is upstream, Ambarain (Fig. 4) is middle one and Namander (Fig. 5) is down stream, near Akhnoor, were selected. Zooplankton,in the river Chenab, qualitatively, comprising of sixteen species, has shown the presence of fourteen species of Protozoa (Arcella spp., Centropyxis ecornis., Centropyxis constricta., Difflugia tuberculata., D accuminata., D lebes., D oblonga., D corona., D urocellata., unidentified Difflugia., Lesquereusia modesta., Lesquereusia spiralis., Nebela spp. and Phacus spp.), one species of (spicules of Eunapious carteri.) and one species of arthropod Crustacea (Diaptomus spp.). The order of quantitative dominance has been seen as Protozoa (2-13 n/ L)> (0-2 n/l) and > arthropod Crustacea (0-1 n/l). Due to fast turbulent flow; cold water, having a narrow annual variation in water temperature; wide fluctuations in water discharge, absence of pool in upper catchment and absence of macrophytic vegetation, zooplanktonic diversity and density in the river Chenab is low in comparison to the other lotic water bodies of the state. Analysis of coefficient of correlation (r) of zooplankton with different characteristics of water, is insignificant. KEY WORDS Zooplankton Rhizopoda River Chenab Received : 14.12.2009 Revised : 27.01.2010 Accepted : 22.02.2010 *Corresponding author 123

S. P. S. DUTTA AND K. K. VERMA MATERIALS AND METHODS Monthly zooplanktonic sample, at each experimental station, was collected by filtering 10 liters of water through a planktonic net (no. 25), preserved in 5 % formaldehyde solution in labelled glass tubes, and identified (Dutta, 1983; Kudo, 1986; Battish, 1992 and Edmondson, 1992) and counted. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Monthly, one year viz. May (2004) to April (2005), results of zooplanktonic analysis at three experimental sites of the river Chenab and their mean have been tabulated in Tables 1 to 4. Qualitative composition Zooplankton, qualitatively, comprising of sixteen species, has shown the presence of fourteen species of Protozoa (Arcella discoides, Centropyxis ecornis, C constricta, Difflugia tuberculata, D accuminata, D lebes, D oblonga, D corona, D urocellata, unidentified Difflugia, Lesquereusia modesta, L spiralis, Nebela spp. and Phacus spp.), one species of Figure 1: Map of Jammu and Kashmir showing major rivers Table 1: Monthly variations in zooplankton (number/l) at station 1 (Chardagram), akhnoor of the river Chenab (May, 2004-April, 2005) Protozoa and Rhizophoda May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Arcella Ehrenberg 5 Centropyxis ecornis Leidy 2 Centropyxis constricta Penard 2 Total centropyxis 4 Difflugia tuberculata Wallich 2 1 2 3 3 4 2 3 2 Difflugia accuminata Ehrenberg 2 2 2 Difflugia lebes Penard 2 1 Difflugia oblonga Ehrenberg 5 3 3 4 1 4 Difflugia corona Wallich 1 3 Difflugia urocellata Carter 1 Unidentified Difflugia 5 4 1 3 17 2 3 3 Total Difflugia 5 13 2 6 4 6 26 6 7 9 6 Lesquereusia modesta Rhumbler 2 Lesquereusi spiralis Eherenberg 2 Total Lesquereusia Total Rhizopoda 5 15 2 6 4 6 26 16 7 14 6 Phacus Dujardin Nevela Leidy 1 Total Actinopoda 1 Total Total Protozoans 5 15 2 6 4 6 26 16 7 14 7 Eunapious carteai Spicules 7 Total 7 Arthropoda Crustacea Diaptomus 1 Total Copepoda 1 Total Zooplankton 5 15 2 6 4 6 26 16 14 15 7 (spicules of Eunapious carteri) and one species of arthropod Crustacea (Diaptomus spp.) in the planktonic samples collected from three stations of the river Chenab, Akhnoor (Table 4). Planktonic, qualitative, composition in the river Chenab is different in comparison to the findings of earlier workers. Chacko and Srinivasan (1955) reported seven zooplanktonic genera from river Krishna. These include 2 genera of Copepoda (Cyclops and Diaptomus), 3 genera of Cladocera (Daphnia, Diaphanosoma and Moina) and 2 genera of Rotifera (Brachionus and Filinia). From the river Cauvery, they noticed 2 genera of Copepoda (Mesocyclops and Diaptomus) and 1 genus of Cladocera (Ceriodaphnia). Vass et al., (1977) noticed 5 species of protozoans, 9 species of rotifers, 6 species of cladocerans and 4 species of copepods from the river Jhelum, Kashmir. Dutta (1978) reported the presence of Protozoa (4 species), Rotifera (5 species), Cladocera (9 species) and Copepoda (4 species) from Gadigarh stream, Jammu. Badola and Singh (1981) worked out the presence of Cladocera and Copepoda from river Alaknanda, Garwhal Himalayas. Bhatt 124

ZOOPLANKTON OF RIVER CHENAB Table 2: Monthly variations in zooplankton (number/l) at station 2 (Ambarain), akhnoor of the river Chenab (May, 2004-April, 2005) Protozoa and Rhizophoda May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Arcella Ehrenberg 3 Centropyxis ecornis Leidy 2 Centropyxis constricta Penard Total Centropyxis 2 Difflugia tuberculata Wallich 8 1 1 3 Difflugia accuminata Ehrenberg 2 Difflugia lebes Penard 3 2 1 Difflugia oblonga Ehrenberg 3 3 1 2 4 Difflugia corona Wallich 14 Difflugia urocellata Carter Unidentified Difflugia 3 3 2 Total Difflugia 17 3 18 4 4 7 3 Lesquereusia modesta Rhumbler 1 Lesquereusia spiralis Eherenberg Total Lesquereusia Total Rhizopoda 20 3 18 4 4 8 3 2 Phacus Dujardin Nebela Leidy Total Actinopoda Total Protozoans 20 3 18 4 4 8 3 2 Eunapious carteai Spicules Total Arthropoda crustacea Diaptomus Total Copepoda Total Zooplankton 20 3 18 4 4 8 3 2 Table 3: Monthly variations in zooplankton (number/l) at station 3 (namander), akhnoor of the river Chenab (May, 2004-April, 2005) Protozoa and Rhizophoda May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Arcella Ehrenberg Centropyxis ecornis Leidy 3 Centropyxis constricta Penard Total Centropyxis 3 Difflugia tuberculata Wallich 2 Difflugia accuminata Ehrenberg 2 2 Difflugia lebes Penard 4 Difflugia oblonga Ehrenberg 4 2 6 Difflugia corona Wallich Difflugia urocellata Carter 2 2 Unidentified Difflugia 5 Total Difflugia 7 12 2 8 2 Lesquereusia modesta Rhumbler Lesquereusia spiralis Eherenberg Total Lesquereusia Total Rhizopoda 7 12 2 8 2 Phacus Dujardin 2 2 Nebela Leidy 7 Total Actinopoda 7 Total Protozoans 7 12 2 10 3 4 Eunapious carteai Spicules Total Arthropoda crustacea Diaptomus Total Copepoda Total Zooplankton 14 12 4 18 3 4 et al., (1984) noticed 3 species of protozoans, 6 species of rotifers, 3 species of cladocerans and 3 species of copepods from river Kosi, Kumayun Himalayas, U.P. Zutshi (1992) reported 6 species of Protozoa, 3 species of Rotifera, 2 species of Cladocera and 3 species of Copepoda from river Tawi, Jammu; Ali et al., (2003) reported 44 zooplanktonic species 125

S. P. S. DUTTA AND K. K. VERMA Figure 2: Confluence of Chander and Bhagha at Tandi Table 5: Coefficient of correlation (Protozoan and zooplankton) with physico-chemical parameters of water Parameters Total Total Protozoan zooplankton Water temperature -0.09-0.11 Transparency 0.13 0.13 ph -0.32-0.17 TDS -0.26-0.22 Salinity -0.25-0.17 Electrical conductivity -0.28-0.22 Free CO 2-0.36-0.35 DO -0.56-0.53 BOD 0.38 0.32 COD 0.21 0.16 HCO 3-0.22-0.12 Chloride 0.42 0.39 Calcium -0.17-0.15 Magnesium 0.25 0.33 Total hardness -0.15-0.05 Sulphate -0.06-0.02 Silicate 0.05 0.01 Nitrate -0.27-0.22 Phosphate 0.04-0.01 Figure 3: General view of station-1 (Chardha Gram) at Akhnoor (Protozoa-22 spp., Rotifera-10 spp., Cladocera-6 spp. And Copepoda-6 spp.) from river Indus at Ghazi Ghat, Punjab. Pakistan. Singh (2005) reported 67 species of zooplankton belonging to 10 species of Protozoa, 14 species of Rotifera, 7 species of Cladocera, 8 species of Copepods and 2 species of Ostracoda from river Beas, Punjab. Zafar and Sultan (2005) noticed five species of Protozoa, six species of Rotifera, six species of Cladocera and five species of Copepoda from river Ganga at Kanpur. Pandey et al., (2007) noticed nineteen species of Rotifera, five species of Cladocera and three species of Copepoda from river Panar, Bihar.Sharma (2009) analysed zooplankton of Basantar river and noticed the presence of Table 4: Monthly mean variations in zooplankton (number/l) at station 1, 2 and 3, Akhnoor of the river Chenab (May, 2004 - April, 2005) Protozoa and rhizophoda May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Arcella Ehrenberg 1 2 Centropyxis ecornis Leidy 1 2 Centropyxis constricta Penard 1 Total Centropyxis 2 2 Difflugia tuberculata Wallich 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 Difflugia accuminata Ehrenberg 1 1 1 1 Difflugia lebes Penard 1 1 1 1 1 Difflugia oblonga Ehrenberg 1 3 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 Difflugia corona Wallich 5 1 Difflugia urocellata Carter 1 1 1 Unidentified difflugia 4 2 1 2 6 1 1 1 Total Difflugia 10 8 8 3 3 5 10 6 3 5 3 Lesquereusia modesta Rhumbler 1 1 Lesquereusia spiralis Eherenberg 1 Total Lesquereusia 1 1 1 Total Rhizopoda 11 9 8 3 3 6 10 9 2 3 7 3 Phacus Dujardin 1 1 Nebela Leidy 2 1 Total Actinopoda 2 1 2 Total Protozoans 13 9 8 3 3 6 10 10 2 3 7 5 Eunapious carteai spicules 2 Total 2 Arthropoda Crustacea Diaptomus 1 Total Copepoda 1 Total Zooplankton 13 9 8 3 3 6 10 10 2 5 8 5 126

ZOOPLANKTON OF RIVER CHENAB Figure 4: General view of station-ii (Ambarain) at Akhnoor Figure 5: General view of station-iii (Namander) at Akhnoor Protozoa (23 species), Rotifera (12 species), Oligochaeta and water Nematoda. Poor zooplanktonic diversity in the river Chenab, in comparison to the observations made by earlier workers (op. cit), has its correlation with: I. Fast turbulent flow. II. Cold water having a narrow annual variation in water temperature between 9.3 0 C to 17.3 0 C. III. Wide fluctuations in water discharge which is high during summer and monsoon and it is reduced during winter season. Chandler (1937) and Basu and Pick (1995) reported that plankton is influenced by river discharge, depth and turbidity. IV. Poor deposits of dead organic matter on the bottom. V. Perennial turbid water, except during winter season. VI. Absence of pools in upper catchment area. VII. Absence of macrophytic vegetation. Zooplanktonic analysis in the river Chenab has shown the dominance of Protozoa and is in agreement to the findings of Zutshi (1992); Ali et al., (2003); Sharma (2009) and Rathore (2009). Protozoans, qualitatively, showed their perennial presence. Among the rhizopod protozoans, genus Difflugia except in the month of January (2005) showed its perennial presence. Among its various species, Difflugia corona is observed twice (July and November, 2004), D urocellata thrice (May, December, 2004 and March, 2005), D accuminata four times (June, August, 2004 and February, April 2005), D lebes five times (May, June, September, October, 2004 and March, 2005) and unidentified Difflugia eight times (May to July, October to December, 2004 and February, March, 2005), D oblonga ten times ( May to December, 2004 and March, April, 2005) and D tuberculata eleven times (May to December, 2004 and February to April, 2005). Centropyxis, another genera of class Rhizopoda, is seen twice (December, 2004 and January, 2005). Among its various species Centropyxis constricta is seen once (December, 2004) and Centropyxis ecornis twice (December, 2004 and January, 2005). Lesquereusia, among rhizopod protozoans, is observed thrice (June, October and December, 2004). Among its two species, Lesquereusia spiralis is seen once (June, 2004) and L modesta twice (October, December, 2004). Arcella (May, 2004 and March, 2005) and Nebela (May, 2004 and April, 2005), another rhizopod protozoans, are seen twice in the planktonic samples collected from the river Chenab. Phacus, the only flagellate protozoan, noticed in the river Chenab, showed its presence twice (December, 2004 and April, 2005). Protozoan maximum qualitative diversity is seen in the month of May (2004) and minimum in the month of June and February (2005). Among the, spicules of Eunapious carteri were seen only once in the month of February (2005). Diaptomus, the only genus of order Copepoda, class Crustacea and phylum Arthropoda, showed its presence in the month of March (2005). Zooplanktonic analysis in the river Chenab has revealed May, June, November and December (2004) high and August, September (2004) and January, February (2005) low qualitative diversity. Maximum and minimum zooplanktonic diversity is seen in the month of May (2004) and January 2005, respectively (Table 4). Quantitative analysis The order of quantitative dominance of various zooplanktonic groups has been observed as Protozoa (2-13n/L) > (0-2n/L) and > Crustacea (0-1n/L). Protozoan dominance, as seen presently, has also been reported by Zutshi (1992), Sharma, J (1999), Sharma, A (2009) and Rathore (2009). Protozoans count recorded high May, June, November and December (2004) and low count in August, September, October (2004) and January, February and April (2005). These observed May (2004) highest (13n/L) and January (2005) lowest (2n/L) count (Table 4). May (2004) Rise in quantitative count of total zooplankton is contributed by protozoans and may be attributed to increased production of detritus and bacterial richness, at higher temperature, on which protozoans are known to feed (Zutshi, 1992; Sladeck,1983; Sharma, 1999 and Wetzel, 2001). Rapid multiplication, at higher temperature, may also account for May (2004) rise in protozoan count. Low protozoan count in January (2005) coincided with winter low temperature. The order of quantitative dominance of various species of protozoans, in the river Chenab, has been seen as unidentified Difflugia (0-6n/L) > Difflugia corona (0-5n/L) > Difflugia tuberculata and Difflugia oblonga (0-3n/L) > Arcella, 127

S. P. S. DUTTA AND K. K. VERMA Centropyxis ecornis and Nebela (0-2n/L) and > Centropyxis constricta, Difflugia accuminata, D lebes, D urocellata, Lesquereusia modesta, L spiralis and Phacus (0-1n/L). recorded its presence only once (2 n/l) in the month of February 2005. Diaptomus (0-1n/L), a crustacean arthropod, is noticed only once in the month of March (2005). An overall study of total zooplankton has shown May, November and December (2004) peaks. Quantitatively, total zooplankton recorded May (2004) highest (13n/L) and January (2005) lowest (2n/L) count (Table 4). Earlier, Rai and Sharma (1986) noticed positive correlation between total protozoan and chemical factors like ph, DO, HCO, alkalinity etc. Dutta et al., (1990) found rise in 3 temperature, high value of ph, DO, Ca ++ and total hardness as favorable for qualitative and quantitative rise in protozoans. 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