Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

HETEROGENEITY OF ZOOPLANKTONS IN BORANAKANIVE RESERVOIR OF TUMAKURU DISTRICT, KARNATAKA, INDIA

R. Shruthi and S. Ramakrishna

Abstract

The zooplankton heterogeneity of Boranakanive reservoir at the Tumakuru District of Karnataka (India) was studied for a span of one year from July 2017 to June 2018 on a monthly basis. The study revealed a total occurrence of 29 zooplankton species. Among which, 15 Rotifera species belonged to 6 various families, 7 Cladocerans were belonging to 4 different families, 5 Copepoda species from 2 families and 2 Ostracod species. Among the four mentioned groups of zooplanktons, the chronology for species diversity went to be in the order as Rotifera>Cladocera>Copepoda>Ostracoda. Also, population wise the chronology of the zooplankton groups was observed to be as Rotifera>Copepoda>Cladocera>Ostracoda. Numerically, the Rotiferans came up as the dominant group throughout the study period. The monthly zooplankton count exhibited the highest population during the month of March and the least during the February month. The existence of zooplanktons is always directly impacted by the environmental factors of the water body along with the anthropological influence on it.