SPATIO-TEMPORAL VARIATION OF MACROBENTHIC FAUNA AND ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS IN ACHENKOVIL RIVER, KERALA, INDIAS. Sujitha, R. Sreejai and S.K. BeenaAbstract The present study deals with the spatio-temporal variation of macrobenthic fauna and environmental parameters in Achenkovil River, Southern Western Ghats, Kerala. A bimonthly sampling was carried out from February 2019 to January 2020. Water samples for physico- chemical analysis was carried to the laboratory in clean polyethylene bottles. Macrobenthic fauna was collected using grabs, D- frame nets and handpicking methods. A total of 3563 individuals belonging to 8 orders, 32 families, 32 genus, and 32 species were identified. The most dominant order was Ephemeroptera followed by Coleoptera and Trichoptera and the least dominant was Zygoptera. The maximum number of macrobenthic fauna was observed in station S1(1461 Ind/m2) and the least in station S9 (37 Ind/m2). Seasonal analysis reveals that species richness is maximum during the post-monsoon season (1794 Ind/m2) and minimum during the monsoon season (474 Ind/m2). Environmental parameters play a major role in structuring the macrobenthic community. One-way ANOVA was used to analyse the seasonal variation of physico- chemical parameters. The spatial variation of water quality and the relationship between environmental variables and macrobenthic fauna was carried out using multivariate statistical analysis. |