Phytoplankton Diversity of a Demineralized Urban Wetland of Meghalaya State of Northeast India: The Spatio-temporal Variations and the Role of Abiotic Factors

Authors

  • Bhushan Kumar Sharma Department of Zoology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, 793022, India
  • Sumita Sharma Lady Veronica Road, Shillong, Meghalaya, 793022, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v4i2.4520

Abstract

The authors analyze phytoplankton diversity of a small urban wetland of Meghalaya to assess biodiversity and limnology interest of small water bodies. This “slightly acidic-circumneutral, demineralized and soft water” subtropical wetland reveals diverse phytoplankton (64 species), indicates high desmid richness and highlights the speciose littoral constellations of up to 55-58 species per sample. Phytoplankton comprises dominant quantitative component of net plankton and registers Charophyta dominance; Chlorophyta > Bacillariophyta > Dinozoa > Chrysophyta > Cyanobacteria depict sub-dominance, and Euglenozoa and Cryptophyta show poor abundance at the littoral and semi-limnetic regions. The richness of phytoplankton and abundance of phytoplankton, Charophyta, Chlorophyta, Dinozoa, Chrysophyta and Cyanobacteria follow bimodal spatio-temporal variations. Closterium, Cosmarium, Staurastrum, Micrasterias, Netrium, Staurodesmus and Scenedesmus are notable genera, and 14 species collectively influence phytoplankton abundance. Phytoplankton registers high species diversity, lower dominance and high evenness. Amongst 15 abiotic factors, only the rainfall and sulphate exert notable influence individually, while the canonical correspondence analysis registers lower cumulative influence of the selected 10 factors on the littoral and semi-limnetic phytoplankton assemblages. This study merits interest for neglected biodiversity and ecology of small aquatic biotopes of India and urban wetlands in particular.

Keywords:

Abundance, Composition, Diversity, Phytoplankton, Rainwater fed, Urban wetland

References

[1] Céréghino, R., Boix, D., Cauchie, H.M., Martens, K., Oertli, B. 2014. The ecological role of ponds in a changing world. Hydrobiologia. 723(1), 1-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1719-y

[2] Vad, C.F., Péntek, A., Cozma., N.J., Földi, A., Tóth, A., Tóth, B., Böde, N.A., Móra, A., Ptacnik, R., Ács, E., Zsuga, K., Horvátha, Z. 2017. Wartime scars or reservoirs of biodiversity? The value of bomb crater ponds in aquatic conservation. Biological Conservation. 209, 253-262. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.02.025

[3] Oertli, B., 2018. Freshwater biodiversity conservation: The role of artificial ponds in the 21st century. Aquatic Conservation. 28(2), 264-269. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2902

[4] Hill, M.J., Biggs, J., Thornhill, I., Briers, R.A., Gledhill, D.G., White, J.C., Wood, P.J., Hassall, C. 2017. Urban ponds as an aquatic biodiversity resource in modified landscapes. Global Change Biology. 23(3), 986-999. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13401

[5] Hill MJ, Wood PJ, Fairchild, W, Williams, P., Nicolet, P., Biggs, J. 2021. Garden pond diversity: Opportunities for urban freshwater conservation. Basic and Applied Ecology. 57, 28-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2021.09.005

[6] Hassall, C., Anderson, S., 2015. Stormwater ponds can contain comparable biodiversity to unmanaged wetlands in urban areas. Hydrobiologia. 745, 137- 149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-014-2100-5

[7] Biggs, J., von Fumett, S., Kelly-Quinn, M., 2017. The importance of small water bodies for biodiversity and ecosystem services: implications for policy makers. Hydrobiologia. 793, 3-39. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-016-3007-0

[8] Mullins, M.L., Doyle, R.D., 2019. Big things come in small packages: why limnologists should care about small ponds. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia. 31, e105. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/s2179-975x4119

[9] Sharma, B.K., Pachuau, L., 2016. Diversity of Phytoplankton of a sub-tropical reservoir of Mizoram, northeast India. International Journal of Aquatic Biology. 4(6), 360-369. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22034/ijab.v4i6.195

[10] Sharma, B.K., Sharma, S., 2021. Phytoplankton diversity of a subtropical reservoir of Meghalaya state of northeast India. Aquatic Sciences and Engineering. 36(2), 51-65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26650/ASE202074021

[11] Sharma, B.K., Sharma, S., 2021. Phytoplankton diversity of a de-mineralized subtropical reservoir of Meghalaya state, northeast India. Aquatic Research. 4(3), 233-249. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3153/AR21018

[12] Sharma, B.K., Sharma, S., 2022. The spatio-temporal variations of Phytoplankton diversity of a subtropical sacred lake of Meghalaya State, Northeast India. Journal of Limnology and Freshwater Fisheries Research. 8(1), 213-229. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17216/LimnoFish.863076

[13] Gogoi, P., Kumari, S., Sarkar, U.K., Lianthuamluaia, L., Puthiyottil , M., Bhattacharjya, B.K., Das, B.K.. 2021. Dynamics of phytoplankton community in seasonally open and closed wetlands in the Teesta-Torsa basin, India, and management implications for sustainable utilization. Environment Monitoring & Assessment. 193, 810.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09587-w

[14] Baba, A.I., Pandit, A.K., 2014. Composition, diversity and population dynamics of phytoplankton at Saderkot in Wular Lake, Kashmir. Journal of Ecosystem & Ecography. 4(1), 142. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4172/2157-7625.1000142

[15] Ganai, A.H., Parveen, S., 2014. Effect of physico-chemical conditions on the structure and composition of the phytoplankton community in Wular Lake at Lankrishipora, Kashmir. International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation. 6(1), 71-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5897/IJBC2013.0597

[16] Thakur, R.K., Jindal, R., Singh, U.B., 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. Environment Monitoring & Assessment. 185(10), 8355-8373. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3178-3

[17] Gupta, S., Singh, D., Rawat, M.S., Ahmed, R. 2018. Phytoplankton community in relation to physicochemical characteristics of Renuka Lake and Parshuram Tal (H.P.), India. International Journal of Scientific Research and Reviews. 7(3), 769-780.

[18] Jindal, R., Thakur, R.K., Singh, U.B., 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 & Assessment. 185(10), 8355-8373. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3178-3

[19] Jindal, R., Thakur, R.K., Singh, U.B., Ahluwalia, A.S. 2014a. Phytoplankton dynamics and species diversity in a shallow eutrophic, natural mid-altitude lake in Himachal Pradesh (India): role of physicochemical factors. Chemistry and Ecology. 30(4), 328-338. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02757540.2013.871267

[20] Jindal, R., Thakur, R.K., Singh, U.B., Ahluwalia, A.S. 2014b. Phytoplankton dynamics and water quality of Prashar Lake, Himachal Pradesh, India. Sustainability of Water Quality and Ecology. 3-4, 101-113. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.swaqe.2014.12.003

[21] Sharma, R.C., Singh, S., 2018. Water quality and phytoplankton diversity of high altitude wetland, Dodi Tal of Garhwal Himalaya, India. Biodiversity International Journal. 2(6), 484-493.

[22] Sharma, R.C., Tiwari, V., 2018. Phytoplankton diversity in relation to physico-chemical environmental variables of Nachiketa Tal, Garhwal Himalaya. Biodiversity International Journal. 2(2), 128-136.

[23] Sharma, B.K., 2012. Phytoplankton diversity of a floodplain lake of the Brahmaputra River basin, Assam, north-east India. Indian Journal of Fisheries. 59(4), 131-139.

[24] Sharma, B.K., 2015. Phytoplankton diversity of Deepor Beel- a Ramsar site in the floodplain of the Brahmaputra River Basin, Assam, north-east India. Indian Journal of Fisheries. 62(1), 33-40.

[25] Gupta, S., Devi, S.S., 2014. Ecology of Baskandi anua, an oxbow lake of south Assam, North East India. Journal of Environmental Biology. 35, 1101- 1105.

[26] Devi, M.B., Gupta, S., Das, T., 2016. Phytoplankton community of Lake Baskandi anua, Cachar District, Assam, North East India - An ecological study. Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems. 417, 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2015034

[27] Sharma, B.K., 2009. Phytoplankton communities of Loktak lake (a Ramsar site), Manipur (N. E. India): composition, abundance and ecology. Journal of Threatened Taxa. 1(8), 401-410. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2193.401-10

[28] Sharma, B.K., 2010. Phytoplankton diversity of two floodplain lakes (pats) of Manipur (N. E. India). Journal of Threatened Taxa. 2(11), 1273-1281. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2427.1273-81

[29] Das, D., Pathak, A., Pal, S., 2018. Diversity of phytoplankton in some domestic wastewater-fed urban fish pond ecosystems of the Chota Nagpur Plateau in Bankura, India. Applied Water Science. 8, 84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-018-0726-6

[30] A.P.H.A. 1992. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 18th ed. American Public Health Association, Washington DC. pp. 1-1198.

[31] Islam, A.K.M.N., Haroon, A.K.Y., 1980. Desmids of Bangladesh. Internationale Revue gesamten Hydrobiologie. 65(4), 551-604.

[32] Prescott, G.W., 1982. Algae of the Western Great Lakes area. Ottokoeltz Science Publishers, W. Germany. pp. 1-977.

[33] Fritter, R., Manuel, R., 1986. Field guide to the Freshwater life of Britain and North-West Europe. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, London. pp. 1-382.

[34] Anand, N., 1998. Indian Freshwater Microalgae. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun. pp. 1-94.

[35] John, D.M., Whitton, B.A., Brook, A.J., 2002. The Freshwater Algal Flora of the British Isles: An Identification Guide to Freshwater and Terrestrial Algae. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK. pp. 1-870.

[36] Ludwig, J.A., Reynolds, J.F., 1989. Statistical ecology: a primer on methods and computing. John Wiley & Sons, New York. pp. 1-337.

[37] Magurran, A.E., 1988. Ecological diversity and its measurement. Croom Helm Limited, London. pp. 1-179.

[38] Sharma, B.K., 1995. Limnological studies in a small reservoir in Meghalaya (N.E. India). In: Tropical Limnology, K.H. Timotius and F. Goltenboth (eds.). II, Satya Wacana University Press, Salatiga, Indonesia. pp. 1-11.

[39] Sharma, B.K., 2001. Water quality of subtropical lentic biotopes of Meghalaya. In: Water quality assessment, Biomonitoring and Zooplankton diversity, (B. K. Sharma (ed.). Department of Zoology, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong. pp. 10-21.

[40] Sharma, B.K., Bhattarai, S., 2005. Hydro-biological analysis of a peat bog with emphasis on its planktonic diversity and population dynamics in Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary: eastern Bhutan. Limnology. 6, 183-187. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10201-005-0157-6

[41] Sugunan, V.V., Bhattacharjya, B.K., 2000. Ecology and fisheries of beels in Assam. Bulletin Central Inland Capture Fisheries Research Institute. 104, 1-66.

[42] Sharma, B.K., 2004. Phytoplankton communities of a floodplain lake of the Brahmaputra river basin, Upper Assam. Journal of Inland Fisheries Association. 31, 27-35.

[43] Laskar, H.S., Gupta, S., 2009. Phytoplankton diversity and dynamics of Chatla floodplain lake, Barak valley, Assam, North East India- A seasonal study. Journal of Environmental Biology. 30(9), 1007-1012.

[44] Baruah, P.P., Kakati, B., 2012. Water quality and phytoplankton diversity of Gopeswar temple freshwater pond In Assam (India). Bangladesh Journal of Botany. 41(2), 181-185.

[45] Gupta, S., Devi, S.S., 2014. Ecology of Baskandi anua, an oxbow lake of south Assam, North East India. Journal of Environmental Biology. 35, 1101- 1105.

[46] Sarmah, B.P., Baruah, D., 2014. Phytoplankton composition in relation to hydrochemical properties of certain floodplain Riparian wetlands of river Subansiri of North Eastern India. Advances in Applied Science Research. 5(6), 21-30.

[47] Deb, S., Saikia, J., Kalamdhad, A.S., 2019. Ecology of Deepor beel wetland, a Ramsar site of Guwahati, Assam with special reference to algal community. European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical sciences. 6(5), 232-243.

[48] Jain, A., 2000. Study of Sacred Khecheopalri Lake ecosystem in the Sikkim Himalaya. Ph. D thesis, University of North Bengal. pp. 1-232.

[49] Bharati, H., Deshmukhe, G., Das, S.K., Kandpal, B.K., Sahoo, L., Bhusan, S.. Singh, Y.J. 2020. Phytoplankton communities in Rudrasagar Lake, Tripura (North-East India) - A Ramsar Site. International Journal of Bio-resource and Stress Management. 11(1), 1-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.23910/IJBSM/2020.11.1.2030

[50] Nirmal Kumar, J.I., Oommen, C., 2007. Phytoplankton composition in relation to hydrochemical properties of tropical community wetland, Kanewal, Gujarat, India. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research. 9(3), 279-292.

[51] Shafi, N., Ahmad, A., Pandit, A.K., 2013. Phytoplankton Dynamics of Nigeen Lake in Kashmir Himalaya. International Journal of Environment and Bioenergy. 6(1), 13-27.

[52] Lone, J.A., Lone, F.A. Suseela, M.R., Toppo, K. 2016. Phycological studies in himalayan dal lake ecosystem: seasonal composition and role of physico-chemical parameters. International Journal of Current Research. 8(5), 30147-30155.

[53] Panikkar, P., Saha, A., Prusty, A.K., Sarkar, U.K., Das B.K. 2022. Assessing hydrogeochemistry, water quality index (WQI), and seasonal pattern of plankton community in different small and medium reservoirs of Karnataka, India. Arabian Journal of Geosciences. 15, 82. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-09291-6

[54] Geethu, G., Balamurali, R.S., 2018. Study on distribution and diversity of phytoplankton in relation to physico-chemical parameters in Polachira wetland, Kerala. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews. 5(2), 1960-1964.

[55] Brraich, O.S., Kaur R., 2015. Phytoplankton community structure and species diversity of Nangal wetland, Punjab, India. International Research Journal of Biological Sciences. 4(3), 76-83.

[56] Rawat, M.S., Sharma, R.C., 2005. Phytoplankton population of Garhwal Himalayan lake Deoria Tal. Uttranchal Journal of Ecophysiology & Occupational Health. 5, 73-76.

[57] Mishra, A., Chakraborty, S.K., Jaiswar, A.K., Sharma, A.P., Deshmukhe, G., Mohan, M. 2010. Plankton diversity in Dhaura and Baigul reservoirs of Uttrakhand. Indian Journal of Fisheries. 57(3), 19-27.

[58] Negi, R.K., Rajput, V., 2015. Assessment of phytoplankton diversity in relation to abiotic factors of Nainital Lake of Kumaon Himalayas of Uttarakhand State, India. Asian Journal of Scientific Research. 8(2), 157-164.

[59] Goswami, M., Das, T., Kumar, S., Mishra, A. 2018. Impact of physico-chemical parameters on primary productivity of Lake Nainital. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies. 6(4), 647-652.

[60] Singh, S., Sharma, R.C., 2018. Monitoring of algal taxa as bioindicator for assessing the health of the high altitude wetland, Dodi Tal, Garhwal Himalaya, India. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies. 6(3), 128-133.

[61] Keshri, J.P., Ghosh, S., Bhattacharyya, S., 2013. A survey of phytoplankton diversity in Baishar beel of Nadia district of West Bengal. Internal Journal of Current Research Review. 5(19), 9-13.

[62] Singh, N. R., Das, S.K., Kumar, S, Bhakta, D., Behera, S., Nagesh, T.S., Mondal, A. 2017. Limnology and productivity status in wetlands (beels) of 24-South Parganas district, West Bengal. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies. 5(2), 664-668.

[63] Affan, A., Jewel, A.S., Haque, M., Khan, S., Lee, J.B. 2005. Seasonal cycle of phytoplankton in aquaculture ponds in Bangladesh. Algae. 20(1), 43-52.

[64] Akter, S., Rahman, M.M., Akter, M., 2015. Composition and abundance of phytoplankton population in fish ponds of Noakhali district, Bangladesh. American-Eurasian Journal of Agriculture & Environment Science. 15(11), 2143-2148.

[65] Gautam, G., Paudel, A., Poudel, L., Shretha, S. 2016. Limno-plankton diversity and water quality in shallow Lake ecosystem in central Nepal. International Journal of Advanced Research in Biological Sciences. 3(7), 131-139. http://s-o-i.org/1.15/ijarbs-2016-3-7-20

[66] Adhikari, P.L., Shrestha, S., Bam, W., Xie, L., Perschbacher, P. 2017. Evaluation of spatial-temporal variations of water quality and plankton assemblages and its relationship to water use in Kulekhani multipurpose reservoir, Nepal. Journal of Environmental Protection. 8, 1270-1295. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/jep.2017.811079

[67] MacArthur, R.H., 1965. Patterns of spices diversity. Biological Reviews. 4, 510-533. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-185X.1965.tb00815.x

[68] Woelkerling, W., Gough, S.B., 1976. Wisconsin Desmids.III. Desmid community composition and distribution in relation to lake type and water chemistry. Hydrobiologia. 51, 3-32.

[69] Payne, A.R., 1986. The ecology of Tropical Lakes and Rivers. John Wiley & Sons, New York. pp. 1-301.

Downloads

How to Cite

Sharma, B. K., & Sharma, S. (2022). Phytoplankton Diversity of a Demineralized Urban Wetland of Meghalaya State of Northeast India: The Spatio-temporal Variations and the Role of Abiotic Factors. Research in Ecology, 4(2), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v4i2.4520

Issue

Vol. 4 , Iss. 2 (June 2022)

Article Type

Articles

License

Copyright © 2022 The author(s)

Creative Commons License

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC