Spatio-temporal distribution and community structure of zooplankton in the Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, 2009
Keywords:
invertebrates, Ganges, multidimensional scaling, rotifers, hierarchical classification, indicator speciesAbstract
The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) covers a 50 km stretch of the main channel of the Ganga River and is protected for the endangered freshwater dolphin (Platanista gangetica). We studied spatio-temporal patterns of zooplankton community structure during January through December 2009, at three sites. A total of 35 species including rotifers, cladocerans and copepods were identified. Integrating all samples, the top five dominant zooplankton included copepodids, copepod nauplii, B. caudatus, Ceriodaphnia rigaudi and Mesocyclops leuckarti. The zooplankton community was represented by diverse feeding groups including herbivores, carnivores, detritivores and bacterivores. The hierarchical dendrogram revealed distinct spatiotemporal variations. The Sultanganj community was separated at first hierarchical level, whereas species assemblage of August–October at Kahalgaon was distinguished at second hierarchical level. Top three indicative species at site-I (Sultanganj) were C. reticulata, Daphnia pulex and B. quadridentatus throughout the year. During monsoon the top three indicator species were C. rigaudi, M. leuckarti and B. falcatus at Bhagalpur and copepod developmental stages, B. caudatus and Keratella tropica at Kahalgaon. Adult Mesocyclops sp., copepod developmental stages and D. carinata were dominant in winter, whereas, Moina sp., C. rigaudi and M. leuckarti were the top three indicator species in summer at Bhagalpur and Kahalgaon. Of all the sites studied, Kahalgaon was recorded as having higher species richness.
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