International Research Journal of Environment Sciences________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414Vol. 3(5), 80-85, May (2014) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 80 Diversity of Rotifer (Rotifera) With Special Reference to Physico-Chemical Parameters from a Tropical Reservoir, Kullurchandai, Virudhunagar District, India Amsha Devi V. and Suresh Kumar R 2Department of Zoology, V.V. Vanniaperumal College for women, Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, INDIA Department of Zoology, R.D. Government Arts College, Sivagangai, Tamil Nadu, INDIA Available online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me Received 22nd April 2014, revised 13th May 2014, accepted 21st May 2014 AbstractWe have studied the rotifer community composition of Kullurchandai reservoir, a chief source for the nearby Virudhunagar town, during May 2007 to April 2008. Temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, free carbon-di-oxide, alkalinity, chlorinity, salinity, total hardness, and phosphorus were measured simultaneously. We have identified 40 species of rotifers with various categories such as, eurythermal, stenothermal, alkalophilic and eutrophic indicators. Among these species, the genera Brachionus and Lecane were dominant in their presence. The physico-chemical parameters were recorded within the tolerance limit of rotifer species. The plenty of rotifer density was observed in February, 2008, while the lowest was recorded during August, 2007. The Diversity indices were recorded highest during February 2008 (1.9889) and lowest during October 2007 (1.1205) which showed a clear picture not only on the dynamics of the rotifer community but also on the nature of water body. Keywords: Reservoir ecology, Rotifers, physico-chemical parameters, diversity indices.. Introduction The biological resources are threatened by water quality and quantity due to climatic conditions. Over exploitation due to increase in human as well as live stock population and changing livelihood pattern resulting in devastation of habitats and natural ecosystems. The conservation of bio diversity involves a number of parameters, such as, number of species, their population dynamics, distribution habitat, structure, microhabitats, physical environment and climate. Hence in the present work, we have selected a reservoir which serves as the central source for the nearby town, Virudhunagar. Kullurchandai reservoir is located in Kullurchandai village, Virudhunagar district, 6km away from Virudhunagar town. It irrigates all the surrounding fields. About 2702 tons of food production is being done every year. The reservoir is polluted with sewage water from river Kowsiga, a tributary of river Arjuna, which in turn receives sewage from Virudhunagar town. It is a famous picnic spot with the facilities for boating, bird watching and trekking. The reservoir is also used for fisheries, irrigation, bathing and washing purposes. Since it is a huge aquatic body with greater variations and disturbances, it is proposed to analyze the physico-chemical parameters; to inventorize the rotifer fauna; to investigate the influence of water quality on the diversity and abundance of rotifera; to compute the diversity indices of rotifer groups and to test the efficiency of water bodies for fish culture. Water resource’ is becoming scarce element due to rising population and poor water management. The world population already crossed 700 crores and the global deficit in water to an extent of 40 percent is forecast by the year 2030. For India, the annual water demand is expected to increase to almost 1500 cubic kilo- meters by the year 2030. Unplanned growth of industrialization and urbanization leads to increase in addition of anthropogenic sources to water. Hence the study of physico-chemical parameter is important. Rotifers are the microscopic zooplanktonic fauna, occurs prevalently in fresh waters. They form the basic live food for fishes. In this paper we have documented the changes in the rotifer diversity with special reference to various physico-chemical parameters during 2007- 08. Rotifera can be useful for effective management of water bodies as it acts as effective pollution indicators. It is therefore desirable to have quantitative records of the rotifer community structure through time, which could be helpful for the management of reservoir. Diversity indices were also calculated to know the species richness and evenness among the rotifer populations. Material and Methods Surface water sample was collected from the Kullurchandai reservoir (9020’ and 9072’ north latitude and 7720’ and 7870’ east longitude) once in a fortnight in the early hours of the day (6 am to 8 am). The water samples were collected using one litre container for the estimation of water quality parameters. The collected samples were taken to the laboratory and the analysis was done following the standard procedures. International Research Journal of Environment Sciences______________________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414 Vol. 3(5), 80-85, May (2014) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 81 Zooplankton were collected by filtering hundred liters of water through a plankton net (mesh size 30) and were preserved in 50ml of 5% neutral formalin. The various zooplanktonic groups were separated and rotifers were identified based on the key characters provided by different authors3,5,6. The quantitative analysis of rotifers was carried out using Sedgwick Rafter’s plankton counting chamber. For the diversity analysis, two types of samples, one at the surface of the water and the other at a depth of one meter, were collected from 3 different places of the reservoir. Richness, evenness and species diversity of rotifers were worked out using software packages. Results and Discussion Monthly variations of Physico-chemical parameters of Kullurchandai reservoir were presented in the Table-1. The air temperature and water temperature ranged between 27-32C and 25-29C respectively. The maximum air temperature was observed during April 2008 and the minimum air temperature was observed during December 2007. This is in accordance with the results reported by Salam A. et al. The dissolved oxygen was found to increase in the reservoir during the period of investigation whereas the amount of free CO was found to be slightly fluctuating. In Phirange Kharbav Lake, more dissolved oxygen was reported in December (10.8mg/l) and minimum in June (3.2 mg/l). The increase in dissolved oxygen value could be attributed to high water current and the biological activity of phytoplankton. In the absence of free carbon-dioxide, the bicarbonates were converted into carbonates releasing carbon-dioxide which is utilized by autotrophs, thus making the water more alkaline10. Free CO and pHare greatly related to each other. Due to the consumption of CO during day time for photosynthetic activity, the pH of water increases, whereas decreases at night due to respiratory activity. The pH value ranged from 7.2-8.The different pH values indicate basic medium, and it nearly matches the normal pH of household sewage (7.5 –8.5)11. The difference in rotifer density of the reservoir has also been observed. The reservoir is a permanent water body, where the accumulation of nutrients are more due to sewage entry, which in turn improve the growth of phytoplankton, thereby the zooplankton number also increases. The monthly variations in the occurrence of rotifer of the reservoir was observed and presented in the table-2. A total of 40 species of rotifers have been reported (figure-1), of these, 16 species belonging to the family Brachionidae. Brachionus caudatus, Brachionus calyciflorus and Keratella tropica were found to be higher in number. The presence of Brachionus species and Asplanchnaindicate the trophic status of the water body and their suitability for supporting the growth of fishes12. Table-1 Monthly variations of Physico-chemical parameters of Kullurchandai reservoir (2007-2008) parameter May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 Aug. 2007 Sep. 2007 Oct. 2007 Nov 2007 Dec 2007 Jan 2008 Feb 2008 Mar 2008 Apr 2008 Temperature C) 32 30 29 29 28 28 26 27 30 30 29 32 Air water 29 27 28 27 27 26 27 25 28 28 27 29 pH 7.5 7.5 7.6 7.5 7.6 7.6 7.2 7.5 7.5 8.0 7.8 7.5 Total Hardness (ppm) 135.20 132.40 85.70 148.70 150.20 157.50 104.10 77.85 103.75 131.00 137.00 122.50 Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l) 5.25 4.80 6.15 3.80 4.12 4.33 5.66 6.66 6.86 7.10 7.22 7.95 Free carbon dioxide (mg/l) 3.50 1.64 2.21 1.85 2.10 2.40 4.11 3.95 1.87 3.26 0.69 5.69 Total Alkalinity (ppm) 107.3 184.2 164.2 191.2 285.2 305.00 160.00 205.00 92.50 110.00 97.50 118.00 Salinity (ppm) 177.2 151.2 210.6 284.5 375.2 419.15 171.71 204.77 123.72 192.27 174.91 188.90 Chlorinity (ppm) 95.2 100.4 154.2 98.7 153.2 232.20 95.15 113.43 92.16 106.34 96.89 104.64 Phosphate (mg/l) 0.23 0.17 0.26 0.31 0.29 0.48 0.33 0.21 0.24 0.17 0.29 0.33 International Research Journal of Environment Sciences______________________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414 Vol. 3(5), 80-85, May (2014) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 82 Table-2 Monthly variations of occurrence of Rotifer species in Kullurchandai Reservoir (units/ml) Zooplankton May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 Aug2007 Sep 2007 Oct 2007 Nov 2007 Dec 2007 Jan 2008 Feb 2008 Mar 2008 Apr 2008 X Brachionus caudatus 6 3 Nil 2 2 8 3 17 4 12 9 5 5.92 B. forficula 2 1 1 Nil Nil 3 1 1 1 5 5 3 1.92 B. calyciflorus Nil Nil 5 7 8 8 4 4 Nil 5 3 Nil 3.67 B. falcatus 2 5 1 Nil 1 4 Nil 3 5 14 1 1 3.1 B. angularis 1 1 5 1 Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil 10 4 Nil 1.92 B. quadridentatus Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil 0.25 B. plicatilis Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 B. aculentus Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 B. urceolaris Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil 0.25 B. sensilis Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 B. diversicornis Nil 3 2 Nil Nil 4 Nil 1 1 4 7 1 1.92 B. patulas 2 1 1 Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil 0.50 B. patulas macrocanthus Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 B.bidenta Nil Nil 2 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 0.25 B.durgae Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil 0.083 Lecane() pupuana Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil 4 2 Nil Nil 2 1 0.83 L().bulla 1 Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.25 L().hamata Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 L.lunaris Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.17 L(). luna Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.17 L.aculeata Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 L.levistyla Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 L().curvicornis Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.17 L.closterocerca Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 L.inermis Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 2 Nil Nil Nil 0.17 Filinia longiseta Nil Nil 2 Nil Nil 4 2 1 Nil Nil 1 Nil 0.83 F. terminalis 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.17 Ascomorpha ovalis Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 Asplanchna brightwelli Nil Nil Nil Nil 2 Nil 1 Nil Nil 1 2 1 0.58 Itura aurita Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 Platyas quadricornis Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil 6 Nil Nil 2 Nil Nil 0.75 Dipleuchanis propatula Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 4 Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 0.42 Plationus patulus Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 6 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.50 Testudinella parva Nil 1 Nil Nil 1 2 Nil 1 1 2 2 Nil 0.83 T. patina Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil 0.083 T. emarginula Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.083 Keratella cochlearis Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil 0.17 K. tropica Nil 2 1 1 Nil 5 4 11 2 1 5 1 2.75 K. procurva Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil Nil Nil 0.083 Lepadella minuta Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 2 Nil 0.17 International Research Journal of Environment Sciences______________________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414 Vol. 3(5), 80-85, May (2014) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 83 Figure-1 Total number of rotifers recorded in each month between May 2007 and April 2008 The impact of sewage water on the population density of zooplankton and advocated the adverse impact on the abundance of rotifers13. The temperature plays a key role in seasonal variation of zooplankton such as rotifers14. The abundance and diversity of rotifers vary according to limnological features and the trophic state of freshwater bodies. Also, it was suggested that the total rotifers may increase with increasing eutrophication15. Further, the eutrophication affects the specific composition of rotifers through physical and chemical alternatives of the environment16. In the present investigation, the presence of rotifers in the water bodies indicating the nature of pond. The rotifers population density greatly depends up on the availability of food and temperature17. B. caudatus, B. calyciflorus, B. falcatus, B. forficula, Filinia longiseta, Keratella tropica and Asplanchna brightwelli are the alkalophilic species indicating that the water body is alkaline in nature. Lecaneaculeata, K. tropica, B. falcatus are the warm stenothermal species. These species were obtained in the water body only at the time of moderate temperature due to that they have narrow tolerance of temperature. B. angularis, B. calyciflorus, and Testudinella patina are eurythermal species, found in the reservoir even in severe temperature. B. angularis, Filinia longiseta are the eutrophic indicator species present at the time of eutrophication of the water body. The pollution indicator species such as Filinia, K. cochlearisetc., were reported at the time of pollution in the water bodies18. A diversity index is the measure of species diversity in a given community. Species diversity includes both species richness and evenness. The relative abundance of rare and common species is called evenness. Communities with a large number of species that are evenly distributed are the most diverse and communities with few species that are dominated by one species are the least diverse. The maximum value of Margalef’s index (R1) was found in November 2007 (8.1753) and minimum value in March 2008 (4.0289) whereas the maximum value of Menhinick’s index (R2) was recorded in November 2007 and minimum was observed in February 2008(2.1653). The use of R2 presupposes that a functional relationship exists between S and n in the community. Higher diversities are considered to indicate longer food chains with complicated nutritional relationships in the ecosystem19. The various evenness indices (E1 to E5) in reservoir range from 0.3564 to 1.1642, indicating that the distribution of zooplankton in the selected water bodies are more or less even. In tropical pond near Sivakasi, the E1 to E5 was ranged from 0.73 to 1.1220. In the present study, Simpson’s index () Shannon’s index (H’) and Hill diversity numbers (N1 and N2) have been worked out to elucidate the rotifer community. Simpson's Diversity Index is a measure of diversity which takes into accounts both richness and evenness. It is used to quantify the biodiversity of a habitat. The value ranged from 0.1186 in December 2007 to 9.6551 in April 2008. The Shannon’s index (H’) is a measure of overall biodiversity. It is used to know not only the number of species but how the abundance of the species is distributed among all the species in the community. In the present study an increasing trend from 1.1205 in October 2007 to 2.1375 in April 2008 was observed. The Hill’s first diversity number (N1) of Kullurchandhai reservoir ranged from 28.257 in November 2007 to 11.275 in April 2008. These diversity indices indicate that the selected water body has a well-balanced rotifer community that enjoys an even representation of several species indicating the dynamic nature of this aquatic ecosystem. The rotifers showed negative correlation with temperature, pH, free CO, total hardness and salinity whereas positive correlation with DO, alkalinity and phosphates, which was given in Table-3. The present report was adhered with reports of Phirange Kharbav Lake, where it showed positive correlation with phosphate (+0.1219). Generally aquatic bodies received phosphate from agricultural runoff, domestic sewage water21. Eutrophication is the process by which ponds are enriched naturally or by human activity with the key nutrients, such as, nitrogen and phosphorous22. The nutrients showed large seasonal fluctuations, which seems to be related to the water level variations. pH is considered to be the most important factor regulating plankton density23. When the water is alkaline more number of rotifer is observed and showed less abundance in acidic water24. When there was an increase in dissolved oxygen content, an increase in the number of both phytoplankton and zooplankton is eminent25 and similar kind of results is observed in the present study. It was reported that calcium and magnesium salts are used as micronutrients for the growth of plankton26. Hence the correlation is negative in the present study. The high level of alkalinity is found to be associated with high photosynthetic activity leading to increase in rotifer density27. 10203040506070 International Research Journal of Environment Sciences______________________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414 Vol. 3(5), 80-85, May (2014) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 84 Table-3 Correlation co-efficient between physico-chemical parameters and rotifer population of Kullurchandai reservoir Physico-chemical parameter Rotifer population Temperature ( 0 C) - 0.3130 pH - 0.6444 Dissolved Oxygen (mg/l) +0.5601 Free CO 2 (mg/l) - 0.2107 Total hardness (ppm) - 0.3370 Total alkalinity (ppm) +0.2047 Phosphate (mg/l) +0.1219 Salinity (ppm) - 0.0671 Conclusion The present study is an attempt to explore the faunal components of a reservoir, which is widely utilized by the local community, and the results show greater diversity of invertebrate planktonic faunal groups, especially the rotifers. It is concluded that most of the physico-chemical and biological parameters in the Kullurchandai reservoir showed a monthly pattern. From the observations, it is observed that the rotifers showed a greater abundance and diversity. The rich variety of rotifers indicates the trophic status of the water body as well as its nature for the survival of fishes. References 1.Rao S.V., Sastry P.G. and Ghorpade V.G., Reservoir Sedimentation and Concerns of Stakeholders, Res. J. Engineering Sci., 3(2), 29-32 (2014) 2.Shah S.M. and Mistry N.J., Evaluation of Ground water Quality and its Suitability for an Agriculture use in, District Vadodara, Gujarat, India, Res. J. Engineering Sci., 2(11), 1-5 (2013) 3.Altaff K., A manual of zooplankton, University grants commission, New Delhi (2004) 4.APHA., Standard methods for examination of water and wastewater, 21st Edn. APHA, AWWA, WPCF, Washington DC, USA (2005) 5.Sharma B.K., Freshwater Rotifers from Darbhanga city, Bihar, India, Rec. zool. surv. India, 193(3 and 4), 431-448 (1992) 6.Dhanapathi M.V.S.S.S., Taxonomic notes on the Rotifers from India, IAAB publication, Hyderabad (2000) 7.Ludwig J.A. and Reynolds J.E., Diversity indices in statistical ecology, A Wiley-interscience publication. John Wiley and sons, New York (1988) 8.Salam A., Ali M., Khan B.A. and Rizui S., Seasonal changes in physico-chemical parameters of river Chenab Muzaffer Garh, Punjab, Pakistan, J. Biol. Sci., 4, 299–301 (2000) 9.Lendhe R.S. and Yeragi S.G., Physico-chemical parameters and zooplankton diversity of Phirange Kharbav Lake. dist. Thane, Maharastra, J.Aqua. Biol., 19(1), 49-54 (2004) 10.Kumar A. and Singh A.K., Studies on physico-chemical characteristics and zooplankton in a wetland of Santal Pargana (Bihar), Indian J. Freshwater Biol., , 7-12 (1996) 11.Paing J., Bilan du carbone et du soufre dans le lagunage anaerobie : controle de l’ emission d’H2S pour la reduction des nuisances olfactives. These de doctorat, Universite Montpellier I, 255 (2001) 12.Isaiarasu L. and Mohandoss A., Hydrobiological survey in ponds around Sivakasi, Natural symposium on Environmental Biology, 1521 (1992) 13.Pawar S. K. and Pulle J. S., Studies on physico-chemical parameters in Pethwadaj dam, Nanded district in Maharashtra, India, J. Aqua.Biol., 20, 123-128 (2005) 14.Arora J. and Naresh K., Species Diversity of planktonic and epiphytic rotifers in the back waters of the Delhi segment of the Yamuna River, with remarks on new records from India, Zool. Studies, 42(2), 239-247 (2003) 15.Jeppesen E., Jensen J.P. and Sondergard M., Response of phytoplankton, zooplankton and fish to oligotrophication, an 11 year study of 23 Danish Lakes, Aquatic ecosystems health and management, , 31-43 (2002) 16.Tallberg., Seasonal succession of phytoplankton and zooplankton along a trophic gradient in a eutrophic lake-implications for food web management, Hydrobiol., 412, 81-94 (1999) 17.Lougheed and Chow-fraser P., Factors that regulate the zooplankton community structure of turbied, hypereutrophic Great lakes wetland, Can.J.Fish.Aquat.Sci., 55(1), 150-161 (1998) 18.Sharma B.K. and Sharma S., State faunal series 7: Fauna of Tripura, Zool. Surv. India, 4, 163-224 (2000) 19.Singh B.B. and Pandey R., Environmental studies.Ramesh publishing house, New Delhi, 1-584 (2011) 20.Isaiarasu L., Murugavel P. and Murugan N., Biodiversity of zooplankton observed in the seasonal tropical pond near Sivakasi Tamilnadu, India, Ecol. Envi. and Cons,7(3), 257-261 (2001) 21.Malathi D., Ecological studies on lake Hussain sagar with special reference to the zooplankton communities, Ph.D.Thesis Osmania University, A.P. India (1999) 22.Singh H.R., Introduction to Animal ecology and environmental biology,Shobantal Nagin chand and Co., Jalandhar, (1989) International Research Journal of Environment Sciences______________________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414 Vol. 3(5), 80-85, May (2014) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 85 23.Chisty N., Studies on biodiversity of freshwater zooplankton in relation to toxicity of selected heavy metals, Ph. D. Thesis submitted to M.L Sukhadia Univeristy, Udaipur (2002) 24.Arora M.P., Cell Biology-Immunology and Environmental Biology, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai (2006) 25.Kamble N.A. and Sakhare S.S., Pollution Status of Freshwater Bodies from Gadhinglaj Tahsil, District Kolhapur Biological Forum – An International Journal, 5(1), 50-61 (2013) 26.Meshram C.B., Zooplankton biodiversity in relation to pollution of Lake Wadali, Amaravathi, J. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Monit., 15, 55-59 (2005)27.Singh S.P., Pathak D. and Singh R., Hydrobiological studies of two ponds of Satna, MP, India. Cons., , 289-292 (2002)