Seasonal Distribution of Zooplankton in Mahanadi Estuary (Odisha), East Coast of India: A Taxonomical Approach

摘要

Study of coastal and estuarine water is important as they act as a medium of exchange of materials between land and ocean. Mahanadi estuarine system forms the largest system of its kind in Odisha. Zooplankton, the secondary producers plays a vital role in the hydrobiology and food chain regulation. The zooplankton diversity of Mahanadi estuary (Odisha) was investigated during postmonsoon (December 2009), premonsoon (April 2010) and monsoon (July 2010). Important hydrographical parameters such as water temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved oxygen , NO2 (nitrite), NO3 (nitrate), NH4 (ammonia), TN (total nitrogen), PO4 (phosphate), TP (total phosphorous) and SiO4 (silicate) were measured during the present study along with the study of the qualitative and quantitative aspects of zooplankton. Zooplankton population dominated by copepod at all the stations in all the seasons except during low tide of premonsoon season where caridean larvae were dominant. In total, 86 species of zooplankton, mostly belonging to Crustacea, Chaetognatha, Mollusca, Polychaeta, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Protozoa, Larvacea among the holoplankton and 16 different types of larval forms were encountered. The population density ranged from 52 to 885 org. m-3 with highest density during high tide of post-monsoon i.e., 885 org. m-3. The copepods like Subeucalanus mucronatus, Subeucalanus subcrassus , Sapphirina maculosa, Sapphirina auronitens are recorded for the first time from marine and estuarine ecosystem of Odisha. Presence of 16 different crustacean dominated larval forms signifies the conduciveness of estuary during the whole period for breeding and spawning of shell fishes in the estuary. During the present study, zooplankton population density was positively related with zooplankton biomass.