Zooplankton diversity and their spatiotemporal distribution: an ecological assessment from a brackish coastal lagoon, Chilika, Odisha
Srichandan, S.; Rastogi, G. (2022). Zooplankton diversity and their spatiotemporal distribution: an ecological assessment from a brackish coastal lagoon, Chilika, Odisha, in: Madhav, S. et al. Coastal Ecosystems - Environmental importance, current challenges and conservation measures. Coastal Research Library, 38: pp. 201-238. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84255-0_9
In: Madhav, S.; Nazneen, S.; Singh, P. (Ed.) (2022). Coastal ecosystems - Environmental importance, current challenges and conservation measures. Coastal Research Library, 38. Springer: Cham. ISBN 978-3-030-84254-3; e-ISBN 978-3-030-84255-0. VI, 393 pp. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84255-0, more
In: Coastal Research Library. Springer: Cham. ISSN 2211-0577; e-ISSN 2211-0585, more
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| Keywords |
Copepoda [WoRMS]
Brackish water |
| Author keywords |
Zooplankton, Copepoda, Salinity, Chilika, Coastal lagoon |
| Authors | | Top |
- Srichandan, S.
- Rastogi, G.
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| Abstract |
Zooplankton constitutes a pivotal component in the pelagic food webs and serves as the major source of fish diet, thereby determining the productivity of coastal fisheries. Therefore, understanding zooplankton diversity and their ecology in coastal lagoon settings is a high priority research area. We examined the spatiotemporal distribution of zooplankton diversity (size >120 μm) in relation to environmental variables in Chilika lagoon. The sampling was conducted on the monthly frequency from July 2012 to June 2016 from 13 locations and identified a total of 186 zooplankton taxa which included 131 as first record from the Chilika lagoon. To date, a total inventory of 263 species of holoplankton represented by 16 diverse categories of organisms, namely, Ciliophora (51), Foraminifera (13), Tubulinea (5), Rotifera (42), Hydrozoa (1), Ctenophora (1), Nematoda (1), Polychaeta (3), Gastropoda (12), Bivalvia (5), Cladocera (13), Copepoda (95), Ostracoda (4), Malacostraca (13), Chaetognatha (2), Chordata (2), and 23 types of meroplankton were identified. Chilika lagoon exhibited a significant variation in salinity (0–35.5) at spatiotemporal scale and consisted of marine, brackish, and freshwater zooplankton along the estuarine salinity gradient. Copepods emerged as one of the most dominant and diverse zooplankton group in terms of species richness, abundance, and widespread distribution. Among the four orders of Copepoda (i.e., Calanoida, Cyclopoida, Harpacticoida, and Poecilostomatoida), Calanoida was the most abundant one. An important component of total zooplankton pool, i.e., microzooplankton (20–200 μm), was also examined in relation to environmental variables. Ciliophora dominated the microzooplankton community followed by copepod nauplii and Rotifera, except in the freshwater zone of the lagoon. Foraminifera, cirripede nauplii, gastropod veliger, and bivalve veliger were minor contributors in microzooplankton. Salinity and phytoplankton abundances were the major factors influencing microzooplankton community composition. The present study highlighted the necessity of a long-term systematic monitoring of zooplankton diversity and composition in Chilika lagoon. |
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