Venkatalakshmi S. and Karpagam R.
Abstract
A study in the Banapureeshwar temple pond (BTP) at Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India, was conducted from March 2018 to February 2019 to assess the seasonal variations in the population density of zooplankton, which serve as an ecological indicator of aquatic ecosystems. The study identified a total of 35 zooplankton species, with copepods comprising 13 species, Cladocera comprising 8 species, rotifers comprising 11 species, and ostracoda comprising 3 species. The Shanon-Weiner diversity index (Hâ) ranged from 1.13 to 2.606, while Margalefâs species richness index ranged from 0.7797 to 3.1, indicating a moderately rich zooplankton diversity in the BTP lentic ecosystem. Among the identified zooplankton groups, copepoda were found to be the dominant group, accounting for 45.7% of the total, followed by rotifers (25.7%), cladocera (23.2%), and ostracoda (5.5%). The mean seasonal abundance of zooplankton followed the order of monsoon > pre-monsoon > post-monsoon > summer.