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          2019 | Vol 2 | Issue 6 

 

Girna River, Thengoda.Dist. Nashik. (Maharashtra): Zooplankton 

Diversity and Physical-Chemical Characteristics." 
Prof.smt. Trupti. D. Kakulte, Miss.Devyani .D. Ahire. 

Department of Zoology 

(K.A.A.N.M.S.Arts, Com, Science College, Satana). 

 

 

ABSTRACT: 

The goal of this study was to further our understanding of the richness of Girna River zooplankton. 

The western Indian state of Maharashtra is traversed by the Girna River. This location was named 

after Giraja, another form of Parvati.The Girna begins high in the Western Ghats, at Kem Peak, 

and flows east throughout Nashik District, eventually joining the Mosam River and draining into 

Malegaon. After making a dramatic curve to the north, the river finally empties into the Tapti. The 

two biggest dams on the river are the British-built Chankapur Dam near Abhona in the Kalwan 

tehsil where the Sarpganga River joins the Girna, and the Indian-built Girna Dam.The river's 

fertile valley is widely farmed since the Deccan Plateau is drained into it. Zooplankton play an 

important role in aquatic ecosystems as bioindicators of pollution and as a direct link in the food 

chain for fishes. It might provide essential nutrition for fish. The time frame for this investigation 

was from August 2022 to December 2022. A total of 10 distinct species of zooplankton were 

identified. There is one Copepod, two Cladocera, and one Ostracod species, in addition to the six 

Rotifer species. 

KEY WORDS: Girna, Rotifer, Cladocera, Copepoda, Diversity, and Zooplankton. 

 
 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:   The aquatic food 

chain relies heavily on zooplankton, an 

essential component of the aquatic fauna. It 

also helps keep the water environment's 

biotic and abiotic components in check. 

Microscopic, free-floating animals called 

zooplanktons accumulated in all bodies of 

water. Both phytoplankton and other 

creatures rely heavily on them for energy. 

In the aquatic food chain, they are 

somewhere in the middle (Altaff, 2004). 

The development and population of 

zooplanktons are very sensitive to 

variations in the water's chemical 

composition and other environmental 

conditions (Thirumala et al., 2007). 

Therefore, water quality is a crucial role in 

determining the welfare of society 

(Dwividi and Pathak, 2000). Water quality 

is described as the physical, chemical, and 

biological characteristics by which 

consumers judge the acceptability of water 

(Nilima and Kumar). It also controls the 

amount of planktonic biomass that may be 

produced. Zooplankton are used to 

evaluate secondary tropic energy transfer. 

The four most common classes of 

zooplankton are rotifers, cladocerans, 

copepods, and ostracods. In terms of the 

food chain, they are somewhere in the 



 

 

middle. In the natural world, water is 

essential to all forms of life. Water is 

essential to life, but it also has many 

practical applications in areas such as 

manufacturing, irrigation, laundering, 

transportation, and more. It's one of those 

things you may find in nature in great 

quantities. It may be found in nature in a 

wide variety of guises, including clouds, 

rain, ice, fog, etc. It serves as a limiting 

element that controls the richness and 

variety of the biotic community. Water, the 

primary component of Earth's streams, 

lakes, and seas as well as the fluids of most 

living species, is a clear, tasteless, odorless, 

and almost colorless chemical substance. 

Each of its molecules consists of one 

oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms 

joined by covalent bonds; its chemical 

formula is H2O. While the term "water" is 

most often used to refer to the liquid form 

of a material, it may also refer to its solid 

(ice) or gaseous (steam or water vapor) 

forms under certain conditions. Several 

groups of scientists have labored to better 

understand the zooplankton in various 

freshwater ecosystems. The zooplankton 

diversity in the river Kayadhu was 

investigated by Jayabhaye (2010). The 

rotifer population surrounding Washim 

area was analyzed by Tayade and Dabhade 

(2011), who also compiled a list of Rotifers 

found there. Pawar and Dabhade (2016) 

investigated the rotifer community's 

qualitative diversity in the freshwater 

Katepurna reservoir in the Akola region of 

Maharashtra (India).Seventy-one percent 

of Earth is covered by water. All known 

kinds of life depend on it. 

Only a tiny fraction of the water on Earth's 

crust is found in the air as vapor, clouds 

(made of ice and liquid water suspended in 

the air), and precipitation, while the 

remaining 96.5 percent is found in the seas 

and oceans. Fresh water accounts for just 

2.5%, with the remaining 98.8% being in 

ice (excluding cloud ice) and groundwater. 

There is less than 0.3% of the world's 

freshwater in rivers, lakes, and the air, and 

an even smaller quantity (0.003%) is found 

in living organisms and man-made goods. 

The interior of the Earth is home to a larger 

supply of water. 

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS 

In this study, we analyzed water samples 

taken from the Girna River between 

August and December of 2022. The water 

was taken at random from certain locations 

along the Girna River. Without a hitch, I 

was able to transfer the samples to the 

bottle and transport them to the lab. For 5 

months, samples of water were taken at 

regular intervals from predetermined 

locations. Using a net with a 25 micron 

mesh and a net with a 25-micron bolting 

silk fabric, the samples were taken first 

thing in the morning. The most popular 

technique for collecting zooplankton is the 

use of a plankton net, which works as a 

filter. We gently moved the concentrated 

zooplankton samples to a new container. 

Two or three drops of glycerin were 

applied to 5 ml of 4% formalin. Each 

sample was placed in its own glass vial and 

labeled with the location, date, and time of 

collection. A compound microscope was 

used to identify the zooplankton. Mounted 

specimens were examined at 25-100X 

magnification using standard identification 

methods, monographs, and keys 

recommended by sources such as the 

American Public Health Association 

(1985), Tonapi (1980), Dodson and Frey 

(1991), and Williamson (1991), as well as 



 

 

the systematic key by Battish (1992) and 

Altaff (2004). Main  

Sontakke and Mokashe (2014) suggest 

using the lorica and trophi type for 

identifying rotifers; the antenna, post 

abdomen, number and arrangement of 

spines, location of lateral setae, and 

rostrum for identifying cladocera; the 

antenna, caudal setae, and endopodite for 

identifying copepoda; and the antenna, 

valve shape, and setae for identifying 

ostracods. 

Population density was quantified by Drop 

count method of Lackey (1938) and was 

calculated using the following formula of 

Lackey (1938): 

N = n × v / V 
 

Where, N = Total no. of organisms/ lit of 

water filtered, 
 

n = 

Numbe

r of 

zooplan

kton 

counted 

in 1 ml 

plankto

n 

sample, 

v = 

Volume 

of 

concent

rate 

plankto

n 

sample 

(ml), 

V= Volume of total water filtered through 

(L) 

 

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
 

During present investigation we found total 

10 species of zooplankton. Among which 

06 species belonging to Rotifer, 01 species 

belonging to Copepoda, 02 species 

belonging to Cladocera and 1 species of 

Ostracoda were identified. 

Rotifers identified were Brachionus, filina, 

ketatela, Copepoda is cyclop, Cladocera 

are sida and Alona And Ostracoda Cypris 

were identified from Girna reservoir body. 

All species are morphologically different. 

The number of Rotifers increased in 

summer which may be due to the higher 

population of bacteria and organic matter 

of dead and decaying vegetation (Majagi 

and Vijay Kumar, 2009). Copepoda 

population recorded in Girna River less in 

August and also Cladocera zooplankton 

population density recorded in August to 

December is less in the month of 

September. Ostracods are less in 

December. Various researchers carried out 

work on biodiversity of zooplankton. 

Sharma and Srivastava (1986), carried out 

work on ecological fluctuations of Rotifers. 

Shayestchfar (1995), studied biodiversity 

of zooplankton. Jindal and Thakur (2009), 



 

 

studied composition and population 

dynamics of phytoplankton, zooplankton, 

nekton and productivity have been  

correlated with seasonal variations in 

physico-chemical characteristics of water. 

Solanki and Dabhade (2016), studied the 

Rotifer communities in upper Morna 

reservoir of Medshi, Washim district and 

observed 18 species of Rotifera belonging 

to 6 genera and 5 families among which 

Brachionus species was found in highest 

number. Dabhade and Chhaba (2019), also 

studied zooplankton diversity around 

Washim region of Maharashtra and 

recorded different 27 zooplankton species 

from the different sampling sites of 

Washim region comprising of 11 species of 

Rotifera, 06 Copepods, 09 Cladocera and 1 

Ostracoda. The community structure of 

zooplankton showed a mixed composition 

of mesotrophic to eutrophic 

species. Journal of Global Biosciences Vol. 

10(5), 2021 pp. 8744-8751 ISSN 2320-

1355 www.mutagens.co.in 8748 The 

distribution of various species depended on 

the physico-chemical parameters of water 

(Tonapi G.J.1980) such as temperature, 

conductivity, pH, chloride, and free CO2 

content. During the present study, among 

all groups of zooplanktons, the Rotifers 

were found dominant in all groups. Similar 

results were previously observed by many 

researchers (Banerjee et al. (2008), 

Abdullah et al.(2007),Adeyemi et 

al.(2009), APHA (1989), Balamurugan et 

al. Zooplankton Population Density (org/10 

lit) in August 2022 to December 2022 

Rotifera 6, Copepoda 2 Cladocera 1 and 

Ostracoda 1. 

 

1.1 Group wise seasonal population density (No/Lit) of 

Zooplankton during Aug 2022-Dec 2022 

 
Zooplanktons August September October November December Total 

Rotifer 3 1 2 -- -- 6 

Copepod    1  1 

Cladocera -- ---- --- 1 1 2 

Ostracoda --- ----- --- --- 1 1 

Total      10 

 
 

CONCLUSION 
 

The present investigation reveals that the 

diversity of zooplankton plays very 

significant role in the functioning of 

freshwater ecosystem. We recorded 10 

species of zooplankton among which 06 

species belonging to Rotifera, 01 species 

belonging to Copepoda, and 02 species 

belonging to Cladocera and 1 species of 

Ostracoda. The Diversity and population of 

zooplanktons in water provided significant 

http://www.mutagens.co.in/


 

 

information about the available sources for 

supporting life for fishery development. In 

present days, the biodiversity is in danger 

due to pollution and human activities. So, 

Conservation of biodiversity is essential so 

it is compulsory to keep update knowledge 

of every aquatic species diversity. The 

density of planktons in water body 

determined stocking rate of fishes because 

they were the chief sources of the food 

of commercially important fishes as well 

as development in production of inland 

fishery sector. The presence and 

dominance of zooplankton species played a 

very significant role in the functioning of 

freshwater ecosystem. 

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