ANNUAL DYNAMICS OF DIATOMS IN SHIVNA RIVER AT MANDSAUR (M.P, INDIA) IN RELATION TO POLLUTION

Prerna Mitra and Reddy P. B.*

ABSTRACT

Rivers are considered the most endangered ecosystems globally and it is urgent for human beings to estimate river conditions and quality trends. Diatoms provide perhaps the most adaptable and important tool for the assessment of aquatic environments. They are not as prone to washouts or other changes in aquatic ecosystem that directly affect planktons or vertebrates. They are the simple indicator to sample, from streams, urban canals or wetlands, being generally equally represented across all surfaces at a single location. Many countries now use diatoms as a main factor of their biomonitoring programmes. Therefore, we investigated whether the biological traits of diatoms in rivers (life-forms, size and classes) could be used to assess organic pollution and trophic level at Shivna river of Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh (India). The research work was conducted from July 2012 to June 2013 at three different sites (upstream RG, Mid stream PN, and downstream NRO). Various physico chemical parameters of River water from three different sites were also determined on monthly basis and compared with abundance of diatoms. We found a total 33 taxa belonging to 17 genera during the experimental period. One Genera and 16 Taxa from Centralas and 32 from Pennales were found. The abundances of diatoms is differed significantly between the three different organic pollution and trophic levels. The water quality parameters were significantly related to diatoms abundance.

Keywords: Biodiversity, Diatoms, Shivna River, Water quality.