Author(s): Suneel Verma, Gajender Singh, Ambrish Singh, Ravikant, Pragya Mehta, Mitrasen Maurya and Shivam Pandey

Abstract: The study was conducted in Blue Bird Lake, which is close to Hisar Airport on National Highway 10 in the town of Hisar, in the Hisar district of Haryana State, India. Plankton evaluation and quantification at Blue Bird Lake were monitored from September 2022 to February 2023. The study revealed that the presence of 46 different genera of plankton, comprising 33 genera of phytoplankton and 13 genera of zooplankton. The phytoplankton was classified into eight main groups: Bacillariophyceae (6 genera), Chlorophyceae (12 genera), Cyanophyceae (4 genera), Dinophyceae (3 genera), Hymenomonadaceae (1 genus), Zygnematophyceae (2 genera), Trebouxiophyceae (2 genera), and Euglenophyceae (3 genera). The zooplankton was classified into six major groups: Copepod (4 genera), Cladocera (2 genera), Rotifers (4 genera), Ascarididae (1 genus), Protozoa (1 genus), and Tubulinea (1 genus). Analysis of the distribution of phytoplankton across various months indicated that sites 1, 2, and 3 had the highest number of species of phytoplankton (84 species). Chlorophyceae was the dominant group in these sites, while Cyanophyceae was the dominant group in Site 4. Among zooplankton, Rotifers were the dominant group, and the most prevalent species were found in sites 1, 2, 3 and 4. Quantitative analysis revealed that the maximum quantity of phytoplankton was observed in October (66800 plankton per litre) in sites 1, 2, 3, and 4, while the minimum quantity was observed in November (28400 plankton per litre). Similarly, the maximum quantity of zooplankton was observed in September (53000 zooplankton per litre), and the minimum quantity was followed in February (22400 zooplankton per litre). The study also calculated the Shannon and Weaver diversity index to assess the diversity of zooplankton and phytoplankton. The highest diversity index for zooplankton was found in site 3 (1.74), while the lowest was in site 1 (1.37). In the case of phytoplankton, the highest diversity index was observed at site 4 (2.47), while the lowest was at site 2 (1.47). The overall diversity index for plankton was highest in sites 3 and 1 (2.28) and lowest in site 2 (2.23).

DOI: 10.33545/26174693.2024.v8.i1Sb.288