Seasonal Dynamics of Phytoplankton Diversity in Ranchi Lake: Indicators of Water Quality and Ecosystem Health
Akshay Kumar Verma *
Department of Botany, D.S.P.M. University, Ranchi- 834008, India.
Ashok Kumar Nag
Department of Botany, D.S.P.M. University, Ranchi- 834008, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A British soldier named Colonel Onsely created Ranchi lake, which the locals call Bada Talab, as a freshwater environment. Evaluating phytoplankton diversity and its connection to water quality is the goal. The evaluation of phytoplankton which are mostly found in water bodies is the focus of this research. The majority of the phytoplanktonic species found in Bada Talab belong to the Chlorophyceae, Bascilariophyceae and Cyanophyceae groups and this assessment carried out at regular intervals. Thus it can be concluded that April 2023- June 2023 is the ideal time period for Cyanophyceae members to grow followed by January2023- March 2023 for Chlorophyceae and January 2023-March 2023 for Bascilariophyceae. The most common species which are trustworthy markers of pollution and water quality were Microcystis, Spirogyra, Nostoc, Oscilatoria, Scendesmus, Pinnularia and Volvox. Certain genera such as Microcystis and Spirogyra are dominant and serve as indicators of pollution.
Keywords: Environment, phytoplankton, pollution, nostoc