American-Eurasian Journal of Botany, 1 (3): 99-103, 2008 ISSN 1995-8951 IDOSI Publications, 2008

Factors Affecting Productivity of Phytoplankton in a Reservoir of Tamilnadu, India

K. Sivakumar and R. Karuppasamy Department of Botany and Department of Zoology, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar 608 002, Tamilnadu, India
Abstract: Hydrological studies were made for 6 months covering monsoon, summer and transition periods in a reservoir, chiefly to understand the plankton productivity. The physical factors like temperature, light, pH and chemical factors like dissolved O2, CO2, carbonate, bicarbonate, chloride, nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium were estimated. Key words: Phytoplankton, Physical factor, Chemical factor, Veeranam reservoir, India INTRODUCTION Fresh water ecosystem is exploited in every possible way and one of it is fish production, which is directly dependent on the productivity of the water ecosystem. The productivity of the freshwater community that determines the fish growth is regulated by the dynamics of its physico-chemical and biotic environment [1]. The importance of the study of primary productivity and its regulating factors is of practical value in fish culture programme. Waters high specific heat and the non-linear relation of density and viscosity to temperature are unique properties. The primary productivity play important roles in the penetration, absorption and distribution of light and heat and density stratification in lakes [2]. The pH, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity and the dissolved nutrients are important for the phytoplankton production. Temperature, redox potential, pH and dissolved oxygen are the important factors, which control the exchange of nutrients between the sediment and water [3]. Even if various aspects of plankton productivity, their regulative parameters and distribution were carried out individually and independently, no attempt has been made to study the seasonal variations of physico-chemical parameters and their effect on plankton productivity in a local reservoir of Veeranam in Cuddalore District. Recently, increased importance is given to the plankton productivity in relation to physical and chemical parameters of aquatic system and hence this is taken as the main objective in the present investigation. Moreover, the knowledge on the limnology and productivity of freshwater reservoir is still need in urban and suburban areas for the planning of aqua cultural practices. Therefore, an extensive study of the physico-chemical parameters and their effects on plankton productivity were made for a period of six months with a view to increasing fish production in the selected area of Cuddalore district. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present investigation was carried out for a period of 6 months from April 2007 to September 2007. Water samples were collected at various sites between 8 and 10 am and brought to laboratory for physico-chemical and biological analysis. Phytoplankton Analysis: Five litres of the water samples were taken from five different stations, every month. Phytoplankton were collected by filtering the water through plankton net (mesh no.25, pore size 60 m) and counted under the microscope using haemocytometer. Identifications were made using the previous literature [4-6] and the plankton population was expressed in org L-1. Physical and Chemical Analysis: Temperature was measured using Celsius thermometer at the sampling sites at surface and bottom of the water. Light transparency was measured by using Secchidisc on sampling site. The pH was measured using pH meter as by the method of Bakes [8]. Dissolved O2 was estimated by Winklers

Corresponding Author: Dr. K. Sivakumar, Reader in Botany, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar 608 002, Tamilnadu, India

99

Am-Euras. J. Bot., 1 (3): 99-103, 2008

method and nitrate, CO2, carbonate, bicarbonate were estimated by the method of APHA [6]. Chloride was estimated by argentometric method of Kolthof and Stenger [9]. Total phosphate content was estimated by employing stannous chloride method of Sleten and Bach [10]. Sulphate estimation was by turbidometric method of Rosume and Villaruz [11]. Calcium and magnesium were estimated by atomic absorption spectrophotometric method. Sodium and potassium wee estimated by Flame photometric method. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The phytoplankton productivity fluctuates seasonally and the maximum number of 618 or g/L during the month of June and minimum number of 402 or g/L during the month of April was recorded in the present investigation. The autotrophic phytoplankton comprising the major portion in ponds and lakes acts as a basic food material in the food chain of aquatic situations. The commonly occurring species were Cyclotella, Nitzschia, Cymbella, Fragilaria, Synedra, Oscillatoria, Anabena, Arthrospira, Microcystis and Spirogyra scenedamum. The primary production is dependent on physical conditions such as temperature, light and nutrients [4]. The factors regulating growth and succession are light, temperature, inorganic nutrients, organic micro-nutrients, biological factors like competition and predation. The temperature and plankton production are positively correlated. The high values of primary productivity coincide with the lower values of Secchi disc transparency. The seasonal variation of productivity is related to variation in temperature and the photic conditions. Similar findings were reported by Sondergaard and Sand-Jensen [12] and Spencer and King [13]. Temperature is an important factor, which regulates the biogeochemical activities in the aquatic environment. Maximum temperature was recorded during May and minimum temperature in September. Water temperature influences aquatic weeds, algal blooms [14] and surrounding air temperature [15]. All metabolic and physiological activity and life process such as feeding, reproduction, movements and distribution of aquatic organisms are greatly influenced by water temperature. As the depth of the reservoir increases, the light intensity decreases. The light penetration depends on the available intensity of the incident light which varies with geographical location of the pond [16]. The light waves that travel vertically in the reservoir also play a part in

photo-synthesis which influences productivity of phytoplankton [2]. The pH was in alkaline range with a maximum in June and minimum in September. Wani and Subla [17] reported that the pH values above 8 in natural waters are produced by photosynthetic rate that demands more CO2 than quantities furnished by respiration and decomposition. The pH of the water also depends on the relative quantities of calcium, carbonate and bicarbonate. The maximum dissolved oxygen concentration was recorded in September and minimum in July. Dissolved oxygen is governed by the photosynthetic activity and aeration rate [18]. The distribution of dissolved oxygen in the reservoir water is governed by a balance between input from the atmosphere, rainfall and photosynthesis and losses by the chemical and biotoic oxidations. Carbon dioxide is very essential for the respiratory metabolism of aquatic vegetation and phytoplankton. The increased CO2 level may be due to the sequence of processes like uptake from the autotrophs, assimilation by algae and aerobic bacteria of decay add CO2. Free CO2 can dissolve calcium carbonate lying in the sediments. The total CO2 concentration in the water depends on the pH, which is governed by the buffering effect of carbonic acid, carbonate and bicarbonate [19]. The present results support the statement of Mohapatra [20] that the oxygen and CO2 concentration usually behave reciprocally. The alkalinity of water depends on the carbonate and bicarbonate ions solely and to lesser degree with magnesium, sodium and potassium. The main source for alkalinity is obtained from the soaps and detergents, used by the local residents for bathing and washing purposes. Some amount of them is used by phytoplankton as carbon source [17,21]. High chloride concentration (5.36 mg L-1) was observed during September and is attributed to organic pollution of animal origin. The high chloride concentration of the pond water may be due to high rate of evaporation [22] or due to organic waste of animal origin [23]. Maximum nitrate was observed in August and minimum in June. Nitrate content was higher in rainy season, which can be attributed to the nitrate fertilizer leached from agricultural fields. Lower concentration in summer was due to utilization by plankton and aquatic plants. Similar results were observed by Kannan [24] and nitrate content in natural waters is likely to vary. Phosphate is one of the limiting factors for phytoplankton productivity, because of geochemical shortage of phosphate in my drainage basins. Low phosphate may be attributed to locking up of phosphate

100

Am-Euras. J. Bot., 1 (3): 99-103, 2008

Table 1: Seasonal variations of Phytoplankton productivity in Veeranam reservoir Density of Phytoplankton (Org/L) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Name of Phytoplankton Navicula Nitzschia Cymbella Fragilaria Hydrosera Oscillatoria Anabena Coelospherium Microsystis Volvox Total Productivity (%) April 2204 5209 5411 2805 5408 3006 4607 2203 3208 6212 40258 13.02.31 May 4207 4208 5410 5811 5412 5411 5009 4007 6214 7018 52667 17.02.98 June 6612 7014 5811 5410 7816 4608 7412 4407 7614 5209 61873 20.03.54 July 5210 5611 5009 6213 5411 5412 6814 7415 6013 5009 58069 18.83.11 August 3606 4608 6011 2003 7413 5210 6612 4809 4807 5411 49863 16.12.45 September 2405 3207 3607 4208 3606 3203 5009 8617 4809 7013 45661 14.12.39

Values are meanSD; Sample size (n) = 6 Table 2: Physical parameters of the Veeranam reservoir Parameters Surface temp. (oC) Water temp. (oC) Rainfall (mm) Light (cm) pH April 280.22 25.750.55 7.00.23 43.600.80 7.860.06 May 330.43 31.100.03 8.60.47 41.800.06 7.880.06 June 32.50.31 30.700.70 48.30.18 33.601.85 8.030.31 July 290.25 27.750.25 148.00.34 21.600.80 7.970.20 August 280.38 26.550.25 133.00.56 35.801.32 7.670.11 September 27.50.33 26.650.45 190.20.38 39.801.16 7.600.07

Values are meanSD; Sample size (n) = 6 Table 3: Chemical parameters of the Veeranam reservoir Parameters (mg L-1) Dissolved oxygen Carbon Dioxide Carbonate Bicarbonate Chloride Nitrate Phosphate Sulphate Calcium Magnesium Sodium Potassium April 4.910.25 4.470.55 0.290.02 3.630.13 2.660.35 0.760.09 0.300.90 0.680.18 1.360.31 1.460.35 3.570.44 0.100.01 May 4.690.25 5.760.61 0.280.01 3.990.29 2.590.09 0.770.07 0.120.03 0.590.08 1.710.29 1.910.43 3.600.05 0.120.01 June 4.890.30 7.261.21 0.270.07 3.880.15 3.620.18 0.700.01 0.100.04 0.450.18 2.060.17 0.990.20 4.000.15 0.170.01 July 4.670.34 5.350.17 0.700.05 3.620.08 4.340.06 0.780.09 0.340.09 0.490.08 2.350.11 0.680.15 4.480.04 0.180.02 August 5.010.13 4.620.32 0.280.03 3.190.08 5.050.46 0.900.08 0.420.10 0.550.08 2.110.10 1.220.18 5.160.28 0.220.12 September 5.280.03 3.960.60 0.520.05 3.250.09 5.360.69 0.870.09 0.380.10 0.610.02 2.230.12 1.100.08 4.270.19 0.170.01

Values are meanSD; Sample size (n) = 6

in dense phytoplankton and macrophytic vegetation [17]. During plankton multiplication, automatically phosphate concentration is decreased [25]. Blue green algae assimilate phosphate at a faster rate than green algae and accumulate large amount of reserve phosphate for extended growth periods at low phosphate concentration [26]. 101

Nutrients like sulphate, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium were estimated, the maximum concentration in April. Low level of sulphate is due to uptake of primary productivity and the activity of sulphate reducing bacteria and high sulphate due to entry of sulphate dissolved in rainwater.

Am-Euras. J. Bot., 1 (3): 99-103, 2008

Jhingran [16] suggested that calcium is the most abundant ion in freshwater and is important in shell construction, bone building and plant precipitation of lime. Govindan and Devika [27] have suggested that the considerable amounts of magnesium influence the water equality in Adyar river. Calcium and magnesium ions behave alike in ion exchange reaction and influence the absorption of sodium equally [28]. Magnesium in absolutely essential for chlorophyll bearing algae and plants. Magnesium enters into combination with anions other than CO2 in lakes such as chlorides and sulphates [16]. Under limited level of potassium the growth and photosynthesis of algae are poor while the respiration is higher [2]. Zutshi et al. [29] suggested that the equivalency order of cations in Kahnpursar lake as Ca> Mg> Na> K which is the condition found in most of the Kashmir lakes. Sondergaard and Sand-Jensen [12] have suggested that the relative amounts of cations in surface water were Na> Ca> Mg> K. In the present investigation, the amount of sodium is greater than potassium indicating the ionic dominance in the reservoir water being Na> Ca> Mg> K. The high level of sodium and calcium may be brought by input to the reservoir water and low level of these elements may be due to the bioaccumulation by living organisms. The seasonal distribution of the phytoplankton biomass is much influenced by the availability of inorganic nitrate and phosphate [1]. In the present study, the phytoplankton productivity was high, where subsequently the nutrients such as phosphate and sulphate in the water were decreased. The low level of phytoplankton may be due to grazing by zooplanktons and fishes. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

3.

4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15. The authors are grateful to the University Grants Commission for providing financial support and authorities of Annamalai University, Annamalainagar for providing all facilities and encouragement to carryout the research work. REFERENCES 1. 2. Wetzel, R.G., 1983. Limnology, 2nd ed. Saunders Co., Philadelphia. Cole, A.G., 1983. Text book of limnology. 3rd edn., C.V. Mosby Co., London, pp: 401. 18.

16. 17.

Bais, V.S. and N.C. Agarwal, 1990. Seasonal variations of nitrogen contents in the sediment and water of the Sagar lake. Bull. Environ. Sci., 8: 21-24. Davis, C.C., 1955. The Marine and Freshwater plankton. Constable and Company Ltd., London, pp: 539. Prescott, G.W., 1964. The Freshwater Algae. W.M.C. Brown Co. & Publ., Dubuque, pp: 258. APHA, 1989. Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater. 17th edn., Washington, DC. Anand, N., 1998. Indian Fresh Water microalgae Bishen sing Mahendrapal sing publishers, pp: 94. Bakes, R.G., 1978. Concept and determination of pH. In:Treatise on Analytical Chemistry. Vol. 1, Wiley Interscience, New York, pp: 821. Kolthoff, I.M. and A.V. Stenger, 1974. Volumetric analysis 2nd ed. Interscience publishers, New York, pp: 242-245. and 256-258. Sletten, O. and C.M. Bach, 1961. Modified Stannous Chloride reagent for orthophosphate determination. J. Amer. Water works Assoc., 53: 1031. Rossume, J.R. and Villaruz, 1961. Suggested methods for turbidometric determination of sulphate in water. J. Amer. Water works Assoc., 53: 873-879. Sondergaard, M. and K. Sand-Jensen, 1979. Physicochemical environment, phytoplankton biomass and production in oligotrophic software lake Kalgaard, Denmark. Hydrobiologia., 63: 241-253. Spencer, C.N. and D.L. King, 1989. Role of light, carbon dioxide and nitrogen in regulation of buoyancy, growth and bloom formation of Anabaena flos-aquae. J. Plankton Res., 11: 283-296. Zafar, 1968. Certain aspects of distribution pattern of phytoplankton in the lake of Hyderbad. In: Mishra, R., Gopal, B. (Eds.), Proc. Symp. on Recent Advances in Tropical Ecology, Varanasi, India, pp: 368-375. Gupta, M.C. and L.L. Sharma, 1993. Diel variations in selected water quality parameters and zooplankton in a shallow pond of Udaipur, Rajasthan. J. Ecobiol., 5: 139-142. Jhingran, V.G., 1975. Fish and fisheries of India. Hindustan Publ. Corp. (India). Delhi, pp: 954. Wani, I.A. and B.A. Subla, 1990. Physico-chemical features of two shallow Himalayan lakes. Bull. Environ. Sci., 8: 33-49. Gautam, A., V.P. Joshi and O.P. Sati, 1993. Physico-chemical characteristics of sewage and its impact on water quality of Alkananda at Srinagar (Garhwal). J. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Monit., 3: 61-63.

102

Am-Euras. J. Bot., 1 (3): 99-103, 2008

19. Hutchinson, G.E., 1957. A treatise on limnology vol.I. Geogrphy, physics and chemistry. John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp: 1015. 20. Mohapatra, S.P., 1987. Heavy metal concentrations in the industrial effluents changed to the Thana Creek. Indian J. Environ. Protn., 7(4): 284-286. 21. Ahmad, S.H. and A.K. Singh, 1993. Diurnal variations in physico-chemical factors and zooplankton in the surface niche of a perennial tank of Patna (Bihar), India. J.Ecobiol., 5: 111-120. 22. Prasad, B.N.Y.C. Jaitly and Y. Singh, 1985. Periodicity and inter-relationships of physico-chemical factors in ponds. In: A.D. Adoni (eds.) Proc. Nat. Symp. Pure and Apply. Gmnol. Bull. Bot. Soc. Sagar., 32: 1-11. 23. Purohit, S.S. and M.M. Saxena, 1990. In: Water, life and pollution. Agr. Botanical Publishers (India). (Bikana, ed.): India. 24. Kannan, V., 1978. The limnology of Sathiar: A freshwater impoundment. Ph.D., Thesis, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai.

25. Moss, B. and H. Balls, 1989. Phytoplankton distribution in a flood plain lake and river system II. Seasonal changes in the phytoplankton communities and their control by hydrology and nutrient availability. J. Plankton Res., 11(4): 839-867. 26. Lam, C.W.Y. and W.B. Silvester, 1979. Growth interaction among blue-green algae. Hydrobiologia. 63(2): 135-143. 27. Govindan, V.S. and R. Devika, 1991. Studies on the heavy metal profiles of Adyar river and waste stabilization ponds. J. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Monit., 1(1): 53-58. 28. Paliwal, P.V. and B.R. Yadav, 1976. Irrigation water quality and crop management in the Union territory of Delhi. Reports of water Tech. Centre. IART New Delhi. 29. Zutshi, D.P., B.A. Subla, M.A. Khan and A. Waganeo, 1980. Comparative limnology of nine lakes of Jammu and Kashmir, Himalayas, Hydrobiol., 72(1-2): 101-112.

103