Phytoplankton succession in a tropical freshwater lake, Bhoj Wetland (Bhopal, India): spatial and temporal perspective
Bhoj Wetland is tropical freshwater system in central India "Bhopal" serving the citizens as one of the major source of water since its inception. Understanding the process of phytoplankton variation can be particularly useful in water quality improvement and management decision. In this study, phytoplankton taxonomic composition, temporal and spatial distribution, and diversity along with limnological abiotic characteristics were studied based on monthly sampling from four sampling stations (between May 2005 and April 2006). A total of 4 classes, 68 genera, and 98 species which belong to Chlorophyceae (52 species), Cyanobacteria (24 species), Bacillariophyceae (19 species), and Euglenophyceae (3 species), respectively, were identified. Phytoplankton assemblages were dominated by Cyanobacteria during summer months and were the most abundant. On an annual average scale, the phytoplankton density varied between 0.24×10(4) units/l at station 4 to 0.46×10(4) units/l at station 2, and station 2 represented highest population density. The predominant indices of the most predominant species varied between 0.03 and 0.26. Among physicochemical variables, temperature and total dissolved solids played a key role in phytoplankton growth as represented by statistical linear regression drawn between temperature, total dissolved solids, nitrate, and phytoplankton with R2 values of 0.6, 0.46, and 0.5, respectively.