Biodiversity of Zooplankton Communities in a Perennial Pond at Lake Kolleru Region of Andhra Pradesh, India

Zooplankton holds a key position in the food web as it was directly related to the consumption of organic energy produced by phytoplanktonic photosynthesis and then by transforming it to the higher tropical levels of hetirotropes such as fish. Plankton diversity and physicochemical parameters of water are important criteria for evaluating the suitability of water for culture practices. Therefore, structure of different fish food organisms assumes greater significance to fisheries management. Indiscriminate exploitation of Lake Kolleru has been evidently resulted in the depletion of fish fauna and it leading to folding and other negative consequences at surrounding area. In this study, we tried to assess zooplankton richness, evenness and diversity to observe the state of pond water in the study area. A total number 16 species recorded with 9 Rotifera, 3 Cladocera and 4 Copepods. In the Rotifers the genus Brachionus is the dominant group.