Zooplankton composition and structure in the Indus River Estuary, Sindh, Pakistan

In this study abundance and composition of zooplanktons in the Indus River Estuary was conducted to examine habitat characteristics its impact on tiny organisms. Overall 30,656 individuals were identified segregated into seven major groups including Copepods, Cnidarians, Decapods, Mollusk, Pisces, Amphipods Chaetognaths. For better understanding they further divided eighteen planktonic categories. Among them Lucifer spp. comprises 52.21% most abundant group with a peak appeared March whereas Chaetognaths rarely observed entire period. Species diversity exhibited mixed trend highest values (0.776) dominance spring (March). The results Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicate (60.2% 39.79%) variability among first II axis. On basis result it is obvious that water turbidity trigger distribution total dissolved solids (TDS) showed minimal influence deduced from CCA analysis.