Seasonal Variations of Zooplankton Community in Selected Ponds at Lake Kolleru Region of Andhra Pradesh, India

Water is one of the most natural resources for all the living organisms, weather unicellular or multi cellular, since it is required for various domestic purposes irrigation, power generation and industries. In a freshwater system, the zooplankton forms are important group and constitute basic link of the food chain. Planktons are very sensitive to the environment they live in and any alteration in the environment leads to the changes in the plankton communities in terms of tolerance abundance, diversity and dominance in the habitat (Mathivonam, 2007). The planktonic study is a very useful tool for the assessment of water quality in any type of water body and also contributes to an understanding of the basic nature and general economy of the water body. Plankton occurs in all natural water as well as in artificial impoundments like ponds, tanks, reservoirs, irrigation cannels, etc. Plankton being the primary producer from the lowest trophic level in the food chain of fresh water ecosystem and plays a key role in fish culture. The number ad species of plankton serves to determine the quality of water body. The structure of aquatic community is important in monitoring the water quality. The density and diversity of International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 8 (2017) pp. 2962-2970 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com