Zooplankton Diversity and Water Quality Assessment of Lentic Waters of Jammu, India

An attempt was made to study the abiotic parameters of three water bodies of Jammu region along with their impact on distribution and presence of zooplankton. The total of 49 organisms belonging to five groups of zooplankton viz Protozoa, Rotifera, Cladocera, Copepoda and Ostracoda were identified. Of the three stations, ostracods were recorded from station 1 only. Phylum Rotifera was observed to be dominant in all the three stations. Many pollution indicator species like Brachionus calyciflorus, Brachionus angularis, Keratella tropica, Polyarthra vulgaris, Filinia longiseta, Moina brachiata, and Chydorus sphaericus were recorded from Station 1. Both biotic and abiotic components indicate that station 1 is progressing towards eutrophication.