Community structure of zooplankton in two different habitats of Kotte Kolonnawa Wetland, Sri Lanka

Understanding the structure and variation of biotic communities and their interaction with physic chemical characteristic in wetlands is essential for effective aquatic management. We examined water quality parameters in two different habitat types, flowing (Kolonnawa marsh) and stagnated (Heen ela), in Kotte Kolonnawa wetland. The two habitats exhibited a significant difference in flow rate, pH, conductivity, phosphates and chlorophyll a concentration. A total of 12 taxa of zooplankton were identified in the wetland. In both sites, zooplankton community is composed of rotifers, copepods and cladocerans. Rotifers were dominant in both habitats. Rotifers were composed of eight species and the copepods were represented by three species. Cladocerans showed least diversity and only one species was present in both habitats. Density of zooplankton was significantly higher in stagnated habitat than in the flowing waters.