Study of Planktonic-diversity and Ichthyo-diversity in the Temple Pond of Ujain, Siwan, Bihar (India)

The fishponds contribute significantly in maintaining regional freshwater biodiversity. The planktonic community of a fishpond is strongly affected by the changes in taxonomic compositions of phytoplanktons and zooplanktons. The objectives of this study were to establish the diversity and distribution of planktons and fishes in the freshwater tropical temple pond of Ujain, Siwan, Bihar. During the biannual seasonal analysis of this pond between year 2017-19, the average values for phytoplankton density, zooplankton density, net primary productivity (NPP), and gross primary productivity (GPP) were observed as 1015.33 (no./L), 45.16 (no./L), 31.70 (mg/L/h), and 41.99 (mg/L/h), respectively. Apart from this, fifteen species of fishes belonging to seven different taxa were found to foster in the pond. These results suggest good planktonic diversity in the pond, which can be harnessed for sustainable fish farming.