Relationship between macrobenthos and abiotic characteristics of river Alaknanda in a stretch from Chamoli to Devprayag in Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India
Article Main
Abstract
Macrobenthos is the best water quality indicator for ecosystem health assessment. The present study aimed to examine the interrelationship between macrobenthos and different water quality parameters of the river Alaknanda at Garhwal Himalaya. Four demarcated sampling zones viz. zone-A (Chamoli to Nandprayag), zone-B (Karanprayag to Rudraprayag), zone-C (Rudraprayag to Srinagar) and zone-D (Srinagar to Devprayag) were taken from its approximately 170 km long stretch during 2016-2018. River water characteristics were analyzed for the important parameters viz. substratum, water temperature (WT), water velocity, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) using standard methods. The results indicated that the river water velocity was the highest 1.02 m/s at zone-C, TDS of 114.19 mgl-1 was
maximum at zone-A ; and Ca and Mg were recorded highest 23.17 mgl-1 and 5.44 mgl-1 at zone-A and zone-B, respectively. All
abiotic parameters (pH, EC, TDS, DO, Ca and Mg) were recorded to be below BIS/WHO limits. A total of 27 macrobenthos taxa belonging to the five orders such as Coleoptera (6 ind./m2), Diptera (5 ind./m2), Ephemeroptera (8 ind./m2), Hemiptera (4 ind./m2), and Odonata (4 ind./m2) were recorded. Macrobenthos represented an important relationship between the water current and water temperature. The lowest number was reported at zone-C due to the river's high water velocity (1.02 m/s). The changes like biota loss, presence of some pollution indicator species (Cloeon sp., Bateis sp., Emphemera sp.) at zone-C, in sediment structure of habitat were due to the anthropogenic activities on the riverbank of different zones. The study will help in the conservation of macrobenthos diversity of the river Alaknanda.
Article Details
Article Details
Keywords
Abiotic characteristics, Alaknanda river, Anthropogenic factors, Biotic characteristics, Macrobenthos
References
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Aazami, J., KianiMehr, N. & Abasali, Z. (2019). Ecological water health assessment using benthic macroinvertebrate communities (case study: the Ghezel Ozan River in Zanjan Province, Iran) Environ Monit Assess, 191, 689 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7894-1.
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Hellawell, J.M. (1977). Change in natural and managed ecosystems. detection, measurement and assessment. Proc. R. Soc. London. B, 197, 31-57.
Hossain, M.B., Amin, S.M.N., Asadujjaman, M. & Rahman, S. (2013). Analyzes of Macrobenthos of Hatiya and NijhumDweep Islands at higher Taxonomic Resolution. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 8 (4), 526-534.
Ishaq, F. & Khan, A. (2013). Seasonal limnological variation and macro benthic diversity of river Yamuna at Kalsi Dehradun of Uttarakhand. Pelagia Research, 3(2), 133-144.
Jindal, R., Singh, D. & Chandel, V.C. (2020). Checklist of macroinvertebrates of Binwa a western Himalayan hill stream and their role as bioindicator. Plant Archives, 20(1), 2674-2677.
Johnson, C.N., Andrew, B., Barry, W.B., Jessie, C.B., Mauro, G., & Janet, M.W. (2017). Biodiversity losses and conservation responses in the Anthropocene. Science, 356, 256-274.
Kamboj, V. & Kamoj, N. (2020). Spatial and temporal variation of zooplankton assemblage in the mining-impacted stretch of Ganga River, Uttarakhand, India. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-12.
Koshal, K., Rana, J.S., Rana, R.A. & Kotnala, C.B. (2017). Checklist of benthic macroinvertebrate communities of stream Rawasan in Garhwal region (Central Himalayas, Uttarakhand, India. Journal Mountain Research, 12, 91-95.
Kumar, N., Kumar, B. & Dobriyal, A.K. (1998). Geomorphic influence on the distribution of benthic diversity in two hill streams of Garhwal Himalaya. Proceedings of Indo-Us Workshop. Punjab University Chandigarh. Pp: 53-66.
Kumar, K., Rana, J.S., Rawat, A. & Kotnala, B.C. (2017). Checklist of benthic macroinvertebrate communities of stream Rawasan in Garhwal region (Central Himalaya), Uttarakhand (India). Journal Mountain Research, 12, 91-95.
Kumari, P. & Maiti, S.K. (2020). Bioassessment in the aquatic ecosystems of highly urbanized agglomeration in India: An application of physicochemical and macroinvertebrate-based indices. Ecological Indicators, 111: 106053.
Labuce, A., Inta, D., Tunens, J. & Strake, S. (2020). Zooplankton indicator based assessment in relation to site location and abiotic factors: A case study from the Gulf of Riga. Environmental Monitoring Assessment, 192-147.
Malik, D.S., Sharma, A.K. & Sharma, A.K. (2020). Current Status of Microbenthic Diversity And their Habitat Ecology in River Ganga and its Tributaries, Uttarakhand. Journal of Experimental Zoology, India, 23(2), 1413-1420.
Matin, A., Hossain, B.M., Iqbal, M., Billah, M.M., Asif, A. & Billah, M.M. (2018). Diversity and abundance of macrobenthos in a Subtropical Estuary Bangladesh. Species, 19, 140-150.
Mishra, A., Mukherjee, A. & Tripathi, B.D. (2009). Seasonal and temporal variations in physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of River Ganga in Varanasi. International Journal of Environmental Research, 3(3), 395-402.
Padmanabha, B. & Belagali, S.L. (2007). Diversity indices of rotifers for the assessment of pollution in the lakes of Mysore city, India. Pollution Research, 26(1), 65-68.
Pajtim, B., Marton, C., Albona, S.A., Osman, F., Ismaili, M. & Mimoza, H. (2019). Macrophytes as biological indicators of organc pollution in the lepenci river basin in Kosovo. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 35(1): 105-121, DOI: 10.1080/02705060.2020.1745913.
Pennak, R.W. (1953). Comparative limnology of eight Colorado mountain lakes, Univ. Colo. Studies. Ser. Biol., 2, 1-75.
Rana, J.S., Semalty, B., Singh, P., Swami, N., Dewan, S., Singh, J., Gusain, M.P. & Gusain, O.P. (2017). Checklist of benthic macroinvertebrate taxa along different riparian land use types in Alaknanda River Catchment of the Central Himalaya, Uttarakhand (India). Proc. Zool. Soc. 1-24.
Rosenzweig, M.L. (1995). Species diversity in space and time. Cambridge University Press, New York. pp. 80
Sabha, I., Khanday, S.A., Sheikh, T.I. & Sami, U.B. (2020). Longitudinal and temporal assemblage patterns of benthic macroinvertebrates in snow melt stream waters of Jhelum river basin of Kashmir Himalaya, India. Ecohydrology, 13, 1-16 DOI: 10.1002/eco.2236.
Semwal, V.P. & Mishra, A.S. (2019). The distributional pattern of benthic macro species in a spring-fed foothill tributary of the Ganga River, western Himalaya, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 11(12), 14511–14517.
Sharma, R.C. & Rawat, J.S. (2009). Monitoring of aquatic macroinvertebrates as bioindicator for assessing the health of wetlands: A case study in the Central Himalayas, India. Ecological Indicators, 9, 118-128.
Shannon, C.E. & Wiener, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana Pp: 130.
Silveira, M.P., Buss, D.F., Nessimian, J.L. & Baptista, D.F. (2006). Spatial and temporal distribution of benthic macrospecies in southeastern Brazilian river. Brazilian Journal of Biology 66(2), 623 - 632 DOI: 10.1590/s1519-69842006000400006.
Simpson, G.H. (1949). Measurement of diversity. Nature, 163-688.
Singh, G.S., Rao, K.S. & Saxena, K.G. (1998). Ecocultural analysis of sacred species and ecosystems in Chhakinal watershed, Himachal Pradesh. Conserving the sacred for biodiversity management. New Delhi, Kolkata: Oxford & IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., Pp: 301-314.
Singh, J., Gusain, M.P. & Gusain, O.P. (2010). Benthic insect-substratum relationship along an altitudinal gradient in Himalayan stream, India. Int. J. Ecol. Env. Sci. 36 (4), 215-231.
Singh, S. & Sharma, R.C. (2020). Monitoring of benthic macro invertebrates as bio indicator for assessing the health of the highaltitude wetland Dodi Tal, Garhwal Himalaya, India. Biodiversity International Journal, 4(4), 164-173 DOI: 10.15406/bij2020.04.00180.
Singh, A.K. (1998) Abundance of microbenthic organisms in relation to the physico-chemical characteristics of river Ganga at Patna (Bihar), India. Journal of Environmental Biology, 18(2), 103-110.
Smith, R.F. & Lamp, W.O. (2008). Comparison of insect communities between adjacent headwater and main-stem streams in urban and rural watersheds. Journal of North American Benthological Society 27,1: 161–175 DOI: 10.1899/07-071.1.
Wentworth, C.K. (1922). A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. Published by the director of the United States Geological survey. pp- 371-392.
American Public Health Association (2012). Standard methods for the examination of water and wasteland. 22th edition. Am. Public health Assoc. Washington, D.C. Pp: 1534.
Arimoro, F.O., Abubakar, M.D., Obi-Iyeke, G.E. & Keke, U.N. (2020). Achieving sustainable river water quality for rural dwellers by prioritizing the conservation of macroinvertebrates biodiversity in two Afrotropical streams. Environmental and Sustainability Indicators, 10: 100103. doi.org/10.1016/j.indic.2021.100103.
Aswal, R.S., Singh, P., Kamboj, N. & Singh, R. (2016). Chemometric techniques: a comparative study of drinking water sources of Dehradun and Haridwar, Uttarakhand (India). Advances in Health and Environment, Safety Select Proceedings of HSFEA, 345-352.
Aazami, J., KianiMehr, N. & Abasali, Z. (2019). Ecological water health assessment using benthic macroinvertebrate communities (case study: the Ghezel Ozan River in Zanjan Province, Iran) Environ Monit Assess, 191, 689 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7894-1.
Balodi, V.P. & Koshal, K. (2015). Macro- Zoobenthic study in relation to physico- Chemical parameters of Khoh River in Uttarakhand. Int. J. Sci. Res. 4 (6), 171-173.
Burger, M., Vuren, V.J.H., Wet, L.D. & Nel, A. (2019). A comparison of water quality and macroinvertebrate community structure in endorheic depression wetlands and a salt Gauteng province, South Africa. Environmental Monitoring Assessment, 191-14.
Day, S.M. (1979). Teaching and research in limnology in India, In, Proceedings of the symposium UGC NCSE, Bangalore, Pp: 67-72.
Duka, S., Bledar, P., Erjola, K., Anila, P. & Pranvera, L. (2017). Biomonitoring of water quality of the Osumi, Devolli, and Shkumbini rivers through benthic macroinvertebrates and chemical parameters. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, 52(5), 471-178, http://dx.doi.org/1 0.1080/10934529.2016.1274167.
Edmondson, W.T. (1957). Trophic relation of the zooplankton. Trans. Am. Microse. Soc., 76, 225-246.
Elias, J.D., Ijumba, J.N., Mgay, Y.D. & Mamboya, F.A. (2014). Study on Freshwater Macroinvertebrates of Some Tanzanian Rivers as a Basis for Developing Biomonitoring Index for Assessing Pollution in Tropical African Regions. Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Ecosystems, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/985389.
Ganguly, S., Patnaik, L. & Nayak, S. (2018). Macroinvertebrates and its impact in assessing water quality of riverine system: A case study of Mahanadi river, Cuttack, India. Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 10(3), 958-963.
Hellawell, J.M. (1977). Change in natural and managed ecosystems. detection, measurement and assessment. Proc. R. Soc. London. B, 197, 31-57.
Hossain, M.B., Amin, S.M.N., Asadujjaman, M. & Rahman, S. (2013). Analyzes of Macrobenthos of Hatiya and NijhumDweep Islands at higher Taxonomic Resolution. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci., 8 (4), 526-534.
Ishaq, F. & Khan, A. (2013). Seasonal limnological variation and macro benthic diversity of river Yamuna at Kalsi Dehradun of Uttarakhand. Pelagia Research, 3(2), 133-144.
Jindal, R., Singh, D. & Chandel, V.C. (2020). Checklist of macroinvertebrates of Binwa a western Himalayan hill stream and their role as bioindicator. Plant Archives, 20(1), 2674-2677.
Johnson, C.N., Andrew, B., Barry, W.B., Jessie, C.B., Mauro, G., & Janet, M.W. (2017). Biodiversity losses and conservation responses in the Anthropocene. Science, 356, 256-274.
Kamboj, V. & Kamoj, N. (2020). Spatial and temporal variation of zooplankton assemblage in the mining-impacted stretch of Ganga River, Uttarakhand, India. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-12.
Koshal, K., Rana, J.S., Rana, R.A. & Kotnala, C.B. (2017). Checklist of benthic macroinvertebrate communities of stream Rawasan in Garhwal region (Central Himalayas, Uttarakhand, India. Journal Mountain Research, 12, 91-95.
Kumar, N., Kumar, B. & Dobriyal, A.K. (1998). Geomorphic influence on the distribution of benthic diversity in two hill streams of Garhwal Himalaya. Proceedings of Indo-Us Workshop. Punjab University Chandigarh. Pp: 53-66.
Kumar, K., Rana, J.S., Rawat, A. & Kotnala, B.C. (2017). Checklist of benthic macroinvertebrate communities of stream Rawasan in Garhwal region (Central Himalaya), Uttarakhand (India). Journal Mountain Research, 12, 91-95.
Kumari, P. & Maiti, S.K. (2020). Bioassessment in the aquatic ecosystems of highly urbanized agglomeration in India: An application of physicochemical and macroinvertebrate-based indices. Ecological Indicators, 111: 106053.
Labuce, A., Inta, D., Tunens, J. & Strake, S. (2020). Zooplankton indicator based assessment in relation to site location and abiotic factors: A case study from the Gulf of Riga. Environmental Monitoring Assessment, 192-147.
Malik, D.S., Sharma, A.K. & Sharma, A.K. (2020). Current Status of Microbenthic Diversity And their Habitat Ecology in River Ganga and its Tributaries, Uttarakhand. Journal of Experimental Zoology, India, 23(2), 1413-1420.
Matin, A., Hossain, B.M., Iqbal, M., Billah, M.M., Asif, A. & Billah, M.M. (2018). Diversity and abundance of macrobenthos in a Subtropical Estuary Bangladesh. Species, 19, 140-150.
Mishra, A., Mukherjee, A. & Tripathi, B.D. (2009). Seasonal and temporal variations in physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of River Ganga in Varanasi. International Journal of Environmental Research, 3(3), 395-402.
Padmanabha, B. & Belagali, S.L. (2007). Diversity indices of rotifers for the assessment of pollution in the lakes of Mysore city, India. Pollution Research, 26(1), 65-68.
Pajtim, B., Marton, C., Albona, S.A., Osman, F., Ismaili, M. & Mimoza, H. (2019). Macrophytes as biological indicators of organc pollution in the lepenci river basin in Kosovo. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 35(1): 105-121, DOI: 10.1080/02705060.2020.1745913.
Pennak, R.W. (1953). Comparative limnology of eight Colorado mountain lakes, Univ. Colo. Studies. Ser. Biol., 2, 1-75.
Rana, J.S., Semalty, B., Singh, P., Swami, N., Dewan, S., Singh, J., Gusain, M.P. & Gusain, O.P. (2017). Checklist of benthic macroinvertebrate taxa along different riparian land use types in Alaknanda River Catchment of the Central Himalaya, Uttarakhand (India). Proc. Zool. Soc. 1-24.
Rosenzweig, M.L. (1995). Species diversity in space and time. Cambridge University Press, New York. pp. 80
Sabha, I., Khanday, S.A., Sheikh, T.I. & Sami, U.B. (2020). Longitudinal and temporal assemblage patterns of benthic macroinvertebrates in snow melt stream waters of Jhelum river basin of Kashmir Himalaya, India. Ecohydrology, 13, 1-16 DOI: 10.1002/eco.2236.
Semwal, V.P. & Mishra, A.S. (2019). The distributional pattern of benthic macro species in a spring-fed foothill tributary of the Ganga River, western Himalaya, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 11(12), 14511–14517.
Sharma, R.C. & Rawat, J.S. (2009). Monitoring of aquatic macroinvertebrates as bioindicator for assessing the health of wetlands: A case study in the Central Himalayas, India. Ecological Indicators, 9, 118-128.
Shannon, C.E. & Wiener, W. (1949). The mathematical theory of communication. University of Illinois Press, Urbana Pp: 130.
Silveira, M.P., Buss, D.F., Nessimian, J.L. & Baptista, D.F. (2006). Spatial and temporal distribution of benthic macrospecies in southeastern Brazilian river. Brazilian Journal of Biology 66(2), 623 - 632 DOI: 10.1590/s1519-69842006000400006.
Simpson, G.H. (1949). Measurement of diversity. Nature, 163-688.
Singh, G.S., Rao, K.S. & Saxena, K.G. (1998). Ecocultural analysis of sacred species and ecosystems in Chhakinal watershed, Himachal Pradesh. Conserving the sacred for biodiversity management. New Delhi, Kolkata: Oxford & IBH publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., Pp: 301-314.
Singh, J., Gusain, M.P. & Gusain, O.P. (2010). Benthic insect-substratum relationship along an altitudinal gradient in Himalayan stream, India. Int. J. Ecol. Env. Sci. 36 (4), 215-231.
Singh, S. & Sharma, R.C. (2020). Monitoring of benthic macro invertebrates as bio indicator for assessing the health of the highaltitude wetland Dodi Tal, Garhwal Himalaya, India. Biodiversity International Journal, 4(4), 164-173 DOI: 10.15406/bij2020.04.00180.
Singh, A.K. (1998) Abundance of microbenthic organisms in relation to the physico-chemical characteristics of river Ganga at Patna (Bihar), India. Journal of Environmental Biology, 18(2), 103-110.
Smith, R.F. & Lamp, W.O. (2008). Comparison of insect communities between adjacent headwater and main-stem streams in urban and rural watersheds. Journal of North American Benthological Society 27,1: 161–175 DOI: 10.1899/07-071.1.
Wentworth, C.K. (1922). A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments. Published by the director of the United States Geological survey. pp- 371-392.
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Relationship between macrobenthos and abiotic characteristics of river Alaknanda in a stretch from Chamoli to Devprayag in Garhwal Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India . (2021). Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 13(3), 1135-1142. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v13i3.2721
