Surveying of aquatic insect diversity of Chandrabhaga river,Garhwal Himalayas |
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Authors: | Archana Sharma Ramesh C Sharma Ashish Anthwal |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Environmental Sciences, H.N.B Garhwal University, P.O. Box 67, Srinagar, Garhwal, 246174, Uttarakhand, India |
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Abstract: | Aquatic insect diversity in the Chandrabhaga, an important headwater stream of Garhwal Himalayas, was surveyed for a period
of twelve months (October 1999 to September 2000). All the important physico-chemical environmental variables (temperature,
water velocity, hydromedian depth, transparency, turbidity, total dissolved solids, pH, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, free
CO2, nitrates, phosphates, sodium and potassium) of the aquatic ecosystem were measured monthly for one year. Aquatic insects
were sampled from three sites (S1, S2 & S3) of the headwater stream Chandrabhaga. Aquatic insects of Chandrabhaga were represented by the members of the orders of Ephemeroptera,
Trichoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Plecoptera and Odonata. The maximum density of aquatic insects was recorded in the month
of March (4,165 ind. m−2) and minimum in the month of August (680 ind. m−2). The annual contribution of Trichoptera (38%) and Ephemeroptera (32%) was observed to be maximum, while Odonata contributed
minimum (2%) to the total aquatic insect density. The present study on the relationship between physico-chemical environmental
variables and the density of aquatic insects revealed that the velocity of water, hydromedian depth, turbidity and dissolved
oxygen in addition to composition and texture of the bottom substrates have significant impact on benthic aquatic insects’
density and their diversity. The ecological relevance of the measured hydrological attributes was investigated by composing
their degree of correlation with insects density and diversity. The diversity index (Shannon–Weiner) of aquatic insects dwelling
in the Chandrabhaga river ranged from 2.54 to 3.86. Some of the natural and anthropogenic environmental factors contributing
towards the degradation of the watershed of the Chandrabhaga have been identified, and ameliorative measures for the conservation
of the aquatic insect diversity have been suggested. |
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Keywords: | Insect diversity Chandrabhaga Garhwal Himalayas Diversity index Uttarakhand |
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