Periphytic Algae of Achankovil River in Pandalam Municipality, Kerala

The present investigation focuses on the periphytic algae in the riparian microhabitats of the Achankovil River in Pandalam, Kerala, India.The study was conducted from December 2021 to December 2022 across six fixed sampling locations (PN1, PN2, PN3, PN4, PN5, and PN6).Monthly samples were collected from periphyton-colonized plants at each station, preserved, and identified according to standard procedures.The study identified 61 algal genera across five classes: Cyanophyceae, Euglenophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Charophyceae, and Bacillariophyceae.The number of taxa in each class was Cyanophyceae (5), Euglenophyceae (4), Chlorophyceae (11), Charophyceae ( 16), and Bacillariophyceae (25).The genus was the most frequently occurring with 7 species, followed by (6 species), Cosmarium Nitzschia Pinnularia Navicula (5 species), and (4 species).The highest number of algal genera was observed at PN2 (17), while the lowest was at PN5 (8).