Diversity and richness of the freshwater zooplankton fauna of Visapur dam, Ahilyanagar (Maharashtra, India)

Freshwater zooplankton were studied for a period of two years from October 2022 to September 2024. Freshwater was studied for the presence or absence of zooplankton, including Rotifera, Cladocera, Copepoda, and Ostracoda. These organisms are important bioindicators and are known to indicate the physicochemical conditions of water. Their presence, absence, diversity, and abundance are important for understanding the water quality. These organisms play a crucial role in the food web, serving as primary consumers and food sources for larger aquatic species such as fish. They can also indicate eutrophic levels, type of pollutants, temperature, pH, etc. We present the data for 42 zooplankton, including 28 rotifers, eight cladocerans, four ostracods, and two copepods of the waterbody studied.