Zooplankton Diversity in Didwana Lake: A Saline Lake in Rajasthan

Didwana lake is the second largest saltwater lakes in Rajasthan, considered for its commercial salt production. The lake and its catchment area exhibit a diverse array of biological life. A thorough analytical investigation was conducted to evaluate current status of zooplanktonic fauna and their conservation. This study reveals that saline lakes host a variety of zooplankton fauna for fisheries point of view, which are classified within the group protozoa, rotifera, cladocera and copepoda arthropods. Zooplankton taxa were documented in Didwana lake from January to December 2018. The research area was visited every month for collection the samples. The water samples were collected by standard bolting silk plankton net (0.25 mm mesh size). Concentrated zooplankton samples were taken from two different sites and initially examined in C.Z. inverted microscope to determine the species. During the study, numerous species belonging to genus namely Nebela, Amoeba, Paramecium, Artemia, Moina, Bosmina, Ceriodaphnia, Daphnia, Chydorous, Heliodiaptomus, Mesocyclops, Eucyclops, Brachionus, Keratella, Monostyla, Polyarthra, Hexarthra and Filinia were reported. A total 22 species of zooplankton were identified. Artemia, Moina and Brachionus species are prevalent in all zooplankton, whereas Filinia longiseta species are rare. The abundance exhibited an increase in sub saline and hyposaline water, whereas it was diminished in meso- and hypersaline water.