Study of Algal Diversity from Sina Kolegaon Dam

Algae is one of the most diverse groups of living organism that are distributed in all across the oceans, rivers, ponds and lakes. Algae play an important role in maintaining aquatic ecosystem and form the base of food chain or food web. Algae are classified as Rhodophyta (red algae), Phaeophyta (brown algae) or Chlorophyta (green algae) depending on their nutrient, pigments and chemical composition. They are considered as a source of bioactive compounds as they are able to produce a great variety of secondary metabolites with some also a valuable food resource too. Some of the algae are also been known to be pollution indicator and help in reduction of industrial pollutants in rivers and other water sources. The present study was aimed to assess the microalgal diversity of water in Sina kolegaon dam. Dam/lakes are the important water resources & used for several purposes. The water quality of all fresh water environments is assessed by the physico-chemical & biological parameters. The present investigation is focused on the water quality and diversity of algae. The dam water is extensively used for drinking & irrigation purposes.Today the production of oxygen by algae is another reason for saying “Our lives depend on algae”. Given the photosynthetic ability of algae, they are one of the major focuses for sustainable biofuel production & CO2 consumption. With the above contribution of algae, an attempt was made to diversify the algae species that are in and around Sina Kolegaon dam and document the presence of valuable algal species. A total of 18 algal species were partially identified namely Spirogyra, Oedogonium, Euglena Sangunie, Cyanobacteria, Oscillatoria, Chamydomonas, Mougeotia, Auxospore,Chroococcus minor, Chlorophyta and Oedogonium areolatus species are found.