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Progressive changes in phytoplankton community structure in urbanized lowland river floodplains—a multivariate approach
Author(s) -
Tabasum Tanveera,
Trisal C. L.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
river research and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.679
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1535-1467
pISSN - 1535-1459
DOI - 10.1002/rra.1206
Subject(s) - floodplain , phytoplankton , environmental science , species richness , water quality , ecology , hydrology (agriculture) , river ecosystem , outfall , community structure , ecosystem , nutrient , biology , geology , environmental engineering , geotechnical engineering
Phytoplankton communities along the river Yamuna in Delhi stretch and its associated floodplain lakes showed considerable spatio‐temporal variations. Most of the species identified were cosmopolitan and typical of highly polluted rivers in tropical ecosystems. All the groups of phytoplankton with predominance of Cyanophyceae and some species of Chlorophyceae were distributed within the river stretch though with varying diversity and density. Relatively cleaner sites supported larger phytoplankton assemblages compared to those subjected to sewage outfalls and industrial effluents. Species elimination was observed mainly in the mid‐stretch and downstream of Okhla subjected to high loads of pollution. Co‐inertia analysis indicated significant co‐structures between water quality and species richness and density indicating water quality as the governing factor for phytoplankton distributions in the river stretch. Floodplain plays an important role in regenerating water quality thereby enhancing species richness and density. Floods play an important role in seasonal dynamics through dilution effects and promoting connectivity between river channel and floodplain lakes thereby facilitating species exchanges. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.