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Distribution of major groups in Ketibander creek system (Indus delta) during monsoon season

Item Type article

Authors Ali, Qadeer Mohammad; Ahmed, Quratulan

Download date 29/09/2021 10:35:14

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/40784 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 23(1&2), 13-24, 2014.

DISTRIBUTION OF MAJOR ZOOPLANKTON GROUPS IN KETIBANDER CREEK SYSTEM (INDUS DELTA) DURING MONSOON SEASON

Qadeer Mohammad Ali and Quratulan Ahmed The Marine Reference Collection and Resource Centre, University of Karachi, Karachi - 75270, Pakistan email: [email protected], [email protected]

ABSTRACT: The aim of present study was to investigate the occurrence and composition of major zooplankton groups from two permanent stations (station # 1 Ochito creek and station #2 Khuni creek) in Ketibander creek system Indus deltaic area during monsoon season (May to July 1997) There is no data/information available on the zooplankton communities of the study area. Fourteen major zooplankton groups were observed. Highest percentage (68.03 %) compositions of zooplankton were recorded in June from station 1 and (47.05 %) in May from station 2.The highest mean percentage (20.25) and (46.50) were recorded in zoea. Analysis of variance between and months showed no significant difference at (P>0.05).

KEYWORDS: zooplankton groups, monsoon season, Ketibander, Indus Delta.

INTRODUCTION

Zooplankton is an important component of the pelagic community since it includes the major consumers of primary production. It plays an active role in the modification and remineralization of the particulate organic matter in the (Heinner et al., 2005). Zooplankton forms an important link in the marine as secondary producers. They play an important role in the conservation of energy from primary to secondary level (Gajbhiye, 1979). The zooplanktons are more varied as compared to and their variability in any is influenced majority by patchiness, diurnal vertical migration and season (Raymont, 1983). Creeks are productive coastal environments used as feeding and nursery grounds (Lawal-Are et al., 2010). The physical and chemical changes observed in a creek are reflection of the season’s effects (Nwankwo and Akinsoji, 1992). Zooplankton is economically and ecologically vital group of aquatic organisms so as to occupy a wide range of extending from the to . Zooplankton is necessary to assess the potential fishery resource of a place (Tiwari and Nair, 1993). Many researchers have studied the composition and structure of zooplankton in coastal waters of Pakistan which includes those of Ahmed (1951), Ali and Arshad (1966) and Haq (1968). Glolobov and Grobov (1970), Haq and Fazal-ur-Rehman (1973), Haq et al., (1973), Fazal-ur Rehman (1973) Khan (1974), Khan (1976), Huda and Ahmad (1988), Huda (1991), Nayeem (1991), Sultana (2000), Quddusi B. Kazmi (2004), Kidwai (2004) and Ali and Ahmed (2013) worked on composition and abundance of zooplankton.

14 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 23(1&2), 2014.

Fig. 1. Study Area Map. Ali and Ahmed: major zooplankton groups in Ketibander 15

Ketibander creek system comprises of four major creeks of the Indus delta out of total seventeen creeks those meets the sea. The fan shaped Indus delta stretches 150 km along the Arabian sea and is a home of 97% of the country’s forests. These creeks depict delicate ecosystem providing shelter and food for a wide range of marine organisms including commercially important and shellfish. There is no data available on zooplankton studies from Ketibander creek system, hence this is a first effort to study the distribution and composition of zooplanktonic groups at two stations (station # 1 Ochito creek and station #2 Khuni creek) during monsoon season.

MATERIALS & METHODS

Two stations were selected, station # 1 Ochito creek (24 o9’16.06”N, 67 o27’7.64”E), station #2 Khuni creek (24 o9’32.94”N, 67 o25’23.41”E) during May to July 1997. (Fig. 1). Physico-chemical parameters including air temperature ( oC), water temperature ( oC), salinity (ppt), dissolved oxygen (mg/L), pH and transparency (cm) were recorded on monthly basis. Temperature was measured using mercury in glass thermometer, for air temperature ( oC), copper sleeved thermometer was allowed to stabilize in open air for 10 seconds whereas for water temperature ( oC) a plastic bottle was used. Salinity (ppt) was measured with the help of a temperature compensated hand-held Refractometer (S/Mill- E, Atago Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) was measured with the help of portable DO meter (Orion Model 820). pH recorded with the help of a pocket pH meter (HACH pH tester, USA) by dipping into the water until the screen showed a fixed/stable reading as described by the manufacturer. Zooplankton sampling was carried out on monthly basis (May to July) representing monsoon season. Horizontal towing of 10 minutes haul was done at constant speed of 0.5 m/s in the surface waters during high tide, using a Hydrobios Ring trawl net of 500 µ mesh size. Hydrobios digital flow meter was used to record the volume of water passed through the net. Samples were immediately preserved in 5% buffered formalin in the field and kept in plastic containers. In the laboratory, samples were split into aliquots (sub samples) which were sorted out into different major taxonomic groups, identified and counted in counting tray under a stereomicroscope (Nikon SMZ 10). The keys and identification references used were obtained from (Newell and Newell, 1977).

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

Table 1. shows the physico-chemical parameters collected from two stations (Ochito creek) and (Khuni creek) during May to July 1997. The present research provides data on the distribution and composition of zooplanktonic groups along with data on physico- chemical parameters. Station 1 shows highest air temperature (32.5 oC) and water temperature (31 oC) in July, however highest salinity (35 ppt) and transparency (15 cm) were recorded in May and June from station 2. Highest dissolved oxygen (7.1 mg/L) was measured in June and lowest (5.8 mg/L) were recorded in May (Table 1, Fig. 2). Highest mean of salinity (34.00±1.00 ppt) dissolved oxygen (6.56±0.58 mg/L) and transparency

16 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 23(1&2), 2014.

Table 1. Data on physico-chemical parameters collected from station# 1 (Ochito creek) and station# 2 (Khuni creek) during May to July 1997.

C) C) C)

Locality o o pH Air ( ( (cm) Water (mg/L) Salinity (ppt) Temperature Tempe-rature Transparency Dissolved oxygen Station# 1 (Ochito creek) May 31.0 30.0 33 5.8 8 11 June 32.0 30.5 34 7.1 8 7 July 32.5 31.0 30 6.0 8 9 Station# 2 (Khuni creek ) May 31.5 29.5 35 7.0 8 10 June 31.0 30.0 34 5.9 8 15 July 32.0 30.0 33 6.8 8 9

Table 2. Mean and standard deviation (mean ±SD, min-max) of different physico- chemical parameters from station # 1(Ochito creek) and station# 2 (Khuni creek) during May to July 1997.

C) C) o o pH DO ( ( (cm) (ppt)

Station mg/L Salinity (Min-Max) (Min-Max) (Min-Max) (Min-Max) (Min-Max) (Min-Max) Mean ± SD Mean ± SD Mean ± Mean ± SDMean ± SDMean ± SDMean ± SDMean ± Transparency Air Tempera-ture Water Tempera-ture

Station# 1 31.83±0.76 30.50±0.50 32.33±2.08 6.30±0.70 8.00± 9.00±2.00 (Ochito (31.00-32.50) (30.00-31.00) (30.00-34.00) (5.80-7.10) (8.00-) (7.00-11.00) creek) Station# 2 31.50±0.50 29.83±0.28 34.00±1.00 6.56±0.58 8.00± 11.33±3.21 (Khuni (31.00-32.00) (29.50-30.00) (33.00-35.00) (5.90-7.00) (8.00-) (9.00-15.00) creek) 31.66±0.60 30.16±0.51 33.16±1.72 6.43±0.59 8.00± 10.16±2.71 Total (31.00-32.50) (29.50-31.00) (30.00-35.00) (5.89-7.10) (8.00-) (7.00-15.00)

(11.33±3.21cm) were recorded from station 2 however highest mean of water temperature (30.50±0.50 oC) was recorded from station 1 (Table 2, Fig. 3). Ali and Ahmed: major zooplankton groups in Ketibander 17

Fig. 2. Monthly comparison of hydrological parameters measured from station# 1 (Ochito creek) and station# 2 (Khuni creek) during May to July 1997.

Fig. 3. Mean of physico-chemical parameters recorded from station# 1 (Ochito creek) and station# 2 (Khuni creek) during May to July 1997.

18 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 23(1&2), 2014.

Table 3. Numerical data of Zooplankton number/100m 3 collected from station #1

(Ochito creek) and station# 2 (Khuni creek) during May to July 1997. MAJOR TAXA May June July Station#1 Ochito creek Total Zooplankton number/100m 3 6943 18120 1572 HOLOPLANKTON Hydromedusae 298 2366 --- Copepoda 81 910 390 Mysids 983 --- 10 Amphipoda 25 ------Acetes 1687 --- 62 Lucifer 768 2665 159 Chaetognath 976 650 364 MEROPLANKTON Penaeid PL --- 13 6 Caridean PL 615 1865 383 Zoea 304 9100 97 Megalopa 57 305 26 Squilla larvae 512 26 --- Fish larvae 621 39 23 Fish eggs --- 6 --- Others 16 175 52 Station#2 Khuni creek Total Zooplankton number/100m 3 3280 1095 2596 HOLOPLANKTON Hydromedusae 139 230 400 Copepoda 1089 20 16 Mysids 17 --- 4 Amphipoda 6 ------Acetes ------Lucifer 304 70 692 Chaetognath 224 15 24 MEROPLANKTON Penaeid PL 31 15 88 Caridean PL 78 45 24 Zoea 992 655 1284 Megalopa 258 40 --- Squilla larvae ------12 Fish larvae 11 5 4 Fish eggs 27 --- 32 Others 104 --- 16 Ali and Ahmed: major zooplankton groups in Ketibander 19

10000 9000 8000 3 7000 6000 5000 4000

number/100m 3000 2000 1000 No. of indivisuals of No.indivisuals of zooplankton 0

Ochito creek Khuni creek

Fig. 4. Total no of zooplankton number/100m 3 collected from station# 1 (Ochito creek) and station# 2 (Khuni creek) during May to July 1997.

The monthly abundance of zooplankton number/100m 3 varied from station to station. Fourteen (14) groups of zooplankton were identified as hydromedusae, copepoda , mysids, amphipoda, acetes, lucifer, chaetognath, penaeid PL, caridean PL, zoea, megalopa, squilla larvae, fish larvae and fish eggs. The peak zooplankton abundance (n=18120 number/100m 3) occurred in June at station#1 and in May (n=3280 number/100m 3) at station#2 (Table 3 and Fig. 4). From station # 1 the total number of hydromedusaue (n=2664 no/100m 3), copepoda, (n=1381 number/100m 3), mysids (n=993 nmber/100m 3), amphipoda (n=25 number/100m 3), acetes (n=1749 number/100m 3 ), lucifer (n=3592 number/100m 3), chaetognath (n=1990 number/100m 3), penaeid (n=19 number/100m 3), caridean (n=2863 number/100m 3), zoea (n=9501 number/100m 3 ), megalopa (n=388 number/100m 3), squilla larvae (n=538 number/100m 3), fish larvae (683 number/100m 3), fish eggs(n=6 number/100m 3) and others (n=243 number/100m 3) were recorded. The total number of individuals were at station# 2 hydromedusae (n=769 number/100m 3), copepoda, (n=1125 number/100m 3), mysids (n=21 number/100m 3), amphipoda (n=6 number/100m 3), lucifer (n=1066 number/100m 3), chaetognath (n=263 number/100m 3), penaeid (n=134 number/100m 3), caridean (n=147 number/100m 3), zoea (n=2931 number/100m 3), megalopa (n=298 number/100m 3), squilla larvae (n=12 number/100m 3), fish larvae (20 number/100m 3), fish eggs(n=59 number/100m 3) and others (n=120 number/100m 3) (Table 3). The percentage (%) distributions of zooplanktonic groups were presented in (Table 4). At station # 1 June shows highest percentage (68.03 %) composition then May 20 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 23(1&2), 2014.

Hydromedusae Ochito creek Copepoda 2% Mysids 3% 1% 1% Amphipoda Acetes 10% Lucifer 5% 4% Chaetognath Penaeid PL 7% Caridean PL 37% Zoea Megalopa 14% Squilla larvae Fish larvae 5% Fish eggs 11% Others

Fig. 5. Percentage (%) composition of zooplankton groups per 100m 3 collected from station # 1 (Ochito creek) during May to July 1997.

Hydromedusae Khuni creek Copepoda Mysids 1% 2% Amphipoda Acetes 4% 11% Lucifer Chaetognath Penaeid PL 16% Caridean PL Zoea Megalopa 42% 1% Squilla larvae Fish larvae 15% Fish eggs Others 4%

2% 2%

Fig. 6. Percentage (%) composition of zooplankton groups per 100m 3 collected from station # 2 (Khuni creek) during May to July 1997.

Ali and Ahmed: major zooplankton groups in Ketibander 21

Fig. 7. Mean value of total number of zooplankton groups per 100m 3 from station # 1 (Ochito creek) and 2 (Khuni creek) during May to July 1997.

Table 4. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) performed between zooplankton, months and localities.

Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Between (Combined) 64445482.667 1 64445482.667 1.777 .253 Groups Within Groups 145034785.333 4 36258696.333

* locality

zooplankton Total 209480268.000 5

Between (Combined) 57321883.000 2 28660941.500 .565 .619 Groups Within Groups 152158385.000 3 50719461.667

* months

zooplankton Total 209480268.000 5

*significant at the 0.05 level.

22 Pakistan Journal of Marine Sciences, Vol. 23(1&2), 2014. and July. However, highest percentage were measured in May (47.05 %) and July (37.23 %) from station# 2 (Fig. 5 and 6). Mean value of total number of zooplankton per 100m 3 from station 1 and 2 were presented in Fig. 7. According to the abundance of zoea, lucifer and caridean PL were high in abundance at station 1 as compare to hydromedusae, chaetognath, acetes, copepod, mysids, fish larvae, squilla larvae, megalopa, amphipoda, penaeid PL and fish eggs. Similarity at station 2 zoea, copepod and lucifer were showed abundance then other groups. Zoea were high in abundance (20.25%) and (46.50%) at station 1 and 2 respectively. During the study, no significant difference in zooplankton abundance was noticed between stations (p>0.05) and within months (p>0.05) (Table 4). In present study the lower no of copepods were recorded then previous study of Ali and Ahmed (2013) and those reported from Shahbander creek during post-monsoon season. Copepods abundances and species assemblages are affected by several hydrochemical parameters and physical forces (Hwang et al., 2006, Tseng et al., 2008). According to the Damotharan et al., 2010 the high zooplankton density during premonsoon and post monsoon season could be related to the stable hydrographical condition while low density during the South-west monsoon season was attributed to heavy flood and freshwater inflow. (Huda and Ahmad, 1988). Present study showed that fish eggs were low in number during the monsoon season, according to Osore et al., 2004 fish eggs were most abundant at the mouth of Mida Creek in January and February during the dry season. Kimaro (1986) and Okemwa (1990) reported similar observations in Tudor Creek, as did Osore (1994) in Gazi Bay. Kimaro (1986) recorded high abundances of fish eggs and larvae at the mouth of Tudor Creek between November and January. Osore (1994) reported fish egg abundances of up to 90 individuals/m 3 at the mouth of Gazi Bay during the rainy season. Reay and Kimaro (1984) and Okemwa (1990) reported increases in zooplankton in the rainy season due to high amounts of nutrients washed into the creek, which in turn amelio-rated phytoplankton production (Kazungu et al. 1989). The present study revealed that among the 14 zooplanktonic groups , zoea formed the leading group at both the stations then other group. Present study, also shows that there was no significant difference in zooplankton composition between the stations and within the sampling months.

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