Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Vaduvur Lake, Thanjavur District N Karthi, Mc Vachanth and G Sridharan

Available Online through www.ijpbs.com (or) www.ijpbsonline.com IJPBS |Volume 3| Issue 1|JAN-MAR |2013|227-230 Research Article Biological Sciences STUDIES ON PHYTOPLANKTON DIVERSITY IN VADUVUR LAKE AT THIRUVARUR DISTRICT, TAMILNADU, INDIA Karthi N*, Vachanth M.C, and Sridharan G P.G and Research Department of Zoology, Rajah Serfoji Government College (Autonomous), Thanjavur – 613 005 Tamilnadu, India. *Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT Diversity of phytoplankton was analyzed in Vaduvur lake (10.4°N; 79.19°E) water situated in Thiruvarur District, during the period of October 2010 to September 2011. Qualitative and Quantitative estimation of phytoplankton from study site was carried out with help of Sedgwick Rafter counting cell and identified using standard literature. The study period totals of 32 genera were observed in phytoplankton. Those genera, were present in different divisions were Bacillariophyceae (15 species), Cholorophyceae (10 species) and Cyanophyceae (7 species). Total number of phytoplankton 8325 Nos /lit were observed in throughout the year. The maximum phytoplankton population was found during the month of February 2011 and minimum phytoplankton population was found during the various month of December 2010, April 2011 and August 2011, (Chlorophyceae, Bacillaiophyceae and Cyanophyceae). KEYWORDS Phytoplankton, Vaduvur Lake, Monthly variations.

INTRODUCTION Phytoplankton forms the vital source of energy The Vaduvur Lake is oldest and largest Lake of as primary producers and serves as a direct Tamil Nadu. This is very significant lake in South source of food to the other aquatic plants and India. This lake is important ecosystem for fishes animals (Saha et al., 2000). Systematic and and birds. The lake being used for multipurpose ecological studies on chlorophyceae of North utility such as irrigation, migratory birds, fish India and their relationship with water quality catching washing and bathing. Biodiversity were made (Dwivedi et al., 2005). In these means the variability among the living organisms systems phytoplankton is of great importance as from all source including terrestrial, lake, marine a major source of organic carbon located at and other aquatic ecosystem and ecological these bases (Gaikwad, et al., 2004). Phyto complex of which they are part (Ali, 1999). plankton is small organisms that play a crucial Phytoplankton is a predominant type of a plant role in the food chain. While increased amounts found in most lake water. The quality and of phytoplankton provide more food for quantity of phyto plankton is a good indicator of organisms at higher tropic levels, too much water quality. The high relative abundance of phyto plankton or toxin producing phyto chlorophyta is a indicator of productive water plankton can harm the over health of the Bay

(Boyd, 1981). (Jana, 1973: Garcia and Lopez, 1989).

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MATERIALS AND METHODS The present study was carried out on Vaduvur The maximum number of Bacillario phyceae was Lake which is situated (10.4°N; 79.19°E) 21 km 300 non/lit found in the month of December East of Thanjavur and 21 km west of 2010. The minimum 100 nos/lit was found in the Mannargudi, Thiruvarur District. This study was month of April 2011. The total number of conducted during October 2010 to September Bacillario phyceae 2450 nos/lit were analysed 2011. Plankton sample were collected from the from the lake water during the period of October lake water on monthly basis. The collection of 2010 to September 2011 (Table. 2). plankton was made by plankton net. Plankton The maximum number of Cyanophyceae was 375 samples were collected by filtering about 200 nos/lit found in the month of December 2010 liters of the surface through the net. and minimum number of cyanophyceae 200 Immediately after collection of plankton samples nos/lit was found in the month of August 2011. were preserved in 10% formalin 10cc formalin The total number of cyanophyceae 3525 nos/lit diluted to 10cc of distilled water. Qualitative and were found in the period of October 2010 to quantitative estimation of phytoplankton from September 2011 (Table. 2). study site was carried out with the help of Sedgwick Rafter counting cell and identified The population density trend showed gradual using standard literature (Edmonson, 1959; increase during post monsoon period and Anand, 1998). monsoon season (Sukunan, 1980), Chlorophyceae, Bacillario phyceae and RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Cyanophyceae were recorded in large numbers In the present study on the qualitative and during the study period and the quantitative analysis of phyto plankton of Bacillariophyceae was dominant. There are Vaduvur lake water taken monthly pattern and several reports available on the distribution, the density of phyto planktons identified. They density, species diversity and ecology of belongs to the family of Bacillario phyceae (15 plankton in different water bodies (Fritsch, 1961; species), chlorophyceae (10 species), Rawson, 1956). Cyanophycea (7 species). The phyto plankton analysed from the lake water samples were Hence based on the diversity of phyto plankton identified and listed (Table. 1). population highly abundance in the month of December (Monsoon). The phyto plankton The maximum number of chlorophyceae was 350 density due to the presence of high photo nos/lit was found in the month of February 2011 synthetic activity in the lake waters. Many and the minimum was found 100 nos/lit was reports are available on the plankton diversity of found in during the month of December 2010. Indian lakes (Zafaar, 1986; Mani, 1992; Eswari, The totals number of chlorophyceae of 2350 2002; Rajasekar, et. al., 2005; Tiwari and nos/lit were analyzed from the lake water during Chauthan, 2006). October 2011 to September 2011 (Table. 2).

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Table 1: Showing the major groups of phytoplankton in Vaduvur lake (October 2010 to September 2011)

PHYTO PLANKTONS S. No Bacillario phyceae Chloro phyceae Cyano phyceae 1 Fragillaria Crotonesis Pediastrum boryanum Anabea 2 Fragillaria Capunia Polycedriopsis Oscillatoria putrida 3 Synedra acus Selenastrum Merismopedia 4 Synedra vaucheriae Pleurosigma Spirulina 5 Aequalis sp., Pediastrum duples Nostoc 6 Nitxshia diosipata Clostecidium tumdum Oscillatora putrida 7 Nitzhiapalea Spirogyra Oscillatoria chlorine 8 Navicula anglica Euglena 9 Navicla gracilis Volvox 10 Navicula gastrum Pandorina sp. 11 Pinnularia undulate 12 Navicula cuspidate 13 Gomphonema consrictum 14 Cymbella tumida 15 Syndera ulna

Table 2: Monthly Variation of Phytoplankton (nos /lit) in Vaduvur lake During October 2010 to September 2011

Major Taxonomic Groups

S. No Month and year Chloro Bacillario Cyano phyceae phyceae phyceae 1 October 2010 130 250 350 2 November 2010 120 200 350 3 December 2010 100 300 375 4 January 2011 150 170 300 5 February 2011 350 150 350 6 March 2011 250 250 250 7 April 2011 200 100 300 8 May 2011 150 150 250 9 June 2011 150 250 350 10 July 2011 200 150 250 11 August 2011 250 200 200 12 September 2011 300 280 250 Total number

13 of phytoplankton 2350 2450 3525

(nos/lit)

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REFERENCES abundance and hydrological condition in laguna, o Ali, S.S., 1999, Fresh Water Fisheries Biology Isted. Jogyunda, Puerto rico, 2(3): 625 – 631. o Naseem Book, Depot. Hyderabad. Jana, B.B., 1973. Seasonal periodicity of plankton in o Anand, N., 1998. Freshwater Micro alagae. Bishen a fresh water pond, West Bengal, India, Intl. Rev. Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, Dehradun, India. 94. Ges. Hydrological. 58: 127 – 143. o o Boyd, C.E., 1981. Water quality in warm water fish Kumar, S., and Dutta, S.P.S., 1991. Studies on ponds craft master printers. Inc. Opelika, Alabama. Phytoplankton population dynamics in Kunjawani o Dwivedi, S., Misra, P.K., Tripathi, R.D., Rai, U.N., pond, Jammu, J. hydrobiol., 7(1): 55 – 89. o Dwived, C.P., Baghal, V.S., Suseela, M.R., and Mani, P. and Krishnamoorthy, K., 1989. Ecology of Srivastava, M.N., 2005. Systematic and ecological phytoplankton blooms in the velar estuary. East studies on chlorophyceae of North India and their coast of India. Int. J. Mar. Sci. 15: 24 – 28. o relationship with water quality. J. Environ. Biol. 26: Rajasekar, K.J., Perumal, P., Santhanam, P., 2005. 495–505. Phytoplankton diversity in the coleroon. Estuary, o Edmendson, W.J., 1959. Fresh water biology, 2nd South East coast of India. J. Mar. Sci., Biol. Assoc. Edn., John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1248. India. 47: 127 – 132. o o Eswari,Y.N.K., and Ramani Bai, 2002. Distribution Rawson, D.S., 1956. Algal indicators of Tropic lake and abundance of phytoplankton is estuarine waters type. Limnology and oceano graphy. 1: 18 – 25. o of Chennai, South East coast of India. J. Mar. Biol. Saha, S.B., Bhattacharya, S.B., and Choudhary, A., Ass. India. 44: 205 – 211. 2000. Diversity of phytoplankton of a sewage o Fritsch, F.E., 1961. The structure and reproduction of pollution brackish water tidal ecosystem. J. Environ Algae. Vol. 1. Cambridge at University Press. Biol., 21(1): 9 – 14. o Cambridge. Sukunan, V.V., 1980. Seasonal fluctuations of o Gaiwad, S.R., Tarot, S.R., and Chavan, T.P., 2004. plankton of Nagarajuna Sagar reservoir, Andhra Diversity of plankton and Zooplankton with respect Pradesh, India. J. Inland Fish. Soc. India. 12 : 79 – 91. o to population status of river Tapi in North Tiwari, A., and Chauthan, S.V.S., 2006. Seasonal Maharastra region. J. Curr. Sci., 5: 749 – 754. phytoplankton diversity of Kitham Lake. Agra J. o Garcia, J.R., and Lopez, J.M., 1989. Seasonal patterns Environ. Biol. 27: 35 – 38. o of phyto plankton productivity, zooplankton Zafaar, A.R., 1986, Seasonality in phytoplankton in some South Indian lakes Hydrobiol. 138: 117 – 187.

*Corresponding Author: Karthi N* P.G and Research Department of Zoology, Rajah Serfoji Government College (Autonomous), Thanjavur – 613 005 Tamilnadu, India. * Email: [email protected]

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NT OU P PHYSICO-CHEMICALM U CHARACTERISTICS OF VADUVUR LAKE, THANJAVUR DISTRICT 417 A B R L A I P C

I ISSN : 0971 - 0965

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A S P J. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Monit. 22 (5) 417 - 422 (2012) http://www.palaniparamount.com © Palani Paramount Publications - Printed in India PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF VADUVUR LAKE, THANJAVUR DISTRICT

N KARTHI, M C VACHANTH AND G SRIDHARAN PG AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, RAJAH SERFOJI GOVERNMENT COLLEGE, THANJAVUR 613 005, TAMIL NADU, INDIA Email : [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Physico-chemical parameters of Vaduvur Lake, Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu were studied from October 2010 to September 2011. Water temperature varied from 26 to 34°C, pH of the water was alkaline throughout the year. Turbidity (3.9 - 82.4 NTU), Dissolved Oxygen (3.7 - 6.4 mg/lit), Total hardness (50 - 340 mg/lit), Salinity (0.10 - 0.32 mg/lit), calcium (110 - 185 mg/lit), Magnesium (39.3 - 82.9 mg/lit), Nitrate (0.01 - 0.06 mg/lit) Chloride (7.2 - 37.0 mg/lit) and phosphate level from 0.14 to 0.43 mg/ lit were noted. The above physico-chemical parameters were changed during pre monsoon, monsoon, summer and post monsoon seasons.

Key words : Vaduvur lake, Physico chemical parameters, Water quality.

INTRODUCTION Vaduvur lake is one of the fresh water ecosystems in Tamil Nadu which is inhabited by birds. The lake water is mostly enriched by nutrients compared to other with aquatic environments. Vaduvur lake is famous for migratory birds viz., Flamingos, Waders, Ducks, Pelican, Crane and Gulls, etc. The quality of water in the ecosystem provides significant information about the available resources for supporting life in that ecosystem. A river water mixed in the lake water resource is one of the major components of environmental resources that are under threat either from over exploitation or pollution, exacerbated by human activities. Lake water is ultimate, most suitable fresh water resource with nearly, balanced concentration of the salts for birds. Aquatic bio network plays vital component on the earth since the origin of life. Many researches are being carried out till now (Mishra et al 1993; Padma & Periakali 1999; Raja et al 2008: Upadhyay et al 2010; Srivastava et al 2009; Vijayakumar et al 2000).

Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) 418 N KARTHI ET AL

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Vaduvur lake is (10.4oN; 79.19oE) located in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. In this study the physico-chemical characteristics were conducted between October 2010 and September 2011. Surface water samples were collected with a clean plastic bottle. Preservation and transportation of the water samples to the laboratory were as per standard methods (APHA 2005). Temperature and pH were recorded on the site immediately after the collection of the sample. Water temperature was measured on the site using mercury thermometer. pH was measured using pH meter and turbidity by nephelometry.

Dissolved oxygen was estimated by Winkler's method. Salinity was analyzed by Mohr-Kundsen AgNO3 titration method. Total hardness and Calcium were estimated by EDTA trimetric method.

Phosphate was estimated by Calorimetric method. The water samples were filtered using a Millipore filtering system (MFS) and analysed by magnesium by adopting the standard methods described by Stricland and Parsons (1972). Nitrate by Phenyl disulphonic acid method and chloride by standard pattern of the physico - chemical parameters of Vaduvur lake.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The water temperature varied from 26 to 34°C, minimum was recorded during October 2010 (Monsoon) and maximum during the month of May 2011 (Summer) (Table 1) pH at surface water varied from 7.5 to 8.4, minimum was recorded during the month of Sep 2011 (Pre monsoon) and maximum during March 2011 (Post monsoon) (Fig. 1) Turbidity varied from 3.9 to 82.4 NTU, having maximum during July 2011 and minimum in February 2011 Values of dissolved oxygen content ranged between 3.7 and 6.4 mg/l, having maximum in May 2011 and minimum in August 2011. Total hardness in lake water values varied from 50 to 340 mg/l, having maximum in November 2010 and minimum in May 2011. Salinity values varied from 0.10 to 0.32 mg/l, having minimum in the month of October 2010 and maximum in April 2011. Calcium values varied from 110 to 185 mg/l, having maximum in July 2011 (Pre monsoon) and minimum in March 2011 (Post monsoon). Magnesium values varied from 39.3 to 82.9 mg/l, the magnesium level was found to be very high in the month of September 2011 (Pre monsoon) and low in January 2011 (Post monsoon). Nitrate value ranges between 0.01 and 0.06 mg/l, having minimum in February 2011 and maximum in December 2010. Chloride content varied from 7.2 to 37.0 mg/l, having maximum in the month of December 2010 and minimum in June 2011. Dissolved phosphate value ranges between 0.14 and 0.43 mg/l, having maximum in February 2011 and minimum in November 2011. All the physico-chemical parameters showed noticeable seasonal as well as spatial variations, which may be attributed to the local climatic conditions and exchange mechanisms in lake water. Greenish and brownish colour of the lake water may be due to presence of impurities and phytoplankton. Presence of floating and suspended materials make the water turbid and non-transparent. The pH of the water was found to be Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF VADUVUR LAKE, THANJAVUR DISTRICT 419

t ) t a i h l 8 4 7 6 3 1 4 7 8 7 6 1 / p 2 1 1 1 4 4 3 2 2 1 1 2 ...... g s 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o m h ( P

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ptember 2011 ptember ) e t

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n r Physico chemical parameters of the Vaduvur lake water, Thanjavur District during October 2010 to Se to 2010 October during District Thanjavur water, lake Vaduvur the of parameters chemical Physico n n s e o

o o n

t o o o o e s m s s s r s o n n n a m P P o e o o u S S m m M

Table 1 Table Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) 420 N KARTHI ET AL mostly alkaline due to present in low amount of salt in water by mixing of river to the lake (Kalaivani 2006).

Fig. 1 Physico chemical parameters of the Vaduvur lake water, Thanjavur District, for different seasonal variation During October 2010 to September 2011. Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF VADUVUR LAKE, THANJAVUR DISTRICT 421

Increase in temperature and rapid mixing of sub surface and surface water during summer season might have favoured the nitrate replenishment mechanism (Raine 1984). The lowest values of chloride content and salinity were observed during monsoon period in central sector of lake, it is possible due to mixing of fresh water to the lake by river and rain (Nayak & Behera 2004). The maximum dissolved oxygen was observed in September when temperature was minimum. Same results were observed by Ali et al (1994). Many reports are available on the physico chemical parameters of Indian lake waters (Deshmukh 1964; Hynes 1979; Jesudass & Akia 1995; Lohar & Patel 1998). The results of the present study of physico-chemical parameters the lake water showed a seasonal pattern. This area has a very large natural ecosystem. Migratory birds used lake water. Therefore, careful monitoring of water quality parameters may be necessitated throughout the year.

REFERENCE

Ali M, Salam A and Hussain M A 1994 Effect of seasonal variations on physico-chemical parameters of Zaidi Fish Farm Punjab Uni. J. Zool. 9: 53 - 58. APHA 2005 Standard methods for examination of water and waste water 21st ed. Wasington D.C. USA. Deshmukh S B 1964 Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Ambazari lake water. Indian J. Environ. Hlth. 6: 166 - 188. Hynes H B N 1979 Ecology of running waters Liverpool University Press. p.15 - 55. Jesudass L and Akia A 1995 Studies on the physico-chemical characteristicsof the sugar factory effluents Iindian J. Environ. Protect. 16: 808 - 810. Kalaivani D 2006 Physico - chemical studies on ground and surface water of Manchankappu, Trichirappalli. Indian J. Environ. Protect. 26(6): 521 - 525. Lohar P S and Patel N G 1998 Comparative account of physico-chemical aspects of Tapi and Aner rivers of North Maharashtra. J. Aquatic Biol. 13-59. Mishra S Panda D and Panigrahy R C 1993 Physico-chemical characteristics of the Bahuda estuary (Orissa), East coast of India Indian J. Mar. Sci. 22: 75 - 77. Nayak L and Behera D P 2004 Seasonal variation of some physico-chemical parameters of Chilka lagoon (East coast of India) after opening the new mouth, enar Sipakuda. Indian J. Mar. Sci. 33(2) : 206 - 208. Padma S and Periakali P 1999 physico-chemical and geochemical studies in pulicate lake, east coast of India. Indian J Mar. Sci. 28: 434 - 437. Raina U Sah A P and Ahamad S R 1984 Pollution studies on river Jhelum: An assessment of water quality. Indian. J. Environ. Health 26: 107 - 120. Raja P Amarnath A M Elangovan R and Palanivel M 2008 Evaluation of physico-chemical parameters of River Kaveri, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. J. Environ. Biol. 29(5): 765 - 768. Srivastava N Harit G and Srivastava R 2009 A study of physico-chemical characteristics of lakes around Jaipur, India. J. Environ. Biol. 30(5): 889 - 894. Stricland J D H and Parsons T R 1972 A practical hand book of sea water analysis. Bull. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada 24 (2) : 167: 311. Upadhyay K Mishra P and Gupta A K 2010 Studies on the physico-chemical status of two ponds to Varanasi and Bhadohi under biotic stress. Plant Arch. 10(2): 692 - 693. Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) 422 N KARTHI ET AL

Vijayakumar S K, Rajesh K M, Mendon R and Hariharan V 2000 Seasonal distribution and behaviour of nutrients with reference to tidal rhythm in the Mulki estuary, South West coast of India. J. Mar. Biol. Assoc. India 42: 21 - 23.

Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) NT OU P MTHE U FUNGAL PATHOGENS IN TIGER SHRIMP PENAEUS MONODON 469 A B R L A I P C

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A S P J. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Monit. 22 (5) 469-472 (2012) http://www.palaniparamount.com © Palani Paramount Publications - Printed in India THE FUNGAL PATHOGENS IN TIGER SHRIMP PENAEUS MONODON

N KARTHI, M C VACHANTH AND G SRIDHARAN P.G. & RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, RAJAH SERFOJI GOVERNMENT COLLEGE, THANJAVUR 613 005 TAMIL NADU, INDIA. Email : [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Affected shrimps Penaeus monodon were collected from shrimp culture pond at Kallimedu, Nagappattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India. The fungal population of totally five different species were isolated from the front gut, mid gut and hind gut of infected P.monodon. The isolated fungi were confirmed as Aspergillus niger, A.nidulans, A.sulphureus, A.wertii and A.fumigatus. Aspergillus niger and A. nidulans were observed from front gut and hind gut of P.mondon. A.sulphureus was isolated from mid gut region. A.wertii was observed from the hind gut. A.fumigatus was isolated from front gut, mid gut and hind gut regions of infected shrimps. The predominant species of fungi isolated was A. fumigatus. The results concluded that the contaminated feeds and poor water quality were responsible to fungal diseases in P. monodon.

Key words : Infected shrimp, Fungal infection, Penaeus monodon, Aspergillus sp.

INTRODUCTION Aquaculture is developing into a prime industry with enormous quantity of turnover in many parts of the world; our country is the one of the leading countries of aquaculture, since aquaculture depends on self renewable natural resources. It holds immense potential for food production with infinite future for hundreds of years to come and therefore, aquaculture is poised for an explosive growth with exciting future (Bernan et al 1997). The extensive coastal areas in our country such as non-agriculture are presently developing zones and 9944 culture farms have got tremendous potential for employment generation raising rural income. Meeting international market demands and earning valuable foreign exchange through exports are of prime importance. In India 80.000 ha of area have been brought under shrimp culture. The production being 60.000 metric tonnes from an estimated 4000 farms (Okonko et al 2008). Penaeus monodon is affected by variety of microbial pathogens which include fungi and the fungal pathogen caused by several diseases such as Fusarium disease, Laginidium disease, Aspergillus disease and tail rot disease. (Nirenberg 1990; Alderman Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) 470 N KARTHI ET AL

& Polglase 1985). If the shrimp culture ponds have poor water quality and higher stocking densities to cause various problems in aquaculture operation (Hatai & Egusa; 1978; Ishikawa 1968), fungal problems in shrimp can be caused as superficial and systemic burdening. The fungal pathogens are caused mainly respiratory problems and reduced growth of Penaeus monodon. Since the shrimp culture industry has been facing serious problems due to microbial diseases in the coastal belt of Nagappattinam District, this paper reports fungal infections of tiger shrimp.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Collection of study animal: The infected marine prawn Penaeus monodon were collected from shrimp culture pond at Kallimedu, Nagappattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India. Isolation of fungi: Using dissecting needle, a tuft of the fungi was taken from the culture medium to the slide and staining was done for identification purpose following standard procedure. Serial dilution techniques: One g of sample was homogenized with 9 ml of distilled water and centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes. The sample containing test tube marks as 10-1. 1 ml from the 10-1 dilution was taken and added to test tube containing 9 ml of distilled water shacked the preparation vigorously for 20- 30 times and marked as 10-2 dilution. 0.1 ml of sample taken from 10-4 and 10-5 tube. Identification and colony counting of fungi : Fungi grow comparatively slow rates requiring several days to weeks. They produce spores on brightly coloured aerial hyphae. Most fungi grow best at room temperature at 27°C for 72 hrs. The basic medium for the culture of many fungi is potato dextrose agar medium. Identification of pathogenic fungi : The isolated pathogenic fungi were identified by cultural characters and lacto phenol cotton blue staining techniques. The fungal colonies aseptically transferred in to clean glass slide and added one drop of lactophenol cotton blue staining above the mixture put a cover slip and observed the slide at high power objectives. After staining, the structure of the fungus was photographed under the Nikkon microscope. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Isolation and identification of fungi : The isolated five fungal species were named as P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5. The staining results of each fungus were compared with standard fungal identification manual. The isolated fungal species were confirmed as Aspergillus niger, A.nidulans, A. sulphureus, A.wentii and A.fumigatus, respectively. These five species of fungal flora were belonging to only Aspergillus family of fungi. Among them Aspergillus niger, A. niduulans were observed from front gut and hind gut of P.monodon. A,sulpnures species were isolated from mid gut, Aspergillus wentii, were isolated from hind gut and Aspergillus funigatus was isolated from front gut, mid gut and hind gut regions of infected, P.monodon. The dominant flora of pathogenic fungi in A. fumigatus were showed in affected shrimp (Table 1). Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) THE FUNGAL PATHOGENS IN TIGER SHRIMP PENAEUS MONODON 471

Table 1 Existence of fungal flora in intestinal tissues tiger prawn Penaeus monodon

Name of the different tissues S.No. Name of the Fungi Fore gut Mid gut Hind gut

1 Aspergillus niger + - - 2 A.nidulans + - + 3 A.sulphureus - + - 4 A.wentii - - + 5 A.fumigatus + + +

Fig. 1 Aspergillus niger Fig. 2 Aspergillus nidulans

Fig. 3 Aspergillus sulphureus Fig. 4 Aspergillus wentii

Fig. 5 Aspergillus fumigatus

Distribution of the hyphae in Kuruma prawn Penaeus japanicus infected with Fusarium solani was reported by Momoyama (1987). Fusarium monili forme isolated

Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) 472 N KARTHI ET AL from gills region of kuruma prawn Penaeus japanicus with black gill disease reported by Rhoobun jongde et al (1991). In the present study the existence of microorganisms in the induction sample of marine prawn P.monodon, is reported from the marine organisms of this area. The present study agrees with earlier workers of Lightner and Fontaine (1973) and Hatai et al (1986). It is concluded that the high stocking densities, poor water quality and contaminated feed may lead to various pathogenic fungal disease in P.monodon.

REFERENCE

Alderman D J and Polglase J L 1985 Fusarium tabaeinum (Beyma) Gams. as a gill parasite in the crayfish Austropotamobiuspallipes, Lereboullet. Fish Disease 8:249-252. Bernan V S ,Greenstein M and Maiese W M 1997 Marine microorganisms as a source of new natural products. Adv. Appl.Microbiol. 43:57-90. Hatai K and Egusa S 1978 Studies on the pathogenic fungus associated with black gill disease of Kurume prawn Penaeus japonicus II: Some of the notes on the BG- Fusarium. Fish Pathol. 12:225-231 (in Japanese with English abstract). Hatai K Kubata S Kida N and Udagawa S 1986 Fusarium oxsporum in red sea bream Pagrus sp. J. Wild Life disease 22:570-571 Ishikawa V 1968 A fungus caused black gill condition in cultured Kuruma prawn. Fish Pathol. 3: 34-39 (In Japanese). Lightner D V and Fontaine C T 1973 A new Fungus of the white shrimp Penaeus setiferus. J.Inverebrt. Pathol. 22: 94-99 Momoyama K 1987 Distribution of the hyphae in Kuruma prawn japanicus infected with Fusarium solani. Fish Pathol. 22: 15-23 (in Japanese with English abstract). Momoyama K 1987 Distribution of the hyphae in Kurume prawn Penaeus japonicus infected with Fusarium solani. Fish Pathol. 22:15-23 Nirenberg H J 1990. Recent advance in the taxonomy of Fusarium. Studies in Mycology 32: 91-101. Okonko I O, Ogunjobi A A and Fajobi E A 2008 Comparative studies and microbial risk assessment of different ready to eat (RTE) Frozen sea - foods processed in I Jona- olopa, Lagos state, Nigeria, African J. Biotechnol. 16: 2898-2901 Rhoobunjangde W, Haiti K, Wada S and Kubata S 1991 Fusarium monilifome isolated from gills of Kuruma Prawn Penaeus japonicas with black gill disease. Nippan Suisan Gakkaishi 57:629- 635.

Research Article Biological Sciences DIVING PATTERN OF LITTLE GREBE, COMMON COOT, LITTLE CORMORANT AND DARTER AT VADUVOOR LAKE, THANJAVUR, INDIA.

Vachanth M C, Karthi N and Sridharan G

P.G. & Research Department of Zoology, Rajah Serfoji Government College (Autonomous), Thanjavur – 613 005. *Corresponding Author Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT Underwater activity of diving birds is a fascinating field for researchers in ornithology. Although some dives are made during courtship or to escape from predators, most are made to capture prey. Diving birds may be considered as central-place foragers which make repeated foraging excursions from the surface, to which they must return to breathe. Data collection on the diving patterns of little Grebe, Common Coot, Little Cormorant and Darter was conducted from August 1999 to February 2001 by following the procedure described by Lea et. al.(1996) at Vaduvoor Lake (10.40N; 79.190E) situated 21 km east of Thanjavur and 21 km west of Mannargudi. Totally 410 dives comprising of 54 bouts, 262 dives comprising of 46 bouts, 307 dives comprising of 47 bouts and 134 dives comprising of 37 bouts were recorded for Little Grebe, Little Cormorant, Common Coot and Darter respectively, and their diving behaviour was studied. The mean dive and surface times recorded for the four species differed indicating differences in their feeding strategies. The mean efficiency values were 0.57, 0.8, 0.8, 1.0 for the Little Grebe, Little Cormorant, Common Coot and the Darter respectively. Results of the present study showed that the diving patterns of the four species of divers differed significantly. This indicated that provision or maintenance of different depth levels at different regions of the lake is essential to fulfil the requirements of different waterbirds and thereby to increase the avian diversity of the lake. KEYWORDS Diving Pattern, Vaduvoor Lake, Diving Birds.

INTRODUCTION undertaking a series of dives from the water Underwater activity of diving birds is a surface interspersed with brief recovery periods fascinating field for researchers in ornithology. of surface pauses (Cooper 1986). The duration of Although some dives are made during courtship dives is positively related to surface pauses or or to escape from predators, most are made to resting time (Casaux 2004). Cormorants capture prey. Diving birds may be considered as belonging to the family Phalacrocoracidae are central-place foragers (Orians & Pearson 1979; well adapted to dive in shallow waters (Wilson et Lessels & Stephens 1983) which make repeated al. 1992). The diving behaviour of cormorants is foraging excursions from the surface, to which said to be influenced by environmental features

they must return to breathe. (Frere et al. 2002) and it is reported that Red- Cormorants are foot-propelled pursuit divers legged Cormorants are able to forage by

(Ashmole 1971). They typically forage by selecting the appropriate tidal condition to 123

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minimize foraging effort (Gandini et al. 2005). plantations. The lake was declared as a bird The Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger is sanctuary on 21.1.92 as it an attraction for a widely distributed throughout the Indian variety of birds such as Cormorants, Indian subcontinent (Ali 2002; Kumar et. al. 2005) on Darter, Painted Stork, Open bill Stork, White Ibis, inland waters, and also in brackish lagoons and Glossy Ibis, Spoonbill, Spot bill Duck, Red-crested tidal creeks. The Darters are very like the Pochard, Cotton Teal, Common Coot, Grey Cormorants except that it is more individualistic, Pelican, Black Winged Stilt and Little Tern. Based less gregarious and does not hunt in cooperative on the depth contour and on factors like flocks. pollution, vegetation and human interference Little Grebe a good swimmer and expert diver. three regions (A, B, C) were demarcated in the Vanishes below the surface with astounding lake artificially by imaginatory boundaries for the rapidity, leaving scarcely a ripple behind. When present study. To have representative data, the fired at with a shot gun, the bird has often dived regions A, B and C were further subdivided as

before the charge can reach it. Normally above into three sub divisions each viz. A1, A2, A3,

sedentary, but is capable of flying strongly and B1, B2, B3 and C1, C2 & C3 respectively. for long distances on its diminutive wings when forced by drought to change its habitation. But METHODS Common coot are skitters along the water to Data collection on the diving patterns of Little take off, half running half flying; rises with much Grebe (Fig. 1), Common Coot (Fig. 2), Little labour and pattering, but flies strongly when Cormorant (Fig. 3) and Darter (Fig. 4) was properly launched. The diving behaviour is said conducted from August 1999 to February 2001 to be influenced by environmental features. by following the procedure described by Lea et. These two are widely distributed throughout the al.(1996). Observations were made mostly by Indian subcontinent on inland waters. naked eyes, since during a dive, birds usually Understanding the diving pattern of these expert move out of the field view of binoculars. divers would be helpful in identifying its role in Binoculars were used for the identification of the wetland ecosystem, currently threatened by species and for observing diving at greater growing developmental activities. The aim of this distances. Times of diving, preceding and study was to generate information on the diving following surface times of a dive were recorded pattern of Little Grebe and Common Coot. to the nearest second by using an electronic stop watch. The place of dives water levels were STUDY AREA recorded by inserting a pole which is marked in The observations were made at Vaduvoor Lake cm scale. A field assistant was always nearby (10.40N; 79.190E) situated 21 km east of during data collection to facilitate immediate Thanjavur and 21 km west of Mannargudi. It is spotting of the emerging bird and reduce error in an important migratory waterbird habitat of time recordings. Surface times terminated by the Tamil Nadu, southern India. It has a water bird flying off or disappearing from view were holding capacity of 38.88 million cubic feet. On discarded as were surface times during which the southern side of the lake is the road the bird interacted with another bird. Recording

connecting Thanjavur and Mannargudi and on was abandoned whenever two birds started to

the other sides of the lake are bunds with Acacia feed close together.

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Fig. 1: Little Grebe

Fig. 2: Common Coot

Fig. 3: Little Cormorant

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Fig. 4: Darter

OBSERVATIONS & RESULTS respectively, and their diving behaviour was Totally 410 dives comprising of 54 bouts, 262 studied. dives comprising of 46 bouts, 307 dives Diving Patterns comprising of 47 bouts and 134 dives comprising Mean bout values for various diving parameters of 37 bouts were recorded for Little Grebe, Little for the four bird species had been given in the Cormorant, Common Coot and Darter Tables 1 to 5.

Table. 1: Mean bout values for the diving parameters of the Little Grebe values are X ± 1 SD Bout Mean dive Mean Preceding Mean next surface Total surface time Mean Efficiency No time (S) surface time (S) time (S) (S) 1 19.9±4.04 17.4±8.23 17.4±8.24 31.4±13.28 0.8±0.62 2 19.6±4.06 19.0±3.95 11.8±6.63 35.8±7.49 0.6±0.22 3 18.4±2.07 22.0±2.92 18.4±10.45 40.4±9.96 0.5±0.26 4 18.6±4.86 18.3±3.44 16.3±6.28 34.6±6.79 0.6±0.17 5 16.6±5.41 19.6±3.82 17.1±8.40 36.7±9.43 0.5±0.11 6 17.5±6.36 20.1±1.41 18.5±0.71 38.5±2.12 0.5±0.14 7 18.0±3.73 20.3±4.92 18.0±7.58 38.3±11.06 0.6±0.38 8 19.7±4.41 17.7±5.33 15.2±6.49 32.9±9.48 0.7±0.33 9 15.6±19.93 19.0±3.16 15.4±9.15 34.4±6.35 0.5±0.19 10 17.7±6.20 19.8±4.45 17.2±9.33 37.0±12.15 0.5±0.21 11 17.8±3.61 19.1±4.07 17.0±7.20 36.1±9.53 0.6±0.34 12 14.7±3.21 18.7±1.53 12.3±10.79 31.0±9.54 0.5±0.25 13 20.0±4.54 17.9±3.45 16.1±6.32 34.0±7.27 0.6±0.33 14 15.7±3.55 21.6±3.26 19.0±8.85 40.6±8085 0.4±0.17 15 18.5±5.77 21.5±3.30 19.3±7.09 40.7±7.52 0.5±0.13 16 16.5±4.20 19.0±20.94 15.0±0.23 34.0±11.11 0.5±0.24 17 18.5±3.98 19.6±5.16 17.5±7.67 37.0±11.90 0.6±0.46 18 14.8±5.46 21.2±3.97 17.7±9.52 38.8±9.79 0.4±0.11 19 17.0±4.55 19.3±4.40 17.5±7.55 36.8±6.36 0.5±0.09

126 20 17.6±4.03 18.0±5.27 15.5±7.58 34.5±8.47 0.5±0.21

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21 18.3±2.31 24.0±3.61 14.7±12.74 38.7±13.80 0.5±0.13 22 18.4±4.11 17.9±5.01 15.6±6.82 33.6±7.42 0.6±0.26 23 20.4±4.30 17.9±3.02 16.0±6.02 33.9±5.65 0.6±0.22 24 20.8±5.03 21.3±1.89 19.6±6.98 40.9±6.79 0.5±0.21 25 15.5±5.07 21.0±4.69 15.5±11.33 36.5±13.00 0.5±0.15 26 19.4±5.35 17.4±4.30 15.7±6.75 33.1±7.71 0.6±0.31 27 19.0±4.05 18.0±5.97 13.7±8.08 31.7±10.88 0.7±0.22 28 20.3±10.42 19.6±3.75 17.4±6.71 36.9±7.91 0.6±0.34 29 21.0±2.00 21.0±4.58 12.6±11.37 33.7±15.95 0.7±0.36 30 17.9±4.65 17.4±5.06 15.6±7.46 33.0±10.28 0.6±0.34 31 14.0±3.61 16.8±4.92 13.8±9.09 30.6±8.62 0.5±0.12 32 14.5±9.26 17.3±4.57 12.8±9.46 30.0±13.29 0.5±0.22 33 12.6±1.14 17.4±5.98 13.0±9.06 30.4±7.09 0.4±0.13 34 13.8±3.70 18.8±5.17 16.6±6.69 35.4±8.62 0.4±0.14 35 16.7±6.95 17.4±5.19 14.9±8.36 32.3±11.61 0.6±0.42 36 16.2±4.79 19.1±4.94 17.2±7.48 36.4±99.32 0.5±0.16 37 16.2±3.19 19.2±7.00 15.3±10.09 34.5±13.72 0.6±0.37 38 20.2±6.71 16.5±304 15.4±5.82 31.9±4.99 0.6±0.21 39 16.8±5.25 21.0±4.55 14.5±10.15 35.5±11.09 0.5±0.19 40 20.7±6.37 18.3±2.43 17.1±8.51 35.4±8.75 0.7±0.49 41 17.3±8.26 19.3±3.56 13.5±9.47 32.5±8.39 0.6±0.46 42 14.0±4.00 15.3±3.72 11.8±6.31 27.2±7.55 0.6±0.22 43 20.4±4.07 20.0±5.12 17.9±8.43 37.9±7.39 0.6±0.11 44 19.6±4.50 19.9±6.20 18.1±9.30 38.0±10.04 0.5±0.16 45 17.3±5.98 17.9±6.95 17.1±8.47 35.0±6.96 0.5±0.17 46 19.3±5.43 16.3±3.50 13.5±7.8 29.8±6.97 0.7±0.42 47 24.5±8.02 17.7±7.06 15.8±9.97 33.5±8.83 0.8±0.30 48 16.8±5.12 15.5±4.51 11.0±8.45 26.5±7.85 0.7±0.19 49 26.7±6.42 17.1±4.91 15.8±7.45 32.9±9.24 0.7±0.36 50 16.6±4.75 19.0±4.75 17.1±8.24 36.1±9.75 0.5±0.27 51 17.3±5.28 22.6±5.50 18.3±9.20 40.9±12.32 0.5±0.19 52 18.9±4.73 20.9±6.17 18.6±9.66 39.5±11.86 0.5±0.11 53 17.8±4.79 16.9±4.78 15.7±6.96 32.6±8.04 0.6±0.13 54 21.5±5.96 15.3±6.15 11.8±7.99 27.2±5.98 0.9±0.44 Efficiency = Dive Time/Total Surface Time

Table. 2: Mean bout values for the diving parameters of the Little Cormorant values are X ± 1 SD Bout Mean dive Mean Preceding Mean next surface Total surface Mean No time (S) surface time (S) time (S) time (S) Efficiency 1 19.7±9.86 20.7±6.34 16.9±9.37 37.6±11.47 0.6±0.31 2 17.3±13.80 20.3±15.89 10.3±16.20 30.7±28.5 2.3±3.24 3 19.5±7.05 24.7±9.25 17.5±14.62 42.3±10.87 0.5±0.05

4 21.1±8.84 18.8±9.87 14.5±9.68 33.3±14.61 0.7±0.42 5 23.5±8.35 17.5±5.92 11.5±8.66 29.0±11.46 1.1±1.00

6 20.3±7.24 17.5±9.78 15.4±11.11 32.9±11.23 0.8±0.57 127

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7 22.6±7.37 16.8±6.87 14.3±9.30 31.1±10.14 0.8±0.48 8 19.4±4.28 15.6±5.46 11.0±7.11 26.6±11.15 0.8±0.23 9 17.8±6.90 17.5±3.70 12.8±9.22 30.3±10.90 0.7±0.32 10 10.7±2.31 16.0±6.24 9.0±9.00 25.0±6.24 0.5±0.20 11 12.8±8.62 18.3±9.60 12.8±12.58 31.0±15.03 0.6±0.54 12 20.2±8.44 15.2±7.76 13.4±9.25 28.7±8.82 0.8±0.50 13 18.8±3.77 14.8±3.77 11.3±8.38 26.0±10.30 0.9±0.71 14 17.4±8.72 15.7±8.10 14.0±10.05 29.7±11.67 0.8±0.90 15 20.6±10.92 11.0±3.67 9.0±6.20 20.0±4.80 1.0±0.57 16 24.0±6.98 15.0±3.16 10.3±7.04 25.3±8.26 1.1±0.80 17 22.8±8.26 5.2±4.32 11.6±7.64 26.8±4.38 0.9±0.38 18 18.3±4.79 17.6±8.26 15.0±10.58 32.6±12.97 0.6±0.24 19 23.9±5.63 17.9±7.56 16.2±9.46 34.1±9.75 0.8±0.38 20 15.0±4.24 19.5±3.54 11.0±15.60 30.5±12.02 0.6±0.38 21 16.0±3.74 11.5±5.07 9.8±7.68 21.3±9.74 1.0±0.70 22 19.2±7.79 17.3±5.07 15.7±7.71 33.0±7.11 0.6±0.32 23 22.8±7.09 16.4±4.67 12.2±7.85 28.6±6.39 0.8±0.30 24 22.4±5.53 18.4±6.04 17.4±8.17 35.9±10.22 0.7±0.37 25 17.7±7.09 18.0±7.00 9.7±9.07 27.7±9.07 0.6±0.36 26 18.1±8.97 9.7±8.92 16.7±11.56 36.4±15.69 0.7±0.63 27 15.0±9.14 16.2±8.81 14.6±11.10 30.8±12.01 0.5±0.41 28 15.8±7.54 18.0±5.98 16.8±8.43 34.8±10.28 0.6±0.66 29 17.3±7.23 14.3±9.87 7.3±10.21 21.7±18.5 2.7±3.71 30 21.7±8.10 15.4±7.55 14.4±8.88 29.8±11.75 0.9±0.49 31 15.6±6.19 21.6±6.83 17.6±11.95 39.2±11.63 0.5±0.32 32 19.3±4.68 19.0±7.39 17.0±10.30 36.0±9.73 0.5±0.09 33 21.2±5.21 19.0±6.86 17.2±9.35 36.2±12.85 0.7±0.34 34 24.3±9.07 24.3±6.03 18.3±16.07 42.7±12.05 0.6±0.31 35 19.8±7.86 16.5±7.23 12.5±8.73 29.0±12.38 0.8±0.41 36 20.1±8.16 17.3±9.29 13.0±10.43 30.3±13.53 0.8±0.66 37 20.0±7.07 17.8±2.59 14.2±8.35 32.0±9.03 0.7±0.37 38 22.1±7.37 16.4±7.06 13.5±7.26 29.9±10.00 0.9±0.53 39 17.3±9.74 12.2±2.22 9.0±6.38 21.3±5.38 0.9±0.49 40 20.7±8.50 17.3±10.07 8.0±8.00 25.3±18.00 1.0±0.56 41 22.3±5.28 20.7±7.15 15.7±9.44 36.3±9.40 0.6±0.16 42 21.0±6.00 16.9±6.67 14.1±9.08 31.0±12.19 0.9±0.86 43 16.0±4.24 19.0±2.83 16.0±7.07 35.0±4.24 0.5±0.07 44 16.7±7.54 17.0±8.35 14.0±10.23 31.0±11.70 0.8±0.07 45 18.7±6.11 15.3±9.07 8.0±9.85 23.3±18.00 1.3±1.00 46 22.5±7.72 19.5±9.15 15.3±13.57 34.8±11.70 0.7±0.30 Efficiency = Dive Time/Total Surface Time

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Table. 3: Mean bout values for the diving parameters of the Common Coot values are X ± 1 SD Bout Mean dive Mean Preceding Mean next surface Total surface Mean No time (S) surface time (S) time (S) time (S) Efficiency 1 21.5±9.48 29.8±23.87 17.0±10.26 46.8±27.5 0.8±0.87 2 20.0±18.40 29.5±0.70 15.5±9.10 45.0±19.8 0.4±0.24 3 24.0±7.07 28.5±0.70 14.0±9.80 42.2±20.5 0.6±0.12 4 20.0±9.41 18.8±9.87 14.5±9.68 33.3±14.61 0.7±0.33 5 23.5±8.35 17.5±5.92 11.5±8.66 29.0±11.46 1.1±1.00 6 20.4±7.50 15.6±9.91 11.4±11.39 27.0±12.53 1.0±0.76 7 24.9±10.30 24.0±17.05 22.4±18.48 46.4±28.61 0.6±0.35 8 20.7±0.57 18.7±4.51 11.0±9.85 29.7±14.29 0.9±0.55 9 26.8±14.07 28.6±15.00 27.8±16.36 56.5±24.32 0.6±0.39 10 11.7±3.51 16.0±6.24 9.0±9.00 25.0±6.24 0.5±0.29 11 12.8±8.62 18.3±9.60 12.8±12.58 31.0±15.03 0.6±0.54 12 19.0±8.54 16.0±7.94 13.7±9.98 29.7±7.61 0.7±0.49 13 17.7±3.79 16.0±3.46 11.3±10.26 27.3±7.02 0.7±0.08 14 17.9±7.09 15.4±6.62 14.1±8.09 29.5±9.41 0.8±0.71 15 22.0±8.21 15.7±8.05 14.8±9.24 30.6±11.43 0.8±0.41 16 23.6±10.67 30.0±2.35 18.6±16.24 48.6±14.84 0.5±0.26 17 18.9±8.92 17.0±7.76 13.7±7.92 30.7±8.75 0.8±0.62 18 21.8±6.92 17.1±8.66 13.4±9.35 30.5±11.50 0.9±0.61 19 18.7±9.71 21.0±5.57 12.3±11.24 33.3±16.80 0.8±0.86 20 19.2±7.67 17.8±7.41 17.6±7.89 35.4±8.64 0.5±0.25 21 20.0±1.41 13.5±10.61 3.0±4.24 16.5±14.8 2.1±1.98 22 22.2±7.73 15.1±5.94 13.4±7.30 28.5±5.92 0.8±0.33 23 20.5±12.02 12.0±5.66 4.0±5.66 16.0±11.31 1.4±0.21 24 21.3±8.84 24.8±8.45 17.9±12.02 42.7±15.49 0.5±0.20 25 20.0±9.72 16.4±5.37 13.0±9.02 29.4±6.77 0.7±0.36 26 23.6±6.80 15.2±7.48 15.8±7.48 31.0±10.99 0.9±0.57 27 23.7±8.20 16.9±6.87 14.3±9.30 31.1±10.14 0.9±0.47 28 24.8±11.72 31.3±19.85 29.3±22.6 60.7±33.20 0.5±0.31 29 26.8±14.83 23.3±12.53 21.9±14.33 45.2±21.99 0.7±0.38 30 23.5±12.02 17.0±0.00 8.5±12.02 25.5±12.02 0.9±0.04 31 22.2±8.33 14.0±6.84 13.0±8.19 27.0±11.58 1.3±1.50 32 19.3±7.42 20.8±6.79 17.8±10.98 38.7±10.35 0.5±0.12 33 25.7±9.15 24.1±17.62 23.0±18.83 47.1±30.68 0.7±0.45 34 29.5±17.48 14.5±5.45 12.3±9.11 26.8±10.63 1.5±1.59 35 28.2±10.82 17.7±6.1 16.8±11.13 34.5±13.16 0.9±.052 36 18.5±7.79 14.5±6.89 12.8±9.06 27.3±7.63 0.7±0.37 37 23.3±8.37 21.2±10.66 17.7±12.25 38.9±13.09 0.7±0.32 38 18.5±16.66 18.8±10.59 11.3±10.59 30.0±9.97 0.8±0.76 39 35.9±28.1 40.6±22.52 33.7±26.80 74.3±30.10 0.5±0.27

40 37.3±13.60 35.4±14.98 31.4±19.06 66.9±3.080 0.7±0.38 41 40.9±28.89 26.9±12.03 23.6±11.32 50.5±16.90 0.8±0.49

42 26.7±5.51 21.7±7.23 9.3±8.62 31.0±3.61 0.9±0.22 129

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43 18.1±9.42 21.6±12.79 17.4±14.56 39.0±16.79 0.5±0.28 44 37.4±27.40 32.1±17.54 29.7±20.85 61.9±16.99 0.6±0.20 45 64.8±28.80 29.0±8.80 23.0±15.57 52.0±6.89 1.2±0.47 46 59.8±25.18 27.0±13.72 26.3±14.97 53.3±18.21 1.3±0.76 47 85.0±11.27 22.0±14.73 15.7±19.90 37.7±25.30 4.5±4.99 Efficiency = Dive Time/Total Surface Time

Table. 4: Mean bout values for the diving parameters of the Darter values are X ± 1 SD Bout Mean dive Mean Preceding Mean next surface Total surface Mean No time (S) surface time (S) time (S) time (S) Efficiency 1 38.0±36.80 33.5±7.78 14.0±19.80 47.5±27.60 0.7±0.37 2 57.0±35.40 39.0±4.24 18.0±25.50 57.0±29.70 0.3±1.32 3 59.0±33.10 28.0±12.49 20.0±21.10 48.0±26.20 2.1±2.44 4 55.7±22.50 33.3±8.08 24.7±21.90 58.0±16.00 0.9±0.13 5 55.3±16.65 33.3±12.01 22.0±22.50 55.3±30.40 1.6±1.12 6 52.3±25.7 38.0±8.72 23.3±21.40 61.3±16.77 0.8±0.24 7 61.0±12.36 32.0±7.79 22.1±12.36 32.0±15.23 1.9±0.22 8 91.0±7.07 32.0±22.60 24.0±33.90 56.0±11.31 1.6±0.21 9 48.7±36.00 33.5±13.50 21.5±17.16 55.0±22.2 0.9±0.47 10 54.4±31.00 28.6±16.94 25.0±21.14 53.6±22.80 1.1±0.61 11 26.0±2.83 24.5±16.30 6.5±9.19 31.0±25.50 1.2±0.90 12 47.0±45.00 58.0±16.37 43.3±39.10 101.3±27.20 0.5±0.46 13 39.0±15.08 39.0±14.98 33.9±21.11 72.9±26.80 0.6±0.24 14 36.0±16.81 28.6±12.30 23.0±17.79 51.6±7.70 0.7±0.29 15 54.8±30.80 27.0±10.89 17.0±13.11 44.0±22.80 1.7±1.03 16 71.0±13.25 12.0±1.23 15.8±12.66 12.0±2.56 1.9±0.21 17 68.7±26.60 35.7±5.51 22.0±19.30 57.7±24.6 1.5±1.21 18 73.3±15.04 24.3±6.11 16.7±15.63 41.0±19.20 1.4±1.98 19 57.4±31.2 27.0±16.22 18.6±17.34 45.6±5.03 1.3±0.79 20 30.0±2.83 42.5±6.36 23.5±33.20 66.0±26.90 0.5±0.15 21 58.7±21.20 19.7±8.62 13.7±14.57 33.3±6.66 1.7±0.48 22 84.0±10.44 30. ±9.85 19.0±19.00 49.0±9.85 1.8±0.57 23 74.5±24.70 23.0±9.80 47.0±14.10 70.0±33.90 1.3±0.98 24 26.0±1.35 48.0±2.36 12.3±9.65 48.0±12.36 0.5±0.32 25 47.7±37.10 39.3±41.60 37.3±44.10 76.7±45.00 0.6±0.29 26 32.0±19.80 42.0±14.10 26.0±36.80 68.0±22.60 0.5±0.47 27 29.3±13.79 35.7±15.96 32.2±21.25 67.8±25.40 0.5±0.24 28 40.6±26.90 26.6±13.01 17.0±10.79 43.6±19.32 1.2±1.03 29 38.0±41.30 37.3±18.57 24.7±23.30 62.0±16.27 0.8±1.02 30 19.2±12.22 39.5±19.62 30.2±23.20 69.7±33.60 0.4±0.35 31 34.6±22.75 54.6±25.12 52.1±29.80 106.7±37.60 0.3±0.19 32 55.0±25.90 24.3±3.51 16.3±14.57 40.7±17.10 1.8±1.62

33 40.6±25.55 63.1±33.20 56.7±40.80 119.9±57.70 0.5±0.56 34 64.0±33.70 54.3±16.09 59.7±22.90 114.0±28.90 0.6±0.27

35 28.0±34.80 66.0±33.00 48.8±41.40 114.8±63.50 0.3±0.38 130

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36 32.0±15.39 28.3±9.81 17.0±17.00 45.3±26.00 1.0±0.68 37 32.4±20.11 60.6±14.82 52.6±27.40 113.2±20.10 0.3±0.21 Efficiency = Dive Time/Total Surface Time

Table. 5: Comparison of diving patterns of four diving bird species at the Vaduvoor Lake. S.No. Parameter Bird Species F P Little Little Grebe Common Coot Darter Cormorant (n=410) (n=262) (n=307) (n=307)

1 Diving time 18.2±5.27 19.7±7.30 26.2±16.98 46.4±27.45 150.17 0.00

Preceding surface 2 18.8±4.74 17.4±7.10 21.6±12.50 38.9±20.79 138.45 0.00 time

3 Next surface time 16.3±7.65 14.03±9.16 18.1±13.84 30.1±26.41 46.94 0.00

4 Total surface time 35.0±9.13 31.4±11.40 39.7±20.45 68.1±37.68 136.37 0.00

5 Efficiency 0.57±0.28 0.8±0.71 0.8±0.79 1.0±0.96 15.68 0.00

Little Grebe Darter For Little Grebe, the mean dive time/bout varied In Darter, the mean dive time/bout varied between 12.6s and 26.7s, the mean preceding between 19.2s and 91.0s, mean preceding surface time/bout between 15.3s and 24.0s, surface time/bout between 12.0s and 66.0s, mean next surface time/bout between 11.0s and mean next surface time/bout between 6.5s and 19.6s, total surface time/bout between 26.5s 59.7s, mean total surface time/bout between and 40.9s and efficiency between 0.4s and 0.9s 12.0s and 119.9s and the mean efficiency (Table 1) values/bout between 0.3s and 2.1s (Table 4). Little Cormorant In the Little Cormorant, the mean dive time/bout DISCUSSION varied between 10.7s and 24.3s, mean preceding Dive and Surface time surface time/bout between 5.2s and 24.7s, mean The mean dive and surface times recorded for next surface time/bout between 7.3s and 18.3s, the four species differed (Table 5) indicating mean total surface time/bout between 20.0s and differences in their feeding strategies. The values 42.7s and the mean efficiency values/bout obtained for the Little Cormorants viz. 10.7s and between 0.5s and 2.7s (Table 2). 24.3s for dive and total surface times, Common Coot respectively, were quite different to the ones With regard to Common Coot, the mean dive reported for Cormorants by Lalas (1983), Cooper time/bout varied between 11.7s and 85.0s, (1986) and Lea et al. (1996), the essential mean preceding surface time/bout between difference being the surface time under

12.0s and 40.6s, mean next surface time/bout European condition was very low (around 7s)

between 3.0s and 33.7s, mean total surface while the dive times was more or less similar i.e., time/bout between 16.0s and 74.3s and mean (around 20s). This concurred with the views of

131 efficiency/bout between 0.4s and 4.5s (Table 3)

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Wilson and Wilson (1988) that mean dive times to fulfil the requirements of different waterbirds vary so much with the foraging environment that and thereby to increase the avian diversity of the they cannot be taken as characteristic of a lake. species. However, comparison of the data collected in the present study with earlier REFERENCES reports showed that the diving patterns of bird o Ali, S. 2002. Book of Indian Birds. Oxford University species under the tropical conditions could be of Press, New Delhi, pp 67. o Ashmole, N.P. 1971. Avian Biology. Academic Press, different type, and this aspects warrants further New York, 224-271 pp. detailed research. o Casaux, R. 2004. Diving patterns in Antarctic Shag. Waterbirds 24(4): 382-387. Dive Efficiency o Cooper, J. 1986. Diving patterns of Cormorants, Phalacrocoracidae. Ibis 114: 360-366. The mean efficiency values were 0.57, 0.8, 0.8, o Dewar, J.M. 1924. The Bird As A Diver, witherby, and 1.0 for the Little Grebe, Little Cormorant, London. 173 pp. Common Coot and the Darter respectively (Table o Frere, E. F., Quintana and Gandini, P. 2002. Diving 5). These values were very low when compared behaviour of the Red-legged Cormorant, southeastern to earlier reports (Dewar 1924, Cooper 1986, Lea Patagonia, Argentina. Condor 104: 440-444. o Gandini, P.E., Frere and Quitana, f. 2005. Feeding et. al. 1996). Dewar (1924) suggested 2.8 as Performance and foraging area of the Red-legged typical for the genus Phalacrocorax. Efficiency Cormorant. Waterbirds 28(1): 41-45. was found to increase with dive time in all the o Kumar, A., Sati, J.P., Tak, P.C., and Alfred, J.R.B. 2005. four species. Since dive time increases with Handbook of Indian Wetland Birds and Their Conservation, Published by ZSI & MoEF, Govt. of India, depth, this result is consistent with Kramer’s 64 pp. conclusions that efficiency should increase with o Lalas. 1953. Unpublished Ph.D., Thesis. University of depth. But it is inconsistent with Wanless et. al’s. Otago (cited by Lea et. al. 1996). (1993a) observation of decreasing efficiency with o Lea, S., Daley, C., Boddington, P and Morrison, V. 1996. increasing dive time in the Shag. It may also be Diving Patterns in shags and cormorants (Phalacrocorax): test of an optimal breathing model. that efficiency first increases with depth and Ibis 138: 391-398. subsequently decreases, a pattern suggested as o Lessells, C.M. and Stephens, D.W. 1983. Central-place a generalization suggested by Dewar (1924) and foraging: single prey loades again. Animal Behaviour reported for the Little Shag by Stonehouse 31: 238-2243. o Orians, G.H. and Pearson, N.E. 1979. On the theory of (1967). On the contrary Wilson and Wilson central place foraging, pp. 155-177. In: Horn, D.J., R.D. (1988) argued that the notion of diving efficiency Mitchell & D.R. Stairs (eds). Analysis of Ecological is unhelpful because it depends on the Systemms. Ohio State University Press. Columbs. assumption of a linear relationship (indeed, a o Stonehouse, B. 1967. Feeding behaviour and diving linear relationship with zero intercept) between rhythm of some New Zealand shags, Phalacrocoracidae. Ibis 109: 600-605. surface time and dive time. o Wanless, S., Corfield, M., Harris, M.P., Buckland, S.T. and Morris, (1993). Diving behaviour of the Shag Significance of diving patterns o Phalacrocorax aristotelis (Aves: Pelecaniformes) in Results of the present study showed that the relation to water depth and prey size. Journal of Zoology 231: 11-25. diving patterns of the four species of divers o Wilson, R.P. and Wilson, M.P.T. 1988. Foraging differed significantly (Table 5). This indicated

behaviour in four sympatric cormorants, J. Anim. Ecol. that provision or maintenance of different depth 57: 943-955. levels at different regions of the lake is essential o Wilson, R.P., Hustler, K., Ryan, P.G., Burger, A.E. &

132 Noldeke, E.C., (1992). Diving birds in cold water: Do.

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o Archemedes and Boyle determine energetic cost? American Naturalist 140: 179-200.

*Corresponding Author: M.C. Vachanth Ph.D., Research Scholar P.G. & Research Department of Zoology Rajah Serfoji Government College (Autonomous) Thanjavur – 613 005 Email:[email protected]

133

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NT OU P ASSESSMENTM U OF PHYSIO-CHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF WATER IN KALLAPERAMBUR LAKE 197 A B R L A I P C

I ISSN : 0971 - 0965

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A S P J. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Monit. 22 (2) 197-200 (2012) http://www.palaniparamount.com © Palani Paramount Publications - Printed in India ASSESSMENT OF PHYSIO-CHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF WATER IN KALLAPERAMBUR LAKE, TAMIL NADU

M C VACHANTH, N KARTHI, R RENGARAJAN AND G SRIDHARAN P.G. AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, RAJAH SERFOJI GOVERNMENT COLLEGE, THANJAVUR 613 005, TAMIL NADU, INDIA E-mail: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to asses the water quality parameters of the Kallaperambur Lake, Tamil Nadu, from August 2008 to March 2009. The results revealed that for most of the water parameters like Turbidity (25.4 NTU), Total Dissolved Solids (187.6 mg/l), Electrical Conductivity (293.9 mho/cm), Total Alkalinity (91.5 mg/l), Total Hardness (66.6 mg/l), Magnesium (7.2 mg/l), Sodium (32.1 mg/l), Iron (1 mg/l), Manganese (0.1 mg/l), Nitrite (0.06 mg/l), Chloride (42 mg/l) and Dissolved Oxygen (1.8 mg/ l) the maximum values was recorded in the month of November 2008. For the parameters like pH (1.5), Calcium (25.2 mg/l), Potassium (7.9 mg/l), Nitrate (2.4 mg/l), Fluoride (0.6 mg/l), Sulphate (14.4 mg/l) and Phosphate (0.6 mg/l), the maximum values were recorded in the month of september 2008, February 2009 and August 2008, respectively. Variations in the water quality parameters determine the distribution, abundance and diversity of all aquatic organisms in the Lake.

Key words : Parameters, Kallaperambur lake, Maximum, Minimum.

INTRODUCTION Fresh water lakes, one of the important types of wetlands, play a vital role in the economics of their respective regions, expecially with reference to agriculture, fishing, livestock maintenance and drinking water facilities. Kallaperambur Lake is one such freshwater lake and in turn a wetland. The lake is on the way to be declared as a bird sanctuary as it harbours a great variety of water birds. The nature and degree of waterbird use of wetland is generally taken as an indicator of the quality of a wetland. The density and diversity of waterbirds had been reported to be influenced by a variety of factors. Water quality features of the wetlands such as turbidity, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, pH, total alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron, manganese, free ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, chloride, fluoride, sulphate, phosphate and dissolved oxygen were regarded as factors, that could influence water bird species richness, diversity and density (McMohan 1967, 1968, Stewart & Kantrud 1971, Patterson 1976, Nilsson & Nilsson Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) 198 M C VACHANTH ET AL

1978, Swanson et al 1973 & Murphy et al 1984). Based on this fact the present study is designed to asses the water quality parameter of the Kallaperambur lake, Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The lake is located about 15 km to the west of Thanjavur. It covers an area of about 175 hactares. It is the source of water for many of the applications such as drinking, washing, irrigation and entertainment etc. The samples were collected twice in a month from August 2008 - May 2009. Standard methods described by Trivedy et al (1987), Trivedy & Goel 1986), Murphy et al (1984), Klein (1973) & Bernath et al (1985) have been followed to asses the physio-chemical parameters of the water. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION All the water quality factors studied were found to significantly influenced one or more water bird population. Literature bounds with reports on water quality factors in a wetland (Hutchinson 1957, McMohan 1967, Stewart & Kantrud 1971, Wetzel 1975, Patterson 1976, Nilson & Nilson 1978, Mepham 1987, Mittal et al 1990, Sampath & Krishnamoorthi 1990; Sridharan 2003). Turbidity ranged from 0. 96 to 25.4 NTU; higher and lower turbidity was recorded in the months of August and Nov. 2008, respectively. The effect of turbidity could influence on the primary productivity (Singh & Desai 1980). Total Dissolved solids ranged from 18.3 to 187.6 mg/l with least TDS (18.3 mg/l) was recorded in the month of August 2008 and to the contrast in the month of Nov-2008 (187.6 mg/l) was recorded. High level of the Dissolved solids have been attributed to phytoplanktonic growth (Jana 1973, Bhat & Negi 1985). Electrical conductivity ranged from 10.9 to 17.0 mho/cm. Barke and Smart (1986) observed that electrical conductivity in the North American lake influenced species level. pH ranged between 0.06 to 1.5. The pH has been regarded as an indicator of overall productivity that can use habitat diversity (Minns 1989). The Dissolved oxygen level ranged between 0.12 to 1.6 mg/l, the minimum level was recorded in the month of October and maximum was recorded in the month of November 2008. Sathe et al (2001) stated that dissolved oxygen is of great limnological significance as it regulates metabolic processes of aquatic organisms and indicates the status of water study. The Total Hardness ranged between 8.7 to 66.6 mg/l. It has been reported that the total hardness influences to a large extent the succession and dominance of various aquatic organisms (Ramamurthy 1965). Nitrates and other nutrients are regarded as important imitating factors for various aquatic organisms (Odum 1971, Wetzel & Likens 1979). Nitrite level in the water during the study period ranges between 0 to 0.06 mg/l. It is an important factor for controlling the occurrence and abundance of phytoplankton (Dwivedi & Pandey 2002) as it is an important source of nitrogen for phytoplankton (Srivastava & Vidyarthi 2000). It is clear from the results that almost all the parameters are at its peak during the month of November which has become Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) ASSESSMENT OF PHYSIO-CHEMICAL PARAMETERS OF WATER IN KALLAPERAMBUR LAKE 199 Table 1 Variation in water quality parameters at the Kallaperambur Lake during different months different during Lake Kallaperambur the at parameters quality water in Variation 1 Table Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) 200 M C VACHANTH ET AL the reason for the presence of more number of migratory water birds in the lake during that particular month so it becomes the peak migrating period. Thus, it can be concluded that the variations in the water quality parameters determine the distribution, abundance and diversity of all aquatic organisms in the Kallaperambur Lake during the study period.

REFERENCES

Barke W J and Smart R M 1986 Sediment-related mechanisms of growth limitation in submerged macrophytes. Ecology 67 (5) : 1328-1340. Bernath P F, Black T K and Brault J W 1985 The spectrum of magnesium hydride. Astrophysical J 298.375. Bhatt S D and Negi U 1985 Physico-chemical features and phytoplankton population in a subtropical pond. Comp. Physiol. Ecol. 10(2): 85 - 88. Dwivedi B K and Pandey U C 2002 Physico-chemical factors and algal diversity of two ponds (Girijakund and Maqubara pond), Faizabad, India. Poll. Res. 21 (3) : 361 - 370. Mepham J S 1987 Region 8: Southern Africa: The wilderness lakes. African Wetlands Shallow Water Bodies 211 : 563 - 577. Minns C K 1989. Factors affecting fish species richness in Ontario lakes. Trans. American. Fish. Soc. 118 : 533 - 545. Mittal D D, Vijayan V S and Azeez P A 1990 Physicochemical properties of the waters and Keoladeo National Park from 1982 to 1988. In : Proc. Of seminar on wetland ecology and management, Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc., Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, 23 -25 February, p 154. Murphy S M, Kessel B and Vining L J 1984 Waterfowl population and limnologic characteristics of Taiga ponds. J.Wildl. Mgmt. 48 (4) : 1156 - 1163. Sampath K and Krishnamoorthy K 1990 Bird fauna and limnology of the Koliveli tank, Tamilnadu. Pp 47 - 48. In Proc. Seminar on wetland ecology and management. Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc. Keoladeo. National Park, Barathpur, 23 - 25, February 1990. p 154. Sathe S, Suresh A, Milind K and Hujare S 2001 Hydrobiological studies on two manmade reservoirs form Targaon Tahsil (Maharashtra), India. Eco. Environ. Conserv. 7 (2) : 211 - 217. Singh R K and Desai N R 1980 Limnological observations on Richard reservoir III-primary productivity. J. Inland Fish. Soc. India 12 (2) : 63 - 68. Sridharan G 2003 Waterbird use and conservation issues of Vaduvoor Lake. Tamil Nadu, Southern India. Ph.D., thesis. Srivastava R K and Vidyarthi S 2002 Pesticides and its impact on aquatic ecosystems. In: Ecology and ethology of aquatic biota. Eds: Kumar A. p 216 - 220. Trivedy R K and Goel P K 1986 Chemical and biological methods for water pollution studies. 2nd ed. Environmental Publications, Karad, India. Trivedy R K, Goel P K and Trisal C L 1987 Practical methods in ecology and environmental science. Environmental Publications, Karad, India.

Journal of Ecotoxicology & Environmental Monitoring. Vol. 22 (2012) NT OU P ANM OVERUVIEW OF WATERBIRDS IN KARAIVETTY LAKE, TAMIL NADU, SOUTHERN INDIA 75 A B R L A I P C

I ISSN : 0970 - 9037

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A S P J. Ecobiol. 30 (1) 75 - 80 (2012) http://www.palaniparamount.com © Palani Paramount Publications - Printed in India AN OVERVIEW OF WATERBIRDS IN KARAIVETTY LAKE, TAMIL NADU, SOUTHERN INDIA

M C VACHANTH, N KARTHI AND G SRIDHARAN P.G. AND RESEARCH DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY, RAJAH SERFOJI GOVERNMENT COLLEGE, THANJAVUR 613 005, TAMIL NADU, INDIA Email : [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The birds of Karaivetty Lake (Wetland), Tamil Nadu, Southern India were surveyed between August 2008 and March 2009. Totally 50 birds species were recorded and belonged to 8 orders including 2 species of Podicipediformes, 4 Pelecaniformes, 14 Ciconiiformes, 9 Anseriformes, 5 Gruiformes, 10 Charadriiformes, 3 Coraciiformes and 3 species of Passeriformes. The birds belonged to diversified ecological groups as there were 6 divers, 10 swImming birds, 15 small waders, 14 large waders and 5 aerial foragers. The microhabitats within the lake and agricultural areas surrounding the lake attract this much of diversied birds. Management recommendations include reduction of tourism, prevention of spread of developmental activities, afforestration and creation of public awareness considering the ecological significance of wetlands. Key words : Karaivetty Lake, Survey, Management.

INTRODUCTION Wetlands are traditional zones that occupy intermediate position between dry land and open water. They harbour enormous diversity of flora and faunal species, many of which are endangered. It is estimated that India had about 4.1 million hactares of wetlands of which 1.5 million hactares are natural and 2.6 million hactares are man made. Karaivetty lake (10º 59’ N:79º10’E) is one of the prime wetland bird sanctuaries in Tamil Nadu. It occupies an area of 454 hactares receiving an annual rainfall of about 2000 mm. Temperature ranges between 14º and 33ºC. It is essentially an irrigation tank that receives water from Mettur dam and north east monsoon. It attracts 50 species of birds and during the peak month (November) where over 2.5 lakhs of birds visit this sanctuary. The important birds visiting this sanctuary are high flying Barheaded Goose, long migrants like White necked stork, Grey Pelican and Ibis, 16 species of ducks and 23 species of waders. The avifauna of the Karaivetty Bird Sanctuary is not wellJournal documented of Ecobiology. and Vol.30 there (2012) is a paucity of information in 76 M C VACHANTH ET AL this regard. Hence, the present study aims at surveying the birds of the Karaivetty Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Survey of birds : Different species of birds in various habitats in the Karaivetty Lake were assessed by visual survey method. The birds were identified by using a 7 X 50 field binocular. The birds were identified with the help of their special features. Various ornithological field guides were used to identify different species of birds (Ali 1969, King et al 1978, Woodcock 1979 ; Sonobe & Usui 2000). Photogrphs of different birds were taken by using digital cameras for confirming the identification. Ecological classification of Birds: The birds observed were categorized into five groups on the basis of their activities as Divers, Swimming birds, Small wader, Large waders and Aerial foragers. Divers: Birds that dive during foraging for capturing the prey e.g. Cormorants. Swimming birds: Birds that are associated with the surface of the water column e.g. Ducks, Teals. Small waders: Small birds of shallow open expanses of water such as Plovers and Sandpipers. Large waders: Large, long legged birds that wade into the shallow water in search of prey e.g. Egrets, Herons. Aerial foragers: Birds that search for prey by flying over the water surface and diving from air to capture individual prey items e.g. Terns and Kingfishers. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Avifauna of Karaivetty Lake: Totally 50 birds species were recorded in the Karaivetty Lake during the study period (Table 1) and they belonged to 8 orders. Two species belonged to the order Podicipediformes, 4 species to Pelecaniformes, 14 species to Ciconiiformes, 9 species to Anseriformes, 5 species to Gruiformes, 10 species to Charadriiformes, 3 species to Coraciiformes and 3 species to Passeriformes (Table 1). Among the 50 species recorded during the entire study period, 6 were Divers, 10 Swimming birds, 15 Small waders, 14 Small waders and 5 Aerial forages (Table 1). Migratory birds recorded include Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus), Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis), Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger), Large Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), Grey Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis), Darter (Anhinga rufa), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta), Large Egret (Ardea alba), Median Egret (Egretta intermedia), Cattle Egret (Buibulcus ibis), Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea), Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea), Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii), Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala), Openbill Stork (Anastomus oscitans), White ibis (Threskiornis aethiopica), Black Ibis (Pseudibis papillosa), Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus),

Journal of Ecobiology. Vol.30 (2012) AN OVERVIEW OF WATERBIRDS IN KARAIVETTY LAKE, TAMIL NADU, SOUTHERN INDIA 77

Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), Barhead Goose (Anser indicus), Comb Duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos), Pintail Duck (Anas acuta), Marbled Teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris), Common Teal (Anas crecca), Spotbill Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha), Shoveller (Anas clypeata), Garganey (Anas querquedula), Cotton Teal (Nettapus coromandelianus), White breasted Water hen (Amaurornis phoenicurus), Watercock (Gallicrex cinerea), Indian Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), Purple Moorhen (Porphyrio porphyrio), Common coot (Fulica atra), Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianus chirurgus), Black Winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Red Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus), Yellow- Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus), Marsh sandpiper (Tringa stagnatilis), Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola), Common Sandpiper (Tringa hypoleucos), Little Sting (Calidris minuta), Indian Whiskered Tern (Chlidonias hybrida), Little Tern (Sterna albifrons), Small blue Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis), Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla flava), White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) and Large Pied Wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis).

Table 1 List of bird species recorded in the Karaivetty Bird Sanctuary during the study period arranged according to their taxonomical group

SI. Common Ecological Scientific name Order Family No name group Great Crested Podiceps 1 Podicipediformes Podicipitidae Diver Grebe cristatus Tachybaptus 2 Little Grebe Podicipediformes Podicipitidae Diver ruficollis Little Phalacrocorax 3 Pelecaniformes Phalacrocoracidae Diver Cormorant niger Large Phalacrocorax 4 Pelecaniformes Phalacrocoracidae Diver Cormorant carbo Pelecanus Swimming 5 Grey Pelican Pelecaniformes Pelecanidae philippensis Bird 6 Darter Anhinga rufa Pelecaniformes Phalacrocoracidae Diver 7 Little Egret Egretta garzetta Ciconiiformes Ardeidae Large Wader 8 Large Egret Ardea alba Ciconiiformes Ardeidae Large Wader Egretta 9 Median Egret Ciconiiformes Ardeidae Large Wader intermedia 10 Cattle Egret Buibulcus ibis Ciconiiformes Ardeidae Large Wader 11 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea Ciconiiformes Ardeidae Large Wader 12 Purple Heron Ardea purpurea Ciconiiformes Ardeidae Large Wader Nycticorax 13 Night Heron Ciconiiformes Ardeidae Large Wader nycticorax Journal of Ecobiology. Vol.30 (2012) 78 M C VACHANTH ET AL

Table 1 Continued...

SI. Common Ecological Scientific name Order Family No name group 14 Pond Heron Ardeola grayii Ciconiiformes Ardeidae Large Wader Mycteria 15 Painted Stork Ciconiiformes Threskiornithidae Large Wader leucocephala Anastomus 16 Openbill Stork Ciconiiformes Threskiornithidae Large Wader oscitans Threskiornis 17 White ibis Ciconiiformes Threskiornithidae Large Wader aethiopica Pseudibis 18 Black Ibis Ciconiiformes Threskiornithidae Large Wader papillosa Plegadis 19 Glossy Ibis Ciconiiformes Threskiornithidae Large Wader falcinellus Platalea 20 Spoonbill Ciconiiformes Threskiornithidae Large Wader leucorodia 21 Barhead Goose Anser indicus Anseriformes Anatidae Swimming Bird Sarkidiornis 22 Comb Duck Anseriformes Anatidae Swimming Bird melanotos 23 Pintail Duck Anas acuta Anseriformes Anatidae Swimming Bird Marmaronetta 24 Marbled Teal Anseriformes Anatidae Swimming Bird angustirostris 25 Common Teal Anas crecca Anseriformes Anatidae Swimming Bird Anas 26 Spotbill Duck Anseriformes Anatidae Swimming Bird poecilorhyncha 27 Shoveller Anas clypeata Anseriformes Anatidae Swimming Bird Anas 28 Garganey Anseriformes Anatidae Swimming Bird querquedula Nettapus 29 Cotton Teal Anseriformes Anatidae Swimming Bird coromandelianus White breasted Amaurornis 30 Gruiformes Rallidae Small Wader Waterhen phoenicurus 31 Watercock Gallicrex cinerea Gruiformes Rallidae Small Wader Indian Gallinula 32 Gruiformes Rallidae Small Wader Moorhen chloropus Purple Porphyrio 33 Gruiformes Rallidae Small Wader Moorhen porphyrio 34 Common coot Fulica atra Gruiformes Rallidae Diver Pheasant-tailed Hydrophasianus 35 Charadriiformes Jacanidae Small Wader Jacana chirurgus Black Winged Himantopus 36 Charadriiformes Charadriidae Small Wader Stilt himantopus

Journal of Ecobiology. Vol.30 (2012) AN OVERVIEW OF WATERBIRDS IN KARAIVETTY LAKE, TAMIL NADU, SOUTHERN INDIA 79

Table 1 Continued...

SI. Common Ecological Scientific name Order Family No name group Red Wattled 37 Vanellus indicus Charadriiformes Charadriidae Small Wader Lapwing Yellow-Wattled Vanellus 38 Charadriiformes Charadriidae Small Wader Lapwing malabaricus 39 Marsh sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis Charadriiformes Scolopacinae Small Wader 40 Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola Charadriiformes Scolopacinae Small Wader Common Tringa 41 Charadriiformes Scolopacinae Small Wader Sandpiper hypoleucos 42 Little Sting Calidris minuta Charadriiformes Scolopacinae Small Wader Indian Chlidonias 43 Charadriiformes Laridae Aerial Forager Whiskered Tern hybrida 44 Little Tern Sterna albifrons Charadriiformes Laridae Aerial Forager Small blue 45 Alcedo atthis Coraciiformes Alcedinidae Aerial Forager Kingfisher 46 Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis Coraciiformes Alcedinidae Aerial Forager White-breasted Halcyon 47 Coraciiformes Alcedinidae Aerial Forager Kingfisher smyrnensis 48 Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava Passeriformes Motacillidae Small Wader 49 White Wagtail Motacilla alba Passeriformes Motacillidae Small Wader Large Pied Motacilla 50 Passeriformes Motacillidae Small Wader Wagtail maderaspatensis Totally 50 bird species were recorded in the Karaivetty Lake, indicating that the wetland is rich in bird species. Among them White Ibis and Darter were "Nearly threatened". This shows that there is great significance of this lake for the life of migratory birds. Number of species reported in this study is remarkably higher because this survey was intensive covering all possible areas of the sanctuary. This is the first report which provides information on the migratory birds of this sanctuary. The waterbirds are specific in their choice of wetlands. This is often strongly associated with prey distribution and abundance (Kelsey & Hassall 1989). Waterbirds feed mainly on benthic invertebrates (Van de kam et al 2004) which show wide variations in the density and diversity between seasons and hence the variations in prey population dynamics should influence the bird populations. Threats : Over exploitation of wetland resources were found to be the major threats to the wetlands.Human disturbances in the form of Cattle grazing, Cattle washing, Encroachment, Poaching of birds, Pollution, Siltation, fishing and Conflits

Journal of Ecobiology. Vol.30 (2012) 80 M C VACHANTH ET AL with irrigation. Divakaran (2000) also noticed majority of these threats in different islands of Gulf of Mannar, Southern India, causing great havoc on bird life there. Management recommendations: Threats to the wetlands must be paid immediate attention. 1. Tourism activities should be limited. 2. Use of wetland area for over exploitation of aquaculture and fisheries resources should be stopped. 3. More plantings of aquatic vegetation in more areas should be done. 4. The local people must be educated about the rare and uniqueness of the habitat and excellent avifauna of the wetlands and their conservation. 5. This study has brought out the significance of not only the wetlands but also other microhabitats in the abandoned agricultural lands surrounding the wetlands with regard to the attraction of birds. So the management plans must take into account that provision of a mosaic of habitats is needed for the conservation of birds in this area.

REFERENCES

Ali S 1969 The Book of Indian birds, Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay. Divakaran V 2000 Bio-diversity of islands of Gulf of Mannar, M.Sc., dissertation, Department of Zoology and Division of Wildlife Biology, A.V.C.College, Mayiladuthurai, SouthernIndia. Kelsey M G and Hassall M 1989 Patch selection by Dunlin on a heterogeneous mudflat. Ornis Scandinavia 20: 250-254. King B, Woodcock M and Dickinson E C 1978 A field guide to the birds of South East Asia. Collins, St. James Place, London. Sonobe K and Usui S 1993 A field guide to the water birds of Asia. Wild Bird Society of Japan, Tokyo. Van de kam J, Ens B Piersma T and Zwarts L 2004 Shorebirds: An illustrated behavioural ecology. KNNV Publishers, Utrecht. Woodcock M W 1979 Collins hand guide to the birds of the Indian Sub-continent, Collins, St. James Place, London.

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