Zooplankton Diversity in Shallow Lake of Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon (Haryana).

ABSTRACT

Abundance, community composition and density of zooplankton were analyzed in the shallow lake of Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon, Haryana (India) from February, 2011 to January, 2012. A total of 42 species of Zooplanktons (23 species of Rotifers, 15 species of Brachiopods, 3 species of Copepods and 1 species of Ostrachopod) belonging to 19 genera, 12 families, 7 orders and 4 classes were recorded during the study period. Rotifers were the dominant group among zooplankton community, with 23 species and 9 genera, constituting 55 % of the total zooplankton population. High Shannon diversity index (2.5±0.05) was recorded during the season of monsoon indicating high diversity and minimum Simpson’s index (0.13±0.03) was recorded in the same season indicating low species dominance. Pielou’s evenness ranged from 0.64 to 0.97 but average evenness among the different seasons were not significantly variable indicating uniformity in zooplankton community.