A Prospective Study on Morphological Identification and Characterization of Freshwater Green Algae Based on the Microscopic Technique in District Rawalpindi

Abstract

G reen algae are one of the most diverse groups of algae, with at least 7000 species (Nelson and Garcia-Pichel, 2021). Green algae are characterized by several distinct features including filaments, colonies, branched, motile, non-motile, and bladelike thallus (Leliaert et al., 2012). Chloroplast contained chlorophyll a, b and accessory pigments including carotenes and xanthophylls which are surrounded by double membrane with thylakoid arranged in lamellae. Pyrenoid are present and embedded in the chloroplast and surrounded by starch, the primary reserve carbohydrate (Forjan et al., 2015). Green algae have variations in their morphology ranging from microscopic flagellated unicells to complex macroscopic thalli with varying degrees of morphological differentiation. They are a paraphyletic group from a taxonomic standpoint since they have a common ancestor with plants and have Abstract | The current study was carried out to isolate, identify and characterized fresh water green algae species from ecologically diverse habitats of Tehsil Gujar Khan, District Rawalpindi. A microscopic image data was used to identify algal species. A total of 30 species were recorded that belonged to 4 orders, 11 families, and 14 genera. Clamydomonas reinardtii, Acutodesmus obliquus and Cosmarium isthmocondrum are new record from Pakistan. Among identified taxa, Scenedesmus was the dominant genus with 8 species and their contribution was 26.6%. The 2 nd most dominant genus was Cosmarium with 6 species and their contribution was 20%. The other genera Chlorococcum, Ankistrodesmus, Coelastrum, and Closterium were (6.6%). Some genera represented only one (3.3%) species that were Chlamydomonas, Eudorina, Tetraspora, Chlorella, Westella, Pediastrum, Acutodesmus, and Stigeoclonium. Hence, the current study reveals that Gujar Khan, District Rawalpindi is a rich source of green algae and an ideal place for their cultivation.

Morpho-Taxonomic Identification and Seasonal Correlation between Algal Diversity and Water Physico-Chemical Parameters in District Bajaur Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

“…All morphological characteristics, including color, shape, pyrenoid, filamentous, branching, unbranched, unicellular, chloroplast arrangement, and presence or absence of mucilage sheath, were noted. Each species was captured on camera, and species were recognized by comparing the images to reliable sources of information (Minhas et al, 2023;Arguelles and Monsalud, 2017;Jacquemin et al, 2019).…”

“…Both Cladophorales and Chaetophorales accounted for 3% of the total algal diversity (Ali et al, 2010). Similarly, 30 species of green algae from District Gujar khan, Rawalpindi (Minhas et al, 2023). Furthermore, Leghari (2001) conducted a study on green filamentous algae found in lakes and ponds of Sindh, identifying 31 species of Chlorophyta in freshwater and riverine lakes.…”

“…, Ca +2 , Mg +2 , Na +1 , K +1 , BOD and COD, Turbidity. The supreme supportive water physico-chemical parameters for the algal development was recorded are the Temperature, pH, and the presence of nutrients like NO 3 of habitats which can be aquatic, terrestrial, epizoic, endozoic, epiphytic, epileptic and may be symbionts (Minhas et al, 2023). Algae can exist in two different types of water which can be lotic fresh water bodies like Stream Rivers and lentic fresh water bodies like lakes and wet lands (Hook et al, 2020).…”