Research Trends in Cladoceran Diversity from Kashmir Himalaya

Abstract

Exhaustive studies on Cladocera, crustacean zooplankton, have been carried out at global level and till date 620 species of water fleas have been reported. Though there is much ambiguity among the recorded species of Cladocera, yet the group in India is very rich and diversified, with a record of 137 taxa. In the present study, all available but reliable literature (both published and unpublished) has been reviewed for all the waterbodies of Kashmir Himalaya, making an updated list of 79 taxa of Cladocera. Water fleas in the valley are represented by 6-8 families. Freshwater ecosystems of Kashmir are facing a challenging effect of eutrophication from the last few decades. Valley lakes in particular are facing threat of cultural eutrophication that has resulted in dominance of small bodied cladocerans over large ones in the region. In the present taxonomic survey there is a scope of more taxonomic revisions as three of the species reported so far seem to have doubtful existence.

Monitoring the Extraordinary Ephemeral Emergence of Myriophyllum spicatum L. in the Coastal Lagoon Albufera of Valencia (Spain) and Assessing the Impact of Environmental Variables Using a Remote Sensing Approach

“…While a temperature within the tolerance range allows plants to grow and reproduce, a drop in temperature can be a critical factor for reduced growth [67]. Turbidity in the water also appears to be a determining factor in the expansion of submerged aquatic plants [68,69], as it directly affects the transparency of the water and the penetration of light, which is essential for the process of photosynthesis.…”

Nature’s contributions to people and the Sustainable Development Goals in Nepal

“…Availability of drinking water relative to demand was reported to be decreasing by most studies, in line with global trends (IPBES 2019). Scarcity of drinking water was further exacerbated by pollution and climate change, which are major drivers of freshwater ecosystem decline globally (IPBES 2019) and in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (Pandit et al 2016, Singh et al 2019, Payne et al 2020.…”

First report of three species of the genus Diaphanosoma (Crustacea: Cladocera: Sididae) from Jammu waters (J&K), India

“…The freshwater zooplankton fauna is grouped into five major types: Rotifera, Cladocera, Copepoda, Ostracoda and Protozoa. Among these, Cladocera commonly known as water fleas due to the jerky movements produced by their swimming antennae are important contributors to diversity (Bronmark & Hansson 1998;Pandit et al 2016). They graze on detritus, bacteria and algae that shows their significance in nutrient recycling; and serve as food for both juvenile and adult planktivorous fishes (Pennak 1978) thus have potential economic importance as fish food organisms in aquaculture.…”

“…Kashmir valley experiences a temperate-cum-Mediterranean climate (Yousuf & Qadri 1981;Pandit et al 2016) while Jammu lies in the subtropical type of climatic zone. Diaphanosoma brachyurum is a temperate and northern species (Fernando & Kanduru 1984;Sharma & Michael 1987;Han et al 2011) and its occurrence has been reported from many water bodies of Kashmir (Yousuf & Qadri 1981;Pandit et al 2016;Naik et al 2017). Ironically, an earlier report of Diaphanosoma brachyurum has also been done from Jammu waters, therefore, raising a query regarding its distribution and identification.…”