Aquatic Ecosystem: Biodiversity, Ecology and Conservation

335 Pages·2015·9.83 MB·English

by  Mamta Rawat

Mamta Rawat · Sumit Dookia
Chandrakasan Sivaperuman Editors
Aquatic
Ecosystem:
Biodiversity,
Ecology and
Conservation
Aquatic Ecosystem: Biodiversity, Ecology
and Conservation

Mamta Rawat • Sumit Dookia
Chandrakasan Sivaperuman
Editors
Aquatic Ecosystem:
Biodiversity, Ecology
and Conservation
Editors
Mamta Rawat Sumit Dookia
Water and Health Program School of Environment Management
Ecology and Rural Development Society Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha
Jodhpur , Rajasthan , India University
New Delhi , India
Chandrakasan Sivaperuman
Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre
Zoological Survey of India
Port Blair, Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, India
ISBN 978-81-322-2177-7 ISBN 978-81-322-2178-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2178-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014957313
Springer New Delhi Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
© Springer India 2015
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Pref ace
The total water resources of the earth equal to 326 million cubic mile; only
2–5 % of water is fresh water, 97.5 % is salt water. Almost 69 % of fresh
water resources are tied in glaciers and ice caps, about 30 % is ground water
and a mere 0.27 % is surface water. Water resources are important for the
survival of the planet. Aquatic biodiversity is one of the most essential char-
acteristic of the aquatic ecosystem for maintaining its stability and means of
coping with any environmental changes.
I ndia is one of the 17 “megadiverse” countries and is composed of a diver-
sity of ecological habitats like forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, and
coastal and marine ecosystems. From the biodiversity point of view, India is
regarded as a mega diversity country. Out of the total estimated species of the
world, about 8.4 million species are reported from India. India has a wealth
of wetland ecosystems distributed in different geographical regions. Most of
the wetlands in India are directly or indirectly linked with major river sys-
tems such as the Ganges, Cauvery, Krishna, Godavari and Tapti. India has
total of 27,403 wetlands, of which 23,444 are inland wetlands and 3,959 are
coastal wetlands. Wetland systems directly and indirectly support lakhs of
people, providing goods and services to them. They help check fl oods, pre-
vent coastal erosion and mitigate the effects of natural disasters like cyclones
and tidal waves. They store water for long periods.
B iodiversity and conservation are the key concepts in ecology during the
past decades and are considered important elements in elucidating the dynam-
ics of ecosystems disturbed by human activities. Our aquatic ecosystem com-
prises a major regime due to its diversity, thus needs special attention and
conservation approaches. The lakes, marshes, river systems and other wet-
lands in the country are under threat mainly due to domestic pollution from
untreated sewage, industrial pollutant and toxic effl uents. India is facing an
alarming danger to the loss of aquatic biodiversity, and about 55 % of aquatic
species are threatened.
T his book is a result of detailed observation by reputed researchers work-
ing in the fi eld of aquatic biodiversity in India. There are 19 chapters, and
each effort has been made by an expert or professional in their respective
v
vi Preface
fi elds. The book offers novel information on aquatic biodiversity of India. We
sincerely hope that this book will provide the much needed information in the
fi eld of aquatic biodiversity conservation.
Jodhpur , India Mamta Rawat
New Delhi , India Sumit Dookia
Port Blair , Andaman & Nicobar Chandrakasan Sivaperuman
Islands , India
Acknowledgements
We express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who helped in different ways to
complete this work. We also thank all the authors who have contributed the
various chapters for this book.
vii

Contents
1 Distribution of Aquatic Macrophytes in Balasore
District, Odisha ............................................................................ 1
K. A. Sujana , R. Saravanan , and Amit Diwakar Pandey
2 Aquatic Resources: A Case Study of Udaipur
‘City of Lakes’, Rajasthan ........................................................... 13
Hemant Mangal and Sandhya Pathania
3 Limnological Variations of Two Deccan Wetlands ..................... 21
S. V. A. Chandrasekhar
4 Spatial Distribution of Benthic Macroinvertebrate
Fauna in Mountain Streams of Uttarakhand, India .................. 31
Prakash Nautiyal , Asheesh Shivam Mishra ,
and Vijay Prakash Semwal
5 Diversity and Distribution of Polychaetes (Annelida:
Polychaeta) Along Maharashtra Coast, India ............................ 53
S. K. Pati , D. Swain , K. C. Sahu , and R. M. Sharma
6 Structure and Dynamics of Rotifer Community
in a Lotic Ecosystem ..................................................................... 67
S. Dhuru , P. Patankar , I. Desai , and B. Suresh
7 Aquatic Insect Diversity of Baitarani Estuary of Odisha .............. 93
Swetapadma Dash
8 Aquatic Entomofauna: Bug and Beetle
Diversity of Hyderabad ................................................................ 103
Deepa Jaiswal
9 Odonate Fauna of Rajasthan, India with Links
to Arabia and Himalaya ............................................................... 117
Akhlaq Husain
10 Odonata of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India ..................... 153
C. Sivaperuman
11 Freshwater Molluscs of India: An Insight of into
Their Diversity, Distribution and Conservation ......................... 163
Basudev Tripathy and Amit Mukhopadhayay
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