STUDY OF ROTIFER BIODIVERSITY DURING MONSOON SEASON IN MANDODEVI TEMPLE LAKE, GONDIA (MAHARASHTRA), INDIA

Rotifer diversity gives a fair idea about the water quality of any lentic or lotic ecosystem. The present study was carried out in monsoon months at two sites of Mandodevi Temple Lake, which reveals that 20 species of rotifers reside in it. Brachionus, comprising 35% of the total, is dominant over all other taxa of rotifers. Different diversity indices like Shannon, Simpson, Margalef etc., indicate that Site-II is more rich in species composition of rotifers than Site-I. Site-I shows signs of eutrophication confirmed by the dominance of Brachionus species like B. calyciflorus, B. angularis, B. falcatus, B. caudatus, B. forficula, B. diversicornis.