Assessment of Water Quality and Phytoplankton Density of Tilyar Lake, Rohtak (Haryana)

International Conference: Energy- water- waste nexus for Environmental Management

Assessment of water quality and phytoplankton density of Tilyar Lake, Rohtak (Haryana)

Ajit Singh1*, J.S. Laura2 and Anju Rana2

123Department of Environmental Sciences, M.D. University, Rohtak- 124001 *Corresponding Author. Tel: 9050606465, Email: [email protected]

ARTICLE INFO

Proceeding: International Conference on Energy- water- waste nexus for Environmental Management (Ed. Devi, R., M.K. Kidwai, P.K. Rose and A.K. Saran), Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa on 28th to 30th January 2012. Narosa Publication New Delhi. pp. 1-10.

Key words: Aquatic ecosystem, phytoplankton density, primary productivity and physicochemical parameters.

ABSTRACT

The water quality and phytoplankton density of Tilyar lake (28º 52’ 52.77” N and 76º 38’ 12.05” E), Rohtak (Haryana) was monitored from July to December 2008. Significant temporal variations in all water quality parameters, primary productivity as well as phytoplankton density was observed from the study. Phytoplankton productivity and phytoplankton cell density fluctuated during the survey and could be correlated with fluctuating concentrations of nitrogen, sulphate and phosphate nutrients. Due to low dissolved oxygen concentration (1.7- 4.6 mg L-1), and low primary productivity (2.4- 3.9 mg L-1), the ecological balance in the lake was observed very fragile. Phytoplankton density was found to have high peak in the month of December due to sufficient concentration of nutrients. Phytoplankton density exhibited a maximum of 46 x 103 cells ml-1 in December and at least 30 x 103 cells ml-1 in September. Statistically phytoplankton density was found significantly correlated with pH, calcium hardness, phosphate and net primary productivity (P < 0.05) and with alkalinity (P < 0.01). The lake harbors a very wide range of biodiversity including plants, animals and birds. The lake is associated with a tourist resort and a zoo attracting a large number of visitors throughout the year. Due to the irresponsible anthropogenic activities and lack of proper management results in degradation of the lake ecosystem.

INTRODUCTION

Phytoplanktons are bottom level organisms in a food chain and have a significant relationship with other living organisms at upper level in aquatic ecosystem. Phytoplankton productivity and density are the main sources for biogenic development upon which all higher trophic level depends [1, 2 and 3]. The most characteristic criterion to assess the trophic structure of an ecosystem remains to be the primary productivity. The estimation of phytoplankton density and productivity are very important factors to determine the ecological health of an ecosystem. Aquatic life is largely governed by physicochemical characteristics and their stability. These characteristics support the productivity of phytoplanktons and regulate the metabolism [4]. Temporal changes in mean temperature, hydrology, nutrient availability and available sunlight are the most important variables which determined the plankton abundance and productivity [5]. Phytoplanktons are very sensitive community which is the first target of

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water pollution, thus any undesirable change in aquatic ecosystem effect diversity and density of the community [4]. Evaluation of phytoplankton primary productivity and density provide a valuable approach for characterizing natural and altered aquatic ecosystem.

In the present study the physicochemical parameters, phytoplankton density and primary productivity of Tilyar Lake was assessed. It is situated 5 km away from Rohtak city, on Rohtak-Delhi road. It is geographically located on the latitude of 28º 52’ 52.77” N and longitude of 76º 38’ 12.05” E. Tilyar Lake is of crucial importance from the point of native

and immigrant birds and conserves a very wide range of biodiversity. It harbors a large number of bird species, plant species and a wide diversity of micro flora and fauna. It is having an area of 132 acres and has three small islands (Fig.1). The lake serves as a recreational facility and is visited by a very large number of tourists. The study was undertaken for characterizing Tilyar Lake. MATERIALS AND METHODS

The lake was sampled from January 2009 to December 2009. Three sampling sites were established, S1 (shore of the lake), S2 (water inlet of the lake) and S3 (middle of the lake)

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(Fig.1). The samples were collected monthly from a depth of one foot using plastic cans of three liters. The sample collection was done between 8:00 and 10:00 am. Different water quality parameters (pH, temperature, Dissolver oxygen, BOD, COD, total alkalinity, total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, acidity, CO2, chloride, TDS, TSS, TKN, sulphate, phosphate, Net Primary Productivity) were analyzed by following the standard methods of [6]. The onsite measurement of pH, temperature and fixation of DO measurement was carried out immediately after sampling. DO measurement was carried out by Modified Winkler’s Method and Net Primary Productivity by light-dark bottle technique.

Samples for quantitative analysis of phytoplanktons were fixed with acidified formaldehyde solution (1:1 ratio of 20% formaldehyde and 50% glacial acetic acid solution). Phytoplankton cell density was analyzed by Haemocytometer counting chamber method [6]. Statistical Analysis The interrelationships between physicochemical parameters and phytoplankton cell density were examined, using Pearson correlation coefficient. The significance of the correlation coefficient, mean value, standard deviation and standard error was computed with SPSS 16.0 software. RESULTS Physicochemical Parameters The mean concentration of the main chemical and biological variables in the Tilyar Lake basin is shown in Table 1 At all the three sampling sites all the parameters were found nearly same but they show a significant seasonal variation throughout the study period of one year.

Table 1 Average of sampling station (S1, S2, S3) and Mean value (± standard error of mean, standard deviation) of physical, chemical and Biological parameters in Tilyar Lake. Param. July Aug Sept Oct Nov. Dec Std. Error Mean ± SD pH 9.11 9.06 8.73 8.81 8.85 8.87 0.06 8.91 ± 0.15 Temp. 32.83 31.5 31.5 27.17 21.83 14.33 2.95 26.53 ± 7.22 DO 1.77 1.93 3.13 3.33 4.13 4.47 0.45 3.13 ± 1.11 BOD 2.27 2.03 0.9 1.7 2.57 3.03 0.30 2.08 ± 0.74 COD 34.67 25.43 18.17 17.73 18.37 18.97 2.75 22.22 ± 6.74 TA 73.67 64 58.33 65.33 63.00 67.33 2.08 65.26 ± 5.09 TH 115.00 114.00 96.33 96.67 102.33 104.67 3.33 104.83 ± 8.16 CaH 62.27 61.17 55.40 59.83 61.50 63.47 1.15 60.61 ± 2.82 MgH 12.99 12.84 9.95 8.93 9.93 10.01 0.70 10.78 ± 1.71 Ac. 2.03 2.1 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.67 0.60 3.13 ± 1.47 CO2 0.00 0.00 0.20 0.47 0.50 0.57 0.10 0.29 ± 0.26 Cl- 21.90 20.70 19.40 22.27 21.37 20.03 0.45 20.94 ± 1.11 TDS 103.00 97.67 90.00 100.00 104.33 110.00 2.76 100.83±6.77 TSS 29.33 33.00 43.33 44.67 42.00 40.67 2.53 38.83 ± 6.20 TKN 51.63 50.27 42.03 45.73 59.87 61.60 3.14 51.86 ± 7.69 SO4

- 1.35 1.31 1.22 1.23 1.36 1.41 0.03 1.31 ± 0.77 PO4

- 0.039 0.033 0.024 0.027 0.035 0.039 0.002 0.03 ± 0.006 NPP 3.6 3.47 2.43 2.60 2.93 3.83 0.23 3.14 ± 0.57 PCDx103 52.33 42.00 31.00 39.00 42.00 45.33 2.87 41.94 ± 7.04 All the water parameters were observed to show lower peak in the month of September due to influx of freshwater in the lake. The mean value of pH was estimated 8.91, showing the

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alkaline nature of the lake water. Maximum pH 9.11 was observed in the month of July and minimum pH 8.73 in the month of Sepember (Fig.2). The mean value of water body temperature observed was 26.53°C. Water temperature showed its maximum (32.83°C) and minimum (14.33°C) values in the month of July and December respectively (Fig.2).

The mean value of dissolved oxygen was estimated 3.13 mg L-1. Maximum (4.47 mg L-1) and minimum (1.77 mg L-1) values were found in December and September respectively (Fig.2). DO was found below the prescribe limit decide by Indian standards during most of the study period. The mean BOD was 2.08 mg L-1, fluctuating between 0.9-3.03 mg L-1, with maximum in December and minimum in September (Fig.2). Total Alkalinity occurs due to carbonate, bicarbonate and hydroxide in the water body. Alkalinity ranges between 58.33-73.67 mg L-1 during the study period with mean value of 65.26 mg L-1. Total alkalinity was found to have maximum (73.67 mg L-1) and minimum (58.33 mg L-1) in the month of July

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and September respectively (Fig. 3). Total hardness ranges between 96.33-115 mg L-1 with a mean value of 104.83 mg L-1. Maximum of total hardness was found in the month of July (115 mg L-1) and minimum was estimated in September (96.33 mg L-1) (Fig. 3). Same trend was observed in case of magnesium hardness and opposite in case of calcium hardness. Calcium hardness ranged between 55.40-63.47 mg L-1 (Fig. 3) and magnesium hardness ranged between 8.93 - 12.99 mg L-1 (Fig. 4).

Acidity ranged between 2-5.67 mg L-1 with a mean value of 3.13 mg L-1. Minimum value was recorded during September (2 mg L-1) and maximum in December (5.67 mg L-1). CO2 values were observed between nil to 0.57 mg L-1 (Fig.4) with mean value of 0.29 mg L-1. CO2 was found absent during the month of July-August. The mean value of chloride was found to be 20.94 mg L-1. Minimum (19.40 mg L-1) concentration of chloride was estimated in September and maximum (22.27 mg L-1) in October (Fig. 4). TDS was observed to be high

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(110 mg L-1) in the month of December and Minimum (90 mg L-1) in September (Fig. 5). Mean value of TSS was found to be 38.83 mg L-1 and ranged between 29.33-44.67 mg L-1 (Fig. 5). TKN concentration in lake remained fairly constant throughout the study. TKN ranges between 42.03-61.60 mg L-1 with mean value of 51.86 mg L-1 (Fig. 5). Same trend was observed in case of sulphate concentration which shows its high peak in the month of December (1.41 mg L-1) and minimum in September (1.22 mg L-1) as shown in Fig.5. The most important single element which regulates aquatic productivity is phosphate, though it is one of the most limiting factors of production in Indian reservoirs [7]. The higher values of phosphate recorded in July and December (0.039 mg L-1) and minimum concentration was recorded in September (0.024 mg L-1) (Fig.6).

Net Primary Productivity Mean value of primary productivity was estimated to be 3.14 mg L-1. High peak for NPP was observed in the month of July (3.83 mg L-1) and minimum was found in September (2.43 mg L-1) as summarized in Fig.6. NPP shows a significant correlation with calcium hardness (r= 0.849, P< 0.05), sulphate (r= 0.833, P< 0.05) and phosphate (r=0.912, P< 0.05) summarized in Table 2. Phytoplankton Cell Density Phytoplankton cell density high occur in July (52.33 x 103 cells ml-1) and lower peak in September (31x 103 cells ml-1) Fig.6. Mean phytoplankton density was observed to be 41.94 x 103 cells ml-1. Cell density significantly correlated with pH (r= 0.816, P< 0.05), calcium hardness (r=0.869, P< 0.05), phosphate (r= 0.912, P< 0.05), NPP (r= 0.818, P< 0.05) and total alkalinity (r= 0.947, P< 0.01) Table 2.


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Table 2 Pearson correlation coefficient between all the physical, chemical and biological parameters attributes (**= Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level; *= Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level) Para. pH T DO BOD COD TA TH CaH MgH Ac. CO2 Cl- TDS TSS TKN SO4

- PO4-

NPP

pH 1 T .328 DO -.706 -.887* BOD .403 -.717 .363 COD .900* .531 -.803 .148 TA .746 -.013 -.336 .567 .759 TH .976** .258 -.648 .440 .863* .662 CaH .616 -.513 .103 .950** .361 .741 .608 MgH .916* .523 -.820* .136 .897* .506 .946** .318 Ac. -.274 -.997** .858* .752 -.473 .085 -.209 .562 -.484 CO2 -.655 -.862* .958** .386 -.773 -.205 -.656 .185 -.861* .841* Cl- .391 .178 -.252 .208 .343 .579 .197 .400 .084 -.144 .002 TDS .297 -.756 .438 .965** .093 .628 .296 .924** -.020 .797 .506 .310 TSS -.961** -.447 .780 -.251 -.956** -.676 -.966** -.445 -.977** .396 .787 -.211 -.133 TKN .226 -.787 .517 .957** -.012 .357 .303 .827* .022 .806 .478 .041 .897* -.106

SO4- .445 -.633 .289 .951** .261 .539 .528 .871* .276 .668 .235 .024 .876* -.369 .953**

PO4- .675 -.429 .024 .917* .516 .763 .711 .936** .472 .481 .027 .227 .859* -.589 .836* .947**

NPP .729 -.331 -.130 .793 .550 .702 .793 .849* .599 .384 -.152 .006 .708 -.677 .670 .833* .912*

PCDx103 .816* -.126 -.264 .741 .741 .947** .775 .869* .583 .193 -.179 .510 .733 -.729 .578 .740 .912* .818*


DISCUSSION The physicochemical and biological characters displayed a considerable and significant seasonal variation. All the physicochemical parameters show a significant relation with lake biology. Net primary productivity was found directly related with nutrient concentration present in water. Phytoplankton cell density displayed an interesting graph. Phytoplankton cell density showed a significant correlation (P< 0.05 and P< 0.01) with water quality parameters. The flushing rate of fresh water also affected the lake composition. All the parameters and biology of the lake was greatly affected by mixing of fresh water in lake. Some physicochemical parameters examined in this study were considerably outside the standard range showing the poor health of the lake. The high temperature observed was due to the shallow nature of the lake. Similar result was observed for Sonkhed Dam [8]. Temperature is basically important for its affect on certain chemical and biological activities in the organism and dissolution of gasses in the aquatic media. DO concentration was found much low (below 2 mg L-1 in July and August) that decrease as the temperature increases which is harmful for aquatic life. DO showed a significant negative correlation (r= -0.706) with temperature (Table 2) and a close relationship with temperature pattern [9]. Large fish population was found negligible; possibly due to very low DO concentration, indicating the very fragile ecological balance of the lake. Total alkalinity has a high peak in the month of July (73.67 mg L-1) due to consumption of CO2 by high temperature and photosynthetic rate of phytoplanktons. More uptake of CO2 by primary production increase pH which affect adversely on biological processes resulting in deterioration of whole water chemistry. The hardness of water depends upon the dissolve salts present in the water [10]. Total hardness was found to have maximum value in the month of July due to highest rate of evaporation. Least concentration of CO2 was observed during July and August due to enhanced use of CO2 in the process of photosynthesis because of high quantity and duration of sunlight. CO2 had a significant correlation with acidity (r= 0.841, P< 0.05). TDS concentration was found high in month of December due to high organic and inorganic matter deposition. Increase in TSS concentration coincided with periods of high wind intensity, changes in wind direction, influx of water, and leaf fall [11]. High peak of TSS was observed in September and October due to fall of leaves from the tree and influx of freshwater. TKN acts as a fertilizer for the algal growth. Maximum concentration of TKN was found in December due to deposition and decomposition of high organic waste of plants and minimum concentration was found in September due to dilution. Phosphate was found higher in the month of July and then gradually decreases due to the increase in competition between phytoplanktons for their growth. Net primary productivity and phytoplankton cell density influenced by seasonal variations in light intensity, and availability of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous [12]. NPP and phytoplankton cell density were found high in the month of July and then show a sudden fall due to the decrease in concentration of nutrients and grazing by zooplanktons [13]. Due to insufficient nutrients and carbon dioxide the lake health status was found weak. The report of some worker suggests that the maximum development of phytoplankton occur during summer and minimum during the winter. Raghukumar et al. (2001) [14]estimated that the density of phytoplankton was found higher in summer, post monsoon and winter and is lowest in monsoon. Pandey et al., (2004) [10] have observed the phytoplankton peak during summer followed by winter. Saha and Choudhary (1988) [15] obtained the maximum density of phytoplankton during the month of July and minimum during January. Atici and Olcay (2006) [16] reported increased phytoplankton density during the dry season, rather than the rainy season. The increase in water inflow in to the lake from any source feeding it could decrease the lake water transparency, thereby reducing the availability of light in the water column to stimulate phytoplankton growth, especially for phytoplankton species residing some distance below the water surface [17].

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CONCLUSION After the present research investigation it was observed that the lake had poor health condition. DO decreasing is much as temperature increases which is harmful for aquatic life. High pH and low CO2 cause a adverse effect on biological processes resulting in deterioration of whole water chemistry. The large fish population was observed negligible due to low concentration of dissolved oxygen, net primary productivity and less phytoplankton density indicating very fragile ecosystem balance in the lake. High tourist load exploit the lake ecology unfairly. Unmanaged tourists activities and unplanned management strategies by lake authorities harm the lake in many ways. The lake water is completely changed in an interval of time for cleaning purpose which destroys all the aquatic life. There should be strict management rules for the tourists in relation to the biodiversity conservation in lake area. An alternate measure should adopt to keep clean the lake water except completely change. This underscores an urgent need for continuing monitoring of the lake’s phytoplankton population and other water quality parameters as well as a closer collaboration between government and lake authority for the management. The health of the lake can be preserved by adopting best management practices (BMPs).

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13. Sommer, U. Gliwicz, Z.M. Lampert, W. and Duncan, A. (1986): PEG-model of Seasonal Succession of Planktonic Events in Fresh Waters’. Archives of Hydrobiology, 106(4), pp. 433-471.

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17. Okoth, O. E. Mucai, M. Siroga, W. A. Miller, S. N. Rosowo, J. and Ngugi, C. C. (2009): Spatial and seasonal variation in phytoplankton community structure in alkaline saline lake, Nakuru, Kenya. Lake and Reservoir: Research and Management, 14, pp. 57-69.

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Assessment of Water Quality and Phytoplankton Density of Tilyar Lake, Rohtak (Haryana)

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