Seasonal Dynamics and Diversity of Phytoplankton in a Subtropical Freshwater pond in Ri-Bhoi District, Meghalaya, Northeast India
1Dhurjati Pathak, 2Prabal Sarkar, 3Anindita Bhattacharya3 and 2Golphina Ahmed
1Department of Zoology, Tangla College, Tangla - 784521 (India) 2Department of Zoology, University of Science & Technology, Meghalaya - 793101 (India) 3 Independent Researcher, Guwahati - 781028 (India) Corresponding: abhattacharya14@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Phytoplankton communities form the foundation of aquatic food webs and are widely used as indicators of ecological conditions in freshwater ecosystems. The present study investigates the diversity and seasonal abundance of phytoplankton in a freshwater pond located within the campus of the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM), Northeast India. Phytoplankton samples were collected seasonally and identified up to the genus level. A total of 32 genera belonging to three major algal groups, i.e., Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, and Cyanophyta, were recorded during the study period