| Abstract: | Zooplankton of the lake Jaisamand was represented by 50 taxa out of which 22 were Rotifera, 18 Cladocera, 5 Protozoa, 3 Copepoda and 2 Ostracoda. The total zooplankton exhibited a bimodal pattern with the first peak occurring in December and the second of a little less magnitude in June. The perennial zooplankters were Keratella valga, Brachionus falcatus from Rotifera, Ceriodaphnia spec. from Cladocera and Mesocyclops and Heterocyclops spp. from Copepoda. Considering surface zooplankton as a whole, Rotifera dominated the planktonic biomass followed by Copepoda, Cladocera, Ostracoda, Protozoa and Insecta. The species composition of the mid-stratum zooplankton was not much different from that of the surface. Interestingly, there was a presence of Cladocera in the anoxic bottom waters. The low and occasional presence of Calanoid copepods, the abundance of Cyclopoids and Cladocerans point to the eutrophication in the lake. |
