Seasonal fluctuations in the rotifer community of Someshwar temple tank of Panhalgarh Hillfort, Kolhapur District, Maharashtra

Abstract

Though studies on zooplankton in general and rotifers in particular are not rare, studies on seasonal fluctuations in rotifer community existing in an isolated freshwater body at high altitude. Hence, a study of rotifers and their seasonal variations in a freshwater body at Panhalgarh hillfort (958 MSL), Kolhapur, Maharashtra was investigated. The study reveals existence of 12 species of rotifers with highest density during December, which declined to a minimum during the month of October. Making use of SPSS-10 software the correlation between fluctuations of rotifer community and that of physicochemical parameters of freshwater body were drawn. Biomass reveals regular pattern and shows very low profile throughout the study period.