Gouri Suresh* & Meena Krishnan
Department of Botany, Jamshedpur Women’s College,
Jamshedpur 831001, Jharkhand, India
Received 9th January, 2011; Revised 14th February, 2011
Abstract : Algae form the basis of the food chain in aquatic habitats, and this is where study of algal biodiversity acquires its significance from. The present study is on one of the most important dams of Jharkhand, the Sitarampur Dam, situated in the district of Seraikela-Kharsawan. Algae were collected from this dam on a monthly, and where necessary on a fortnightly basis, from January 2002 to December 2003. They were identified and an extensive list was made of the same. It was observed that 33 taxa belonged to Division Cyanophyta, 34 to Division Chlorophyta, 6 to Charophyta and 10 to Bacillariophyta, making a total of 83 taxa. Of these, polluting algae were almost entirely absent. Water was clean, with abundant growth of Chara and Nitella. Though some runoff from agricultural fields nearby was seen, there has been no case of fish or bird mortality in the recent past. Present legal conservation status of the dam is that it is protected fully. The local people were found to be moderately concerned of aquatic biodiversity and its conservation. The dam is thus promoting sustainable livelihood in the surrounding areas.
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