On the ecology of algae in certain fish ponds of Hyderabad-India

✍ Scribed by A. R. Zafar

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1964
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 836 KB
• Volume: 23
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1573-5141
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00043729

✦ Synopsis

The ecology of Freshwater Algae has attracted very few workers in India . Only a small number of papers including those of IYENGAR (1940), GANAPATI (1940, 1943), GONZALVES & JOSHI (1946) and RoY (1955) are the pioneer ones . Most of these workers, however, do not deal in detail with the chemical composition of water and their investigations were not supported by longer periods of observation . It is also surprising that most of the pond ecologists, even from outside India, have either totally neglected the basic elements (Ca, Mg, Na and K) or have taken only one or two of these into account . Consequently PEARSALL'S (1923) basic ratio which explains the periodicity of Diatoms to a great extent in lakes, has not so far been tested on smaller bodies of still-water. It was with this aim that the present investigations were undertaken.

Two fish-breeding ponds belonging to the Husain Sagar Fish Farm, Hyderabad-India, were selected for the investigation purposes . They lie diagonally opposite to each other and are about 575 feet apart. They will henceforward be referred to as A and B .

Pond A is comparatively smaller being 60' x 45' and 3' deep . Pond B measures 125' x 65' in length and breadth and 4' in depth . The main Angiospermic vegetation inhabiting these ponds is Typha angustata B and CH ., Potamogeton indicus RoxB . and Eichhornia crassipes SOLMS . During the period of observation (July 1952 -June 1954), Etroplus suretensis in fingerling stage was the only species of fish in both the ponds . * Part of the Thesis approved by the Osmania University, Hyderabad, for the award of the Ph . D . Degree .