Diversity of Macrozoobenthos and their Relation with Qualitative Characteristics of Kaliasote River M P India

Abstract

Macrobenthic fauna are organisms that inhabit the bottom substrates for at least part of their life newlinecycle, visible to the naked eye and are retained by mesh sizes and#8805; 500 and#956;m. They are easy to monitor newlinebecause they can be sampled quantitatively and also respond to man-made disturbances. newlineMacrobenthic fauna are important in the aquatic ecosystem because they form part of the aquatic newlinefood chain and are also used to assess water quality by being indicators of pollution. The present newlinestudy reveals that the benthic fauna mainly dominates during winter at all the studied Stations and newlinelowest numbers were observed during the rainy season. The Kaliasote River is rich in benthic newlinediversity but due to increased human interventions is proceeding towards destruction, henceforth newlinemeasures should be taken to prevent anthropogenic pressure nearby Kaliasote river to improve its newlinewater quality and biodiversity. newlineKeywords: Macro benthos, Water Quality, Kaliasote River.