Study of Zooplankton Species Structure and Dominance in Anzali International Wetland

Abstract

Anzali International wetland is one of the most important places for various organisms such as fishes. Zooplankton are the first consumers in the ecosystem, and they are perfect food for the larvae of fishes. The present study conducted monthly during January 2012 to December 2013 in 9 different stations with zooplankton population and chemical characteristics analysis such as water temperature ranged from 10˚C - 22˚C, pH determined alkaline nature of the wetland ranged from 7.05 to 9.47, dissolved oxygen was recorded in the range of 3.36 mg/l to 10.51 mg/l, nitrate was ranged between 0.48 - 4.36 mg/l, total phosphates was between 0.15 - 0.67 mg/l, salinity was recorded between 220 - 692 mg/l, TDS was determined between 246 - 1971 mg/l, BOD and COD was also recorded 2 - 36 mg/l and 4 - 74 mg/l respectively. Total 61 zooplankton species were found belonging to 4 groups: Protozoa (22 sp.), Rotatoria (29 sp.), Copepoda (5 sp.) and Cladocera (4 sp.)...