International Journal on Biological Sciences 6 (2) : 141-144, July-December 2015 Research Paper

ISSN : 0976-4518

Limnological Studies of Alwara Lake of Kaushambi (Uttar Pradesh)

Shri Prakash1, Ashok Kumar Verma2 and Sadguru Prakash3
1
Department of Zoology, K.A.P.G. College, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
2
Department of Zoology, Govt. P.G. College, Saidabad, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
3
Department of Zoology, M.L.K. (P.G.) College, Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh

Received: 05 November 2015; Revision: 15 November 2015 Accepted: 20 December 2015

ABSTRACT

District Kaushambi of Uttar Pradesh comprises a vast range of flora and fauna and wetlands
including Alwara lake due to heavy rainfall and floodwater from the Ganga and Yamuna rivers.
Being a part of Indo-Gangetic plain, its biodiversity indices of both aquatic as well as inland
biota are noticeable. Among twin rivers mainly Yamuna influences the lake biodiversity by
annual flood water. The said biodiversity and existence of organisms depend upon the physico-
chemical characteristics of the lake. Present study is aimed to explore the physico-chemical
characteristics of the Alwara lake for better understanding on this score.

Key words: Alwara lake, Physico-chemical parameters, biodiversity indices, flora and fauna.

INTRODUCTION STUDY AREA

The Alwara lake is located in Kaushambi district
In India, a number of ponds, lakes and reservoirs
of Uttar Pradesh as shown in the map. The lake is
are naturally found but they are not being
utilized properly due to lack of insufficient 75 km far from Allahabad, 25 km from
study of their hydrobiology including physico- Manjhanpur (headquarter of Kaushambi) and
chemical characteristics. Tiwari et al., 2012 was 290 km from Lucknow by road. Its nearest
first to note the seasonal variations in planktons railway station is Bharwari at a distance of 35 km
in Alwara lake. and nearest airport Bamrauli (Allahabad) is at a
distance of 70 km. It is situated between the
The perennial wetlands like Alwara lake support latitude 25o24'05.84”S – 25o25'10.63”N and
a wide variety of fauna and flora. Some longitude 81o11'39.49”E-81o12'57.95”W with
vulnerable species such as sarus crane and lotus altitude MSL – 81.08 meter.
also exist in the area. These are at the verge of
extinction due to widespread reductions in the
extent and quality of their wetland habitats,
exploitation and the effects of pollutants,
unplanned farming, irrigation and non-adoption
of wild life rules and regulations as well.

Present study is therefore undertaken to analyze

the water quality and soil texture of Alwara lake
on the basis of physico-chemical as well as
biological parameters that in turn influence the
population dynamics.
Fig. 1 : The location of the study area

Corresponding author: sriprakasht80@gmail.com

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142 Limnological Studies of Alwara Lake..... JULY-DECEMBER 2015

during 2013-14.The collection time was late

morning. The lake water was collected in a flask
and brought to laboratory for further
examination. Physico-chemical analysis was
carried out in accordance with Standard
Methods for Examination of Water and Waste
Water described by American Public Health
Association (APHA, 1998).

The month of March marks the start of summers

and it lasts till June. Monsoon generally starts in
the month of July and lasts till September.
December to February is the winter season in and
Fig. 2 : A view of Alwara lake around the lake.

MATERIAL AND METHODS RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Water samples were collected weekly i.e. four The results of the physico-chemical
times in a month from selected areas in all the properties of Alwara lake in all the three seasons
three seasons viz. summer, monsoon and winter during 2013-14 are presented in table given:

Table 1: Table showing physico-chemical parameters in Alwara lake during 2013-14.

Parameters Summer season Monsoon season Winter season
Temp (oC) 28.8 25.2 18.4
pH 8.1 7.8 8.4
Transparency (cm) 35.6 20.2 29.6
DO (mg/l) 7.4 7.9 10.2
BOD (mg/l) 20.2 18.5 16.2
COD (mg/l) 26.1 21.6 24.2
Free CO2 (mg/l) 4.1 3.4 2.6
Total solid (mg/l) 294.4 375.2 305.8
Total alkalinity (mg/l) 81.4 73.4 78.1

Water temperature plays an important role in
aquatic ecosystem. It not only affects the
biological reactions, population fluctuations in
water body but also the physical and chemical
characteristics of water. The maximum
temperature was recorded during summer and
minimum value was recorded during winter.
In the present investigation, lower temperature
recorded in winter may be due to high water level,
less solar radiation, low atmospheric temperature
and the higher temperature in summer because of
low water level, high solar radiation and clear
atmosphere. Almost similar results have also been
reported by Anita, G. et al., (2005), Narayana, J. et
al., (2008) and Jawale, A. K. and S. A. Patil (2009).
The pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of
an aqueous solution. Its different values at
different areas in all the three seasons of the year

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were significant. The variation in pH is due to the
presence or absence of free carbon dioxide,
carbonate and planktonic density. The maximum
pH was recorded in winter season and it was
minimum in monsoon season. Tiwari Such., et al.,
(2004) also studied a lake under such various
parametes..
Transparency describes how easily light can pass
through a substance. In lakes this means how
deep sunlight penetrates through the water.
Plants and algae need sunlight to grow, so they are
only able to grow in areas of lakes where the sun
light penetrates.
Water transparency depends on the amount of
particles in the water. The more particles mean
the less water transparency. The water
transparency is measured with a Secchi disk. A
Secchi disk is a metal disk, 8 inches in diameter
that is lowered into the water on a cord. The
depth that the Secchi disk can no longer be seen
through the water is the Secchi depth. When the
water transparency is high, the Secchi depth is
high. When the water transparency is low and
cloudy, the Secchi depth is low.
The transparency of water body is affected by
several factors like planktonic growth, rainfall,
sun's position in the sky, angle of incidence of
rays, cloudiness, visibility and turbidity due to
suspended inert particulate matter. In the present
investigation, the maximum value was recorded
in summer and minimum value was recorded in
monsoon. Low value of transparency in monsoon
may be due to influx of rain water from
catchments area, clouding, less penetration of
light and high turbidity due to suspended inert
particulates matter. However, high value of
transparency in summer may be due to clear
atmosphere and high light penetration. This
investigation is also close conformity with finding
of Kumar et al (2015).
The oxygen supply in water comes mainly from
photosynthetic activity of plants but also by
143
Shri Prakash et al., 143
atmospheric diffusion. The dissolved oxygen (DO)
is one of the most important and limiting
parameter of water quality assessment, which
maintains aquatic life. It regulates the metabolic
process of aquatic organisms. The maximum
dissolved oxygen was recorded in winter and
minimum dissolved oxygen was recorded in the
summer season. The highest dissolved oxygen in
winter may be due to low temperature and
minimum dissolved oxygen in summer may be
due to high metabolic rate of organisms (Kumar et
al 2015).
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) is the amount
of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic biological
organisms to break down organic material present
in a given water sample at certain temperature
over a specific time period. The study showed that
BOD ranged from 16.2 mg/l to 20.2mg/l i.e.,
minimum in winter and maximum in summer. In
summer higher BOD values attributed to the
enhanced biological activity at higher
temperature.
Chemical oxygen demand (COD) test is
commonly used to measure the amount of organic
compounds in water. Most applications of COD
determine the amount of organic pollutants found
in surface water body such as lakes . In the present
study COD values varied from minimum in
monsoon and maximum in summer.
The capacity of water to neutralize a strong acid is
known as alkalinity and is characterized by the
presence of hydrogen ion; most of the alkalinity of
water is due to dissolution of carbonate. The
maximum alkalinity value in summer season and
it was recorded minimum in monsoon season.
The quality of lakes therefore depends on their
physical, chemical and biological prosperities
(Latha N. and Ramachandra Mohan, 2010 and S.
E. Shinde. 2011).
CONCLUSIONS
In the present study, marked seasonal variations of
planktons were found. Sometimes it becomes
144 Limnological Studies of Alwara Lake..... JULY-DECEMBER 2015

more abundant and sometimes scare. Certain Begusarai district (Bihar). Proc. Zool. Soc. India.
planktonic population apparently disappears at 14(1): 1-6.
specified period and reappears during other
Latha N. and Ramachandra Mohan (2010).
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Studies on enviro-ecological status of
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Kommaghatta Lake of Bangalore, Karnataka.
scare or occur as spores or resting eggs etc. which
India Hydrobiology. 12(2):126-129.
are not easily detectable. Similar trend was
reported by Imam and Khan (2014). Narayana, J., E.T. Puttaiah and D. Basavaraja.
(2008). Water quality characteristic of
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