Impact assessment of barge trafficking on phytoplankton abundance and Chl a concentration, in River Ganga, India.

Impact of barge movement on phytoplankton abundance and biomass was assessed in the lower stretch of river Ganga, popularly known as Bhagirathi-Hooghly river, during April 2016 to March, 2017. Based on the magnitude of tide, intensity of shipping and boating activities, the stretch from Baranagar to Lalbag (278 km), located at latitude (22°38'33.41"N to 24°10'59.75"N) and longitude (88°21'21.29"E to 88°16'5.65"E) was divided into three zones viz. zone-I (Baranagar to Barrackpore), zone II (Triveni to Balagarh) and zone III (Nabadweep to Lalbag). Water samples were collected randomly from six stations covering 22 barge movements at their passage at three different time intervals viz., 30 minutes before 'barge movement', during 'barge movement' and 30 minutes after 'barge movement'. Analysis revealed the presence of 52 phytoplankton taxa belonged to 5 phylum during the study period. The abundance of phytoplankton was highest in zone-I followed by zone III and the zone II. A 44% decrease (1,997 ±1,510 ul-1) in phytoplankton abundance was observed during 'barge movement' with respect to normal condition (3,513 ± 2,239 ul-1) which could be due to propeller turbulence in the passage. Cell damage study revealed 21% damage in phytoplankton cell structure in 'during barge' followed by 'after barge' (10%) condition compared to natural state (6%). Study revealed that phytoplankton biomass (Chlorophyll a) was influenced by 'barge movement' in the sampling stretches and the impact was assessed by one way ANOVA. The effect was found significant at Barrackpore (p <0.01), Triveni (p <0.01), Balagarh (p <0.01) and Lalbag (p <0.01) where as it was insignificant at Baranagar and Nabadweep, which may be due to continuous and existing boat trafficking at Baranagar and Nabadweep. Two way ANOVA computed using 'barge movement' and sampling stations showed significant (p<0.01) effect on magnitude of Chl a concentrations in the sampling locations. Thus, the 'barge movement' influenced phytoplankton abundance and biomass, it had a detrimental effect on phytoplankton cell architecture also. The data set of this work serves as foundation information to understand the ecological implications augmented barge induced environmental disturbances in waterways. This is the first such study which depicts the impact of 'barge movement' on aquatic food chain linkages in Bhagirathi- Hooghly river

Barge impact study on primary producers

Impact of barge movement on phytopankto

Phytoplankton biomass in relation to flow dynamics: the case of a tropical river Mahanadi, India

This present study was conducted to extend our understanding on the relationship between Chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentration and hydrological parameters typically flow velocity, environmental variables and trophic state conditions using lotic water as experimental system. River Mahanadi, India was selected as a model for the present study. Based on elevation from mean sea level, twelve sampling sites from Sambalpur to Naraj were grouped into three zones viz. upper zone (71 km), middle zone (142 km) and lower zone (103 km). Carlson Trophic State Index (CTSI) revealed eutrophic state in middle and lower zone and with mesotrophic condition in the upper zone. Along the river stretch, a negative correlation was observed between Chl a concentration and flow velocity at all three zones during post monsoon (r = − 0.15) and monsoon (r = − 0.31). Seasonal study revealed higher Chl a concentration (16.16–283.85 μg l−1) in post-monsoon with recorded mean flow velocity (0.28 ± 0.19 ms−1) as compared to monsoon season with lower Chl a (18.68–232.24 μg l−1) and mean flow velocity (0.54 ± 0.21 ms−1). Among environmental variables, water temperature and pH showed a positive correlation with Chl a. Overall, the findings of this study illustrated the occurrence of higher phytoplankton biomass (quantified as Chl a) during post-monsoon season coincides with low water velocity. The dataset of this work can be implicated for the hydrological and the ecological framework of the tropical river Mahanadi in the Indian Territory