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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
The present study focuses on the pollution and its impact on the phytoplankton in Tirur River, Malappuram District, Kerala, India. The water quality was investigated for a period of six months from January to June 2015. The surface water samples were collected monthly from the three sites of Tirur River namely Tirur, Thazhepalam and Parapadi of Tirur River, which lies between 750 55′ and 750 54′ East longitude and 100 55′ and 100 54′ North latitudes. The physico-chemical parameters analyzed were temperature, pH, acidity, alkalinity, total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, chloride, salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), nitrate, sulphate, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) and their correlations were discussed. The physico-chemical parameters showed distinct seasonal and spatial fluctuations. 57 species of phytoplankton were identified during the period of study from the Tirur River which come under 29 genera belonging to four taxonomic classes namely Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta and Euglenophyta. The salinity was higher in Tirur River during the period of study and the diversity of phytoplankton showed a number of marine diatoms during the pre-monsoon season. The class Bacillariophyceae (Diatoms) was the dominant group of algae in all the three sites of Tirur River throughout the period of study. The present study identified 11 pollution tolerant algal genera namely Lyngbya, Oscillatoria, Cocconeis, Cyclotella, Cymbella, Melosira, Navicula, Nitzschia, Stauroneis, Synedra and Euglena and it revealed that the quality of the water was deteriorated at all the selected three sites in the Tirur River and are polluted due to human interventions. The analysis of physico-chemical parameters indicated that the water quality of Tirur River was deteriorated at all the three sites studied during the period of study and the contaminants came from fish market and railway station.