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Studies on the influence
of Microcystis aeruginosa on the ecology and fish
production of carp culture ponds
P. Padmavathi* and K.
Veeraiah
Department
of Zoology, Acharya Nagarjuna University, Nagarjuna Nagar -
522 510, A.P., India.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
padmapin@yahoo.com.
Tel: 0863-2337104.
Accepted 26
December, 2008 |
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In many fish ponds, blue-green algae (Cyanobacteria)
constitute the greater part of the phytoplankton. Of the
blue-green algae common in fish ponds, Microcystis
aeruginosa is said to be a noxious species. It sometimes
forms spectacular water blooms, often with harmful
consequences such as depletion of oxygen, poor growth of
fish and even mass mortality among the fish. The present
study was aimed at investigating the influence of different
levels of M. aeruginosa on the water quality and fish
production of carp culture ponds. For the present study,
three carp culture ponds with high, moderate and low levels
of M. aeruginosa were selected. In the three ponds,
physico-chemical parameters of water, phyto- and zooplankton
and fish production were studied. The results indicated
that the fish yield was low with concomitant fish
mortalities in the pond with high levels of M. aeruginosa
compared to the other two ponds. The influence of the
different levels of M. aeruginosa on other planktonic
groups and in turn their effect on fish production were
analyzed and discussed in the light of the existing
literature.
Key
words:
Cyanobacteria, algal blooms, Microcystis,
phytoplankton, zooplankton, fish production, carp culture
ponds.
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