Morphometric Diversifications of Identified Zooplankton at Three Different Water Bodies in Chittagong University Campus, Bangladesh

The current research focused on the diversity and morphometric variations especially the total body length (TBL) and maximum body width (MW) of zooplankton groups affected by different water bodies (extensive, semi-intensive and intensive) in Chittagong University Campus of Bangladesh. A total of 32 zooplankton species have been identified from the selected waterbodies, where rotifers identified (71.8%) as the dominant group followed by copepods (15.6%) and cladocerans (12.5%). Regarding water bodies, the highest diversity was observed in the intensive water bodies (93.8%), while the lowest in the semi-intensive (71.8%). Among the cladoceran species, the genera Daphnia and Moina were present in every picked waterbody. Of the copepod species, cyclopoid copepods were the prevalent group. Within the rotifer population, Brachionus (39.1%) was the dominant genus followed by Asplanchna (13%), Keratella (8.7%) and Filinia (8.7%). Morphometrically, most of the cladocerans (75%) and rotifers (34.8%) showed higher TBL and maximum width (MW) in extensive water bodies, while copepods (60%) in the semi-intensive water bodies. Only a few Brachionus species showed highest TBL in intensive water bodies. Both observational and statistical data indicated that the extensive and semi-intensive water bodies were the favored types for the highest TBL and MW of the main zooplanktonic groups.

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