The Influence of the Monsoon Climate on Phytoplankton in the Shibpukur Pool of Shiva Temple in Burdwan, West Bengal, India

A total of 44 taxa were observed in monthly sampled phytoplankton of the Shibpukur pool in Burdwan, West Bengal between March 2010 and February 2011. The most abundant taxa belong to Charophyta, followed by cyanobacteria, diatoms and euglenoids. Bio-indication shows that the pool community preferred low alkaline, low mineralized and low organically polluted water. The total phytoplankton density showed its maximum values in May 2010. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index and the Pielou evenness value were found to be highest during the post-monsoon season. The Simpson dominance index and the Margalef index of richness were highest in the pre-monsoon season. The total phytoplankton density showed a highly significant positive correlation with pH and salinity and significant positive correlation with air temperature, water temperature, dissolved oxygen and total suspended solids. Among the reported 44 phytoplankton taxa only 3 showed a random distributional pattern. The Bray-Curtis Cluster analysis and the comparative statistics reveal two groups of phytoplankton assemblages in respect to the monsoon seasons. The successive communities form a continuum corresponding to Colwell’s Constancy (C) category. The calculated indices, CCA, and bio-indication analysis exhibit a low pollution level in the Shibpukur pool that can be used as a model of aquatic community dynamics under seasonal fluctuation in the monsoon climate, applicable for monitoring of water bodies in the West Bengal Province