Sustainable Water Resource Management: Issues, Challenges & Solutions

Biodiversity on the earth consists of a number of distinct biological species which together make a balanced environment. North East India is a place of exceptional biodiversity, harbouring a wide variety of biota. The geographic location of Manipur belongs to two of the world’s hotspot i.e. Eastern Himalayan and Indo-Burmese. As a result of this, the state is endowed with a wide variety of biodiversity. Nowadays, the global environmental crisis is affecting all dimensions of biota. Similarly, the rich biodiversity of the state is also under threat due to various anthropogenic activities. This environmental crisis may lead to multiple forms of destruction, resulting in measurable damage to the environment. This chapter reports the impact of physico-chemical parameters on the rotifer assemblage in an irrigation canal at Phubala, Bishnupur district, Manipur. Rotifers are an important group of zooplankton and act as good indicators of the changes in water quality, as they are strongly affected by environmental conditions and respond quickly to changes in water quality. The impact of physico-chemical parameters on the assemblage of rotifers was conducted in an irrigation canal at Phubala (latitude- 24.60633⁰N and longitude 93.79441⁰E), Bishnupur district of Manipur, North East India, for a period of one year. During the study period, 23 rotifers belonging to 7 families were recorded. The seven different families are: Brachionidae (10 genera), Euchlanidae (2 genera), Mytilinidae (2 genera), Epiphanidae (1 genus), Lecanidae (6genera), Filinidae (1 genus) and Testudinellidae (1 genus). Physico-chemical parameters have a significant influence on the occurrence of rotifers in the aquatic ecosystem. Therefore, the correlation matrix among physico-chemical parameters such as water temperature, pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Free Carbon Dioxide (FCO2) and Total Alkalinity (TA) with the occurrence of rotifer is also studied.