Seasonal Phytoplankton Variations as Indicators of Water Quality in Ranchi Lake, India

A British soldier named Colonel Onsely created Ranchi Lake, locally known as Bada Talab, as a freshwater environment. Ranchi is an urban town in Jharkhand state, India. Water quality can be assessed through phytoplankton analysis, which involves species counting and biomass determination. Evaluating phytoplankton diversity and its connection to water quality is the goal of this study. Samples were taken from the lake in regular intervals of one year from January 2023 to December 2023. The majority of the phytoplanktonic species found in Bada Talab belong to the Chlorophyceae, Bascilariophyceae and Cyanophyceae groups and this assessment is carried out at regular intervals. Thus it can be concluded that April 2023 - June 2023 is the ideal time period for Cyanophyceae members to grow followed by January 2023 - March 2023 for Chlorophyceae and January 2023 - March 2023 for Bascilariophyceae. The most common species that are trustworthy markers of pollution and water quality were Microcystis, Spirogyra, Nostoc, Oscilatoria, Scendesmus, Pinnularia and Volvox. Certain genera such as Microcystis and Spirogyra are dominant and serve as indicators of pollution. The findings can serve as a benchmark for future studies in aquatic ecosystem conservation and environmental monitoring.