1990, pp, 125-134 LIMNOLOGICAL STUDIES ON HIGH ALTITUDE LAKE-DASHAUHAR, NORTHWEST HIMALAYA, INDIA (Received June 28, 1990; Accepted November 25, 1990) Sanjeev Kumar ZSI, Andamans and Nicobar Regional Station, Middle Point, Port Blair 744 101, India. Dashauhar lake is a seasonally snow-covered small freshwater body on the crest-line of the Pir-Panjal Range in Kullu valley of Hima- chal Pradesh, India, The water conductivity was as low as 4.0 # mhos. ‘The Nat ions dominate among the cations, The presence of phosph- ‘rus was in traces and hence the phytoplankton development was poor. The faunal province of the lake has two distinct components of arthro~ poda : microcrustaceans (Cladocera and Cupedoda) and Insecta (Chiro- nomidae and Ceratopogonidae). Tbe microcrustacean population domi- nates over the pelagic larval/pupal population of Chironomidae, The light ‘ence on the behaviour and distribution of aquatic arthropods, Modifications correlated to the special high altitude environ- mental conditions are found in the flora and fauna of the lake, The results show that the lake is not a sterile water body but supports organic life. intensity has marke The situation in the Indian subcontinent as a whole pertaining to our knowle- ddge of the freshwater bodies is still far from complete. The bulk of the literature produced so far relates to the primary producers (Phytoplankton) of the lake compo- nent. Some stray publication on the freshwater arthropod fauna do appear but most are restricted to the freshwater lakes of low altitudes. Infact, the study of of these particularly of the Northwest Himalaya, is high altitude lake arthropods of Himalaya,Kumar 126 J i ity of knowledge on the various aspeg) Ce eee ang inthe high allitud lakes. of Northwest Hinal onan of the inaccesibility of these water bodies and the physical hazarg inva ved inthe working at extreme altitudes. Very little (afore eee the seasonally snow covered high altitude lakes above 4000 m, ae ie paper on Dashauhar lake is an attempt to unfold the phy: ’ o-chemical and boitic fa. tors that govern the existence and diversity of the animal life at such altitudes. MATERIALS AND METHODS Study Area— The Dashauhar lake represents a relatively shallow structur occupying a saddle like depression, which appears to be a hollow of an ancient extine glacier on the crest-line of the Pir-Panjal Range at the northern end of Kullu valle, at an altitude of 4,200 m. AMSL, It is fed by glaciers and melt water from snow fields of the Beas Rikhi peaks (4600 m) to the east of the lake and another unnamed peak on the west. Its exact location occupies a position to the north of the watershed sepa- rating the Beas drainage area to the south, fromthe river Chandra drainage area to the north, It has a narrow outlet onthe northern shore and overflow of water cascades over a rugged, rocky and precipitous northern slope of the Pir-Panjal Range, forming a mighty torrential stream to reach the river Chandra in the Lauhal valley. The lake remains covered with thick layers of snow and ice sheets for about 89 months a year and becomes free of accumulating snow during August-October. How- ever a thick layer of snow deposit continues to persist alon 9 the southern and south- western shore of the lake. The morphometry of the lake is given in Table 1, The lack of easy accessibility of the operational areas in the course of present investigation was the main criteria for selecting the material and methods. Four sur- Wes were made during 1983-8 in the snowtree months of September-October. In 1983, attempts were made to Survey the lake in the month of October b aa to une Precedent snow/all the investigations were abondoned. So, th, | rae aye sche: Teal “and ‘Biological observations are based off three Year “stcay, ora tha be estimation of water temperature, nH, » DH, water i i table battery operated digital electronic kit Sue Se chet ahygely as Ths physico-chemi Smical analysis of water was recorded at four stations three timesLimnological Studies ofA Dashauhar Lake F 12 iF Table 1—Morphometry of the Dashauhag lake, Parameters oun! Units Surface area 9576 sq-m./0. Maximum length a-m./0.96ha 126 m. Maximum breadth 102 m. Maximum depth om. Mean depth 3.4m Relative depth 815 16% Volume 32,968:4 15m*. Volume development* 1.148. *No unit, since a ratio. a day i.e. 7.C0 a.m., 12.00 noon. and 5.00 p.m. The water samples were collected by dra- gging St. John’s sampler on the water surface of the lake. The samples were analysed at the soll and water testing laboratary, IARI, New Delhi, following Mackerath’. The zooplankton were collected by filtering the known quantity of water through @ mesh size of 50 » plankton nets, Whereas, the planktonic chironomid larvae were collected by operating the 50 «mesh size plankton net in an are of about one meire length, using five drags per observation. The sampling of adult chironomids were carried out by executing sweeps of butterfly nets in the air. The zooplankton and Chironomidae adults were taxonomically sorted out and preserved in pample’s fluid. Identification ‘and counting were made under light microscope. The algae and other phytoplankton were stored in 4% formalin for identification.. RESULTS AND D ISCUSSION Physico-Chemical Features : Among the physical parameters, water temperature is the most important factor which affects the biological activity of the organisms to a great exleat The temperature of the leke water exhibits well defined fluctuations with the minic mum temperature at 7.00 a.m..being 5.2°C and.the maximum temperature 15.1°C at oooh The water temperature . regulates. the. behaviour ofthe zooplankton-and the benthicKumar 128) ‘Table 2.-Physico-chemical Features of Dashaubar lake, Parameters Mean Value/Range rai Water Temperature °C 5.2-15.1 pH TA Dissolved Oxygen (ppm) 15.2 Conductivity (# mhos cm™) 40 Dissolved inorganic phosphate phosphorus Traces (mg/l) Total phosphate phosphorus (mg/!) 0.16 Ammonia-nitrogen (m/!) 0.034 Nitrite-nitrogen \mg/!) Traces 0.087 Nitrate-nitrogen (mg/l) Chloride (mg/l) 0.40 Carbonate (mg/l) 0.30 Bicarbonate (meq/!) 0.40 Sodium (ppm) 25.0 Potassium (ppm) 0,20 Magnesium (ppm) 0.13 Calcium (ppm) 1.0 Manganese (ppm) 0.10 Iron (ppm) 0.01 Copper (ppm) 0.04 Zinc (ppm) 0.38 Dissolved Silica 4.20 Ghironeeidee feuoa a the lake, pH of water yets drastically changed (6,16-8.9) with time uo to es eee biological activity, temperature changes and the amount Ri aren deere meee it, The high dissolved oxygen concentration (5.2) can teal benec teeing low temperature of the lake water’. It tends to decreas? ning, The ze in oxygen fevels inthe afemoon and ate ahernoon eas be aged Peaeae h Nand late afterno ined the activity ores he of consumption becomes reduced due to the ae a Souino plankton and benthic Chironomidae larvae ofthe TokeLimnological Studies on Dashauhar Lake [ 129 Table 3—Composition of the Arthropod Fauna Arthropoda No. of specimens IL Crustacea* (a) Cladocera Chydoridae 49 (b) Copepoda Diaptomidae 6 Il, Insecta (a) Collembola 1266 (b) Ephemeroptera 84 (c) Trichoptera 107 (d) Coleoptera Staphylinidae 179 Carabidae 87 (e) Diptera Tipulidae 22 Ceratopogonidae 538 Chironomidae 10862 Derelict Elements 469 *Number of specimens calculated as _individuals/litre. Electrical conductivity was 46 # mhos on the basis of which the Dashauhar lake falls under the category of ultraoligotrophic body of water. Physico-chemical studies of Dashauhar lake (Table-2), unmistakably reveal that this lake represents a very simplified trophic structure, a characteristic of the extreme environment, with very low inorganic nutrients particularly low contents of phosphorus and nitrogen, which generally act as a limiting factor for the growth and development of phytoplankton and macrophytes". It is, therefore, not surprising that macrophytic vegetation in the lake water is non-existent. Most of the workers have concentrated on phosphorus and have recognised it as a limiting factor in the deve- lopment of eutropiy from oligotrophy. Keeping this general concept in view and the extreme paucity of phosphorus, the ultraoligitrophic status of Dashauhar lake becomesKumar 130] e as eutrophic’, therefore, Is difficy, well established. The classification of this lake if not impossible to accept. BIOLOGICAL FEATURES : The Dashauhar lake lies in the transitional belt between the nival zone and the permanent snow line. This nival zone has biotic life belonging to an ecologically specialized cold adapted autochthenous flora and fauna. Phytoplankton : rophic structure of the lake, as evident from the physico- Due to the simplified t is completely absent. chemical features, the macrophytic vegetation in the lake water i However, phytoplankton are represented by the families Chlorophyceas, Myxophyceae, Euglenophyceae and Bacillariophyceae. The Chlorophyceae represent the dominant component of microflora with at least five genera viz. Spirogyra, Oedogonium, Zygnema, Ulothrix and Gllamydomonas, The Bacillariophyceae is represented by genera Nuvicula and Calloneis, The Myxophyceae, taxonomically the weakest component, contains Anacystis and Anabaena, Out of five Chlorophyceae genera mentioned above the filamentous Oedogonium and Zygnema constitute the major element, The preponderance of Chlorophyceae as observed during the present studies is the logical consequence of bright sunshine prevailing at Dashauhar lake site which is further accentuated by the gl th surrounding snow covered mountains, ees A great floral diversity was of mest dominant flarlspciesbalong to Bryophyta ond x en Oe kes The specias ropresanted by families Asteraceae, Ranunculaceae, Fiinahintage' Reasiiad Deasiwhkh nay ‘anaceae, Polygonaceae, Umbeiliferae and mary species of Grae Ur in’ great profusion all along the shore. The most characteristic Peculiarity of above species is their dwarf ana tufted rowth with extremel hy ly bushy ana tufted giLimnological Studies on Dashauhar Lake [ 131 Zooplankton : The zooplankton were predominantly represented by Crustacea, Rotifera and very negligible and often irregular representation of Protozoa, The Crustacea repre- sents by far the dominant compenent of zooplankton with 629% of the total catch followed by Rotifera with 38.77, The total density of zooplankton population was as high as 26.2% per litre. The density of zooplankton population in the lake water has Net been worked out in the high altitude lakes **,"-™, Taxonomically Crustacea is repre- sented by two families viz, Chydoridae and Diaptomidae (Table-3). Of the two Chy- doridae is represented by 69.9% of the total catch and Diaptomidae by3 The zooplankton of the Dashauhar lake revealsa sort of periodicity in their appearance in the upper layers of water. During the dull sunshine the crustaceans migrate vertically upwards and with the increase in the solar intensity they retreat into the depths of lake water, thus exhibiting a sort of photophobic” behaviour. This migration of the zooplankton in the Dashauhar lake, from the surface to the bottom, synchronises with ‘marked increase in the solar intensity by mid-day. This obser- vation is further substantiated by the fact that with the arrival ot clouds on the lake site by evening, and consequent reduction in sunshine intensity, the zooplankton again appear on the surface of the lake, The sustenance of crustacean population of the Dashauhar lake appears to te dependent on the presence of diversified phytoplankton which clearly shows that the crustaceans do not suffer fromthe dearih or inadequacy of food resources. The immature stages of both the families of Crustacea restrict themselves overwhelmingly to the deeper layers of water and are very rarely encountered in the upper layers. This preference for the deeper zone Is to get shelter from the wind effect and to escape the fourth instar larvae of Chironomide (Insecta) which wore found feeding on them. The extremely low temperature conditions and prolonged winter snow-cover have influenced the reduction in the number of the generations per year of the Crustacea in Dashauhar lake. Insects ; The collections made.during the present investigations reveal that: the DashauharKumar 132] ake harbours a fairly divorso cold adaptod insoct fauna. A oroat ariel of Insel collected from the lake water surface actually do not belong y Oe iad but represent a derelict element, carried by upper air curren a na stant pl a ing of India to this region. These include many species of whiteflies, aphi perleseleoy noctuids, ladybirds beetles, fruitflies, marchtlies and long-tailed wasps. ie true insect community is represented by Collembola, Staphylinidae (Coleoptera arable dae (Coleoptera), Tipulidae (Diptera) collected from under the stones and boulders in tho shoro-line and the aquatic insects represented by amphibiotic forms where the immature stages inhabit open waters, the bottom mud or the surface of submer- ged stones and boulders. However, adults are invariably aerial. The amphibiotic Insects are represented by Ephemeroptera, Tricoptera and Diptera. The Diptera fepresents by far the preponderant element, with two families Ceratopogonidae and Chironomidae. The Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera constitute a minor element (Table —3). The benthos of the Dashauhar lake is also extremely rich in Chironomidae larvae/pupae. However, Singh and Sharma failed to observe the existence of any benthic fauna in the Dashauhar lake. A complex series of modifications, correlated to the special high altitude énvironmental conditions are found in the arthropod fauna invabiting this region. These pecularities are not confined toa few structures alone, but a whole series of structures and indeed the whole body organisations are modified for life at such high altitudes. Some of the more pronounced adaptive pecu.arities found in the fauna of the Dashauhar lake are the reduced size of the body and appendages, pronounced body pigmentation and cold hardiness. The development of melanism and reduction in body size is a characteristic feature of high altitude arthropod Ife in the case of terrestrial forms also’-29, All the organic life, viz. phytoplankton and arthropods, undergo hibernation ora sort of suspended animation, due to the snow-cover for 8-9 months ina ‘ year. They are therefore, obliged to complete all of their life activities within a limited Snow free duration of about three-four months. Thi eae pet ecological factor which dictates and controls ‘the behaviour and oa aD el living orgaaisms. It may sound paradoxical to say that the orga- is ‘ake which flourish under extremely cold conditions, thrive in the lake © snow-cover, therefore, is oneLimnological Studies on Dashauhar Lake [ 133 secause of snow-cover and not inspite of it. The snow-cover acting as a vents the freezing of the lake water upto the bottom of the lake and thus the possibilities of phytoplankton and arthropod fauna being reduced to cf organic life. Summarily, the Dashauhar lake representing a fresh water body of ultraoligotrophic status harbouring a diverse cold adapted flora and fauna x very wall be utilized for fresh water fish culture, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author is thankful to Professor G. Ram, Principal, St. John's College, Agra for providing facilities to carry out this research work. Financial assistance was given by U. G, C., India, REFERENCES 4. Thomson, T. (1852). 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