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ABSTRACT
Primary production of the River Ambarampalayam has been studied for a period of one year from December 2011 to November 2012, using Light and Dark bottle method. In addition, physico-chemical parameters were also studied to find out the relationship with the productivity.
Key words: Fresh water, River ecology, Primary production.
INTRODUCTION
The sustainable yields of fishery can be estimated by using the measurement of primary production (Steele, 1974). In addition to long term effects, changes in photosynthetic rates may show the almost instantaneous effect of a nutrient, toxicant or physical change in environment. Thus a complete survey on the physicochemical condition of inland water is very necessary for understanding the fresh water ecosystems.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The River Ambarampalayam originates from the valparai hills, which is stored in Aliyar Reservoir. The river runs through the Ambarampalayam area which is located near Pollachi, which finally runs into the Kerala state and drains into the Arabian Sea. Water samples were collected from the River Ambarampalayam once a month for a period of twelve months from December 2011 to November 2012, and analysed for primary production and physico-chemical parameters by following standard methods (APHA, 1998).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Data on the primary production and physico-chemical parameters of the River Ambarampalayam are presented in the Tables 1-4.
An increase in the...