ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS AND CORRELATION WITH DENSITY OF MAXILLOPODA DAHL IN SOME WATER BODIES OF QUANG NAM PROVINCE

Abstract

Zooplankton are considered one of the groups with great potential in monitoring and indicating environmental fluctuations in water bodies. This study evaluated environmental characteristics and densities of species of the class Maxillopoda at 15 locations in 4 different types of water bodies (middle river, lower river, reservoir and urban lake) in Quang Nam province. The results show that, in the habitat characteristics of species belonging to the class Maxillopoda, there are statistically significant differences (P_value < 0.05) in some parameters such as: electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity (Sal), turbidity (NTU) and nitrite (NO₂^-) in 4 types of water bodies. Regarding the correlation of Maxillopoda species with some environmental indicators according to multivariate Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), shown in the density of Metacyclops gracillis and Schmackeria bulbosa, Oithona nana tend to be positively correlated with the content of nitrite (NO₂^-), ammonium (NH₄⁺), phosphate (PO₄^3-), and chlorophyll-a. However, Microcyclops finitimus species density was negatively correlated with electrical conductivity (EC), salinity (Sal) and total dissolved solids (TDS).