Fish Fauna and Zooplankton Diversity of Mukkadal Reservoir, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India

The fish fauna and zooplankton in seasonal variations in the Mukkadal reservoir of the Kanyakumari district have been studied for a period of one year, from June 2022 to May 2023. A total of 15 species belonging to Phylum-Chordata, Class- Actinopterygii, Order- Cypriniformes (10 sp.), Cyprinodontiformes (1 sp.), Siluriformes (1 sp.), Perciformes (2 sp.), Anabantiforms (1 sp.) Family- Cyprinidae (9 sp.), Cobitidae (1 sp.), Fundulidae (1 sp.), Bagridae (1 sp.), Cichlidae (2 sp.), Channidae (1 sp.). Result shows, the minimum Rasbora argyrotaenia and Dawkinsia Rohani fish length was recorded at 10 cm and the maximum Puntius chola fish length was recorded at 40 cm. The minimum Rasbora argyrotaenia fish weight was recorded at 8.73 gm and the maximum Puntius chola fish weight was recorded at 800 gm. The zooplankton were represented by two groups viz., Arthropoda, and Rotifera, and five species Harpacticoida Attheyella, Nauplius (2 sp), Platyias patulus, Hexarthra mira. Zooplankton is an important bioindicator of ecosystem functioning. The minimum Nauplius larva of Cyclops length was recorded at 98.235 μm and 62.32 μm and the maximum Platyias patulus length was recorded at 223.263 μm and 107.263 μm.