title: Macro invertebrate community from Sonamarg streams of Kashmir Himalaya.
abstract: This study analyses a macroinvertebrate community survey for River Sindh and its tributary including Baltal, Yashmarg, Sonamarg and Thajwas Grar considering the extreme hydrological conditions linked with the seasonal low-flow period typical for some streams in this area. This study attempts to provide an overview of the macro invertebrate assemblages and physico-chemical variables of the River Sindh and its important tributary. Four study sites were selected from the River Sindh and its tributary including Baltal, Yashmarg, Sonamarg and Thajwas Grar for studying the ecological distribution of Macroinvertebrate assemblages. Totally, 33 taxa of macroinvertebrates were recorded from the two streams belonging to Mollusca-3 (Gastropoda-2 and Bivalvia-1), Annelida-1 and Arthropoda-29 (Insecta-29). Among insects Ephemeroptera (7), Trichoptera (6) and Diptera (13) dominated. Except Yashmrag all sites were found devoid of annelids while as the mollusks were found absent at Sonamarg. Highest values of Shannon Weiner Index were found at Yashmarg (2.42) and lowest at Sonamarg (1.99) while as highest and lowest Sorensen's similarity coefficient were found between Baltal/Thajwas Grar (0.68) and Yashmarg/Thajwas Grar (0.39), respectively. A perusal of the data on physico-chemical characteristics showed that these streams were hard water type with high dissolved oxygen content. The ionic composition of the stream waters revealed the predominance of bicarbonate and calcium. Insecta dominated both qualitatively as well as quantitatively and the study revealed that the substrate compositions dominated by gravel, pebble and leaf litters are primary determinants of the invertebrate community structure recording maximum species diversity and abundance. Sample locations impacted by Amarnath yatris pilgrimage comparatively reflected slightly higher increase in nutrients than Thajwas Grar almost devoid of pilgrimage effect.
authors.affiliation: Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, Centre of Research for Development, Department of Environmental Science, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, J and K, 190006, India.
authors.forename: S U
authors.initials: SU
authors.lastname: Bhat
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Sofi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yaseen
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Pandit
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Yousuf
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007194:India; D007448:Invertebrates; D045483:Rivers