Patterns beneath the waters: unravelling macrozoobenthic ecology in kashmir’s lifeline river jhelum of himalayas

The River Jhelum (an important tributary of Indus River) is main drainage system of Kashmir valley originating from PirPanjal range of Himalayan Mountains connected by all other lentic and lotic habitats in the valley. For present study four sites were selected in river Jhelum as KhanabalBatengu (siteI), Zero bridge in Srinagar city (siteII), Gantimulla at Baramula (SiteIII) in most densely populated areas with different types of anthropogenic activities adding different types of affluent to the river and site IV in the lower reaches with least human interference and least discharge from the catchment was also selected at Dachi bridge in Uri. The River system showed an appreciable change in the physic-chemical parameters during the study. The mean conductivity of the water ranged between177 µS and 306 µS and alkalinity from pH- 7.9 to 8.2, hardness from 165 – 236 mg/L. The inorganic nitrogen (as nitrate nitrogen) of the river recorded in the higher side of 181 µg/l to 317µg/l, total phosphorus from 79 µg/l to 228 µg/l. In response to changing physico-chemical charecteristics of water in river Jhelum,the macro-invertebrate fauna of the sites was more or less similar in first three sites of river Jhelum and were dominated by Annelids, Molluscs and Diptera with dominant species as Tubifex ,Limnodrillus, Erpobdella, Corbiculasp, Chironomuslarva which indicates the deterioration of water quality due to high anthropogenic activitesalong the river.