Crustacean Community and Ecosystem Health of Some Selected Wetlands of West Bengal

Crustaceans are primarily aquatic organisms. They are mostly marine but there are many freshwater species inhabiting ponds, lakes, streams and rivers and occupy a basic position in aquatic food chain. In the present paper, crustacean communities of four selected wetlands of West Bengal, namely, Rabindra Sarovar, Nalban, Brace Bridge Nature Park and Mirik Lake have been studied. All these four water bodies are freshwater wetlands. Among these, Nalban and Brace Bridge Nature Park are sewage fed wetlands. Crustacean community of these wetlands is comprised of Cladocera, Copepoda, Ostracoda, Conchostraca, Amphipoda, Isopoda and Decapoda. The list includes 36 species of zooplankton and macrozoobenthos. The study reveals highest representation of crustacean diversity in Rabindra Sarovar Data obtained on water quality as well as general ecological parameters suggest that highest crustacean diversity is associated with habitat ecology, niche diversity, naturalness and ecosystem health of the wetlands.