Determination of Bayındır Dam Lake (Ankara) Zooplankton Fauna

Abstract

Zooplankton samples were collected from four stations in Bayındır Dam Lake between April 2022 and January 2023 using a 60 μm plankton net with horizontal and vertical hauls, and some water quality parameters (water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity) were determined in-situ. The annual mean water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH and conductivity were 17.64±7.64 °C, 7.92±0.18 mgL-1, 9.26±1.00 mgL-1, 368.52±24.69 µS cm-1 respectively. Water quality parameters were within normal limits for most aquatic organisms. A total of 87 species were recorded in the reservoir, including 66 rotifers (75.86%), 15 cladocerans (17.24%) and 6 copepods (6.90%). A total of 22 families from Rotifera, 5 families from Cladocera and 2 families from Copepoda were recorded. Brachionidae and Lecanidae (Rotifera) having most of the species were the richest families with 10 species each. With 8 Chydoridae species from Cladocera and 5 Cyclopoidae species from Copepoda, they were discovered to be the most numerous family. It was determined that the dam lake zooplankton consisted of widely distributed cosmopolitan and eutrophication indicator species.