Effect on water quality on phytoplankton abundance hampalam river and fish pond of batanjung village
Answers
Phytoplankton is natural food for various fishes and shrimps inhabiting first producer level in energy
flows. It, as primary producer in the water, is also one of the life sources for all animals. Phytoplankton is
dissolved oxygen producer in the water as well. In food chain, phytoplankton is eaten by herbivores (such as
zooplankton) which will also be eaten by larger carnivores (fish and others) and etc.
The existence of phytoplankton in the waters can be seen on the basis of their abundance influenced by
several environmental parameters and their physiological characteristics. It will change at various levels as a
response to the changes in physical, chemical and biological environmental conditions. Factors supporting the
phytoplankton growth are very complex and interacting between physical and chemical factors, such as
dissolved oxygen, temperature, visibility and the availability of nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous (Goldman
and Horne, 1983).
In river ecosystem occurs water mass mixture and no vertical stratification of the water column is
formed. Currents, erosion and sedimentation are common phenomenon in the river affecting the life of aquatic
biota. Hampalam river, one of the affluents of Kapuas river, Kapuas Regency with ±7.5 km long and ±15-17 m
wide, is an aquatic area highly potential for fisheries particularly as fishing ground for shrimp, crab, gobiid,
snakehead and others. Along the left and the right of Hampalam river there are public fish ponds which get
physical changes after the agricultural and fisheries irrigations were built, changes in land function from forest
to plantation and agriculture areas, and increasing human activities along the river. This change causes
alterations of aquatic environmental conditions and fish ponds along the river otomatically affect the water
quality and the life of aquatic biota especially phytoplankton as primary producer in the water. Therefore, it is
necessary to know how the water quality affects the phytoplankton abundance.
This study was aimed to pursue the effect of water quality on the phytoplankton abundance and the
phytoplankton structure in Hampalam river and public fish ponds in Batanjung village. The study is expected to
be able to give additional field evidence concerning the effect of physical and chemical water quality on the
phytoplankton abundance and the phytoplankton structure in Hampalam river and local public fish ponds, so
that it could help speeding up the concept or technological development effort in managing the water quality and
the phytoplankton abundance development in the most favorable condition and as an effort of sustainable
aquatic resources management