ecosystem of chilka lake
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Ecosystem of Chilka LakeAssignment#1 of
Environmental Studies
Submitted By
Sandeep K. ChopraRoll No. 614240837BBA Class 6th
Submitted to
Miss Manbir GillLectureLovely Institute of Management
Ecosystem of Chilka Lake2
TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction to Chilka Lake................................................................................3
Location 3
Ecosystem of Chilka Lake....................................................................................4
Vegetation & flora of Chilka Lake 5
Environmental Issue associated with the Chilka Lake...........................7
Conservation of Ecosystem — threats and management 7
Threats 7
Bibliography..............................................................................................................9
Ecosystem of Chilka Lake3
INTRODUCTION TO CHILKA LAKE
Chilka Lake (Chilika Lake) is a brackish water lagoon, spread over
the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Orissa state on the east
coast of India, at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay
of Bengal. It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second
largest lagoon in the World.
It is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds on the Indian
sub-continent. The lake is home to a number of threatened species
of plants and animals. The lake is an ecosystem with large fishery
resources. It sustains more than 150,000 fisher–folk living in 132
villages on the shore and islands..
In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of
international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
LOCATIONA. Chilka Lake, Orissa (Courtesy: Google Maps)
Ecosystem of Chilka Lake4
ECOSYSTEM OF CHILKA LAKE
Out of several wetlands in India, Chilka lake in the state of Orissa
was designated as Ramsar site in 1991 as an internationally
important of waterfowl habitat. Chilka Lake is the largest one and
unique of its kind for its magnificent biological diversity, ecological
complexity and sustainability. This vast water body spreading
over an area of 1100 sq. km harbours innumerable number of both
floral and faunal components. It is a haven for migratory birds,
having 159 species/subspecies (Dev, 1997). More than 800
species of animals are reported from this lake and its vicinity by
Zoological Survey of India (Ghosh, 1995). About 225 species of
fish have been reported from this lake (Dean & Saaltink, 1991).
On the banks of the lake there are 8 fairly large towns and 122
villages. About 70% of this population depend upon fishing as the
only means of livelihood. A population of about 1,27,000 souls are
directly dependent on fisheries in the lake and 50,000 cattles may
get their fodder need from the margin and bank of the lake (Trisal
and Chauhan, 1998). A revenue of over 70 million rupees, is
collected from 24 revenue villages on its banks (Bandyopadhay &
Gopal, 1991). Besides these, the lake attracts several national and
international tourists for its pristine beauty and charming
environment. On an average 2.5 lakh tourists visit this lake
annually.
Though much information regarding the common ecological and
environmental status of the lake exist, still there is a gap in the
baseline data on the total plant resources. Little is known of their
taxonomy, quantitative ecological status and the mechanism by
which they differ in their distributional patterns, their importance
in the food chain of different fishes and birds as well as their
Ecosystem of Chilka Lake5
effective role in protecting soil erosion and purifying the water
quality. Not only information on ecological amplitude of
algae/phytoplankton and seagrasses, or of aquatic macrophytes
but also of the terrestrial plant communities living in the stressed
environment of the islands and the shores and their role in this
ecosystem are wanting. The detailed survey and studies on the
plant resources of the islands and the lake surrounding, it is hoped,
will give very important information on the present status and
monitoring the changes, if any, over time. These information are
required for proper planning of management towards
sustainability of the ecosystem as a whole. Bandhyapadhya &
Gopal (1991) suggested, “The biological and ecological diversity
of this unique lagoon ecosystem need an in-depth study.
VEGETATION & FLORA OF CHILKA LAKE
The vegetation of the lake ecosystem is broadly classified into
aquatic and terrestrial Island vegetation. The aquatic vegetation is
of algal vegetation and macrophytic vegetation. Phytoplankton
and seaweed community is under the algal vegetation.
Phytoplankton is abundant in all over the lake showing their
seasonal fluctuation of species component. Seaweed community is
distributed only in brackish and marine water zones. Aquatic
macrophytes are of the Pleustophyte, Epihydate, Vittate, Rosette
and Helophytic types. The terrestrial island vegetation is the
formation of typical coastal scrubs.
Ecosystem of Chilka Lake6
12 seaweeds species are reported from this lake. 72 wetland
plants including seagrass species are also collected/reported.
Among the terrestrial vascular plants 305 species are
collected/reported. Pteridophyte, Dicot and Monocot species are
respectively 9, 288 and 80 that are reported from this lake.
A total number of 72 genera of phytoplankton and 8 genera of
seaweeds have been collected from different sectors of the lake at
different seasons. This large-scale diversity has a key role in the
food chain of this lake ecosystem. Among the phytoplankton the
number of genera under Myxophyceae, Chlorophyceae,
Xanthophyceae, Bacillariophyceae and Dinophyceae are 12, 20, 1,
35, 3 respectively. The abundance of phytoplankton genera in the
polluted water of the lake has also been studied.
A total number of 12 species of seaweeds under Chlorophyceae
and Rhodophyceae are only distributed in marine and brackish
water zone.
Ecosystem of Chilka Lake7
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHILKA LAKE
CONSERVATION OF ECOSYSTEM — THREATS AND MANAGEMENT In 1981, Chilika Lake was designated the first Indian wetland of
international importance under the Ramsar Convention due to its
rich biodiversity as shown by the facts that:
Over a million migratory waterfowl and shorebirds
winter here.
Over 400 vertebrate species have been recorded.
As an estuarine lagoon, it supports a unique
assemblage of marine, brackish and freshwater
species.
Several rare and endangered species are found in
the region.
The lake supports fisheries that are the lifeline of the
community.
The lake is of great value in preserving genetic
diversity.
There is an Increase in weeds and aquaculture
activities.
THREATSOver the years, the ecosystem of the lake encountered several
problems and threats such as:
Siltation due to littoral drift and sediments from the
inland river systems
Shrinkage of water surface area
Choking of the inlet channel as well as shifting of the
mouth connecting to the sea
Decrease in salinity and fishery resources
Proliferation of fresh water invasive species and
Ecosystem of Chilka Lake8
An overall loss of biodiversity with decline in
productivity adversely affecting the livelihood of the
community that depended on it
Fights between fishermen and non-fishermen
communities about fishing rights in the lake and
consequent court cases
The rapid expansion of commercial aquaculture of prawn has
contributed significantly to the decline of the lakes fisheries and
bird population.
Concerted action was initiated by the Orissa State Government
with support from the Government of India to adopt adaptive
conservation and management actions.
By 1993, the problems in Chilika were so severe that the lake was
put under "The Montreux Record" as the lake was considered to
have “undergone, to be undergoing, or to be likely to undergo
change in it's ecological character brought about by human action”.
The purpose was to stimulate remedial measures for the lake's
conservation, supplemented with adequate monitoring. It was
expected that such an action would benefit from the advice from
Ramsar Advisory Mission and other identified technical assistance
programmes.
In summary, siltation from upstream led to shrinkage of the water
surface area, decrease of salinity and prolific growth of invasive
fresh water aquatic weed infestation, all of which had a serious
negative impact on habitat of wildlife and fishery resources.
Ecosystem of Chilka Lake9
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.bsienvis.org/Wetland_Chilka.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilka_Lake
http://maps.google.com/Chilka_Lake
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