ecosystem of chilka lake

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


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 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


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.


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.


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


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.


BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.bsienvis.org/Wetland_Chilka.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilka_Lake

http://maps.google.com/Chilka_Lake

ecosystem of chilka lake

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