A comparative study on Phytoplankton diversity between River Tamiraparani (Vannarpettai site) and a man made freshwater body was carried out. River Tamiraparani is a perennial river in Tirunelveli District, Tamilnadu. It is the irreplaceable source of freshwater for Tirunelveli district and neighbouring districts. The man made freshwater body is situated in a village namely Tharapuram, Tirunelveli District. It is the main source of water for domestic use and irrigation. The study has been carried out on identification and comparison of the fresh water Phytoplankton in two different kinds of water bodies. The field trip was carried during January 2012 to June 2012 in the two selected sites. The identification of Phytoplankton was done by standard and reputed manuals. The Phytoplankton composition was constituted by members of Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Euglenophyceae. Phytoplankton diversity was quantified by Shannon Wiener index.
Phytoplankton, Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cyanophyceae, Euglenophyceae.