STUDY THE EFFECT OF SALINITY AND NUTRIENTS FOR THE GROWTH OF Najas marina AND ITS IMPACT TO AQUATIC BIODIVERSITY IN MADU GANGA RAMSAR WETLAND IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

Madu Ganga is the latest addition to the Ramsar International Convention of Wetlands. Najas marinais an alien aquatic plant and 0.5 m long that are often branched toward the upward portion of the plant. The objective of the study was to study the impact of salinity and nutrients for the growth of Najas marina. Samples were collected for analysed water quality parameters from March, 2006 to January 2007 in the lagoon. Mapping was done using Garmin GPS map 76CS and Arc GIS used to developed maps.

Mean nutrient such as, nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen and orthophosphate concentrations were observed 0.26 ± 0.3 mg/l, 0.057 ± 0.04 mg/l, and 0.354 ± 0.77 mg/l subsequently. Mean salinity variation in bottom and surface are 6.38 ± 6.65 ppt and 4.31 ±  4.68 ppt. Higher bottom salinity was observed in location number 02 (near to sea mouth) and  Najas marinawas not present in the area. Najas marina was also not recorded in upper part of the lagoon and fresh water streams studied. High density of Najas marina plants were observed in sampling location 07, 08 and 09, because of the high nutrient concentration flowing through feeding tributaries. More than 25 % of lagoon area was covered by Najas marina.