JOGITA T. PANDKAR AND APURVA K. KAMBLE*
Department of Botany, Deccan Education Society’s, Fergusson College (Autonomous), Pune-411 004 (Maharashtra), India
*(e-mail : apurva705@gmail.com; Mobile : 8007137048)
(Received : December 18, 2019; Accepted : February 21, 2020)
ABSTRACT
Bhuleshwar and Baneshwar both are Hindu temples of Lord Shiva situated at the periphery of Pune. Bhuleshwar temple is situated on a hill and was built in 13th centaury, while Baneshwar temple is situated on river bank amidst a jungle which is declared as a bird sanctuary. Total eight and fourteen samples were collected from Bhuleshwar and Baneshwar, respectively. Samples were collected from stones, water bodies and tree barks. Algal members observed at Bhuleshwar belonged to Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta and Euglenophyta. Cyanophyta members were found to be dominant over all the other divisions of algae, while in Cyanophyta coccoid members were dominant over filamentous forms. In coccoid forms, Chroococcus was dominant followed by Synechococcus, Synechocystis, Aphanocapsa and Merismopedia, while filamentous forms showed a majority of Oscillatoria followed by Lyngbya and Calothrix.
Oedogonium was reported from division Chlorophyta followed by Euglena and diatom from Euglenophyta and Bacillariophyta, respectively. At Baneshwar members belonging to Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta were observed out of which Cyanophyta was dominant over Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta. In Cyanophyta coccoid forms were dominant over filamentous forms. In coccoid forms, Chroococcus was dominant followed by Merismopedia, Synechococcus and Aphanocapsa, while filamentous forms showed a dominance of Oscillatoria followed by Calothrix, Lyngbya and Phormidium. Desmids and diatoms were reported from Chlorophyta and Bacillariophyta, respectively. Finally, it was concluded that Cyanophyta
was found to be dominant division with further Cyanophyta coccoid forms were dominant over filamentous forms. This dominance of Cyanophyta members was due to the presence of mucilaginous sheath around them which helped them survive in adverse environmental conditions.
Key words : Bhuleshwar, Baneshwar, algal flora, freshwater, tree bark, kunda