Chroococcalean blue green algae from the paddy fields of Satara District, Maharashtra, India
Blue green algae are the photosynthetic prokaryotes representing a wide distribution in habitat, i.e., temperate, tropical, and polar region. Paddy fields are the best studied aquatic ecosystems on earth which fulfill all the necessary demands required for blue green algal growth. Blue green algal role in enhancement of paddy yield has been studied worldwide. Sustainable utilization of an organism for community use depends on how successfully the ecology of that organism is understood. Twenty-eight chroococcalean blue green algal taxa were recorded from the study area. They were taxonomically investigated and found to belong to two families and 11 genera. The first family Chroococcaceae was the largest family with 10 genera and 26 species while the second family Entophysalidaceae had only one genus and two species. The genus Gloeocapsa from the family Chroococcaceae exhibited largest species diversity (21.42%), as well as taxa Chlorogloea fritschii of family Entophysalidaceae showed species abundance from the study area. All heterocystous blue green algal forms are capable of fixation of atmospheric N2. Many of the non-heterocystous or unicellular blue green algae also have the capacity of N2 fixation. The taxonomical documentation of chroococcalean blue green algae provide information about such indigenous unicellular blue green algae which will help in the development of niche specific inoculants as biofertilizers for rice fields of the study region.