TAXONOMIC STUDY OF ALGAL SPECIES OF ISLAMABAD AND KAHUTA

Abstract

This study was conducted to ascertain various freshwater algae found in seven different locations: Tangi Dam, Punjar Stream, 
Rumly Stream, Bari Imam, Bara Dari, Japan Road and Miana Thub located in the Islamabad and Kahuta regions. The sample 
were algae were collected during the months of March and April 2025.The specimen were brought back to Algae Research 
Laboratory in Pakistan Museum of Natural History. There were a total of 19 types of freshwater algae and were divided into 
three main groups: Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta and Charophyta. The study found that green algae were the common type of 
freshwater algae with types like Spirogyra, Chlamydomonas, Zygnema and Mougeotia being very common in ball locations. The 
variation in water quality helped to distribute diatoms like Navicula, Nitzschia, Tabellaria and Ulnaria. The presence of 
Cyanobacteria, like Oscillatoria sp. and Lyngbya sp. suggested that water had a lot of nutrients or had polluted. Bari Imam stream  water was comparatively clean than Rumly Stream. The richnutrients and pollution indicated Zygnema and Tabellaria flocculosa  that could survive in polluted whereas Oscillatoria limnetica supported important information about the quality of the water. The  study showed that freshwater algae can be very useful for monitoring the health of freshwater ecosystems and provides  information about the different types of freshwater algae found in Pakistan.