Abstract:
Wetland Zooplankton Index (WZI) was developed for the low country intermediate zone of Sri Lanka using 20 reservoirs located between latitudes 7°20'22.081"N - 7°48'33.558"N and longitudes 80°1'44.55"E - 80°9'51.509"E. WZI ranged from 1.56 in Anukkane reservoir which is located in a low flat terrain in the midst of agricultural lands to 3.69 in Tampana reservoir which is located in a hilly area with a watershed mainly covered with forests. WZI showed a significant negative correlation with the Nitrate-N content (r = -0.797) and cumulative content of Nitrate-N and total phosphorus (r = -0.795) indicating that it can be used as an indicator of the degree of eutrophication of inland reservoirs in the low country intermediate zone of Sri Lanka.
