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Microalgae are vital for almost all the fresh water ecosystems as they play an important role through primary productions in the food chain; they are also a useful tool for assessment of water quality. Microalgae are very sensitive to any environmental change since they quickly response to any alteration or changes in the environment. The microalgae population observation or biological analisys is reliable tool for biomonitoring to assess the status and quality of aquatic bodies. This study aimed to determine the fresh water microalgae diversity in Pongkar Waterfall, Karimun as a baseline data. Water samples taken by using simple random sampling, and analysed using qualitative methods. The isolation of pure cultures was done by selecting a single colony using capillary micro-pipetting method from mix cultures grown on AF6 medium. Totally 10 species of fresh water microalgae belonging to different taxonomic groups were identified according to their morphological characteristics under light microscopy. In the present study Lyngbya, Anabaena, Chroococcus, Coelastrella and Chlorella were found to be the dominant forms, whereas Tetraselmis and Monoraphidium were shown common occurrence, while Coccomyxa, Stichococcus, and Nostoc were found rare. All these forms were reported for the first time from the study site.

microalgae, diversity, Pongkar waterfall