Taxonomic study of Chroocophyceae (Cyanophyta) from northern areas of Pakistan

Forty-six species of planktonic, edaphic, epipsammic, epioikotic, epilithic and epiphytic blue-Green algae belonging to the class Chroocophyceae have been collected from various freshwater habitats in the Districts of Attock, Gujranwala, Jhang, Jhelum, Khushab, Lahore, Sargodha, Sheikhupura and Sialkot of the province of the Punjab, from Bahrain and Kalam (Swat) in the province of N.W.F.P. as well as from Chenari, Muzaffarabad and Neelum Valley in Azad Kashmir during different seasons from March 1996 to August 2000. They were taxonomically investigated and found to belong to two orders, three families and eleven genera. Johannesbaptistia and Stichosiphon were represented by a single species, Aphanothece, Gleothece and Synechocystis by two, Synechococcus by three, Aphanocapsa by four, Microcystis by six and Chroococcus and Merismopedia by eight species. Gloeocapsa exhibited the largest diversity with ten species.