Plankton communities of Ikpa River, South East Nigeria exposed to sand-dredging activities

Plankton communities of Ikpa River, downstream from a sand-dredging area were studied for a period of i2 months (March 2010 to Febntary 2011), covering dry and wet seasons. Most Physico-chemical parameters (pH, Turbidity, Silicates, Transparency and Conductivity) exhibited highly significant spatial variation (p<0.01), whereas seasonal variation of these variables was not statistically significant(p>0.05). Significant seasonal variation (p<0.05) was however observed in temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, Biochemical Dem and(BOD), total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Phosphorus, Nitrates and Conductivity. A total of 51 Taxa of Phytoplankton to 43 genera and 5 families were identified during the period of study. Bacillariophyceae recorded the highest relative abundance with 52.41%, followed by Chlorophyceae with 32.05%, Cyanobacteria with 13.35%, while Euglenophyceae and Dinophyceae 1.26% and 0.83%, respectively. Among the Diatoms,Melosira granulata was the most dominant species with Shanon Weiner's Diversity index (H1) of 0.23 and Simpson's Dominance Index (D) of 0.017. A highly significant variation (p<0.01) was observed in spatial distribution and seasonal distribution of most of the algaegroups, whereas taxa occurence showed no significant difference (p>0.05) among the stations and the seasons. A total of 8 taxa zooplankton belonging to 4 genera were identified. Rotifera were the most prevelent groiup with 4 taxa, followed by Cladocera with 2 taxa, while Protozoa and Copepoda recorded 1 species each. A highly significant spatial and seasonal variation (p<0.01) was observed in Zooplankton abundance among the stations. The Zooplankton dominance profile also showed Rotifers ranking the highest with Shanon-Weiner's Diversity index (H1) of 0.21 and Simpson's Dominance index (D) of 0.014. Correlation coefficient also showed a highly significant relationship (r=0.881); p<0.01) between Zooplankton and Phytoplankton abundance. Also, a highly significant relationship (r=0.961; p<0.05) existed between overall plankton distribution and abundance and water quality parameters. Alternative sources of building materials such as Fly, Ash and Industrial Hemp have been recommended inorder to reduce or eliminate the need for building purposes.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Ekwu, A.O., Udo, N.D.
Format:	conference_item biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	FISON 2013
Subjects:	Ecology, Environment, Limnology, Clarias gariepinus, Nigeria, Extruded fish feed, Aquaculture, Intensive culture system, freshwater environment, automation,
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/1834/39053
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