Physico-chemical and macrobenthic faunal characteristics of Kuramo Water, Lagos, southern Nigeria

Abstract

A five-month study in 2001 of an enclosed lagoon, Kuramo Water in southern Nigeria, exposed to urban perturbation describes its physical, chemical and macrobenthic invertebrate characteristics. Of the 16 physical and chemical conditions studied at four sites within the bank-root biotope, only BOD and TDS content were significantly different between sites. The elevated level of these perturbation indicators could be related to the raw and treated domestic sewage released directly into Kuramo Water from point and non-point sources. A total of 16 taxa and 691 macrobenthic individuals belonging to 11 families were recognised at the study sites. A naidid and a chironomid species were the most abundant, occurring in high numbers throughout. Other invertebrate groups occurred in low numbers. The diversity indices calculated supported this trend. The generally low diversity further supports the observation that Kuramo Water is a disturbed environment. The absence of molluscs in the benthic invertebrate samples of this study, compared to their dominance in earlier studies of Kuramo Water, reflects a modification in the habitat resulting from a change in the salinity from brackish to freshwater.

African Journal of Aquatic Science 2004, 29(2): 235–241