Macrobenthic Fauna Of A Humid Tropical Water Reservoir, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

The macrobenthic fauna of a humid tropical zone water reservoir was investigated from January to December 2002. Benthos was obtained using an improvised Surber Stream Bottom Sampler. Threephyla of macrobenthos (Arthropoda, Mollusca and Annelida) prevail in the reservoir, with quantitative variations. A total of 1,279 macrobenthic animals were recorded. The Arthropoda was represented by larvae of ve genera of insects, wth a total of 644 (50.4 %), while Molusca was represented by two genera with a total o 165 (12.9 %), and Annelida by three genera, with a total of 470 (367 %) of the benthos. There was significant dfference (P<0.05) among the phyla populations of the benthos.

Keywords: Macrobenthic, fauna, Humid, Tropics, Water reservoir

Animal Research International Vol. 4 (2) 2007 pp. 677-679