Influence of some physico-chemical parameters on the composition and distribution of benthic fauna in Woji Creek, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

Investigation into the influence of certain physico-chemical parameters on the distribution of macrobenthic invertebrates in Woji creek was done between April, 2001 and March, 2002. Temperature of the sub-surface water ranged from 25.5°C to 30.9°C. The degree of hydrogen ion concentration, pH varied between 5.5-7.8. Salinity showed spatial variation ranging from 012.7%₀ while Dissolved Oxygen Concentration (DO) had values between 1.6mg/l and 10.1mg/l. A total of thirty taxa of benthic macroinvertebrates were encountered. These belong to 20 families within 5 classes. Regression analyses revealed that pH significantly (P<0.05) affected the distribution of 5 out of the 11 most common species while salinity influenced 7 of the 11 species. DO significantly affect the spread of 6 of the 11 fauna examined. Based on the regression square, the amounts of variation in the distribution of the species accounted for by pH, salinity and DO ranged from 16 to 99%.

Keywords: physico-chemical parameters, distribution, macrobenthic invertebrates, biomarkers, Woji creek

Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences Vol. 12(1) 2006: 1-5