Abstract
The study evaluated the water qualities of Ntawogba creek by utilizing the benthic macroinvertebrates diversity as well as physical-chemical parameters data, to give us an indication of the biochemical condition and health of the river. The research was carried out for twelve (12) months, firstly by establishing three (3) main sampling stations and their co-ordinates along the stretch of the creek based on ecological niche of the stream and human activities on the study area. The physical-chemical parameters measured and analysed include, Temperature, pH, Electrical Conductivity, Salinity, Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids, Dissolved Oxygen and Biochemical Oxygen Demand, according to APHA 1998 standard methods. Sediment particle size was determined by hydrometer method. Replicate samples of benthic macroinvertebrates were collected from each station randomly with Eckmann’s grab. The results of the physical-chemical data were subjected to 2-way analysis of variance and differences among means where separated by Turkey-Honest significant difference at 95% probability. Percentage occurrence and relative numerical abundance of macroinvertebrates were calculated using excel descriptive statistical tool. Diversity of the benthos was determined using Shannon Wiener index hequitability of species. The results showed that pH values ranged from mild acidic to alkalinity (6.42 to 7.63). The values of turbidity, TDS, BOD and DO exceeded limits of World Health Organization in most of the sampling stations. The sediment particles of the stream were significantly dominated by sand fractions with the highest mean recorded in station three (74.08±0.71). The total number of benthic macroinvertebrates individuals in the sampled stations was 28,730 and total number of species was 40. The diversity, taxa richness and evenness recorded at station one were 0.823, 1.934 and 0.683, while station two had 0.605, 1.163 and 0.605 and station three had 0.301, 3.085 and 0.206. The results show that the human activities grossly polluted the stream, and constant monitoring is required to safeguard the waterbody and aquatic ecosystem in the study area.
Highlights
Benthic macroinvertebrates are small animals living among stones, logs, sediments and aquatic plants on the bottom of streams, rivers and lakes [1].They are large enough to see with the naked eye and have no backbone, and examples include molluscs, annelids, crustaceans, chordates, arthropods, American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering 2020; 4(1): 8-17 coelentrates etc. [2]
Different types of macroinvertebrates tolerate different stream conditions and levels of pollution. Their presence or absence are commonly used as indicators of the biological condition of water bodies to indicate clean or polluted water; long enough to reflect the chronic effects of pollutants, and yet short enough to respond to relatively acute changes in water quality
The observed temperature value in the area agrees with the results from previous works in the Niger Delta [21,22,23,24]. pH values of the surface water of Ntawogba Stream showed a transition from mild acidic to mild alkalinity along the various stations investigated
Summary
Benthic macroinvertebrates ( known as "benthos") are small animals living among stones, logs, sediments and aquatic plants on the bottom of streams, rivers and lakes [1].They are large enough to see with the naked eye (macro) and have no backbone (invertebrate), and examples include molluscs, annelids, crustaceans, chordates, arthropods, American Journal of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering 2020; 4(1): 8-17 coelentrates etc. [2]. Domestic and industrial waste contents of toxic substances are continuously being discharged daily into the aquatic systems with or without proper treatment, causing serious water pollution problems [11]. They provide more accurate understanding of the changing aquatic conditions than chemical and microbiological data which at least give short time fluctuations [12]. The inability of the organisms to move effectively away from their habitat pre-supposes that those benthos are deemed to be exposed to ecological danger These features and other peculiar characteristics of the benthic fauna such as longer life span, abundance and size, render them useful as potential environmental indicators [13]
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