Abstract
A study of the diversity of phytoplankton in Iragbo part of Yewa Lagoon Lagos was conducted for six months, (December, 2012- May, 2013). The surface water transparency was (≥48.5) and showed direct relationship with phytoplankton abundance. A total of 4875 individuals of 77 phytoplankton species belonging to 6 divisions were identified. Phytoplankton biomass was high in the dry months than wet months. Phytoplankton chlorophyll-a value (0.004) was highest in January. The Centrales diatoms dominated the phytoplankton community. A total of 1475 individuals (30.8%) represents Bacillariophyta, while 635 (13.3%), 15 (0.3%), 2525 (52.8%), 115 (2.4%) and 20(0.4%) represents Chlorophyta, Chrysophyta, Cyanophyta, Euglenophyta, and Pyrrophyta respectively. Cyanophyta were the most abundant (52.8%) while Bacillariophyta had the highest species composition of 28 making up (36.4%) of the total species. Diversity was higher in dry months (≥3.42) than wet months (≤2.99). Chlorophyll-a abundance showed positive correlation with Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Iron (Fe).
Highlights
The lagoons of the tropical south-western Nigeria open into the Atlantic Ocean through the Lagos harbor all through the year [1]
Higher pH, conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and transparency values were recorded in the dry months than in the wet months (Table 1)
Total Dissolved Solids (TSS), nutrients and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) values were higher in the wet months than during the dry months
Summary
The lagoons of the tropical south-western Nigeria open into the Atlantic Ocean through the Lagos harbor all through the year [1]. Phytoplankton are free-floating microscopic plants that contain chlorophyll and grow by photosynthesis in the presence of sunlight, and lacks roots, stems and leaves [2, 3]. It is the power-house of the aquatic food web. The phytoplankton of an aquatic ecosystem is central to its normal functioning. While they constitute the starting point of energy transfer, they are highly sensitive to allochthonously imposed changes in the environment [4]. Nwankwo [5] while working on diatoms of Lagos lagoon observed that phytoplankton, like the terrestrial plants are seldom distributed completely at random due to variations in reproductive patterns, microhabitat preference or grazing
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