Meiofauna Occurrence and Distribution in Different Substrate Types of Bonny Brackish Wetland of the Niger Delta

Abstract

The meiobenthic community of different sediment types was studied for 12 months between January and December 1997 in the Bnny estuarine environment. Five replicates core samples were collected from three sediment types (Muddy, Sandy and Chikoko sediments). Meiofaunal densities in order of magnitude are muddy (356 to 899 cm3), sandy (278 to 866 cm3) and chikoko (133 to 252 cm3). Most of the taxa groups had higher densities in dry season than in wet season with significant seasonal variations observed for Sandy sediment and Muddy sediment while Chikoko sediment densities did not show significant seasonal variation (t – test < 0.5). The meiofaunal densities for the different sediment types showed marked significant variation (ANOVA, p < 0.05).