Spatial and temporal variations in the Physico-chemical parameters and abundance of macro invertebrate in Gurara reservoir, Kaduna state

Abstract

The spatial and temporal variations in the Physico-chemical parameters and the abundance of macro-invertebrates in Gurara Reservoir, Kaduna State were evaluated monthly for 6months from February- July, 2018 using standard water sampling and modified kick sampling techniques, respectively. From the results, the water temperature ranged from 25.6-29.1ºC, Air temperature ranged from 23.7-32.9ºC, pH ranged from 8.8-9.8, Electrical Conductivity ranged from 37-114µS/cm, Total Alkalinity ranged from 24-44mg/L, BOD ranged from 1.0-2.2mg/L, DO ranged from 2.0-4.8mg/L in all the stations. A total of 1801 individual species of macro-invertebrates in 12 families from 3 orders were collected from 3 stations during the research. The most dominant species are Melanoides tuberculata, followed by Corbicula nitens and Union mancus. The abundance of macro invertebrate was high during the dry season than raining season. The marginal high nutrient levels (Phosphate and nitrate) obtained at these stations during wet season are indication that the water body is stressed with organic input and increased high levels of anthropogenic activities. This study revealed that macro invertebrates communities responded to changes in habitat quality of the reservoir.