Temperature, Salinity, Electrical Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, Total Suspended Solids and pH Conditions in Okerenkoko Estuarine, Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

The conservation of aquatic flora and fauna and the protection of the aquatic biota in recent times has become a great challenge to fish biologists and limnologists. The location of most estuaries in connection with their linkages with freshwater and the marine environment make them to be heavily impacted with anthropogenic activities. However, information on the present state of physico – chemical parameters of Okerenkoko Estuarine are scarce. Therefore, the dynamics of physico – chemical parameters of Okerenkoko Estuarine, Delta State, Nigeria were studied. Okerenkoko Estuarine (62.79 Km) was spatially stratified into five stations (Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4 and Z5) based on closeness to major anthropogenic activities. Three sampling points were randomly selected from each station. Temporal stratification covered June to December. Water samples were collected from each station monthly for 7 months following standard methods. Water samples were analysed for Temperature (oC), Dissolved Oxygen (DO, mg.L-1) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS, mg.L-1) by using standard procedures. Data were analysed by using descriptive statistics and ANOVA at α0.05. Spatially, the highest (31.86±2.12) oC and least (24.45±1.67) oC Temperature were obtained in Z5 and Z1; DO (6.45±0.26, 3.97±0.24) mg.L-1 occurred in Z2 and Z3; TSS (70.17±3.90, 41.54±1.70) mg.L-1 were recorded in Z4 and Z2, respectively. Temporally, Temperature ranged from 24.70±5.13 oC in July to 31.50±4.87 oC in December; DO (3.85±0.43, 5.70±0.45) mg.L-1 in September and June; TSS (25.32±0.90, 75.05±0.64) mg.L-1 in December and September, respectively. The patterns of physico – chemical parameters of Okerenkoko Estuarine are highly unstable with TSS. Thus, its rich fauna biodiversity could be threatened. Keywords: Okerenkoko Estuarine, Inland water, Anthropogenic activities