Trophic status of three fish species in Obueyinomo River, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out for 12 months from May 2015 to April 2016 in Obueyinomo River, Edo State to examine the food and feeding habit of three species of fish namely Clarias gariepinus, Parachanna obscura and Malapterurus electricus. Fish samples were collected using hook and line, bag nets and non-return valve traps. Stomach contents were subjected to fullness, frequency of occurrence and numerical methods of analysis. Results show that 88.4% had food in their stomachs, 11.6% had empty stomach. C. gariepinus fed mostly on insects (30.7%, 20.4%), fishes (34.4%, 27.9%), crustaceans (27.9%, 26.0%) and algae (5.2%, 4.5%). P. obscura fed on insect (12.4%, 15.2%), fishes (20.7%, 25.7%), crustaceans (34.6%, 28.6%), algae (8.9%, 6.9%) and M. electricus had insects (13.1%, 13.9%J), fishes (28.9%, 29.7%), crustaceans (26.9%, 28.1%) and algae (8.6%, 8.9%) by frequency of occurrence and numerical methods respectively. The result show that the three species fed mostly on related food Items and can be considered as piscivore-insectivore-planktophagous in feeding habits. By their wide spectrum of food, these fishes have potential for commercial exploitation in the river and culture in ponds.Keywords: Fullness, Numerical and Frequency of Occurrence methods, Food and feeding habits