Water Parameters and Floristic Composition of African Manatee &lt;i&gt;(Trichechus senegalensis)&lt;/i&gt; Habitat in Pandam Wildlife Park, Nigeria

O.S Odewumi,E.A Agbelusi,O Olusoji-Bello

doi:10.4314/jasem.v23i10.22

Abstract

The study of the physicochemical characteristic and floristic composition of African manatee habitat in Pandam Lake was conducted between 2012 and 2013. The water parameters were tested using standard method while line intercept method was adopted for vegetation survey. Data obtained on the water parameters were analyzed using one-way ANOVA. Plant species diversity index was analyzed using PAST Software. The mean seasonal water surface area increase was 66.12±5.01. The mean water depth in the dry season was 2.28±1.14 while the wet season value was 4.3±1.15. Also the mean water transparency was for wet and dry seasons were 64.02±4.66 and 111.18±4.26 respectively. The mean pH value was 6.5±0.14. Water salinity ranges from 0.00mg/l to 0.01mg/l, mean DO was 6.24±1.13, nitrate was 0.08±0.02 and mean conductivity of 52.65 ±2.12. A total of 42 plant species from 23 families were recorded in Pandam Lake. The family Poaceae had the highest number of species (22) (30.56%). The grass species had the highest frequency of 13 while trees recorded the lowest (3). Also there are more perennial species (n=28; 66.67%) than annual species (n=14; 33.33%). The Shannon diversity index was 3.72. Thirteen species of plants recorded in Pandan Lake during this study were known to provide food for manatees across their range in Africa. All the water parameter values were within the range tolerable by manatee. The Lake have diverse species of plants that manatee can feed on both in the wet and dry seasons. The park management should maintain the integrity of the ecosystem by regulating fishing and other human activities to avoid pollution. The park should be taken over by the Federal government for effective protection of the resources most especially manatee.Keywords: Water quality, vegetation, African manatee, Pandam Lake

Highlights

Pandam Lake was conducted between 2012 and 2013
Similar to the West Indian manatee, West African manatees inhabit practically every aquatic habitat that allows them access and meets their thermoregulation requirements of water temperatures greater than 20oC for T. manatus and where the water temperature is above 18°C (64°F) for T. senegalensis (Powell 1996, Dodman et al 2008)
T. senegalensis require sheltered water with access to food and freshwater (Reep and Bonde 2006, Marsh et al 2012 cited in Keith, 2015)

Summary

Introduction

Pandam Lake was conducted between 2012 and 2013. The water parameters were tested using standard method while line intercept method was adopted for vegetation survey. Seasonal movements of African manatees are related to three factors (water current, salinity variation and water level changes), which in-turn is related to dry and rainy seasons in West Africa (Powell, 1996).

Results

Conclusion