Phytoplankton of Stubbs Creek, Qua Iboe River Estuary, Nigeria
[1]
Ofonmbuk Obot, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Environmental Management, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria.
[2]
Lawrence Etim, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Environmental Management, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria.
Studies on the composition, abundance, distribution, diversity and seasonality of phytoplankton in Stubbs creek was carried out for 24 months across 3 sampling stations. A total of forty-eight (48) species belonging to five (5) taxonomic groups (Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cyanobacteria, Dinophyta and Xanthophyta) were recorded. Cyanobacteria were the most abundant (76.37%) in density while Bacillariophyta had the highest species composition of 28 making up 58.33% of total species. Chlorophyta, Dinophyta and Xanthophyta were represented by three, one and two species respectively. Although, all the phytoplankton taxa were more abundant (density) in the wet season, only Cyanobacteria showed a significant seasonal variation (p<0.05). Cyanobacteria were more abundant in station 3 than in other stations while Bacillariophyta was more abundant in station 1 than in other stations. Phytoplankton density, species abundance, Margalelf’s species diversity and Shannon-Wiener’s index followed the same trend across the stations with the highest values in station 1 and lowest in station 2. Species Evenness was highest (0.6812) at station 3, followed by 0.6632 at station 1 and 0.6546 at station 2. Low diversity valves suggest effects of stress conditions in the environment. Cluster analysis separated station 2 from stations 1 and 3. This suggests that station 2 was most impacted by anthropogenic activities. Dactylococcopsis irregularis and Microcystis aeruginosa (Cyanobacteria) were the most dominant species. Both species accounted for over 50% of the total phytoplankton. They were the only species that accounted for more than 10% of the total phytoplankton. High abundance of Cyanobacteria normally signifies polluted water. The dominance of Cyanobacteria and Bacillariophyta (both taxa representing phytoplankton density of 97.36% and species composition of 87.50%) indicate that Stubbs creek is polluted.
Phytoplankton Density, Abundance, Stubbs Creek
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