FISH SPECIES COMPOSITION IN A TROPICAL LENTIC FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM, UMUDIKE, UMUAHIA, ABIA STATE, NIGERIA (original) (raw)
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The fish fauna of Anambra river basin, Nigeria: species abundance and morphometry
Rev. Biol. Trop. (Int. J. Trop. Biol., Vol. 57 (1-2): 177-186,, 2009
The fish yields of most Nigeria inland waters are generally on the decline for causes that may range from inadequate management of the fisheries to degradation of the water bodies. Sustainable exploitation requires knowledge of the ichthyofaunal composition in the water bodies. We did a survey of fish species in Anambra river basin for 22 months. Fish samples were collected using four different gears –hook and line of size 13, caste nets, gill nets, and cages of mesh sizes of 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm each. We recorded 52 fish species belonging to 17 families: 171, 236, and 169 individuals at Ogurugu, Otuocha, and Nsugbe stations respectively. Two families, Characidae, 19.5 %, and Mochokidae, 11.8%, constituted the dominant fish families in the river. The dominant fish species were Citherinus citherius, 9.02%, and Alestes nurse, 7.1%. Other fish species with significant abundance were Synodontis clarias 6.9%, Macrolepidotus curvier 5.7%, Labeo coubie 5.4%, Distichodus rostrtus 4.9%, and Schilbe mystus 4.5%. The meristic features of the two most abundant fish species caught are as follows: Citharinus citharius dorsal fins 20, anal fins 30, caudal fins 21, pectoral fins, 9 and 8 ventral fins, and Alestes nurse 10 dorsal fins, 14 anal fins, 31 caudal fins, 7 pectoral fins and 6 ventral fins. The morphometric features of the two most abundant fish species are Citharinus citharius total length 300 mm, standard length 231 mm, head length 69 mm, body length 101 mm, body girth 176 mm, body weight 900mg. Alestes nurse total length 200, standard length 140 mm, head length 60 mm, body length 80 mm, body girth 120 mm, body weight 400 mg. The most abundant animal utilizing the basin was Ardea cinerea (D3) with 22.2% occurrence (D4) and this was followed by Caprini with 13.51%, and Varanus niloticus, 10.04%. The least abundant animals utilizing basin were Chephalophus rufilatus, and Erythrocebus patas, with 0.58% each of occurrence.
The fish yields of most Nigeria inland waters are generally on the decline for causes that may range from inadequate management of the fisheries to degradation of the water bodies. Sustainable exploitation requires knowledge of the ichthyofaunal composition in the water bodies. We did a survey of fish species in Anambra river basin for 22 months. Fish samples were collected using four different gears –hook and line of size 13, caste nets, gill nets, and cages of mesh sizes of 50mm, 75mm, and 100mm each. We recorded 52 fish species belonging to 17 families: 171, 236, and 169 individuals at Ogurugu, Otuocha, and Nsugbe stations respectively. Two families, Characidae, 19.5 %, and Mochokidae, 11.8%, constituted the dominant fish families in the river. The dominant fish species were Citherinus citherius, 9.02%, and Alestes nurse, 7.1%. Other fish species with significant abundance were Synodontis clarias 6.9%, Macrolepidotus curvier 5.7%, Labeo coubie 5.4%, Distichodus rostrtus 4.9%, and...
Freshwater Fish Diversity of a Tropical Rainforest River in Southeast Nigeria
Fish samples were collected at three stations twice per month from January to December 2013 with the help of local fishers using hook and line, gill net, cast net, bagnet and local traps for ecological studies of important fish species and resource management issues of Oramiri-Ukwa River, southeast Nigeria. An estimate of 25 fish species, 15 genera, 21 families and six orders were obtained. Ecological indices indicate a polydiverse community and no single species exhibited true dominance (≥ 50%). Paired group cluster analysis establishes Tilapia zilli and Hemichromis fasciatus as the focal species and identifies the associated species combinations that characterize spatial variability and account for the biodiversity resources and structure of the artisanal fishery. Other important species include Tilapia mariae>Synodontis nigrita while Polypterus senegalus>Parachanna africana and Shilbe mystus were the least in number. Monospecific and rare fish species of ecological and conservation significance identified include Ctenopoma kingsleyae, Clarias gariepinus as well as Erpetoichthys calabaricus and Pantodon buchholzi derived from interconnections with other African rivers. This study presents lower fish diversity compared to earlier reports. This difference may be linked to increased human activities and fluctuating biotic and abiotic factors of the ecosystem, among others. 1. Introduction Ichthyodiversity refers to variety of fish species depending on the context and scale; it could refer to alleles or genotypes within piscian population, to species or life forms across aqua regimes (Burton et al., 1992). Fishes are the important elements in the economy of many nations as they have been a stable item in the diet of many people. According to Ehrlich & Willson, (1991) biodiversity is essential for stabilization of ecosystem, protection of overall environmental quality for understanding intrinsic worth of all species on the earth. Freshwater biodiversity has declined faster than either terrestrial or marine biodiversity over the past 30 years (Jenkins, 2003). Biodiversity is often ambiguously misused or overused to describe population dynamics of a location or community (Lawson & Moduke, 2010). Declining river flow rates (discharge) have been a major cause of species loss and are likely to be further reduced by warming temperatures, reduced precipitation and increased water withdrawal for agriculture and other human uses (Plafkin et al., 1989). Future declines can therefore negatively affect freshwater biodiversity. Inland waters and freshwater biodiversity constitute a valuable natural resource, in economic, cultural, aesthetic, scientific and educational terms. The streams and rivers are facing number of environmental problems throughout the world largely associated with anthropogenic activities in their catchment areas (Young et al., 2004). The adverse effects of human activities have resulted in degradation of stream and reverine ecosystem which ultimately alters the structure and function of stream biota. Their conservation and management are critical to the interests of all human, nations and governments. According to Nwafili & Tianxiang (2007), artisanal fishery continues to dominate fisheries, contributing over 85% of total fish production. The inland water and coastal seas are fully exploited and the increase in fishery production is not likely. Nigerian inland water bodies are primarily utilized for fishing by fisher folks. The greater part of inland fisheries is artisanal in nature supplying families with food and income. Artisanal fishing usually is usually not a full-time activity but rather integrated with farming and other activities. The main aim of this study is to provide multi-gear and multi-species ichthyofaunal composition and spatial distribution of the Oramiri-Ukwa River in comparison with others in order to share, update information, and provide data for future analysis. This study also seeks to identify species of ecological significance in the study area and to promote discussions for the management of the fishery to avoid risk of fish stock collapse and loss of invaluable ecosystem goods. 2. Materials and Methods The Study Area was Orammiri-Ukwa River (Fig. 1) located at Azaraegbulu, Emekuku in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State, southeast Nigeria at approximately latitude 5 0 30 ′ N and longitude 7 0 19 ′ E. Oramiri-Ukwa is a typical rain forest River. On both sides of the main River channel are large fringes of heavily forested swamps dominated by the raffia palm. The river flows from a highland in Okigwe and joins the Mbaa River to flow through Okahia Ezihe in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area, through Opara-nadim in Mbaise to
Fish Species Abundance and Diversity of River Uke, Nasarawa State, Nigeria
Banat's Journal of Biotechnology, 2016
A study was conducted to assess fish species abundance and diversity of River Uke, Uke, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Fish were sampled from three sites, upper (A), middle (B) and lower (C) courses of the river. The study lasted for ten months from June 2014 to March 2015. A total of two thousand, one hundred and twenty six (2,126) fish comprising of 7 families and 11 species were sampled. Seasonal fish abundance of River Uke revealed that average monthly catch in the wet season was 25 % lower than in the dry season. Cichlidae dominated the sampled fish families accounting for 26.20 % of total catch while Latidae was least abundant with 6.21 %. Monthly fish abundance was dominated by three species, namely, Clarias gariepinus (18.44 %), Tilapia zilli (14.44 %) and Oreochromis niloticus (11.76 %) all accounting for 44.64% of the total catch. The trend of monthly fish abundance also showed a bi-modal peak with the minor peak observed in March (260) and the major peak in November (292). Fish abundance by sites revealed individual catches of 671, 365 and 1090 in Site A, B and C, respectively. Total Shannon-Wiener Diversity index of River Uke in this study was 2.312 and the index values were generally higher in the wet season (except October) than in the dry season. Total Simpson Index calculated for River Uke in this study was 0.892.
Ruhuna Journal of Science, 2022
Globally, we are experiencing higher species extinction rates than ever before which can critically affect food and nutrition security. The ecological classification of fish species was assessed in Owalla reservoir, Okinni, Osun State, Nigeria. Fish landings of fishermen were sampled for 12 months from September 2019 to August 2020). The species were identified and grouped into herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, and the fish abundance was recorded. The Forage-Carnivore ratio (F/C ratio) was calculated to express the ecological structure of the reservoir. A total of 15 fish species (n=1035 fish) were identified. In the dry and wet seasons, 15 species (692 fish) and 11 species (343 fish) were recorded, respectively, and herbivores were more abundant than carnivores. Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus (25.9%) was the most abundant species and Cichlidae (55.5%) was the most abundant family. The overall F/C ratio during the combined, dry and wet seasons were 1.35, 1.01 and 2.57, respectively. The ecological structure as indicated by the F/C ratio was unbalanced, but in the wet season, it was close to being balanced. We proposed management measures such as fishing across the trophic levels, efficient monitoring and surveillance, regulation of mesh sizes, and registration of fishermen in addition to routine data collection.
The pilot study on fish composition and diversity of Apodu reservoir, Malete, Nigeria was carried out between January to May 2017 using cast and gill net. A total number of 3333 fish, comprising 8 families and 17 species were recorded. Brycinus nurse were most dominant for the period of study contributing 29.31% and Auchenoglanis occidentalis, least abundant made up of 0.03% of total catch. Other families and there percentage contribution in the total catch were Mormyridae (34.14%); Cichlidae (15.24%); Mochokidae (14.01%); Clariidae (6.84%); Protopteridae (0.21%) and Clupeidae (0.21%). The range of physico-chemical parameters of the water body were: temperature (24.1 o C-29.8 o C); dissolved oxygen (4.4mg/l-6.00mg/l); conductivity (84.7µs/cm-105µs/cm); pH (6.63-7.97); transparency (125.7cm-191.3cm) and total dissolved solids (42ppm-69.7ppm). All values were within the limits for fish tolerance, survival and production. This establishes the species composition of the reservoir and management strategy for sustainability and conservation were suggested. 1. Introduction Reservoirs are invaluable ecological resources that serve many human needs and therefore enhance our lives by providing a lot of opportunities. This explains why a large proportion of population lives near water bodies such as reservoirs, lakes, rivers, and swamps. Many depend heavily on the resources of such water bodies as their main source of animal protein and family income [1]. The Apodu reservoir serves these purposes after construction in a way of improving water availability to the villages around it and Malete town due to water scarcity in the area. Fish are important in that they contribute as much as 17% of the world's animal protein [2]. Inland fisheries play an important role in the provision of protein to Nigerians with high population of about 178.5 million people [3] , especially when imported fish is becoming too expensive for low income earners [2]. Nigeria studies of fish biodiversity, abundance, distribution and yield of most of the inland lacustrine water bodies have been limited to large sized water bodies (greater than 1,000 ha) such as Kainji, Jebba, Shiroro, Tiga, Bakolore and Gorongo among others and some small/medium sized reservoirs [4]. One of the means of studying reservoir is to determine the fauna component especially the fish composition, distribution and diversity in respect to the abiotic component of such ecosystem [5]. A comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of a fish population is an important management tool for the sustainable exploitation of any fisheries resource. Thus, biological surveys of fish species composition and abundance are regular features in the management of fisheries [6]. The fish assemblage and the abiotic study can give an indication of the quality of water in the reservoir and helps to improve how reservoirs are essential for adequate protein intake in Nigerian diets. This study set out to determine the baseline abundance assessment and diversity of fish species in Apodu reservoir, Malete, Nigeria for the first time and their interaction with some abiotic factors of the water body. This will create baseline information on the present species for better management of the reservoir.
A SURVEY OF FISH FAUNA OF LOWER OGUN RIVER AT ISHASI, OGUN STATE, WESTERN NIGERIA
Continental J. Fisheries and Aquatic Science, 2012
A survey was carried out on species composition, abundance and seasonal distributions of fish fauna in Ishasi area of Lower Ogun River from January 2006 to December 2007. Fish samples were collected using cast net and drop traps on monthly basis from three stations (stations 1, 2 and 3). Relative uniform distribution of fish fauna was observed as fish abundance and diversity levels recorded from the three stations were not significantly different (p>0.05). A total of 1419 specimens of fish of forty-three species and seventeen families were collected with Margalef species richness and Shanon-Wiener diversity indices values of 7.79 and 2.76 respectively. Barboides gracilis of Cyprinidae family dominated the fish species with relative abundance of 21.42% followed by Tilapia zilli, a Cichlid (12.36%) and Aphyosemion gulare, a Cyprinodontid (9.66%). Species collected also included endangered single-species-in-the-family such as Lates niloticus (Centropomidae) and Heterotis niloticus (Osteoglossidae). In term of family, Cichlidae was the dominant with seven species representation followed by Characidae with five species. The rainy season had higher fish total abundance (1061), species number (38), and diversity levels than dry season when a total abundance of 358 and 25 species were recorded. The imperativeness of sustainable management and conservation of the fish resources in Lower Ogun River is discussed.
Diversity and Distribution of Freshwater Fishes in Oguta Lake, Southeast Nigeria
The ichthyofaunal composition of the largest natural lake in Nigeria-the Oguta Lake, was investigated from January, 2012 to December, 2013. Bimonthly random samples of fish catches of artisanal fishers employing hook and line, gill net, cast net, bagnet and local traps were analysed. A total of 1,989 fishes were sampled comprising 6 orders, 22 genera, and 32 species spread into 18 families. The Perciformes, Cichlidae and Tilapia zill were the most abundant fish order, family and species, respectively. The study reveals that species diversity was highest at station 4 (Osemotor) though no significant spatial differences were detected. The lake is of ecological significance in accommodating some threatened species like Erpetoichthys calabaricus and serving as a source of broodstock of Clarias gariepinus for aquaculture. A seriation analysis of species presence/absence matrix in the lake reveals Tilapia mariae, Synodotis schall, Mormyrus rume, Synodontis nigrita and Petrocephalus banebane are important fish species to ecosystem health of the lake. The fish abundance and diversity values in present study are lower than the findings of previous studies in the same water body, suggesting need for proper and articulated management. 1. Introduction Fisheries resources are on the decline in Nigeria due to over exploitation and inadequate management of inland waters. For sustainability of these resources, an adequate knowledge of species composition, diversity and relative abundance of the fisheries resources of the water bodies must be understood. Increased fishing pressure exerted by artisanal fishermen that are operating in this water body coupled with the downstream migration of fish in search for food, shelter and spawning, industrialization, urbanization and farming activities around the river are factors that contribute variation in fish composition and diversity in Nigeria. External factors affecting populations of freshwater species include; simple habitat loss resulting from withdrawal of water for human use such as irrigation, domestic and industrial use; impact of anthropogenic factors; impoundment, wetland drainage and flood control which cause the load of inorganic and organic pollutants in flowing waters to increase. Available evidence strongly suggests that fish abundance and diversity are in decline at the same time that human population's destructive activities are increasing. The fish supply gap in Nigeria as indicated by Adekoya and Olunuga (1999) is at least 1.0 million metric tons. As a measure to bridge the fish demand gap with its supply, Nigeria resorted to importation of fish thereby causing a considerable drain in the foreign reserve. Despite expenses on fish importation, the gap between supply and fish demand widens the more with population increase. In his contribution, Tobor (1973) advanced effective domestic production rather than fish importation in covering this gap. The contribution of artisanal fisheries is poor due to low output, poor processing mechanism, ineffective distribution and marketing of fishing products, pollution and post-harvest loss. Although freshwater ecosystems such as rivers, lakes and wetlands occupy less than 2% of the earth's total land surface, they provide a wide range of habitats for a significant proportion of the world's plant and animal species. Many are yet to be discovered, but the number of freshwater species worldwide is estimated at between 9,000 and 25,000 (Cosgrove and Rijsberman, 2000). The fish yield of most inland waters in Nigeria are generally on the decline for causes that may range from inadequate management of the fisheries to degradation of water bodies (Odo et al., 2009). Due to a general lack of data, it is difficult to access the status of the inland water biodiversity. Indeed monitoring the status and trends of freshwater biodiversity is essential to quantify impacts of human activities on freshwater systems and to improve freshwater biodiversity conservation. According to Adaka et al. (2014) environmental awareness to educate the fishers and other stakeholders on the danger of extinction of the species and the need for its conservation was necessary. Also future developments on autogenic and anthropogenic threats, and activities and harmful practices which predispose fish species extinction along the floodplain and catchment area of rivers should be subjected to environmental scrutiny to maintain the environmental health and integrity of the ecosystem. Similarly, Ude et al., (2011) stated that detailed knowledge of the function of the river system and the responses of fish species are needed for effective fisheries management planning. The aim of this study therefore is to provide ichthyofaunal composition of Oguta Lake along a spatial gradient to promote discussions for its ecological significance and management of the fishery to
Fish Assemblage of Amadi Creek, Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria
2018
The Amadi Creek, is a vital inland water body in Port-Harcourt, exploited for numerous reasons, including fishing. However, no information exists on the fin fish assemblage of the creek. This research is aimed at documenting the fish population of the Creek. A twelve week survey was conducted, and landed fish collected from fishers using indiscriminate fishing gears. The Fin fish Composition, Diversity and Abundance were ascertained using standard methods. A total 8,5552 fin fishes composed of 3 families, the Cichlid with two species ( Sarotheredon melanotheron and Coptodon zilli ), the Mugilidae and Clupeidae with one species each ( Mugil cephalus and Sardinella maderensis, respectively) .The Sarotheredon melanotheron . Generally, diversity was low with only 4 species in the creek. Quantitatively, the family diversity of the Cichlids were high (50%), the Mugilidae and Clupeidae were low (25%) each. Species diversity revealed Sarotheredon melanotheron was higher (97.7%), Sa...
International Journal of Hydrology
The composition and diversity of the fin fish of upper course of Otamiri River was study for the period of three months to evaluate the likely effects of the recent anthropogenic activities around the river on the fish species. Water sample for physcio-chemical parameter were collected and analyses using conventional field and standard laboratory techniques. Likewise, the fish samples were collected bi-weekly using active and passive fishing gear. All the physic-chemical parameters measured fall within the standard recommended limit for aquatic management except the pH, ammonia, total suspended solid, Nitrate and carbon (iv) oxides. Also, sixteen species of fish belong to 9 fish families were recorded with the families, Cichlidae recording the highest percentage abundance and also found to be most diverse. The anthropogenic activities around the river couple with over-exploitation of the fisheries resources were found accounted for the decline in the fishes composition and diversity...