Studies on plankton community and physico-chemical parameters of Elechi Creek, Eagle Island, Port Harcourt ...

• Main Author: Gold Ezinne O. Agu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Zenodo 2023
• Subjects: Plankton; Season; Monthly Variation; Pollution; Physico-chemical parameters; Elechi Creek; Eagle Island
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10829656; https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.10829656

Studies on the plankton communities and physico-chemical characteristics of Elechi Creek were carried out for six months, from January to June. Fourteen physico-chemical parameters were evaluated, and monthly plankton alteration was investigated. Water quality samples and plankton analyses were obtained simultaneously. Water temperature was in the range of (29.4–35.5⁰C) across the (3) study locations. The results revealed no spatial dissimilarity (P˃0.05) of all physicochemical factors while results of the monthly variations test showed significant elevations (P˂0.05) for some parameters between (April and June), except for Turbidity, Nitrate, pH, Sulphate and Chloride. The mean concentration levels in total hardness (1600 mg/L), chloride (1075.8 mg/L) and sulphate (621.6 mg/L), were found considerably above the acceptable levels. Most plankton showed negative changes subsequent to these elevations. Phytoplankton identified comprised two families, of which Bacillariophyceae (diatoms) were higher followed by ...