Water Quality and Algal Diversity of Fish Ponds and Dam Reservoir in Gesedaddo Farms, Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
The water quality and algal diversity of the stocked and unstocked ponds and the dam reservoir at Gesedaddo farms, Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria, were assessed for ten months. Meteorological data were accessed from Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola.
Physico-chemical parameters such as temperature, pH, transparency, conductivity dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids (TDS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), magnesium, potassium, sodium, nitrates, sulfates, phosphates, and some trace elements (iron, copper, and zinc) were determined using standard methods.
The drop count method was employed in algal microscopy. Algal diversity and species richness were determined using Margarlef and Shannon-Wiener indices. A total of forty algal taxa belonging to four divisions were found.
They are Cyanophyta (26.47%), Chlorophyta (44.53%), Bacillariophyta (24.80%), and Euglenophyta (4.20%). All data were subjected to statistical analysis using Analysis of variance ANOVA, Duncan Multiple Range Test DMRT, and Correlation coefficient.
Tests of significance were done at P < 0.05 and P < 0.01 confidence levels. Water temperatures correlated positively with air temperatures, PO4, NO3, Fe, Na, and Cu. Total hardness correlated negatively with pH, K, Mn, and Zn.
Air and water temperatures correlated positively with Navicula and Nitzschia spp. and negatively with Eudorina elegans and Trachelomonas spp. Seasonal variation of the algal population revealed that Microcystis species a toxin-producing blue-green alga was not recorded in the wet season but was recorded in the dry season.
However, Micrasterias an indicator of clean water was recorded in the un-stocked fish pond. Phocus, Euglena, and Trachelomonas, indicators of the organically polluted environment were recorded in the dry season in the fish ponds but absent in dry season in the dam reservoir.
The seasonal presence and absence of algal species in particular locations with the ambient Physico-chemical parameters make them potential bioindicators for biomonitoring of the fish ponds.
INTRODUCTION
Pond water is considered one of the major sources of water for fisheries (Ekpenyong and Adeniyi, 1996; Mustapha, 2006; Chowdhury and Almamun, 2006). Pond fishery is practiced in the north-eastern part of Nigeria on a large scale for better augmentation of fish products and hence makes an interesting biotope for physicochemical and biological studies.
The anthropogenic inputs of complex mixtures from neighboring communities and agricultural wastes, such as runoff of manures and fertilizers could lead to alteration of water quality (Mustapha, 2006; Garget al., 2009).
Of primary concern of these anthropogenic activities is their effects on the water quality and aquatic life, hence water quality monitoring is of immense importance in the use of water bodies for the management of fisheries (Mustapha, 2006; Nweze, 2009a).
The practice of using cow dung and inorganic fertilizers to encourage algal growth in fish ponds is widespread in pisciculture in Nigeria (Nweze, 2009b). The algae serve as food for zooplankton, fish fry, benthic vertebrate, and other primary consumers that serve as food for fish (Ezenwaji, 2004).
Excess nutrients cause the water body to become choked with organic substances exceeding the capacity of micro-organisms that recycle them. It ultimately leads to eutrophication and encourages rapid growth or blooms of algae (Chukwu and Odunze, 2006; Okebukola and Akpan, 2008; Akanet al., 2010).
Phytoplankton is of great ecological significance since they comprise the major portion of primary producers in the aquatic environment (Nweze,2003; Barinova et al.,2008, Bellinger and Sigee, 2010).
Human activities such as pond fertilization, fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides application as cultural practices of farm management; obnoxious fishing practices, effluent discharges, washing and bathing with detergent and soda soaps stimulate the growth of algae.
Some of these are the commonest sources of human-induced water pollution 2 that bring about eutrophication, hypoxia, fish kill, disruption of the food web, and changes in the community ecosystem (Mustapha, 2002, 2006; Krantz and Kifferstein, 2005; Garg et al., 2006a, Chia et al., 2011a).
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StudentsandScholarship Team.
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