UNDER PEER

PHYTOPLANKTON COMPOSITION AND ABUNDANCE IN MBIAKONG RIVER,

CROSS RIVER ESTUARY, NIGER DELTA, NIGERIA

Abstract
The phytoplankton composition and abundance in Mbiakong River, Cross river estuary, Niger Delta,
Nigeria was studied for a period of one year (March, 2021-February, 2022). Plankton net of mesh
size 55µm was used to collect plankton samples from below the water surface, after towing for 5
minutes. The content was emptied into plastic containers and fixed immediately with 4% formalin in
the field for preservation. After 48hrs in the laboratory, the preserved plankton samples were
concentrated to 10 ml. The concentrated sample was agitated to homogenize before pipetting 1ml
sub sample with sample pipette. Enumeration and identification were performed using a zeis
inverted microscope at x400 and x 1000 magnification. Species identification was done using
recommended keys and guides. A total of six hundred and fifteen (615) individual organisms
comprising of thirty-five (35) species belonging to five (5) taxonomic groups were recorded from
Mbiakong River. The most abundant group was the Bacillariophyceae which was represented by 12
species (302 organisms) consisting of 49.11%. This was followed by Chlorophyceae represented by
10 species (199 organisms) consisting of 32.36%, Cyanophyceae represented by 12 species (109
organisms) consisting of 17.72%, Euglenophyceae represented by 1 species (3 organisms) consisting
of 0.33% and the least abundant was the Dinophyceae represented by 1 species (2 organisms)
consisting of 0.14%. The study revealed that species composition and abundance was high in June.

Keywords: Abundance, composition, Niger Delta, Nigeria, phytoplankton species, Mbiakong

River

1.0 Introduction
Phytoplanktons are tiny aquatic plants, appearing as unicellular, colonial or filamentous
forms, with no opposition to currents and are usually drifting or hanging in the open water (Samuel
et al., 2015). They are vital water quality indicators due to their short life cycles, and ability to
respond to environmental changes, hence, their standing crop and species composition reflects the
quality of aquatic health (Abagai and Tiseer, 2011). They are the most vital factor for organic matter
production in the aquatic ecosystem and are often at the bottom of aquatic food web. Majority of
reservoirs usually need a considerable amount of planktons for productive and sustainable fisheries
(Akpan, 2012). The synergy of physical, chemical and biological properties of water most often
results in the production of phytoplankton, while their assemblages are structured by these factors
(Samuel et al., 2015). Therefore, any disruptions in these factors may result in alterations of their
assemblage which could in turn cause a significant impact on water quality and fishes in the
ecosystem (Mustapha and Nabegu, 2011).
Alternations in the abundance and composition of phytoplankton species indicates
environmental variables like pH, temperature, nitrate, phosphate total dissolved salt, nutrient levels,
and alkalinity are sensitive indicators of pollution when compared with phytoplankton (Davis et al.,
2009). Freshwater phytoplankton communities are necessary guard for environmental changes. They
consolidate the effects of increased nutrient loads, and can be more sensitive to the synthesized
impacts of stressors than a single stressor (Sagert et al., 2008). Knowledge of phytoplankton
population dynamics is essential because temporal and spatial fluctuations in its composition and
biomass may be excellent indicators of natural or anthropogenic perturbations in the aquatic
UNDER PEER

ecosystems. The main primary producers of the aquatic environment are phytoplankton which
deposits energy to the system by the process of photosynthesis, amalgamating carbon dioxide and
water to produce carbohydrates (Hillel et al., 2015).
Research into the abundance and composition of phytoplankton in Mbiakong River is aimed
at providing baseline data to complement existing data and to determine their occurrence in natural
conditions for management decisions.

2.1 Materials and Methods

2.1.1 Study Area
The study was conducted in Mbiakong River (Fig. 1). Mniakong river lies between latitude
5o 2’ 57.84”N and longitude 8o 3’5.04”E within the tropical rainforest of Niger Delta region, Nigeria.
The Watershed covers an area of approximately 315.9 Km2. The area is mostly shaded by
overwhelming canopy of riparian vegetation like Elaeis guinensis, Raphia hookeri, R. venifera and
other tropical forest trees. Aquatic macrophytes are mainly Nymphaea, Vossia and Musanga crinium
sp. Sand dredging has been going on upstream of the river for over two decades. Riparian
communities make a living from these activities. However, the consequences of these activities on
the environment are enormous.
UNDER PEER

Fig. 1: Map showing Mbiakong

River

2.1.2 Data Collection

The study was carried out for a period 12 months (March, 2021 - February, 2022), with sampling
done in the morning hours between 8:00 and 10:00 am covering the wet and dry seasons. Plankton
net of mesh size 55µm was used to collect plankton samples from below the water surface after
towing for 5 minutes. The content was emptied into plastic container and fixed immediately with 4%
formalin in the field for preservation (Onyema, 2007). All samples were taken at ebb tide to reduce
tidal and diurnal variation. The samples were transported to the laboratory for analysis. After 48hrs
in the laboratory, the preserved plankton samples were concentrated to 10 ml (Babatunde and
Shagbo, 2015). Enumeration and identification were performed using a zeis inverted microscope at
x400 and x 1000 magnification. Species identification was done using keys in Needham and
UNDER PEER

Needham (1975); as well as guides provided by Newell and Newell (1977); APHA (1985) and
Egborge (1973).

3.0 Results
The phytoplankton recorded during the study showing a total of thirty five (35) species with six
hundred and fifteen (615) individuals belonging to five (5) taxonomic groups were recorded from
Mbiakong River (Table 1). The most abundant group was the Bacillariophyceae which
wasrepresented by 12 species (302 organisms) consisted of 49.11%. This was followed
byChlorophyceae represented by 10 species (199 organisms) consisted of 32.36%,
Cyanophyceaerepresented by 12 species (109 organisms) consisted of 17.72%, Euglenophyceae
represented by 1species (3 organisms) consisted of 0.33% and the least abundant was the
Dinophyceae representedby 1 species (2 organisms) consisted of 0.14% (Table 2 and Fig. 2).
UNDER PEER

Table 1: Phytoplankton species in Mbiakong River, Niger Delta, Nigeria

SN TAXA CODE Total

BACILLARIOPHYCEAE
1 Nitzschia sigma Nit.sig 79
2 Gomphonema accuminatum Gom.acc 26
3 Diploneis ovalis Dip.ova 8
4 Gyrosigma attenuatum Gyr.att 9
5 Melosira granulata Mel.gra 43
6 Novicula affinis Nov.aff 35
7 N. gracilis Nov.gra 11
8 Melosira sigoum Mel.sig 20
9 Nrtzschia sigmiodae Nrt.sig 23
10 Nitzschia closterium Nit.clo 37
11 Tabellaria binalis Tab.bin 9
12 Tabellaria fenestrate Tab.fen 2
CHLOROPHYCEAE
13 Ulothrix sp Ulo.sp 16
14 Ankistrodemus spirilliformis Ank.spi 62

15 Chlamydomonas reticulate Chla. ret 43

16 Ankistrodesmus acicularis Ank.aci 10
17 Actinastrium gracilinum Act.grac 24
18 Schroedenia sp. Sch.sp 19
19 Scenedesmus quadricauda Sce.qua 10
20 Euastrum elegans Eua.ele 13
21 Staurastrum apiculatum Sta.api 2
CYANOPHYCEAE
22 Aphanizomenon species Aph.spe 11
23 Phormidium species Pho.spe 17
24 Lyngbya limnetica Lyn.lim 9
25 Oscillatoria limnosa Osc.lim 7
26 Anabaena circularis Ana.cir 13
27 Spirulina platensis Spi.pla 22
28 Lyngbya birgei. Lyn.bir 13
29 Chroccocus sp. Chro.sp 10
30 Phormidium cincinnatum Pho.cin 1
31 Gomphosphaeria aponia Gom.ap 2
32 Spiriluna major Dac.aci 3
33 Oscillatoria tenius Osc.ten 1
UNDER PEER

DINOPHYCEAE/
EUGLENOPHYCEAE
34 Peridinium bipes Per.bip 2
35 Euglena acus Eug.ac 3
Taxa/Species 35
Individuals 615

Table 2: Number and percentage compositions of Phytoplankton

Families in Mbiakong River

Taxonomic group Total no. of species Percentage species

composition (%)
Bacillariophyceae 302 49.11

Chlorophyeae 199 32.36

Cyanophyceae 109 17.72

Dinophyceaea 2 0.33

Euglenophyceae 3 0.49

Total 615 100

UNDER PEER

Fig. 2: Relative abundance of phytoplankton species in Mbiakong River

DISCUSSION
Thirty-five (35) species belonging to 5 taxonomic groups were recorded in the study area. Similar
trends in abundance of phytoplankton groups were also reported by Abowei et al., (2011), Ogbuagu
et al., (2012) and Esenewo et al., (2017) in Koluama River, Bayelsa State, Imo River, in Etche Local
Government Area, Rivers State, and Nwaniba River, South-South, Nigeria respectively. This result
also corroborates with the reported 38 species in Nasarawa reservoir, Yusuf (2020), 39 species in
Lubara Creek by Abowei et al. (2008), 36 species of from the Lagos Lagoon by Nkwoji et al.
(2010), 43 species in Sombreiro River by Ezekiel, et al. (2011), 45 species from the Lagos Lagoon
by Ugbeyide and Ugwumba (2021), as well as 51 species from Ikpa River, Ekwu and Udo (2014).
The result of this study, however, varies considerably from some other studies in Nigeria. Effiong
et al. (2018) reported 85 species in Eastern Obolo River Estuary. Ogamba et al. (2004) reported
143 species in Elechi creek. Davies et al. (2009) recorded 169 species in Elechi Creek and
Emmanuel and Onyema (2007) reported 82 species in Lagos Lagoon. Furthermore,
Edogbolu and Aleleye-Wokoma (2007) reported 198 species from Ntawogba Creek, Port
Harcourt. Phytoplankton abundance is influenced by water temperature, velocity of current,
availability of nutrient and light penetration into the water (Ezekiel et al., 2011). The distribution
of phytoplankton in water bodies are not even due to its characteristic patchiness which reduces
predator pressure. Phytoplankton show temporal variation in abundance which is influenced by
nutrient availability, dynamics in water currents and transparency (Sharma and Bhardwaj, 2011).
Planktons exhibit high surface area proportional to volume ratio owing to their microscopic
nature. This relationship is important as movement is easier in proximity to the surface due to less
frictional force between the organism and the water.
UNDER PEER

The dominance of diatom species such as Nitzschia sigma and Melosira granulata; green algae
Ankistrodemus spirilliformis; blue-green algae Anabaena circularis and Oscillatoria limnosa
strongly showed that the river is eutrophic which an evidence of pollution in the water body.
Phytoplankton could be a viable tool both for long term and community based monitoring of
reservoirs putting into consideration its inexpensive nature and ease to collect data. Its recommend
that a sustainable management plan should be formulated and implemented in order to preserve the
reservoirs ecosystem.

Conclusion
Information about phytoplankton is necessary in understanding the structure and functions of the
water bodies; they are important indicators of trophic status of various aquatic biotopes.
Appearances of various phytoplanktonic forms indicate good ecological condition of the river.
Planktons are ubiquitous. The most characteristic feature is their variability over space and time in
aquatic ecosystem. The dominance of diatom species such as Nitzschia sigma and Melosira
granulata; green algae Ankistrodemus spirilliformis; blue-green algae Anabaena circularis and
Oscillatoria limnosa strongly showed that the river is eutrophic. Since phytoplankton play a major
role in the food chain, it is pertinent to monitor natural and anthropogenic changes in plankton
populations. The study therefore recommends the need to create educational awareness to the
inhabitants of this study area and the general public on the effects of anthropogenic activities in
aquatic ecosystems for a sustainable management and healthy productivity.

REFERENCES

Samuel, P.O., Adakole, J.A. and Suleiman, B. (2015). Temporal and Spatial
Physico-Chemical Parameters of River Galma, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
Resources and Environment, 5(4): 110-123
Abagai, R.T., Tiseer, F.A. and Tanimu, Y. (2011).Seasonal survey in the stream kagoro forest
Kaduna, state, Northern Nigeria. Proceedings of the in and Technology, June 1-4,
2011, Dogguan, Guangdong province, China pp.37-41

Akpan, I. I. (2012). Physico-chemical and Biological Studies of Imo River Estuary, Nigeria,
Ph.D Thesis, Department of Fishery, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture,
umudike, 184.

Abowei, J. F. N., Ezekiel, E. N. and Ogamba, E. N. (2011). Phytoplankton composition and

Abundance in Sombreino river, Niger Delta, Nigeria. Current Research Journal of
Biological Sciences.;3(3):229-233

Abowei, J.F.N., C.C. Tawari., A.I. Hart and D.U. Garricks, 2008. Fin fish species
composition, abundance and distribution in the Lower Sombreiro River, Niger Delta,
Nigeria. Int. J. Trop. Agric. Food Sys., 2(1): 46-43.
UNDER PEER

American Public Health Association (APHA) 1985. Standard Methods for Examination of
Water and Wastewater. 16th Edition APHA, AWWA, WPCF, Washington D.C.
1268pp.

Babatunde, M.M. and Shagbo, H. (2015). Determination of some Physicochemical

Parameters of Adeyemo stream a tributary to river Kaduna, Nigeria. International
Journal of Advanced Scientific and Technical Research, 5(4): 565-578.

Davies, O.A., Abowei J.F.N. and Tawari, C. C. (2009). Phytoplankton community of Elechi
Creek, Niger Delta, Nigeria - A nutrient polluted tropical creek. American Journal
of Applied Sciences, 6(6): 1143-1152.

Mustapha, A. and Nabegu, A.B. (2011). Surface water pollution source identification using
principal component analysis and factor analysis in Getsi River, Kano, Nigeria.
Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 5: 1507-1512.

Sagert, S., Rieling, T.E.A. and Schubert, H. (2008). Development of a phytoplankton

indicator system for the ecological assessment of brackish coastal water (German
Baltic sea coast). Hydrobiology, 6(11): 91-103.

Sharma, N.K. and Bhardwaj, S. (2011). An assessment of seasonal variation in

phytoplankton community of Mahi River (India). Geneconserve, 10 (40): 154-164.

Hillel, N., Geyer, S., Licha, T., Khayat, S., Laronne, J.B. and Siebert, C. (2015).
Water quality and discharge of the Lower Jordan River. Journal of Hydrology,
527:1096 –
1105.

Onyema, I.C. (2007). The phytoplankton composition, Abundance and Temporal Variation
of a Polluted Estuarine Creek in Lagos Nigeria. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and
Aquatic Science. 7:89-96.

NEEDHAM, J.G. and NEEDHAM, P.R. A guide to the study of fresh water biology. San
Francisco: Holding-Day Inc., 1975, pp. 1-108.

Newell, G.B; Newell, R.C (1977). Marine Plankton: A Practical Gide. Hutchinson and
Company Publishers Ltd. London 229pp.
Egborge, A.B.M. (1973). A Preliminary Checklist of the Phytoplankton of River Oshun.
Freshwater Biology. 3: 569-572.

Esenowo, I.K., Ugwumba, A.A.A. and Akpan, A.U. (2017). Evaluating the
Physico-chemical Characteristics and Plankton Diversity of Nwaniba River,
South-South Nigeria. Asian Journal of Environment & Ecology, 5(3): 1-8.

Ezekiel, E. N, Hart, A. I, Abowei, J. F. N. (2011). The Physical and Chemical

Condition of Sombreiro River, Niger Delta, Nigeria. Research Journal of
Environmental and Earth Sciences. 2011; 3(4):327-340.

Ogbuagu, D. H., Ayoade, A. A. and Chidiago, G. O. (2012). Seasonal variations in

physico-chemical regime, bacterioplankton and mycoplankton of Imo River in
Etche, Nigeria. Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology Research.;2(2):289-297.
UNDER PEER
Yusuf, Z.H. (2020). Phytoplankton as bioindicators of water quality in Nasarawa
UNDER PEER

reservoir, Katsina State Nigeria. Acta Limnologica Brasiliensia, 32(4).

Ugbeyide J. A. and Ugwumba O. A. (2021). Water quality and phytoplankton as indicators

of pollution In ibuya river. British Journal of Environmental Sciences. 9 (1): 26-39.

Onyema, I.C. (2007). The phytoplankton composition, Abundance and Temporal

Variation of a Polluted Estuarine Creek in Lagos Nigeria. Turkish Journal of
Fisheries and Aquatic Science. 7:89-96

Ekwu, A. O and Udo, N.D. (2014). Plankton communities of Ikpa River, South-South
Nigeria exposed to sand-dredging activities. Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic
Sciences. 9(5)345-351

Effiong, K. S., Inyang, A. I. and Robert, U.U. (2018). Spatial distribution and diversity of
phytoplankton community in Eastern Obolo River Estuary, Niger Delta. Journal of
Oceanography and Marine Science, Vol. 9(1):1-14.

Edogbolu, A.J. and Aleleye-Wokoma, I.P. (2007). Seasonal Variations in Phytoplankton

Composition and Physicochemical Properties of Ntawoba Creek, Port Harcourt,
Nigeria.

Ogamba, E.N., Chinda, A.C., Ekweozor, I.K.E and Onwuteaka, J.N. (2004). Water quality
and phytoplankton distribution in Elechi Creek Complex of the Niger Delta. J.
Nigerian Environ. Soc., (JNES), 1(2): 121-130