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Are zooplankton useful indicators of ecological quality in Afrotropical ephemeral stream impacted by human activities?

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Abstract

Ephemeral river systems in Nigeria are under severe threat by increasing anthropogenic pollution. However, little is known about the ecological health of ephemeral rivers in Afrotropical regions, especially Nigeria. It is also unclear how zooplankton communities respond to anthropogenic stressors in ephemeral rivers in the African continent. In this study, we explored the responses of zooplankton to environmental indicators of human activities to assess the health of River Kafin Hausa, an ephemeral river system in north-western Nigeria. Our specific objectives were to explore the response patterns of zooplankton communities to anthropogenic pollution in the north-western ephemeral rivers and examine their potential use as reliable indicators for long-term monitoring of ephemeral systems impacted by different human activities. We collected zooplankton and physicochemical variables from three sites in five months, from January to February and April to June 2018. One-way ANOVA showed air temperature, water temperature, pH, salinity, BOD5, phosphate and nitrate varied significantly (p < 0.05) between the sites across the 5 months. We recorded four zooplankton groups, namely Cladocera, Copepoda, Protozoa and Rotifera. The cluster analysis revealed that the organisms were grouped mainly by sites rather than by seasons. The multivariate canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed a weak association between the zooplankton community assemblages and physicochemical variables. However, there were differential responses of zooplankton to physicochemical variables in the river system, with species such as Eurytemora affinis, Acartia tonse and Sinodiaptomus sarsi being sensitive, indicating positive associations with DO concentration. Conversely, species such as Macrothrix rosea and Bosmina longirostris were tolerant, demonstrating their usefulness as bioindicators of bad water quality as they associated positively with TDS, water depth, nitrates and salinity. Overall, the study revealed further insights into the responses of zooplankton communities to pollution, and their potential use as indicators organisms in ephemeral rivers.

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Data used in this paper would be made available by the corresponding author when requested for further research.

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Acknowledgements

We appreciate the field assistance and proofreading of the initial manuscript by Mrs. Edegbene Ovie Tega Treasure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Water Research, Rhodes University, Makhanda (Grahamstown) 6140, South Africa

    Augustine Ovie Edegbene & Frank Chukwuzuoke Akamagwuna

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Sule Lamido University, Kafin Hausa, Nigeria

    Yasir Abdullahi

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Health Sciences, Otukpo, Nigeria

    Augustine Ovie Edegbene

  4. Department of Fisheries and Fisheries Technology, Delta State School of Marine Technology, Burutu, Nigeria

    Efe Ogidiaka

  5. Department of Zoology, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria

    Ekihkalo Catherine Osimen

  6. Department of Forestry, Federal Ministry of Environment, Abuja, Nigeria

    Blessing Odafe Omovoh

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  1. Augustine Ovie Edegbene
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  2. Yasir Abdullahi
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  4. Efe Ogidiaka
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Contributions

Conceptualization and design: Augustine Ovie Edegbene; methodology: Augustine Ovie Edegbene and Frank Chukwuzuoke Akamagwuna; formal analysis and investigation: Augustine Ovie Edegbene and Yasir Abdullahi; data analyses: Augustine Ovie Edegbene; writing — original draft preparation: Augustine Ovie Edegbene, Yasir Abdullahi and Frank Chukwuzuoke Akamagwuna; writing — review and editing: Augustine Ovie Edegbene, Yasir Abdullahi, Frank Chukwuzuoke Akamagwuna, Efe Ogidiaka, Ekihkalo Catherine Osimen and Blessing Odafe Omovoh; creating study area map: Frank Chukwuzuoke Akamagwuna; project supervision: Augustine Ovie Edegbene; manuscript finalization: Augustine Ovie Edegbene and Frank Chukwuzuoke Akamagwuna.

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Correspondence to Augustine Ovie Edegbene.

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Edegbene, A.O., Abdullahi, Y., Akamagwuna, F.C. et al. Are zooplankton useful indicators of ecological quality in Afrotropical ephemeral stream impacted by human activities?. Environ Monit Assess 194, 399 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10061-4

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