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Exploratory accounts of the increasing pollution gradients and macroinvertebrates structural assemblage in an afrotropical estuary

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Abstract

Forcados Estuary is a key water body in Delta State, Nigeria, serving various purposes such as fishing and oil exploration sites. However, the ecological health integrity of the estuary is seriously degrading due to crude oil and gas production, as well as run-off from surrounding communities. In this study, we investigated the structural assemblage of macroinvertebrates of the estuary to provide an exploratory account of the water quality status of the estuary. Physico-chemical variables and macroinvertebrates were sampled in five stations for 24 months between April 2012 and March 2014. Physico-chemical variables collected in the estuary classified the sampling stations into potential ecological categories, reflecting an increasing pollution gradient, with Stations 1 and 2 classified as heavily polluted stations. There was a relatively high mean concentration of iron (39.7 ± 20.71 mg L− 1), copper (12.22 ± 5.33 mg L− 1) and lead (2.97 ± 1.98 mg L− 1) in Station 1 compared to the remaining four stations. Whereas the highest mean zinc concentration was recorded in Station 2 (23.12 ± 11.96 mg L− 1). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) conducted for both wet and dry seasons showed that season played a key role in the pollution gradient of the estuary. A total of 14,685 macroinvertebrate individuals were recorded in the entire study period. Pachymelania fusca (freshwater snail) was the most preponderant taxa with 2,095 individuals recorded during the study period, followed by Tympanotonus fuscatus (brackish water snail) with 2,011 individuals. Coenagrion pulchellum (damselfly) was the least represented taxa, with only one taxon recorded throughout the study period. The non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (NMDS) showed no distinct cluster for macroinvertebrates collected in both wet and dry seasons. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) revealed differential responses of macroinvertebrates to physico-chemical variables, with species such as Callinectes latimanus and Mactra nitida increasing the non-disturbed Stations 4 and 5, whereas Corixa punctata and Thias callifera dominated the disturbed Stations 1 and 2. Overall, the study provided useful information on the ecological pollution status of the Forcados Estuary and this will serve as a baseline for future research on the assessment of the ecological integrity of the estuary.

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Data generated during this study would be made available upon request by the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Government of Delta State, Nigeria, for their financial support in this research work.

Funding

This work was partially funded by the Government of Delta State, Nigeria by way of doctoral research support to the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria

    Efe Ogidiaka & Robert Bemigho Ikomi

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

    Efe Ogidiaka

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

    Frank Chukwuzuoke Akamagwuna & Augustine Ovie Edegbene

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

    Augustine Ovie Edegbene

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  1. Efe Ogidiaka
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  2. Robert Bemigho Ikomi
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  4. Augustine Ovie Edegbene
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Contributions

Ogidiaka, E., Ikomi, R.B. and Edegbene, A.O.: project conceptualization and design; Ogidiaka, E.: data collection, Edegbene, A.O. and Akamagwuna, F.C: data/statistical analysis, Ogidiaka, E. and Edegbene, A.O.: initial drafting of the manuscript; Ogidiaka, E., Ikomi, R.B., Akamagwuna, F.C and Edegbene, A.O.: manuscript review and editing; Edegbene, A.O. and Akamagwuna, F.C: making of study area map and manuscript finalization; Ikomi, R.B.: project supervision.

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Correspondence to Augustine Ovie Edegbene.

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Ogidiaka, E., Ikomi, R.B., Akamagwuna, F.C. et al. Exploratory accounts of the increasing pollution gradients and macroinvertebrates structural assemblage in an afrotropical estuary. Biologia 77, 2103–2114 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-022-01076-w

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