Bonjoru R, Shehu J, Kyani ZA, Henry GB, Bagauda DA and Emmanuel IH

The purpose of this study was to explore the environmental characteristics, relative abundance and diversity of phytoplankton at River Taraba, Taraba State, Nigeria. The study was carried out for a period of eight months (August 2021 to March 2022). The phytoplankton were sampled using a plankton net with a mesh size of 55µm, towed horizontally for five meters. The data on phytoplankton species composition and abundance were analyzed using frequency counts and percentages. The ComEcolPaC program (a Microsoft Excel 2003 based tool) was used to assess the diversity indices. The average water temperature of the River was 25.375 ºC. The pH of the water was slightly basic (pH = 6.2). The water transparency was 0.730, indicating that the water was relatively clear. Dissolved oxygen levels were low, at 3.82 mg/L. Alkalinity levels were 571.8 mg/L, while conductivity was 0.002278 μm hos/cm. Thirty-four (34) species from seven (7) families were identified and distributed across the study area. They include: Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Dinophyceae, Euglenophyceae, Zygnematophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Xanthophyceae. Bacillariophyceae (n=13) was the most prevalent in terms of number of species followed by Chlorophyceae (n=12). Euglenophyceae, Cyanophyceae and Xanthophyceae were the least dominant with (n=1) specie each. In terms of species abundance, Volvox sp (31.02%) was the most abundant species followed by Spirogyra longata (27.99%) and the least was Bulbochaete spp. with 0.01%.

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