Water Quality and Phytoplankton Composition of River Ngadda, Northeast, Nigeria

1Abbator Ahmed, 2Musa Adamu Ibrahim and 1Noorah Ibrahim Ahmad

1Department of Botany, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria
2Department of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria

*Corresponding author’s Email: abbatorahmed@gmail.com, doi.org/10.55639/607.212019


ABSTRACT

Water quality parameters and phytoplankton abundance of River Ngadda in Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, were evaluated between February and March 2021. Water and phytoplankton samples were collected from six different stations (A-F). Temperature ranged between 16-25℃, pH between 7.3-8.3, and dissolved oxygen (DO) between 7.8- 25.0 mg/L. Total dissolved solids (TDS) ranged between 180.0-760.0 NTU. The concentrations of nitrate (NO3), phosphate (PO4 2-), and sulphate (SO4 2-) were 0.52-0.92 mg/L, 0.22-0.71 mg/L, and 29.0-97.0 mg/L, respectively. A total of 25 species of phytoplankton were identified at the six stations. The Chlorophyceae were the dominant and most abundant class in the aquatic community.

Keywords:

Freshwater,
Arid zone,
Phytoplankton,
Water quality,
Maiduguri