Physicochemical Flux and Phytoplankton diversity in Shagari Reservoir,Sokoto, Nigeria

Nutrients availabilty is one of the major contributors to distribution and growth of phytoplankton species. Physicochemical properties and phytoplankton species and their distribution in Shagari Reservoir were evaluated. Standard methods of UNEP were used to determine monthly physicochemical flux properties, diversity and distribution of phytoplankton species were also determined. Phytoplankton classes identified included Bacillariophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Cynophyceae and Dinophyceae. Class Chlorophyceae had the highest annual percentage distribution (37.55%) with four species identified. The least monthly percentage (7.64%) was recorded in November by Dinophyceae. Anabaena wisconsineae (Dinophyceae) had the highest frequency of occurence (96.6%). August, September and October were the most turbid months using Secchi disc measurement with 8.30, 9.0 and 9.8cm respectively. The monthly variation in the physicochemical parameters may be due to seasonal changes and human activities. The levels of nitrogen and phosphorus ranged from 0.30-7.30 Mg/l and 0.1-0.8Mg/l respectively. The reservoir has low species of phytoplankton, which may be due to low levels of nutrients and age of the reservoir.Keywords: Phytoplankton, Physicochemical, Reservoir, Chlorophyceae, Shagari, Sokoto, Nigeria

Bacteriological and chemical properties of soil amended with fermented poultry bird feather

Huge amount of poultry wastes are generated annually in developing nations, of which end up in our environment. Feather as a poultry waste have caused environmental concerns in many of these countries. In this research work, poultry feather was used to study its effects on bacteriological and chemical properties in agricultural soil. The feathers collected were grinded, sterilized and fermented before mixing it with soil. Total heterotrophic counts of colonies were enumerated from the soil samples. Isolates were characterized based on morphological and series of biochemical tests. Soil chemical analysis for pH, carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, potassium was also carried out. The heterotrophic bacteria count of the treated soil had the highest count in the range of 1.54 x106 to 2.02 x106 (CFU/g) as against the control soil with 1.24 x106 (CFU/g). The bacteria identified from these samples were Bacillus sp., Proteus sp., Staphylococcus sp. and Actinomyces sp. Actinomyces sp. was isolated only after three weeks of treatment with the feather while all other bacteria were also present in the control soil but at elevated levels based on heterotrophic bacteria count in the treated soil. The soil chemical analysis of the treated soil had high amount of mineral (Organic carbon 1.10 %, nitrogen 0.09%, phosphorus 0.53±0.02 mg/kg, magnesium 0.45±0.01 mg/kg as against the control (Organic carbon 0.26%, nitrogen 0.05%, phosphorus 0.30±0.10 mg/kg, magnesium 0.45±0.01 mg/kg) and their pH is almost near neutrality, 7.12 and 7.08 respectively. The result suggested that soil treated with poultry feather increased the plate count of Bacillus sp, Proteus sp, Staphylococcus sp and Actinomyces sp. Poultry feather which is a waste by-product can provide essential nutrients for the survival of soil microorganisms, plant growth and therefore can be exploited as biofertilizer.Keywords: Bacillus sp., biofertilizer, fermentation, keratin, poultry wast