Effect of darting phenomenon of African catfish Heterobranchus longifilis (Burchell 1822) on growth performance of Nile tilapia: Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Replicate Ponds of 0.02ha stocked at 500 catfishes with 20,000 tilapia/ha were used to assess growth performance of O.niloticus, average weight 50.4g with (i) darted catfish; H.longifilis (shooters) average weight 60.3g (ii) non-shooters of H.longifilis, average weight 35.4g. Final mean weight, mean growth rate, specific growth rate and food conversion ratio were 499.5g 26g/day, 1.36% and 5.58% respectively for O.niloticus stocked with longifilis (shooters) and 440.4g 2.3g/day 1.23% and 5.58% respectively for O.niloticus stocked with H.longifilis (non- shooters) and 246.9g, 1.2g/day, 0.93, 6.30% respectively for tilapia in monoculture. The least growth was noted for O. niloticus in monoculture while the best growth was recorded O. niloticus in polyculture with darted catfis

Understanding Farmers’ Response to Climate Variability in Nigeria: A Multinomial Logit Approach

In Nigeria, farming still depends largely on nature and therefore, vulnerable to climate variability. Climate variability affects production in a number of ways such as uncertainties with the onset of the farming season, flooding and drought in some areas. Farmers have responded by using adaptation strategies. The determinants of farmers’ use of these strategies have not been adequately ascertained. In this study, farmers ’response to climate variability was examined. Primary and secondary data were used. A multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted in the collection of the primary data using structured questionnaires. Four vegetation zones out of seven where farming is mainly carried out were selected for the study. Using a list of farmers from the Agricultural Development Project, 470 farmers were randomly selected based on probability proportionate to the number of farmers in each vegetation zone. They were administered structured questionnaire. Data collected included socio-economic characteristics of the farmers, adaptation strategies they used and constraints associated with them. Data on climate were collected from Nigeria Meteorological Station, Oshodi. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and multinomial logit models. Farmers used multiple adaptation strategies; Crop Diversification (CD), Soil Conservation Techniques (SCT) and Different Planting and Harvesting Dates (DPHD). Increase in farm size increased the likelihood of using CD (0.2741), DPHD (0.3240) and SCT (0.2741). Increases in temperature, cloud cover and sunshine decreased the likelihood of using crop diversification (0.3001, 0.0246 and 0.0703 respectively), different planting and harvesting dates (0.2113, 0.1085 and 0.1024 respectively) and soil conservation techniques (0.6131, 0.4311 and 0.7219 respectively). However, increase in precipitation increased the likelihood of using crop diversification (0.1924), different planting and harvesting dates (0.1413) and soil conservation techniques (0.3410) Adaptation strategies would cushion the harmful effects of increase in precipitation. Farmers should be encouraged to use adaptation strategies to sustain output.Key words: Climate Variability, Adaptation Strategies, Vegetation Zones, Nigeri

Effect of ethanolic extract of dennettia tripetala fruit on haematological parameters in albino wistar rats

The effect of oral administration of ethanolic extract of Dennettia tripetala fruits on haematological parameters in albino Wistar rats was investigated. Lethality studies revealed that the extract had an LD50 value of 251.19mg/kg mice intraperitoneal. Fifteen (15) male albino wistar rats weighing between 150 – 200g were used for the study and randomly assigned into three study groups of five animals each. The group 1 control received via oral route a placebo (4ml of normal saline),while test groups 2 and 3 received 85mg/kg body weight and 170mg/kg body weight of D. tripetala extract in 2.0ml and 4.0ml of the vehicle (normal saline) via oral route respectively. The administrationof ethanolic extract of D. tripetala for 14 days produced a significant (

Toxicity and Behaviour of Clarias Gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) Fingerlings subjected to Piscicidal Plant Extract of Aidon Tetrapleura Tetraptera

The study was carried out to investigate the toxicity of water extract of Tetrapleura tetraptera fruits on catfish (Clarias gariepinus) fingerlings. The experiment was carried out under laboratory conditions for 96 hours with 30 fingerlings treated with each of the six graded concentrations (0g/300ml, 15g/300ml, 30g/300ml 45g/300ml, 60g/300ml and 75g/300ml) of dried fruits of Tetrapleura tetraptera. The study showed that the higher the concentration of the extract the higher the mortality of fingerlings while the toxicity of the extract reduced with time. Fifty percent mortality of the fingerlings was recorded at 24, 20 and 16 hours for 45g/300ml, 60g/300ml and 75g/300ml concentrations of extracts respectively. The result also showed that there were significant differences (P 0.05) in relation to mean mortality of fingerlings. The treated fingerlings were observed to showerratic swimming and loss of balance at high concentrations of extract. It is recommended that more studies be carried out on other parts of Tetrapleura tetraptera and their effect on different fish species

Aqueous Leaf Extract Of Rothmannia Longiflora Improves Basal Metabolic Rate And Electrolyte Parameters In Alloxan Induced Diabetic Rats

Summary: This study evaluated the action of aqueous leaf extract of Rothmannia longiflora on basal metabolic rate and electrolyte profile of alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Fifteen male Wistar (135 – 140g) were assigned to 3 groups of 5 rats each. Group 1 which served as control received placebo treatment; Group 2 - the diabetic (untreated) group also received placebo treatment whereas Group 3 – the extract treated diabetic group was administered the extract (15g/kg body weight) by oral administration for 14 days. Results of BMR measurement showed a significant increase (

Estimation of Dietary Composition and Fecundity of African Carp, Labeo Coubie, Cross River, Nigeria

Dietary composition and aspect of reproductive biology (fecundity and sex ratio) of African carp was investigated for 12 months. Specimens were collected from artisenal fishermen, measured for Length (cm) and weight (g), examined for genital papilla in the male and the stomach removed for food analysis. The main food categories were crustaceans, rotifers, insects, worms, plant parts and mud. The index of relative importance (IRI) values indicated that 13 out of the 21 food items were major diet components. The prominence of detritus in the diet indicated that L. coubie is a bottom feeder and is euryphagus. Fifty eight (58) 28.6% out of the 205 females had matured gonads. Absolute fecundity ranged from 679 to 15073 eggs. The relative fecundity ranged from 40 to 793eggs/Length (cm) and 64 to 286 eggs/weight (g). Spawning was between the months of May through August. The Length – Weight yielded significant results for female than male indicating that, females were in better condition than the males. The overall sex ratio of L. coubie was 1:1.67 in favour of females. The wide food range and high fecundity made L. coubie suitable for pond culture. @ JASEMJ. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. December, 2010, Vol. 14 (4) 19 - 2

Effect of Deposit Money Banks' Credit on the Performance of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria

This paper set out to empirically evaluate the effect of deposit money banks' credit on the performance of MSMEs in Nigeria, with the aid of a vector autoregression and error correction mechanism (ECM) technique. Results of the empirical investigation confirmed credit had a positive effect on GDP of MSMEs in Nigeria as the coefficient of CAM (credit to MSMEs) was positive (1.0569) and significant at 1.0 per cent level. It was, therefore, recommended that every effort should be made to improve access to credit by MSMEs, so that they could play their potential roles of employment generation and wealth creation and move the majority of the entrepreneurs out of poverty

Fisheries and tourism potentials of Agbokim waterfalls, Nigeria

Human activities in natural environments are among the most important recreational needs. Monthly studies of tourism characteristics was conducted during wet and dry seasons, over a two year period in the three landscapes along the 6817.7m length of Agbokim waterfalls by using a close-ended pre-coded survey instrument. Through MANOVA analysis of the 1780 respondents, we found strong positive association between peoples visits to the recreational areas and the type of landscape in which the respondents felt happy. People who felt happier in landscape dominated by waterfalls, visit the middle reaches of the river for outdoor recreation more often, while people who feel happy in landscapes dominated by slow water current with an extensive wide area and floodplains, visit downstream reaches of the waterfalls more often. Activities performed more often along downstream reaches include fishing, bathing/swimming, boating and hunting while more frequent activities in the middle reaches (waterfalls) include taking photographs, picnics, enjoying nature, outing with family and friends, looking at view, resting and relaxing