Ichtyofaunal Composition and Seasonal Occurrence in the Bodo Creek, Niger Delta, Nigeria.

Abstract

The studies of Ichthyofaunal composition and seasonal occurrence in Bodo Creek, Niger Delta Nigeria were done between the months of January to July 2010. the collection of the fishes were done with fishing traps, gill and cast nets of various mesh sizes ranging from 20 – 102mm. The months of January February and March were sampled for the wet season while the months of May, June and July were sampled for the dry season to determine the seasonal occurrence of the various fish species. The upper, middle and lower courses of the creek were also accorded cognizance during fish collection to determine the spatial dynamics in species occurrence. The identification of the fish species was done with aid of keys provided by Reed etal (1979) Tobor (1978), FAO (1981) and Schneider (1990). A total of 45 fish species belonging 36 genera and 26 families were identified. The fish families; Clupeidaeand Carangidaewere the highest in species number recording 4 species each. The fish families Bagridae, Batrachoidae, Belonidae, Cynoglossidae, Drepanidae, Eleotridae, Elopidae, Ephipidae, Gerreidae, Monodaetylidae, Periophthalmidae, Semandidae, Soleidae, Trichiuridae and Symbrachidae were the least in species number, recording 1 species each. All 45 species occurred in all courses; upper, middle and lower. Courses all 45 species also occurred in both wet and dry season, but Ethmalosafimbriata and Liza grandisquamis were more abundant in the dry season than the wet season. Keywords: Ichthyofauna, assemblage, and distribution DOI: 10.7176/ALST/74-05 Publication date:May 31st 201