World Bank assisted National Agricultural Research Project (NARP) - University of Port Harcourt
Abstract
With the increasing recognition of Calabar as a global tourist
destination, the suitability of Calabar River for recreational
activities by tourists was investigated. The aim was to use
phytoplankton and zooplankton characteristics to assess the water
quality of the Calabar River. Phytoplankton and zooplankton samples
were collected from four stations along the river and carried in
plastic containers at 4oC to the laboratory for taxonomic and diversity
index analyses. Water samples were also collected from the sampling
stations for physico-chemical analysis. In total, 331 phytoplankton
individuals were identified from sixty-six species in sixty genera and
six taxonomic groups. The most abundant taxon was Bacillariophyceae 212
(64.05%), followed by Cyanophyceae 42 (12.69%), Chlorophyceae 40
(12.08%); Dinophyceae 16 (4.83%); Chrysophyceae 12 (3.63%) and
Xanthophyceae 9 (2.72%). Similarly, the diatoms were highest in species
richness (54.55%) followed by Cyanophyceae (18.18%), Chlorophyceae
(12.12%), Dinophyceae (6.06%), Chrysophyceae (4.55%), and Xanthophyceae
(4.55%). Among the zooplankton, the Copepods were the most abundant
(54.89%). Others were Protozoa (14.13%), Polychaeta larvae (7.07%),
Cyclopoida (5.43%), Cladocera (5.43%), Arthropoda (4.89%), Ostracoda
(3.26%), Rotifera (2.72%), Malacostraca (1.09%), and Foraminiferida
(1.09%). The copepods were highest in species richness (13),
representing 36.11% of the total. The other zooplankton taxonomic
groups were Protozoa (16.67%), Cyclopoida (11.11%), Ostracoda (8.33%),
Rotifera (8.33%), Cladocera (5.56%), Malacostraca (5.56%), Arthropoda
(2.78%), Polychaeta larvae (2.78%), and Foraminiferida (2.78%). We did
not observe any preponderance of harmful phytoplankton or zooplankton
in the Calabar River during the study. The river showed no evidence of
stress beyond her carrying capacity, and there was no evidence of any
harmful environmental conditions that is detrimental to recreational
activities in the Calabar River. We assess Calabar River as being
biologically suitable for contact recreational activities, from the
point of view of her plankton characteristics