Fish diversity in two reservoirs in Southwest Nigeria
This study investigated the fish diversity of Eko ? Ende and Owalla reservoirs, which are within the Osun river system in South West, Nigeria with a view to document biodiversity information needed for conservation and sustainable fisheries. Fish samples were collected monthly from the two reservoirs for one year, using a battery of multifilament gill nets. The data collected from each reservoir was analyzed for fish diversity. Information obtained on the forage / carnivore (F/C) ratio of fishes in each reservoir was used in measuring and comparing the ecological balance of the reservoirs. The results showed that eighteen fish species representing 16 genera and 10 families were identified in Eko ? Ende, while 17 fish species in 15 genera and 10 families were identified in Owalla during the period of study. Sixteen species (representing 84.2% of the total number of fish species) were common to both reservoirs and they were both dominated by Cichlids. Eko ? Ende Reservoir had greater fish diversity than the Owalla Reservoir. Shannon ? Weiner (H') index of fish diversity from Eko ? Ende reservoir was 2.37 while that from Owalla reservoir was 2.10. The forage / carnivore (F/C) ratios of the fishes from the two reservoirs showed that Eko ? Ende reservoir (F/C = 1.98) is ecologically balanced, while Owalla reservoir (F/C = 0.92) is not Owalla reservoir had a higher population of Hemichromis fasciatus (a predatory species). This reservoir also had more intensive fishing activities than the smaller Eko ? Ende reservoir. The study concludes on the need for a participatory research to alleviate the problem of ecological imbalance of fish species in Owalla reservoir.
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| Format: | conference_item biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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Fisheries Society of Nigeria
2010
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| Subjects: | Ecology, Fisheries, Nigeria, Eko-Ende Reservoir, Owalla Reservoir, freshwater environment, Biodiversity, Species diversity, Check lists, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/38181 |
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