JECET; March 2016- May 2016; Sec. A; Vol.5. No.2, 223-229.

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Section A: Environmental Science
Research Article

Phytoplankton Species Composition and Abundance in the

Lower Sombreiro River, Niger Delta, Nigeria.
O.A.F. Wokoma1*, V.O. Nwaogu2, G.N. Chima3, V.I. Gbosidom4
1
Department of Biology, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, P. M. B. 5047,
Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt.
2
Department of Microbiology, Abia State University, Uturu,Nigeria
3
Department of Geography and Planning, Abia State University, Uturu, Nigeria
4
Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Ken Saro Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori,
Rivers State Nigeria

Received: 23 April 2016; Revised: 10 May 2016; Accepted: 13 May 2016

Abstract: The phytoplankton community of the lower reaches (brackish water axis) of
the Sombreiro River was studied over a 2- year period. Phytoplankton samples were
collected across 10 sampling stations and analyzed in the laboratory following standard
methods. 140 species belonging to 88 genera and 7 classes were recorded;
Bacillariophyta was the most dominant class with 69 species representing 49.29%,
followed by Cyanophyta with 28 species (20.0%), Chlorophyta with 21 species (15%),
Chrysophyta with 7 species (5.0%), Euglenophyta and Dinophyta with 6 species each
(4.29%) and Xanthophyta with 3 species (2.14%). The most occurring genera were
Cyclotella, Niztchia and Rhizosolenia with 7 and 6 species each respectively. In terms of
phytoplankton class abundance, Baccillariophyta dominated the phytoplankton
community with 524,680 individuals representing 77.42%, followed by Cyanophyta with
87,720 individuals representing 12.94%, Chlorophyta had 50240 individuals representing
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Phytoplankton O.A.F. Wokoma et al.

7.41%, Chrysophyta accounted for 12,720 individuals translating to 1.88%,

Euglenophyta, Xanthophyta and Dinophyta then followed in that order with 1280
(0.19%), 640 (0.09) and 440 (0.07) individuals respectively. Cyclotella menighianiana
was the most encountered phytoplankton species (of class Baccillariophyta) having a
total of 72, 120 individuals followed closely by Melosira listans and Azpeitia natalifera
with 67,080 and 53,760 individuals respectively.
Keywords: Phytoplankton, Specie composition, Abundance, Bacillariophyta, Sombreiro
River.

INTRODUCTION

The plankton community consists of those microscopic aquatic organisms having little or no resistance to
current, living free, floating and suspended in the open or pelagic waters APHA1. The amount of
planktons contained in a water body determines its productivity as they are the major primary and
secondary producers2. Plankton of plant origin is referred to as phytoplankton while zooplankton is the
name given to planktonic animals. Planktons are very important components of the aquatic ecosystem,
because they are the major primary and secondary links in the trophic chains.
They also constitute the principal sources of natural food for fish especially fry and fingerlings.
Phytoplanktons, which constitute the foundation of the food web are the primary producers in aquatic
ecosystems, they are utilized as food by the zooplankton which is in turn utilized by other invertebrates,
shell fish and finfish3. Phytoplankton may be floating, drifting or even suspended in the water current and
cannot therefore escape contamination by its own propulsion.
This therefore, suggests that planktons are good indicators of pollution in the environment. Phytoplankton
have been used as indicator of water quality4, 5, some species flourish in highly eutrophic waters while
others are very sensitive to organic and, or chemical wastes. Because of their short life cycles plankton
responds quickly to environmental changes, and hence the standing crop and species composition
indicates the quality of the water mass in which they are found.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Description of the study area: The study area- Sombreiro River is located in Rivers State in the Niger
Delta region of Nigeria, and lies between Latitude 60 301 to 70 01 E and Longitude 40 121 to 60 171N. 6It is
a tidal dominated river, with possible fresh water input. The climate is classified as humid tropical of the
semi hot equatorial type. The area experiences heavy rainfall from April to October with a mean rainfall
estimated over 2000mm and mean annual temperature of about 29OC.7
Recently heavy rains tend to begin by May, and even in the dry season months of November to March,
sporadic heavy downpours are not uncommon. The vegetation of the river is predominantly mangrove
with Rhizophora racemosa, Rhizophora mangle Gaertin and Rhizophora harosanii Leechman, as the
dominant species8. In order to obtain samples for this investigation, ten (10) stations were established
along the River. The stations as well as their location and global positioning system (GPS) coordinates are
as shown in Table 1.

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Phytoplankton O.A.F. Wokoma et al.

Table 1: Sampling stations and their GPS Coordinates

GPS Coordinates
S/No Station No. Location N E
1 STN 1 Sikaka Kiri (Abandoned Fishing settlement) 4 34.692 6 48.037
2 STN 2 Bille Boko (Gateway to Bille) 4 36.126 6 50.418
3 STN 3 Minjudu-Kiri (Fishing settlement) 4 36.423 6 50.264
4 STN 4 Chevron Jokka Well Head 1 & 1D 4 37.145 6 49.556
5 TNS 5 Idama Flow Station 4 37.703 6 48.849
6 STN 6 Idama Junction 4 38.077 6 48.498
7 STN 7 Da- obu Kiri (Fishing Settlement) 4 39.353 6 48.185
8 STN 8 Lele Kiri (Fishing Settlement) 4 39.884 6 46.630
9 STN 9 Erise Kiri (Fishing Settlement) 4 40.796 6 46.899
10 STN 10 Abonnema Urban 4 43.329 6 46.476

Field methods: Prior to actual sampling, a reconnaissance survey of the stretch of River Sombreiro was
carried out, during which, 10 sampling stations were established. Sampling stations were selected to
capture all the environmental action spots on both sides along the coastline. An initial sampling was
carried out during the reconnaissance visit, this is with the view to master field methods, get used to the
sampling stations as well as equipments and above all eliminate likely sampling/ handling errors.
Standard methods were adopted for sampling for all parameters and lasted for 24 months (from April,
2012 to March, 2014).
Phytoplankton samples were collected in three (3) replicates from each sampling station. The screen
method was used; sub-surface water sample (5 10 cm depth) was collected using a one-litre wide
mouthed plastic container. The samples were preserved in 10% formalin solution with few drops of eosin
before transporting to the laboratory in an ice-chest cooler for identification and enumeration.
Laboratory Methods: In the laboratory samples were allowed to stand for a minimum of 24 hours before
decanting the supernatant. The supernatant was removed carefully until a 50ml concentrated sample was
achieved. The concentrated sample was then properly shaken and 1ml sub-sample was collected from it
and transferred into a Sedgewick Rafter counting chamber using a micro pipette. Identification and
enumeration was carried out under a binocular compound microscope with magnification of 40 x 400.
Three replicates of the sub-samples were analyzed. For each sample, each solitary cell was counted as one
unit in a cell by cell basis. The result was then expressed in number of organisms per ml of sample.
Identification and characterization of the planktonic species was based on the descriptive keys and
illustrations of Maosen9, and Durand and Leveque10.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The phytoplankton community of Sombreiro River is composed of 140 species belonging to 88 genera
and 7 classes see Table 2. Bacillariophyta represented by 69 species (49.29%) were found to be the most
prominent class, followed by Cyanophyta and Chlorophyta with 28 (i.e. 20.00%) and 21 (15.00%) species
respectively. Following next is Chrysophyta with 7 species (5.00%), Euglenophyta and Dinophyta were
represented by 6 species each (4.29%) and Xantophyta had only 3 species (2.14%).

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The genera occurring commonly are Cyclotella, Melosira, Tabelleria and Synedra for Bacillariophyta,
Oscilatoria, Lymgbia and Phormidium for class Cyanophyta and Mallomonas for Chrysophyta.

Table 2: Checklist of Phytoplankton species in Lower Sombreiro River

S/No NAME OF ORGANISM S/No NAME OF ORGANISM

BACILLARIOPHYTA 75 L. major
1 Cyclotella operculata 76 L. sp
2 C. menighiniana 77 Rhaphidiopsis curvata
3 C. glomerata 78 R. mediterranea
4 C. comta 79 Phormidium tenue
5 C. stylorum 80 P. macicola
6 C. striata 81 P. valderiae
7 C. stelligera 82 Gloecocapsa minima
8 Tabelleria floculosa 83 G. limnetica
9 T. binalis 84 Dactylococcopsis irregularis
10 T. fenestrate 85 D. acicularis
11 Melosira varians 86 Rhabdoderma lineare
12 M. listans 87 Microcystis aeruginosa
13 M. granulate 88 Anabaena flos- aquae
14 M. itallica 89 Gloeotrichia echinulata
15 Rhizosolenia rebusta 90 Anabaenopsis sp
16 R. eriensis 91 A. raciborski
17 R. longisetta 92 Aphanizomenan flos-aquae
18 R. accuminata 93 Netrium digitus
19 R. imbricate 94 Lauderia annulata
20 Synedra ulna 95 Crucigenia tetrapedia
21 S. acus 96 Merismopedia punctate
22 S. runpens 97 M. tenuissima
23 Gyrosigma sp.
24 G. attenuatum CHLOROPHYTA
25 G. accuminatum 98 Tetraedron minimum
26 Stephanodiscus astrea 99 T. tumidulums
27 S. hantzchii 100 Tetrablepharis multifelis
28 Coscinodiscus lacustris 101 Traubaria crassispinaz
29 C. asteronpholus 102 Closteriopsis longissima
30 Nitzchia sp. 103 Chlorella vulgaris
31 N. kutzigiana 104 Gonatozygon acculeatum
32 N. lancedata 105 Chlamydomonas globosa
33 N. paradoxa 106 Ankistrodeomus falcatus
34 N. linearis 107 Desmidium schwartzii
35 N. closterium 108 Gloeocystis gigas
36 Azpeitia natalifera 109 Volvox aureaus
37 Actinoptychus senarius 110 V. globator
38 Navicula sp. 111 Actidesmium sp
39 Amphora sp. 112 Chlosterium strigosum
40 Planktoniella sol 113 C. parralum
41 Eunotia lunaris 114 Tetmemorus brebissonii
42 Actinocyclus grundleri 115 Spirotaemia condensate
43 Pinnularia gentillis 116 Coelastrum pobiscideum
44 P. macilenta 117 Chlosteridium lunula
45 Pleurosigma sp 118 Kirchnerlla lunaris

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46 Amphipleura pellocida
47 Epithemia zebra CHRYSOPHYTA
48 E. turgida 119 Mallomonas longisetta
49 Paralia sulcata 120 M. pulcherima
50 Flagileria intermedia 121 M. acaroides
51 F. virescens 122 M. product
52 F. construens 123 Tribonema viride
53 F. capucina 124 Uroglenopsis botnys
54 Grammatophora oceanica 125 Glocobotrys limneticus
55 Triceratium favus
56 T. dubium EUGLENOPHYTA
57 Pseudo-nitzchia pungens 126 Euglenopsis vorax
58 Biddulphia biddulphiana 127 Euglena viridis
59 Prorocentrum micans 128 E. acus
60 Cymbella prostrate 129 E. oxyoris
61 Asterelampa marylandica 130 Astasia klebsii
62 Bacillaria paradoxa 131 Lepocinclis sp
63 Chaetoceros coarctatus
64 Bacteriastrum conosum DINOPHYTA
65 Asteromphalus cieveanus 132 Podolampos bipes
66 Ditylum brightwelli 133 Ceratium furca
67 Ardissonea Formosa 134 Dinophysis miles
68 Detonula pumila 135 Phalacroma sp
69 Pseudoguinarchia rectavon 136 Pyrophacus horologium
137 Amphisolenia bidentata
CYANOPHYTA
70 Oscilatoria lacustris XANTOPHYTA
71 O. priceps 138 Cyclotera comta
72 O. limosa 139 Tribonema viride
73 O. erythraea 140 Ophiocytium capitatum
74 Lymgbya limnetica

Phytoplankton class abundance as observed in this investigation is as shown in Fig. 1. In terms of

phytoplankton class abundance, Bacillariophyta dominated the phytoplankton community with 524,680
individuals representing 77.42%, followed by Cyanophyta with 87,720 individuals representing 12.94%,
Chlorophyta had 50240 individuals representing 7.41%, Chrysophyta accounted for 12,720 individuals
translating to 1.88% , Euglenophyta, Xanthophyta and Dinophyta then followed in that order with 1280
(0.19%), 640 (0.09) and 440 (0.07) individuals respectively. In terms of species abundance, C.
menighianiana were the most encountered phytoplankton species (of class Baccillariophyta) having a
total of 72, 120 individuals followed closely by M. listans and A. natalifera with 67,080 and 53,760
individuals respectively. The 140 species of phytoplankton observed in this investigation is comparable
to the outcome of some previous studies in the Niger Delta. Edoghotu11 recorded 143 species in the
Okpoka Creek, Ogamba et. al.4 had 143 species in the Elechi Creek, Chindah and Braide5 reported 130
species in the Lower Bonny River, but lower than the 198 species reported by Edoghotu and Aleleye-
Wokoma12 in the Ntawoba Creek, 169 species recorded by Davies et. al.,2 in the Elechi Creek and 209
species reported by Chindah and Pudo13 in the Bonny River. It is however higher than the 103 species
observed by Zabbey et. al14., in Imo River, 89 species recorded in the Bonny estuary by Chindah and
Keremah,15, 56 species by Abowei16 recorded in the New Calabar River, 43 species by Abowei et. al.8, in

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Phytoplankton O.A.F. Wokoma et al.

the Lower Sombreiro River, 34 and 20 species recorded by Yakubu et. al.,17 from Nkissa and Orashi
Rivers respectively.

Fig. 1: Phytoplankton class abundance in the lower Sombreiro River

The classes of phytoplankton recorded in this investigation in decreasing order of species abundance and
dominance are, Bacillariophyta (49.29%), Cyanophyta (20%) Chlorophyta (15.0%), Chrysophyta (5.0%),
Euglenophyta and Dinophyta (4.29% each) and Xanthophyta (2.14%). The dominance of bacillariophyta
is a common feature of both fresh and brackish water systems (Rivers and Creeks) in the Niger Delta and
indeed Nigeria. The dominance of the phytoplankton community by diatoms (Bacillariophyta) has been
reported in previous studies of equivalent ecological areas 4, 8, 12, 14, 17, The dominance of the phytoplankton
community by diatoms in the study area (at the time of the investigation) confirms the statement that
diatoms pre-dominate unpolluted natural lotic water bodies in the tropics18 While 7 classes of
phytoplankton were recorded in this study, Ogamba et. al.,4 observed only 4 classes, Abowei et. al.8,
reported 5 classes; Edoghotu and Aleleye- Wokoma12 observed 9 classes. In terms of total abundance, the
study further showed that 677720 individuals were enumerated, and Bacillariophyta equally dominated
the Phytoplankton total population (abundance) accounting for 77.42% of the 677720 cells /ml density
recorded, followed by Cyanophyta and Chlorophyta which accounted for 12.94% and 7.41% respectively.
Peculiarities in the different water bodies may be responsible for the differences in the number and types
of classes found in any study.

REFERENCES

1. APHA, Standard Methods for Examination of water and waste water. American Public
Health Association. Washington D.C. 2005.
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Niger Delta, Nigeria A nutrient polluted tropical creek. Am. J. Appl. Sci. 2009, 6(6):
1143 1152.
3. B.E. Emmanuel, I.C. Onyema, The plankton and fishes of a tropical creek in South
Western Nigeria. Turk.J. Fish. Aquat. Sc. 2007, 7: 105 113.

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4. E.N. Ogamba, A.C. Chinda, I.K.E. Ekweozor, J.N. Onwuteaka, Water quality and
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Technology, Port Harcourt. 1998.
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composition and Physicochemical properties of Ntawoba Creek, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Intl. J. Natural and Applied Sciences, 2007, 3(3): 344 348.
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River in the Niger Delta. Gragm. Flor. Geo bot 1991, 36(1): 112 125.
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the middle reaches of the Imo River, Niger Delta, Nigeria. Afr. J. Aquat. Sci. 2008,
33(2): 241 248.
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fish pond of the Bonny estuary, Nigeria. Afr. J. Environ. Stud., 2001, 2: 63 71.
16. J.F.N. Abowei, Aspects of the fisheries of the lower Nun River, Nigeria. Ph. D. Thesis,
University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. 2000, 248pp.
17. A.F. Yakubu, F.D. Sikoki, J.F.N. Abowei, S.A. Hart, A comparative study of
phytoplankton communities of some rivers, creeks and burrow pits in the Niger Delta
area. Journal of Applied Science, Environment and Management. 2000, 4(2): 41-46.
18. V. Pan, R.J. Stevenson, B.H. Hill, A.T. Herlihy, G.B. Collins, Using diatoms as
indicators of ecological condition in lotic systems: a regional assessment. J. of North
American Benthological Society. 1996, 15: 481 495.

Corresponding author: O.A.F. Wokoma

Dept. of Biology, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, P. M. B. 5047,

Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt.

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