The Ecological Balance of the Fish Community in an Aging Reservoir - Natural Resources

NR > Vol.9 No.9, September 2018

Natural Resources

Volume 9, Issue 9 (September 2018)

ISSN Print: 2158-706X ISSN Online: 2158-7086

Google-based Impact Factor: 0.89 Citations h5-index & Ranking

The Ecological Balance of the Fish Community in an Aging Reservoir ()

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Download as PDF (Size: 1002KB) PP. 327-335

DOI: 10.4236/nr.2018.99020 998 Downloads 2,035 Views Citations

Author(s)

Yetunde Folasade Taiwo¹, Adebukola Adenike Adedeji², Taiwo Adekanmi Adesakin²

Affiliation(s)

¹Natural History Museum, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
²Department of Zoology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

ABSTRACT

Reservoir fishes contribute significantly to freshwater fish resources in Nigeria. The composition, size variation and relative abundance of fishes in Opa reservoir, Southwest Nigeria, were investigated to establish the ecological balance of the various trophic groups of fishes in the reservoir. The study was carried out in view of recent reports on the decline in the quality and quantity of water in the aging reservoir. Fishes were collected from the reservoir monthly for twelve months using monofilament gill nets and wire cages. The fishes were identified to species level and the ecological balance of the fish community was calculated as a ratio of the forage to the carnivore groups by number and by weight. Data were subjected to statistical analysis using the Stata 13 software. 1915 fishes belonging to 17 species and 10 families were collected from the reservoir. The fish composition was dominated by the family cichlidae, with its 7 species accounting for 89.8% of the total catch. There were 2 species of clariidae, which made 6.2% of the total catch. The ecological balance of the fish community was 3.4 (by number) and 6.2 (by weight). The result obtained revealed that the fish community in the reservoir is ecologically balanced.Comparative analysis of the fish composition of the Opa reservoir with reports from other reservoirs in Southwest Nigeria showed that the reservoir has more fish species than most of the other reservoirs around. The study concludes that the reservoir still supports a rich, diverse and ecologically balanced fish community. It is recommended that the management of these fish resources should be key in the holistic management of the aging Opa reservoir.

KEYWORDS

Forage/Carnivore Ratio, Freshwater Fish Diversity, Size Composition

Share and Cite:

Taiwo, Y. , Adedeji, A. and Adesakin, T. (2018) The Ecological Balance of the Fish Community in an Aging Reservoir. Natural Resources, 9, 327-335. doi: 10.4236/nr.2018.99020.

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[2]	Spatial Variations of Physico-Chemical Properties in Lokpanta Reservoir Ishiagu, Ebonyi State
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[3]	FISH ASSEMBLAGE AND DIVERSITY IN ERINLE RESERVOIR, OSUN STATE, NIGERIA.
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[4]	Species composition, abundance and diversity of Ichthyofauna of Ikere-Gorge, Oyo State, Nigeria
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[5]	Ecological implications of fish and gear diversity in Shiroro dam reservoir, Niger state, Nigeria
	2020

[6]	Food habit and ecological balance of fish species in Osun river, Nigeria
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