Assessment of Fish Biodiversity in Oni River, Ogun State, Nigeria

Sustainable exploitation. Fish biodiversity, Oni Keywords: Accepted: 4 Accepted: 4 Revised: 3February2011, Received: 6December2010, * Corresponding author’s email:[email protected],Tel:* Correspondingauthor’s +2348035746786. 2 1 Department ofWildlife andFisheriesManagement,University ofIbadan,OyoState,Nigeria. Department ofForestry, Wildlife and FisheriesManagement,Universityof Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti-State, Nigeria. Assessment ofFishBiodiversityinOniRiver, eray2011. February Available onlineon:www.ijamad.com International Journalof Agricultural Management&Development(IJAMAD) River,

Abstract Obe BernardineWuraola Ogun State,Nigeria (58) members. members, followedby had thegreatestnumberofrepresentationwithseventy(70) with onlytwo(2)members.Onthespecieslevel, with 161members. The leastrepresentedfamilywasSchilbeidae the mostabundantwith163membersfollowedbyCichlidae topteridae andDistichodontidae. The familyMormyridaewas Schilbeidae, Anabantidae, Osteoglossidae,Characidae,No- chidae, Bagridae,Mochokidae,Polypteridae,Pantodontidae, Mormyridae, Clariidae,Channidae,Malapteruridae,Gymnar- sixteen (16)families. The familiesidentifiedincluded:Cichlidae, sampled comprisingtwenty-eight(28)speciesbelongingto the length-frequencyoffishes. Altogether, 592fisheswere and biomass,determiningthelength-weightrelationships uring thefishlength,weight,assessingabundance by enumeratingandidentifyingfishspeciescomposition,meas- biodiversity assessmentwascarriedout. This wasconducted F sources ofOniRiver, OgunState,Nigeria,thefish or thepurposeofsustainableexploitationfisheryre- 1 and Jenyo-Oni Adetola Oreochromis niloticus 2 with fifty-eight Tilapia zillii 107 International Journal of Agricultural Management & Development, 1(3): 107-113, September, 2011. Assessment of Fish Composition / Obe Bernardine Wuraola et al.

INTRODUCTION Fish is a first-class animal protein for human MATERIALS & METHODS consumption which is cheap and easily digestible. Location, description and history of the study It is rich in oil and other essential mineral re- area Oni River takes its source from Ile-Ife, quirements which the body needs for sound and Nigeria on latitude 70201N and longitude 40551E healthy growth and also has low cholesterol level. and empties into the Lagos Lagoon, on latitude It is therefore in high demand the world over. 60301N and longitude 40091E, spanning four The rapid increase in world population has States in Nigeria namely Osun, Ondo, Ogun resulted in a huge increase in the need for an- and Lagos States. imal protein and other nutritional requirements The study area falls within the Ogun State which make demand far exceeds the supply section of the river in Ogun Waterside Local and this deficiency of protein is most noticeable Government Area (LGA) which lies between in underdeveloped countries (Akinola, 1982). latitude 60301 and 60321N and longitude 40221 Nigeria, a coastal country with 850km coast- and 40251E (FDI, 1987). This study area covers line, 200 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic the river course running through Idakun, Sun- Zone (EEZ) of marine water and territorial moge, Igele and Tabati fishing sea of 30 nautical miles has numerous inland communities/camps in Ogun State. These four and marine water bodies (Faturoti, 2000). fishing camps form the point of study from FAO (2000) reported that Nigeria has about which samples were collected. 1,280km2 marine area and about 124, 878.2km2 The river passes under the Orita J4 of inland waters. The inland water bodies are bridge/road as it flows from Igele to Tabati; rich in fresh water fishes while the marine Orita J4 road makes a T-junction further up waters, though poor in fin fish resources from the study area with the Lagos/Benin have been found to be rich in shrimp and express road at Ogun Waterside LG junction tuna resources (Faturoti, 2000). across the road from Omo Forest Reserve, Despite the rich fish diversity potential of J4 section. Nigerian waters, there has been a decline in The river is a fresh water habitat and is located production over the years with a reduction in in the humid tropical region with seasonal vari- global fish production rising from 27.54 million ation in temperature and rainfall patterns. The tonnes in 1990 to 31.48 million tonnes in 1995, water is brownish in colour with whitish sandy a total of 3.94 million tonnes reduction (FAO, bottom soil. Fauna found in the water include 1996). This could be due to a number of reasons fishes, water snails, shrimps, aquatic insects which could be natural and man-made such as and amphibians. Ogun Waterside LG is bounded pollution, irrational exploitation of water resources in the West by Ijebu East LG, in the North and and poor management among other things. the East by Ondo State and in the South by There are considerable potentials for fresh Lagos State and the Atlantic Ocean. water fish production in Nigeria. Fish, as a re- The major occupation of the people is fishing newable natural resource, if carefully exploited, with a little fraction engaging in farming and

108 animal protein requirements. area was carried out twice before data collection using aweightingbalance andtheweightwas weight ofdifferent fishspeciesweremeasured frequency wasdetermined andrecorded. The graduated incentimetres.Rangeofthelength sampled weremeasuredusingmeasuringboard by 100%. The total andstandardlengthoffish vided bytotalnumberoffishsampledmultiplied of familiesisthenumbereachfishfamilydi- multiplied by100%whilerelativeabundance a speciesbythetotalnumberoffishsampled calculated bydividingnumbermakingup ed. Relativeabundanceofspecieswas were countedforeachspeciesandrecord- number offishsampled.Sampled fish abundancewascalculatedasthetotal and OlaosebikanRaji(1998). The books taxonomic levelusingidentificationguide Collection ofdata the periodofstudywhichspannedthreemonths. camps. Samplingwasdonetwiceamonthwithin lected landingsitesforeachofthefourfishing commenced. Fishsampleswerecollectedatse- Fish identificationwasmadetothelowest prepared byHoldenandReed(1972) Assessment ofFishComposition/ObeBernardineWuraola etal. (Ogun Waterside L.G.A).Betterqualitypicturenowsuppliedbelow. Figure 1:MapofOgunStateshowingStudy Area of thefish. used toshowthelength-weight relationship descriptive analysisi.e. scatterdiagramwas the bodyweightandstandardlengthwhile used toestablishtherelationshipbetween Statistical analysis of fishesfallingwithinthesamerangeorclass. was obtainedbycountingthenumberoflength of timesaparticularlengthclassoccurred. This collected. fish species is givenbythelinearequation: the lengthandweightfordifferent fishspecies taken tothenearestgrammes. Regression andcorrelationanalyseswere W2 =totalweightoftheentirefishsample Where W1= weightofallsamplesaparticular the formulae: The percentagebiomasswascalculatedwith The equationdescribingtherelationshipof Length frequencydistributionisthenumber log W =a+blogL W1x100% W2 109 International Journal of Agricultural Management & Development, 1(3): 107-113, September, 2011. Assessment of Fish Composition / Obe Bernardine Wuraola et al.

RESULTS

Table 1: List of identified fish by families, genera and species in Oni River and their relative abundance

NO NO RELATIVE S/N FAMILY GENUS SPECIES SAMPLED SAMPLED ABUNDAN BY FAMILIES BY SPECIES -CE (%)

1 ANABANTIDAE CTENOPOMA Ctenopoma kingsleyae 008 008 1.35

2 BAGRIDAE CHRYSICHTHYS Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus 009 009 1.52

3 CHANNIDAE CHANNA Parachanna obscura 039 039 6.59

CHARACIDAE HYDROCYNUS Hydrocynus vittatus 016 011 1.86 4 ALESTES Alestes spp 005 0.84

5 CICHLIDAE OREOCHROMIS Oreochromis niloticus 161 058 9.80

TILAPIA Tilapia zillii 070 11.82 HEMICHROMIS Hemichromis fasciatus 033 5.57

6 CLARIIDAE CLARIAS Clarias gariepinus 049 049 8.28

7 DISTICHODONTIDAE ICHTHYBORUS Ichthyborus monody 003 003 0.51

8 GYMNARCHIDAE GYMNARCHUS Gymnarchus niloticus 008 008 1.35 9 MALAPTERURIDAE MALAPTERURUS Malapterurus electricus 007 007 1.18

10 MOCHOKIDAE SYNODONTIS Synodontis nigrita 022 022 3.71

11 MORMYRIDAE HYPEROPISUS Hyperopisus bebe 163 030 5.07

GNATHONEMUS Gnathonemus petersii 037 6.25

Gnathonemus abadii 016 2.70

MORMYRUS Mormyrus rume 017 2.88

MORMYROPS Mormyrops deliciosus 004 0.68

PETROCEPHALUS Petrocephalus bane 046 7.77

MARCUSENIUS Marcusenius psittacus 013 2.20

12 NOTOPTERIDAE PAPYROCRANUS Papyrocranus afer 008 1.35 047 XENOMYSTUS Xenomystus nigri 039 6.59

OSTEOGLOSSIDAE HETEROTIS Heterotis niloticus 13 011 011 1.86 14 PANTODONTIDAE PANTODON Pantodon buchholzi 030 030 5.07 POLYPTERIDAE CALAMOICHTHYS Calamoichthys calabaricus 15 017 012 2.03 POLYPTERUS Polypterus senegalus 005 0.84 16 SCHILBEIDAE SILURANODON Siluranodon auritus 002 001 0.17 SCHILBE Schilbe mystus 001 0.17 International Journal of Agricultural Management & Development, 1(3): 107-113, September, 2011. September, Agricultural Management & Development, 1(3): 107-113, International Journal of

110 TOTAL 592 592 100 S/N length– weightrelationship.Betterqualitypicture 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 10 11 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 gives thelistofidentified fishesbyfamily, families wereidentified inOniRiver. Table 1 species offishesbelonging tosixteen(16) Figure 2: 2: Figure During theperiodofstudy, twenty eight(28) TOTAL Polypterus senegalus Ichthyborus monodi Xenomystus nigri Papyrocranus afer Alestes sp. Hydrocynus vittatus Heterotis niloticus Ctenopoma kingsleyae Schilbe mystus Siluranodon auritus Pantodon buchholzi Synodontis nigrita Calamoichthys calabaricus Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus Gymnarchus niloticus Parachanna obscura Malapterurus electricus Marcusenius psittacus Gnathonemus abadii Petrocephalus bane Mormyrops deliciosus Mormyrus rume Gnathonemus petersii Hyperopisus bebe Clarias gariepinus Hemichromis fasciatus Tilapia zillii Oreochromis niloticus Species Scatter diagramwithfittedlinefor now suppliedbelow DISCUSSION Assessment ofFishComposition/ObeBernardineWuraola etal. Table 2:LengthandweightofsampledfishinOniRiver No sampled 592 005 003 039 008 005 008 001 001 030 022 012 009 008 039 007 013 016 046 004 017 037 030 049 033 070 058 011 011 Mean weight(g) 3131.82 785.00 368.18 130.00 180.00 150.00 812.50 574.36 133.12 102.32 145.31 495.71 543.81 20.00 26.67 18.46 16.00 60.00 20.00 20.00 25.00 82.86 66.92 24.34 57.35 55.00 61.97 200 make thefishtothrivebetter becauseitconforms is awildenvironment,possesses featureswhich environment inwhichfound. RiverOni,which occurrence ofMormyrids couldbeduetothe Cichlidae asthedominantfamily. The higher Olaniran (2000)onIITA reservoirthatrecorded (1987) onEleiyeleRiverand Asejire Lakeand This isincontrastwiththeworkof Akinyemi position andabundancewastheMormyridae. (1984, 1985)citedbyIta(1993). et al., ability toadaptvariouswaterconditions(Ita fisheries ofinlandwatersinNigeriaduetotheir researchers andfoundtoconstitutethemajor been observedbymanyfisheriesworkersand relative abundance. These fishfamilieshave genera andspecies,numbersampledtheir The fishfamilywiththehighestspeciescom- Mean totallength(cm) (1986), Akinyemi, (1987),Ita 15.88 12.63 12.68 31.57 51.16 14.33 12.00 14.57 20.60 18.69 17.68 51.30 30.39 14.29 19.51 18.64 28.68 20.00 17.60 12.92 23.15 17.63 23.94 22.29 11.15 42.5 8.42 7.50 Mean standardlength(cm) 15.46 10.57 12.21 39.64 25.38 46.41 13.83 16.00 17.98 14.52 47.75 25.88 12.17 17.82 16.25 26.13 18.12 15.44 20.92 14.97 19.13 17.93 11.91 11.50 11.15 8.08 6.30 9.69 et al. , 111 International Journal of Agricultural Management & Development, 1(3): 107-113, September, 2011. Assessment of Fish Composition / Obe Bernardine Wuraola et al.

to their basic biological requirements. According Table 3: Length frequency distribution of sampled fish

to Holden and Reed (1972), they prefer to live Mean Standard Length Frequency of Percentage of around fallen trees in water where the current is range (cm) occurrence occurrence less swift, they also feed on worms and detritus 0.01-10.00 3 10.71 10.01-20.00 19 67.86 which occur more in the wild. 20.01-30.00 3 10.71 30.01-40.00 1 3.57 The Cichlidae family was the next most abun- 40.01-50.00 2 7.14

dant family. This could be due to their ability to Total 28 100.00 utilize a wide range of foods in the lower trophic dry season. level as herbivores as well as their high fecundity Table 2 gives the length and weight of sampled and prolific nature. They are largely believed to fishes and Table 3 gives the length-frequency be the most abundant fish family in West Africa distribution of sampled fish. Analysis of size due to their hardiness, ability to withstand low ranges of fish species showed the mean standard dissolved oxygen level etc. length varied from 6.3cm to 47.8cm while the The fish composition on the species level mean weight has a range of 16g to 3,130g. The shows the species Tilapia ziillii as the dominant scatter diagram of weight against standard length species followed by Oreochromis niloticus and (fig 2) showed a linear relationship which means thirdly Clarias gariepinus. This shows that on that as the length of the fishes increased, their the species level, the study agrees with the work body weight also increased. The standard length- of Akinyemi (1987) which reported that Cichlidae weight relationship equation of this study is and Claridae are the most dominant fish species. given as log wt= 2.29 log SL-0.73. The coefficient They were also represented throughout the study of determination (R2) was calculated to measure period. the degree of relationship between length and The families Clariidae, Channidae and No- weight and it was found out that 58% of the topteridae had a high representation in the catch. variation in weight is accounted for by the stan- This could be due to their hardy nature and dard length as R2 had a value of 0.58. The higher susceptibility to catch. length-weight relationship followed the trend Some ornamental fishes were identified in the as described by Bagenal (1978). Table 3 also study area which have attracted export interest shows that fish species of mean standard length as it was observed that people come weekly to range of 10.0.1-20.00 has the highest level of buy these ornamental fishes for export purposes. occurrence making 67.86% of occurrence. These ornamental fishes include: Pantodon buchholzi, Gnathonemus abadii and Hemichromis CONCLUSIONS fasciatus. This highlights the importance of the This study was conducted on the fish compo- River in ornamental fisheries. sition of Oni River in Ogun State, Nigeria. Oni Fish families such as Distichodontidae, Ana- River is an important river in Ogun Waterside bantidae, Bagridae, Gymnarchidae, Malapteruri- LG of Ogun State contributing highly to the dae and Schilbeidae were poorly represented in inland fishery of the State. The research shows the catch. Most of these species require high that there is high composition of fish species in

International Journal of Agricultural Management & Development, 1(3): 107-113, September, 2011. September, Agricultural Management & Development, 1(3): 107-113, International Journal of water level to thrive well which was not avail- the river which is an evidence of its high pro- 112 able during the period of study as it was the also thenation. boosting theeconomicstatusofStateand managed, theRiverwillgoalongwayin future managementofOniRiver. Forifproperly management policiesthatwouldbeusefulin this studywillbeveryusefulinformulating and needtobeaddressedcorrected. negative impactsonthequalityofwater and wastedisposalintothewater. These have human activitiessuchassandmining,logging amenities suchasdrinkablewaterandschools, use ofsmallsizedmeshnets,lacksocial pollution ofthewaterwithagriculturalchemicals, electricity generationetc. for multi-usagepurposessuchastransportation, with propermanagement,itcouldbedeveloped makes therivertobeofparticularinterestand Osun, Ondo,OgunandLagosStatesofNigeria the potentialofriver. 5- FAO (2000).FAO FisheriesDept.Fishery Country 4- FAO (1996).Stateof World Aquaculture Production editedbyShell D.Garkling. 3-Bagenal, T.B. (1978).EcologyofFreshwaterFish Production editedbyShellD.Garkling. Bagenal, T.B. (1978).EcologyofFreshwaterFish bionomic models.Ph.D. Thesis, UniversityofIbadan. Eleiyele andLake Asejire Fisheries: Application of 2- Akinyemi, O.(1987).ManagementofLake 1982. Calabar. Pp70-75 of FisheriesSocietyNigeria,25th-27thJanuary, Programme. In:Proceedingsofthe2ndConference Freshwater FishProductionintheGreenRevolution 1- Akinola, A.O. (1982).Strategiesforincreasing abadii fishes ofexportstatussuchas ductivity. The presenceofsomepricedornamental It ishopedthattheinformationgatheredfrom Problems observedinthestudyareaincluded The widecoverageoftheriverwhichcovers and Pantodon buchholzi REFERENCES Assessment ofFishComposition/ObeBernardineWuraola etal. further highlights Gnathonemus Nigeria, 106pp. of FreshwaterFisheries Technology, NewBussa, Guide toNigerianFreshwaterFishes.FederalCollege 12- Olaosebikan,B.D.&Raji, A. (1998).Field Ibadan. Lake, Ibadan,Nigeria.Ph.D. Thesis, Universityof International Instituteof Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and SustainableManagementofFishProductionin 11- Olaniran, T.S. (2000).EcologicalEvaluation 1985 Annual ReportPp. 25-29. Survey ofShiroroRes.,NigerState,Nigeria.KLRI Report ontheimmediatePost-impoundmentFishery Bankole, N.O.and Awojoodu, S.(1986). A Preliminary 10- Ita,E.O.;Mohammed, A.; Omorinkoba, W.S.; FAO, (1993).120pp. Nigeria. CIFA OccassionalPaperNo20.Rome 9- Ita,E.O.(1993).InlandFisheryResourcesof New Bussa1985. and majorRivers.KLRI Tech, RepSeriesNo14 Nigeria withReferencetoPonds,Lakes,Reservoirs A preliminarychecklistofInland Water Bodiesin Nigeria Inland Waters andtheirFisheryResources. A. andIbitoye,B.(1985).InventorySurveyof 8- Ita,E.O.;Sado,E.K.;Balogun,J.K.;Pandogan, Freshwater FishLongmanLondon. 7- Holden,M.&Reed, W. (1972). West African Ikoyi Road,Lagos,Nigeria. Dept. ofInformation,DomesticPublicityDivision of Nigeria.DesignedandproducedbytheFed. 6- FDI(1981).PocketmapoftheFederalRepublic Profile Nigeria(English)FID/CP/NIR. 113 International Journal of Agricultural Management & Development, 1(3): 107-113, September, 2011.